Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 32

Use of A and An

Subject: English | Class: Nursery | Series: Leeds

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Overview

This lesson teaches when to use "a" and when to use "an". The girl's thought bubble on page 39 says: "We use 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds." Learners say eight examples, such as an egg, a bat and an orange. On the second day they practise hearing the first sound of a word and complete the Activity Time with apple, ball, eagle and jug.

Learning Outcomes (from textbook)

• Know that "a" is used before consonant sounds
• Know that "an" is used before vowel sounds
• Put "a" or "an" correctly with naming words

Key Vocabulary

With "an"	With "a"
an egg	a bat
an aeroplane	a doll
an ice cream	a cake
an orange	a candy

Activity Time words: apple, ball, eagle, jug

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Day 1: Learn the Rule (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 39
• Letter cards: a, e, i, o, u
• Real things if available: an egg, an orange, a doll, a bat

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Hold up the vowel cards and say: "a, e, i, o, u -- these are vowels"
• Say each vowel sound together
• Remind learners that all the other letters are consonants

Read the Rule (5 minutes)

• Open page 39 and read the thought bubble: "We use 'a' before consonant sounds and 'an' before vowel sounds."
• Learners repeat it twice

Look and Say (12 minutes)

• Point to each picture and read the label:
  • an egg, a bat, an aeroplane, a doll
  • a cake, an ice cream, an orange, a candy
• For each word ask: "What is the first sound?" Then: "Vowel or consonant?"
• Show that "an" goes with egg, aeroplane, ice cream and orange because they start with vowel sounds

Show and Tell (6 minutes)

• Hold up a real egg, orange, doll or bat
• Learners say "an egg", "an orange", "a doll", "a bat"

Wrap-Up (2 minutes)

• Ask: "Which do we use before vowel sounds?" (an)

Differentiation

• Support: Work with four words only: an egg, a bat, an orange, a doll
• Extension: Ask confident learners to explain why it is "an ice cream"

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Day 2: Choose A or An (30 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 39
• Two cards: "a" and "an"
• Pencils

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Read the eight examples from page 39 together
• Say the rule together

Hold Up the Card (8 minutes)

• Give each learner an "a" card and an "an" card
• Say a page 39 word: egg, bat, aeroplane, doll, cake, ice cream, orange, candy
• Learners hold up the correct card and say the pair

Listen for the First Sound (5 minutes)

• Say each word slowly: "e-e-egg", "c-c-cake"
• Learners say the first sound and choose "a" or "an"

Activity Time (10 minutes)

• Read the instruction: "Fill in the blanks with 'a' or 'an'."
• Point to the apple. Ask: "What is the first sound?" Learners write "an"
• Do the same for ball (a), eagle (an) and jug (a)
• Read the finished answers together: an apple, a ball, an eagle, a jug

Wrap-Up (2 minutes)

• Each learner says one thing with "a" or "an"

Differentiation

• Support: Say the word slowly and stress the first sound
• Extension: Let confident learners write the answers on their own

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Teaching Tips

• Always say the word aloud and listen for the first sound before choosing
• Revise the five vowels a, e, i, o, u before the lesson
• Use real objects from page 39 where possible