Before you teach — read this first
Grade 7 · Lesson 9 — Interleave: Subject
U0 · Re-teach the level below · Subject (—) · 10–15 minutes · 14 slides ·
Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.SubjectWhat it is. The subject is who or what the sentence is about — the noun or pronoun the whole sentence hangs on.
Why our test works. 'Who or what is doing the verb?' works because the subject and the verb agree with each other: change the subject from one to many and the verb changes with it. That agreement is the proof of the link.
Leans on. Nouns and verbs together. This is the first time the child uses two levels at once, which is why it is harder than either alone.
Watch for. The subject is not always first, and it is never inside a prepositional phrase. The box of apples is heavy — the subject is box, not apples.
What this lesson is
An interleaved day mixing subject. The skill is not either of them — both are secure — it is working out which question is being asked before answering. That is invisible unless you name it, so the objective is stated to the children outright. The worked example is built on There were no children above., ringing children.
Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“Every one of these words is a tool you will keep for life.”
A different reason every lesson, on purpose. It is not on a slide and it
is not a script — if you have a better reason today, use yours. What should land is the
idea, not a sentence they can recite.
Recall — sixty seconds, before anything new
Retrieve: Noun + Verb · Verb. Ask for it before you introduce anything, take the answers from boards rather than from hands so you see all thirty, and do not re-teach — note who has lost it and carry on. This is the middle of the launch: context, then this, then why it matters. Only what today leans on — a minute spent retrieving something unrelated costs the same and buys nothing, and the child who cannot recall the prerequisite is the one you will lose in the I-do.
How it goes
- Ten seconds on why it matters — “Every one of these words is a tool you will keep for life.” Your words, not those; it is a different reason every lesson so what lands is the idea rather than a sentence they can recite.
- Then you do one yourself, on screen, one click per move: There were no children above. · the question · ring children · name it a subject. Do it exactly the way you want it done — this is the task they are about to do on their boards, not an easier one.
- You build the same thing on the board and leave it up for subject. The four steps are identical in every lesson of this unit — sentence, question, test, answer — so the children read the method rather than the layout, and today's board shows There were no children above. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 1 items on whiteboards — The words for this, if you must know but don't want to ask, are subject and subject complement.Who or what is this about?. You are scanning for who applies the question and who is guessing from meaning; those look identical on a right answer and completely different on a wrong one.
- Exit directions in full, standing still, before anyone moves — Sheet and pencil · Read the question above each one BEFORE you answer it · Find the subject. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
- Close on The words for this, if you must know but don't want to ask, are subject and subject complement. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “The subject is who or what it is about.”
- Watch for: Marks the first word rather than the subject — The subject usually starts the sentence, so position works often enough to hide. If you see it: “Who or what is it ABOUT? Say the whole naming part.” (Remedial sheet 19.)