• 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. So tired ___ that she fell asleep at her desk. (was she / she was / she is / was her) → was shePrompt: 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? Seldom is a team come back from four goals down. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Does the sentence start with a negative or limiting word (never, rarely, not only, only then, little, hardly)?
3. We shall not tire, we shall not falter, and we shall not fail. Which technique gives this sentence its power? (Anaphora: repeating the same opening words in successive clauses. / Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds. / Passive voice: hiding the doer. / A rhetorical question.) → Anaphora: repeating the same opening words in successive clauses.Prompt: Think about how the sentence makes you read: faster, slower, with more emphasis?

• 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.

• 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.

• 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? It was Maya who broke the school record. (the school record / It / broke / Maya) → MayaPrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.
2. Read the question and choose. Emphasise WHAT you need: "I need a long holiday." • What I need is a long holiday. • It is I who need a long holiday. • I am needing a long holiday. • A long holiday, I need it. (What I need is a long holiday. / It is I who need a long holiday. / I am needing a long holiday. / A long holiday, I need it.) → What I need is a long holiday.Prompt: Put the element you want to emphasise straight after 'It is/was…', or at the end after 'What… is/was'.

• 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• 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." • The shop, it opens at nine. • It is at nine that the shop opens. • It is the shop that opens at nine. • What opens at nine is the shop. (The shop, it opens at nine. / It is at nine that the shop opens. / It is the shop that opens at nine. / What opens at nine is the shop.) → 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 the scientists discovered was a new species of beetle. (what / discovered / the scientists / a new species of beetle) → a new species of beetlePrompt: In 'It was X who/that…', X is the focus.

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