Before you teach — read this first

Grade 8 · Lesson 2 — 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 adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions. 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 There are three kinds, based on three verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives., ringing There.

Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“Careful words make careful thinking.”
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 — “Careful words make careful thinking.” 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: There are three kinds, based on three verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. · the question · ring There · name it an adverb. 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 adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions. 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 are three kinds, based on three verbals: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. still marked when they start work.
  4. The We-do runs 4 items on whiteboards — The coordinating conjunction andjoins the two adjectives as equals; the coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet.How? When? Where?, We will discuss these more later, but for now, here are examples: The mayor will speak if we wish him to.Can I say it in front of “the box”?, Conjunctive adverbs: The words however,therefore,furthermore, and others are conjunctive adverbs; they connect two clauses, but they are primarily adverbial in function.Can I say it in front of “the box”?, Space, around the sandbox, across the swing, up the slide, over the pipe, beside the seesaw, near the tree, and POOF!What two things is it holding together?. 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 adverb or the preposition or the conjunction. Then they work alone, with the same worked example printed at the head of their sheet.
  6. Close on Notice the strong stress on deep, which is even more emphatic because it follows the noun hands, which is also stressed. — an item they have not met, so it measures rather than reminds — then the line they leave with: “An adverb tells more about a verb.”
  7. Watch for: Calls an adjective an adverb because it sounds descriptive — Both describe; only the target differs. If you see it: “Is it telling you about a THING or about a DOING?” Two hands: flat palm for the thing, rolling hands for the doing. (Remedial sheet 11.)
As-Suffah Academy · Language Arts · Narrative brief Then open the run sheet