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English lesson plan · 11th grade (Year 12 in England) · 30 minutes

Choosing verb tense from context clues (SAT)

Grammar

CCSS L.11-12.1CCSS L.9-10.1England: SAT Standard English Conventions (Form, Structure, and Sense)England: ACT English

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Choosing verb tense from context clues (SAT).

  • 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: Past perfect for the earlier of two past events; Verb tense and form in context

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 (Past perfect for the earlier of two past events; Verb tense and form in context). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Is this sentence correct in formal written English? She reads the book twice before she saw the film. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Put the two past events in order on a timeline. Which happened first?
  2. Choose the verb form that fits the context. Researchers ___ the samples before they published the results. (test / had tested / will test / have tested) → had testedPrompt: Look for time clues (in 1969, since, by the time, next month).
  3. Choose the verb form that shows the order of events correctly. By 2010, the company ___ over a million phones. (sells / will sell / has sold / had sold) → had soldPrompt: Put the two past events in order on a timeline. Which happened first?

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
  • Share the objective: Choosing verb tense from context clues (SAT). 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 choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? In her 2015 study, the biologist argued that bees ___ to recognise human faces.
  • Step 1: Choose the tense that fits the time markers and stays consistent with the rest of the passage.
  • Step 2: Reporting a past argument: could learn.
  • Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "In her 2015 study, the biologist argued that bees could learn to recognise human faces."
  • Step 4: So the answer is: could learn
  • Answer: could learn
  • 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. Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? By the time the expedition reached the summit, two climbers turn back because of the cold. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Find the time markers: dates, 'since', 'by the time', 'currently', 'next year', 'each spring'.
  2. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? In her 2015 study, the biologist argued that bees ___ to recognise human faces. (can learned / learning / will had learned / could learn) → could learnPrompt: Find the time markers: dates, 'since', 'by the time', 'currently', 'next year', 'each spring'.

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. Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Since the 1990s, average temperatures in the region ___ steadily. (will rise / rise / rose / have risen) → have risenPrompt: Find the time markers: dates, 'since', 'by the time', 'currently', 'next year', 'each spring'.
  2. Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? Since the 1990s, average temperatures in the region rose steadily. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Find the time markers: dates, 'since', 'by the time', 'currently', 'next year', 'each spring'.

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: Past perfect for the earlier of two past events.
  • 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-11.

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

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Choosing verb tense from context clues (SAT)

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? Currently, researchers are investigating whether the coral can survive warmer seas.

    • A. correct
    • B. incorrect

  2. Question 2

    Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? By the time the expedition reached the summit, two climbers ___ back because of the cold.

    • A. had turned
    • B. will turn
    • C. turn
    • D. have turned

  3. Question 3

    Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? By the time the expedition reached the summit, two climbers had turned back because of the cold.

    • A. correct
    • B. incorrect

  4. Question 4

    Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Each spring, the river ___ its banks, depositing rich soil on the surrounding fields.

    • A. floods
    • B. had flooded
    • C. flooded
    • D. will have flooded

  5. Question 5

    Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? In the novel, which is narrated in the present tense, the heroine ___ the letter and realises the truth.

    • A. opened
    • B. opens
    • C. was opening
    • D. had opened

  6. Question 6

    Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? In 1928, Alexander Fleming noticed that mould had killed bacteria in a dish. He later named the substance penicillin.

    • A. correct
    • B. incorrect

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Answer key: Choosing verb tense from context clues (SAT)

  1. 1. A. correct

  2. 2. A. had turned

  3. 3. A. correct

  4. 4. A. floods

  5. 5. B. opens

  6. 6. A. correct