English lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 30 minutes
Common and proper nouns
Grammar
CCSS L.1.1.BCCSS L.1.2.AEngland: Y1 GPS (capital letters for names)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Common and proper nouns.
- 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: Nouns and verbs
Leads to: Abstract nouns; Capital letters in titles (The Day the Robots Danced)
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 (Nouns and verbs). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which word is a noun (a person, place, animal or thing)? A little girl skipped home. (girl / skipped / home / little) → girlPrompt: Nouns name things. Can you put 'the' or 'a' in front of it?
- Which word is a verb (an action word)? Leo threw the stick for the dog. (dog / threw / stick / Leo) → threwPrompt: A verb tells you what someone or something does.
- Which word fits the gap? Is the gap a noun or a verb? A ___ landed on the flower. (bee / gently / yellow / landed) → beePrompt: Read the sentence and think: does the gap need a thing or an action?
Hook · 3 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Common and proper nouns. 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 word is a proper noun (the name of a particular person, place or day)? We had pancakes in March.
- Step 1: A common noun names any thing (city); a proper noun names a particular one (Tokyo) and has a capital letter.
- Step 2: So the answer is: March
- Answer: March
- 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.
- Which word is a proper noun (the name of a particular person, place or day)? My friend Carlos has a pet rabbit. (friend / rabbit / Carlos / pet) → CarlosPrompt: Proper nouns are special names.
- Which word is a proper noun (the name of a particular person, place or day)? The river Nile is very long. (Nile / river / very / long) → NilePrompt: Proper nouns are special names.
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.
- Which word is a proper noun (the name of a particular person, place or day)? We had pancakes in March. (March / pancakes / had / we) → MarchPrompt: Proper nouns are special names.
- Which word is a proper noun (the name of a particular person, place or day)? The river Nile is very long. (very / long / river / Nile) → NilePrompt: Proper nouns are special names.
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: Nouns and verbs.
- 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
- Move on to: Abstract nouns; Capital letters in titles (The Day the Robots Danced).
- 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-1.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder