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English lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 60 minutes

Subject–verb agreement

Grammar

CCSS L.3.1.FEngland: Y4 GPS (Standard English)England: KS2 SATs GPS

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Subject–verb agreement.

  • 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; Pronouns

Leads to: Standard English verb forms; Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility; Pronoun–antecedent agreement

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; Pronouns). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which word is a noun (a person, place, animal or thing)? My brother kicked the ball hard. (kicked / ball / my / hard) → ballPrompt: Nouns name things. Can you put 'the' or 'a' in front of it?
  2. Which word is a verb (an action word)? The puppy chews my slippers. (chews / my / puppy / slippers) → chewsPrompt: A verb tells you what someone or something does.
  3. Choose the pronoun that fits. The cookies smell great. Can I eat one of ___? (them / they / it / us) → themPrompt: Who or what is the gap talking about?

Hook · 6 min

  • Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
  • Share the objective: Subject–verb agreement. 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 the verb that agrees with the subject. Our teacher ___ funny stories.
  • Step 1: The verb must agree with its subject: singular subject → singular verb; plural subject → plural verb.
  • Step 2: The subject is singular (he, she, it or one thing), so the verb takes -s.
  • Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "Our teacher tells funny stories."
  • Step 4: So the answer is: tells
  • Answer: tells
  • 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.
  1. Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. He ___ his homework before tea. (does / do) → doesPrompt: Who or what is doing the action? That is the subject.
  2. Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. One of the puppies ___ black spots. (has / have) → hasPrompt: Find the main subject. Ignore words like 'of the…' or 'with the…' that come after it.

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.
  1. Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. There ___ a spider in the bath! (is / are) → isPrompt: Find the main subject. Ignore words like 'of the…' or 'with the…' that come after it.
  2. Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. The flowers ___ lovely. (smells / smell) → smellPrompt: Who or what is doing the action? That is the subject.

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: Standard English verb forms; Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility; Pronoun–antecedent agreement.
  • 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

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Subject–verb agreement

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. There ___ a spider in the bath!

    • A. are
    • B. is

  2. Question 2

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. She ___ to school every day.

    • A. walk
    • B. walks

  3. Question 3

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. The box of crayons ___ on the shelf.

    • A. are
    • B. is

  4. Question 4

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. He ___ his homework before tea.

    • A. does
    • B. do

  5. Question 5

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. It ___ a lot in April.

    • A. rain
    • B. rains

  6. Question 6

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. One of the puppies ___ black spots.

    • A. have
    • B. has

  7. Question 7

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. Ali and Ben ___ in the same class.

    • A. is
    • B. are

  8. Question 8

    Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. Our teacher ___ funny stories.

    • A. tell
    • B. tells

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Answer key: Subject–verb agreement

  1. 1. B. is

  2. 2. B. walks

  3. 3. B. is

  4. 4. A. does

  5. 5. B. rains

  6. 6. B. has

  7. 7. B. are

  8. 8. B. tells