Before you teach — read this first
Grade 8 · Lesson 27 — Verb
U1 · Level One — Parts of Speech · Verb (—) · 10–15 minutes · 14 slides ·
Launch → I do → We do → You do → Closure
The grammar behind this lesson — read this before you teach it.VerbWhat it is. A verb is the doing or the being of the sentence. Every complete sentence has one.
Why our test works. 'What is happening?' finds action verbs; 'is it just telling me that something IS?' finds being verbs. Both work because a verb is the only word that changes with time — ran, runs, will run — so if a word can be moved into yesterday or tomorrow, it is a verb.
Leans on. Knowing a sentence is a complete thought. The verb is what makes it complete.
Watch for. Being verbs feel like nothing is happening, so children skip them. *She is tall* has a verb, and the child needs it before linking verbs make sense.
What this lesson is
A review day. No new concept: today drills subject. 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 The girl who sold the flowers smiled shyly., ringing girl.
Why it matters — say this in your own words, about ten seconds.
“When we know words well, we can learn other languages too.”
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 + Pronoun + Adjective · Pronoun + Adjective. 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 — “When we know words well, we can learn other languages too.” 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: The girl who sold the flowers smiled shyly. · the question · ring girl · 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 The girl who sold the flowers smiled shyly. still marked when they start work.
- The We-do runs 1 items on whiteboards — There was something rather Elizabethan about him —his casual versatility, his good looks, that effervescent combination of mental with physical activities.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 There was something rather Elizabethan about him —his casual versatility, his good looks, that effervescent combination of mental with physical activities. — 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.)