English lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes
Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers
Grammar
CCSS L.5.1England: Y5/6 GPS (determiners)England: KS2 SATs GPS
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers.
- 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: Determiners: a or an; Possessive pronouns and determiners
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 (Determiners: a or an; Possessive pronouns and determiners). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Choose a or an. He found ___ coin in the sand. (a / an) → aPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
- Choose the correct word. The cat licked ___ paw. (it's / its' / it is' / its) → itsPrompt: Is the word before a noun (my, your, its…) or standing alone (mine, yours, hers…)?
- Choose a or an. I want to be ___ astronaut. (a / an) → anPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
Hook · 3 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers. 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 the determiner? My brother loves comics.
- Step 1: Determiners include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, those), possessives (my, their) and quantifiers (some, many, two).
- Step 2: So the answer is: My
- Answer: My
- 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 the determiner? My brother loves comics. (brother / loves / comics / My) → MyPrompt: A determiner comes before a noun and tells you which one, whose, or how many.
- An owl hooted. What kind of determiner is "An"? (article / demonstrative / possessive / quantifier or number) → articlePrompt: a, an, the → articles. this, that, these, those → demonstratives.
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.
- Look at that rainbow! What kind of determiner is "that"? (article / demonstrative / possessive / quantifier or number) → demonstrativePrompt: a, an, the → articles. this, that, these, those → demonstratives.
- Which word is the determiner? Those puppies are asleep. (Those / puppies / are / asleep) → ThosePrompt: A determiner comes before a noun and tells you which one, whose, or how many.
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: Determiners: a or an.
- 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-5.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder