Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 44

Use of "The"

Subject: English | Class: Prep | Series: Skillford

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Overview

In this lesson children learn to use "the". Once you have named a thing, you say "the" in front of it the next time. Children read pairs of sentences, such as "This is a jug. The jug is large.", and then write "the" to complete the second sentence in each pair.

Learning Objectives

• Understand that once a thing has been named, we say "the" in front of it the next time
• Read pairs of sentences such as "This is a jug. The jug is large."
• Write "the" to complete the second sentence in each pair

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Day 1: The (35 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 66, pencils, a few classroom objects (for example a pencil and a book)

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Hold up a pencil and say "This is a pencil." Then say "The pencil is long." Children repeat both sentences. Do the same with a book.

Main Activity (25 minutes)

• Read the rule: "Once you have named a thing, say 'the' in front of it the next time."
• Read the pairs of sentences on page 66. Children repeat:
  • This is a jug. The jug is large.
  • That is a tortoise. The tortoise is small.
  • This is an apple. The apple is red.
  • That is an eagle. The eagle is brown.
• Show that the first sentence names the thing with "a" or "an", and the second sentence uses "the"
• Read the Activity instruction: "Write 'the' to complete the second sentence in each pair." Complete together:
  1. This is a balloon. The balloon is green.
  2. That is a snake. The snake is long.
  3. This is a rose. The rose is red.
  4. That is a sheep. The sheep is white.
• Teacher's Note activity: "The" is the commonest word in English, so learners will meet it in every sentence they ever read. Read each pair aloud and show them why it changes: the first sentence names the thing, and by the second one everybody already knows which one is meant.

Wrap-Up (5 minutes)

• Hold up an object. Children say a pair of sentences: "This is a ... The ... is ..."

Differentiation

• Support: Practise only "This is a jug. The jug is large."
• Extension: Children make their own pair of sentences about an object in the classroom

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Teaching Tips

• First time: "a" or "an". Next time: "the".
• Use "an" before words that begin with a vowel sound, such as "an apple" and "an eagle"
• Link to Lesson 34: "This" is for something near and "That" is for something far away