Before you teach — read this first

Grade 8 · Lesson 1 — Noun

U0 · Re-teach the level below · Noun (—) · 10–15 minutes · 17 slides · Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.
Noun
What it is. A noun names something — a person, place, thing, or idea. It is the only kind of word that can be the thing a sentence is about.
Why our test works. 'Can I put the in front of it?' works because the is a determiner, and determiners in English attach to nouns and to nothing else. *The table* is fine; the ran, the quickly, the and are not. So the test is not a trick — it is asking whether the word behaves the way only nouns behave.
Leans on. Knowing that a sentence is about something. If a child cannot yet find what the sentence is about, the noun test has nothing to hold on to.
Watch for. It fails on names and on some abstract nouns — we do not say the Sarah or the courage in every sentence. Tell the class the test finds most nouns, and names are nouns too because they name a person.

What this lesson is

A review day. No new concept: today drills adjectives, verbs, adverbs. Choose the focus from the last assessment rather than from a plan made months ago — the sheet works on whatever you pick. The worked example is built on Broken again, London's typewriter was almost useless., ringing Broken.

Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“The better we know words, the better we understand the Qur'an.”
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

Nothing to retrieve yet; this is the first lesson of the year. Spend the minute on the routine instead — boards out, boards up on the signal — so it is automatic before it has to carry content.

How it goes

  1. Ten seconds on why it matters — “The better we know words, the better we understand the Qur'an.” Your words, not those; it is a different reason every lesson so what lands is the idea rather than a sentence they can recite.
  2. Then you do one yourself, on screen, one click per move: Broken again, London's typewriter was almost useless. · the question · ring Broken · name it an adjective. 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.
  3. You build the same thing on the board and leave it up for adjectives, verbs, adverbs. 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 Broken again, London's typewriter was almost useless. still marked when they start work.
  4. The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — We are being definite when we ask for the blanket, but we are being indefinite when we ask for a blanket.Which one? What kind? How many?, There are other linking verbs, though, that sound at first like action verbs, including become, grow, seem, sound, smell, and taste.Can I put “I” in front of it?, We see the present that is, we remember the past that was, and we wonder about the future that will be.Can I put “I” in front of it?, We only use commas after long introductory phrases or after multiple phrases, unless a comma is necessary to prevent a misunderstanding.How? When? Where?. 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.
  5. Exit directions in full, standing still, before anyone moves — Sheet and pencil · Read the question above each one BEFORE you answer it · Find the adjective or the verb or the adverb. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
  6. Close on Put the right word in the right place, and the right word is not an agile, adamant, admonitory, or aquiline adjective. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “An adjective tells more about a noun.”
  7. Watch for: Marks the noun as the adjective — They sit side by side and only one has been named so far. If you see it: “Which one is the THING? Then the other one is telling you about it.” (Remedial sheet 10.)
As-Suffah Academy · Language Arts · Narrative brief Then open the run sheet