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English lesson plan · 12th grade (Year 13 in England) · 30 minutes

Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is…

Grammar

CCSS L.11-12.3.AEngland: A-level English LanguageEngland: AP LanguageEngland: GCSE English Language (AO5 crafting)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is….

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Inversion for emphasis: Never have I…, Not only did she…; Syntax for effect (GCSE/AP)

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Inversion for emphasis: Never have I…, Not only did she…; Syntax for effect (GCSE/AP)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Choose the correct form to complete the emphatic sentence. Hardly ___ home when the phone rang. (had I got / got I / I had got / I got) → had I gotPrompt: Does the sentence start with a negative or limiting word (never, rarely, not only, only then, little, hardly)?
  2. Is this sentence correct in formal written English? No sooner had she stepped onto the stage than the lights went out. (correct / incorrect) → correctPrompt: Does the sentence start with a negative or limiting word (never, rarely, not only, only then, little, hardly)?
  3. The door creaked. Silence. Then footsteps — slow, deliberate, closer. What is the main effect of the short sentences and fragments? (They show the writer did not know grammar rules. / They make the passage sound calm and relaxed. / They build tension by slowing the pace and focusing on each sound. / They give lots of background information about the house.) → They build tension by slowing the pace and focusing on each sound.Prompt: Think about how the sentence makes you read: faster, slower, with more emphasis?

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
  • Share the objective: Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is…. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? It was not the price but the quality that worried us.
  • Step 1: Cleft sentences split a simple sentence into two parts to spotlight one element: It was Maya who… / What we need is…
  • Step 2: The cleft contrasts and focuses on 'the quality'.
  • Step 3: So the answer is: the quality
  • Answer: the quality
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? All I wanted was a quiet weekend. (wanted / I / all / a quiet weekend) → a quiet weekendPrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.
  2. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHO solved the puzzle: "Ana solved the puzzle." • It was Ana who solved the puzzle. • What Ana solved was the puzzle. • The puzzle was solved. • Ana, she solved the puzzle. (It was Ana who solved the puzzle. / What Ana solved was the puzzle. / The puzzle was solved. / Ana, she solved the puzzle.) → It was Ana who solved the puzzle.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHEN the shop opens: "The shop opens at nine." • What opens at nine is the shop. • It is the shop that opens at nine. • The shop, it opens at nine. • It is at nine that the shop opens. (What opens at nine is the shop. / It is the shop that opens at nine. / The shop, it opens at nine. / It is at nine that the shop opens.) → It is at nine that the shop opens.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.
  2. Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? What we need is more time. (need / more time / we / what) → more timePrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.

Watch out for

  • Naming the feature but not using it in their own sentences.
  • Thinking a sentence is right because it sounds right when spoken casually.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Inversion for emphasis: Never have I…, Not only did she….
  • Use concrete materials: sentence strips.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is…

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? It was in 1969 that people first walked on the Moon.

    • A. people
    • B. in 1969
    • C. the Moon
    • D. walked

  2. Question 2

    Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHY the match was cancelled: "The match was cancelled because of the snow." • What was cancelled was the match. • It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled. • It was the match that was cancelled because of snow. • The snow, it cancelled the match.

    • A. What was cancelled was the match.
    • B. It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled.
    • C. It was the match that was cancelled because of snow.
    • D. The snow, it cancelled the match.

  3. Question 3

    Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHERE they met: "They met in Lisbon." • It was they who met in Lisbon. • It was in Lisbon that they met. • Lisbon, they met there it. • What they met was Lisbon.

    • A. It was they who met in Lisbon.
    • B. It was in Lisbon that they met.
    • C. Lisbon, they met there it.
    • D. What they met was Lisbon.

  4. Question 4

    Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? All I wanted was a quiet weekend.

    • A. wanted
    • B. a quiet weekend
    • C. all
    • D. I

  5. Question 5

    Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHEN the shop opens: "The shop opens at nine." • What opens at nine is the shop. • It is at nine that the shop opens. • It is the shop that opens at nine. • The shop, it opens at nine.

    • A. What opens at nine is the shop.
    • B. It is at nine that the shop opens.
    • C. It is the shop that opens at nine.
    • D. The shop, it opens at nine.

  6. Question 6

    Which part of this sentence is being emphasised by its structure? What we need is more time.

    • A. we
    • B. more time
    • C. need
    • D. what

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Answer key: Cleft sentences for focus: It was… who…, What… is…

  1. 1. B. in 1969

  2. 2. B. It was because of the snow that the match was cancelled.

  3. 3. B. It was in Lisbon that they met.

  4. 4. B. a quiet weekend

  5. 5. B. It is at nine that the shop opens.

  6. 6. B. more time