English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 60 minutes
Determiners: a or an
Grammar
CCSS L.3.1England: Y3 GPS (a or an)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Determiners: a or an.
- 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: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers
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 (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)? The dog barks at the postman. (dog / at / barks / the) → dogPrompt: Nouns name things. Can you put 'the' or 'a' in front of it?
- Which word is a verb (an action word)? My cat sleeps on the sofa. (on / sofa / sleeps / cat) → sleepsPrompt: A verb tells you what someone or something does.
- Which word fits the gap? Is the gap a noun or a verb? I like to ___ in the sea. (sea / blue / swim / happy) → swimPrompt: Read the sentence and think: does the gap need a thing or an action?
Hook · 6 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Determiners: a or an. 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: Choose a or an. That is ___ unusual hat.
- Step 1: Use 'an' before a vowel sound and 'a' before a consonant sound.
- Step 2: The next word starts with a vowel sound, so we use 'an'.
- Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "That is an unusual hat."
- Step 4: So the answer is: an
- Answer: an
- 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.
- Choose a or an. We watched ___ exciting match. (a / an) → anPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
- Choose a or an. It took ___ hour to get there. (a / an) → anPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
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 8 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.
- Choose a or an. It was ___ honest mistake. (a / an) → anPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
- Choose a or an. He told ___ funny joke. (a / an) → aPrompt: Look at the word straight after the gap.
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: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers.
- 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-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder