English lesson plan · 11th grade (Year 12 in England) · 60 minutes
Subject–verb agreement across long interruptions (SAT)
Grammar
CCSS L.11-12.1CCSS L.9-10.1England: SAT Standard English Conventions (Form, Structure, and Sense)England: ACT English
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Subject–verb agreement across long interruptions (SAT).
- 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: Agreement when the verb comes first (There are…, Here comes…); Agreement in relative clauses (one of those who…)
Leads to: ACT-style editing: NO CHANGE or a better option?
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 (Agreement when the verb comes first (There are…, Here comes…); Agreement in relative clauses (one of those who…)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Is this sentence correct in formal written English? What was the main causes of the flood? (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: The subject comes AFTER the verb here. Find it.
- Is this sentence correct in formal written English? It is the kind of book that make you think. (correct / incorrect) → incorrectPrompt: Who/that/which takes its number from the noun it refers back to.
- Choose the verb that agrees with the subject. There ___ three reasons for the delay. (are / is) → arePrompt: The subject comes AFTER the verb here. Find it.
Hook · 6 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Subject–verb agreement across long interruptions (SAT). 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 sound of thousands of frogs calling across the wetlands ___ deafening at night.
- Step 1: The verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, however much information comes in between.
- Step 2: The subject is 'sound' (singular).
- Step 3: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "The sound of thousands of frogs calling across the wetlands is deafening at night."
- Step 4: So the answer is: is
- Answer: is
- 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.
- Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? The migration patterns of the monarch butterfly, a species that travels up to 4,000 kilometres each year, fascinate scientists. (correct / incorrect) → correctPrompt: Strip away everything between the subject and the gap: phrases, clauses, appositives.
- Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The migration patterns of the monarch butterfly, a species that travels up to 4,000 kilometres each year, ___ scientists. (fascinate / fascinates) → fascinatePrompt: Strip away everything between the subject and the gap: phrases, clauses, appositives.
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.
- Is this sentence correct in formal written English (SAT/ACT style)? The findings reported in the journal, along with the raw data that the researchers released online, suggest that the drug is safe. (correct / incorrect) → correctPrompt: Strip away everything between the subject and the gap: phrases, clauses, appositives.
- Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? The effects of the new policy, which was introduced despite strong objections from several councils, ___ still being studied. (are / is) → arePrompt: Strip away everything between the subject and the gap: phrases, clauses, appositives.
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: Agreement when the verb comes first (There are…, Here comes…).
- 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: ACT-style editing: NO CHANGE or a better option?.
- 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