English lesson plan · 11th grade (Year 12 in England) · 60 minutes
Finite and non-finite verbs (SAT Form, Structure, and Sense)
Grammar
CCSS L.11-12.1CCSS L.9-10.1.BEngland: SAT Standard English Conventions (Form, Structure, and Sense)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Finite and non-finite verbs (SAT Form, Structure, and Sense).
- 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: Gerunds, participles and infinitives; SAT/ACT Standard English Conventions (mixed)
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 · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Gerunds, participles and infinitives; SAT/ACT Standard English Conventions (mixed)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What is the word in brackets doing in this sentence? To win the cup was their dream. (To win) (gerund / participle / infinitive) → infinitivePrompt: Is it acting as a noun (a thing), an adjective (describing a noun), or is it 'to' + verb?
- Which choice conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Neither the coach nor the players ___ satisfied with the draw. (were / was / is / has been) → werePrompt: Identify the subject and the verb, or what the pronoun refers to.
- What is the word in brackets doing in this sentence? We stopped to look at the view. (to look) (gerund / participle / infinitive) → infinitivePrompt: Is it acting as a noun (a thing), an adjective (describing a noun), or is it 'to' + verb?
Hook · 6 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Finite and non-finite verbs (SAT Form, Structure, and Sense). Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 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? The museum, ___ in a former power station, attracts millions of visitors a year.
- Step 1: A sentence needs a finite main verb for its subject; -ing/-ed participles and to-infinitives cannot be the main verb on their own.
- Step 2: The main verb is 'attracts'; the phrase between commas describes the museum, so a past participle is needed.
- Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "The museum, housed in a former power station, attracts millions of visitors a year."
- Step 4: So the answer is: housed
- Answer: housed
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 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 choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? In 1953, the scientists Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling ___ an X-ray image that revealed the helical structure of DNA. (producing / having produced / produced / to produce) → producedPrompt: Does the sentence already have a main verb? Find the subject and check.
- Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The team's goal is ___ a battery that charges in under five minutes. (developed / develops / had developed / to develop) → to developPrompt: Does the sentence already have a main verb? Find the subject and check.
You do: independent practice · 17 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 7 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Migrating across the Sahara each autumn, swallows ___ thousands of kilometres. (having flown / fly / flying / to fly) → flyPrompt: Does the sentence already have a main verb? Find the subject and check.
- Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? In 1953, the scientists Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling ___ an X-ray image that revealed the helical structure of DNA. (having produced / produced / producing / to produce) → producedPrompt: Does the sentence already have a main verb? Find the subject and check.
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: Gerunds, participles and infinitives.
- 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