Making Statement and Commands in Appropriate Stress and Reading for Meaning for Primary 3

Class: Primary 3
Term: Second Term
Week: 6
Age: 8 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: English Studies
Curriculum Theme: English Studies
Previous Lesson: Pronunciation of Vowel /A, /or /^/ and Consonants /K/.
Topic: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Grammatical Accuracy
Subject Matter: Listening and Speaking: Making statement and commands in appropriate stress and intonation, Reading: Reading for meaning, Grammatical Accuracy: The simple present and past tense, Eternal truth: The sun rises from the east. Stars bring light, The simple past takes the ‘ed’ for the regular form

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain:

• Identify appropriate stress and intonation in simple statements and commands.
• Explain the meaning of a given comprehension passage.
• Differentiate between simple present and simple past tenses.
• Identify verbs in simple present and simple past forms.

Affective Domain:

• Show willingness to use correct stress and intonation in speech.
• Appreciate the importance of reading for understanding.
• Develop an interest in applying correct tenses in their writing and speaking.

Psychomotor Domain:

• Produce simple statements and commands with correct stress and intonation.
• Respond appropriately to commands.
• Read a short passage aloud with expression and answer comprehension questions.
• Formulate sentences using the simple present and simple past tenses.
• Change verbs from simple present to simple past tense (regular verbs).

Social Domain:

• Participate actively in class discussions on stress, intonation, and reading.
• Collaborate with peers in practicing sentence formation and verb tense changes.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum for Primary Schools
• State Unified Scheme of Work
• MacMillan English for Primary Schools Book 3
• New Oxford Primary English Course for Primary Schools Book 3

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Charts showing examples of statements and commands with stress marks.
• Pictures depicting actions for present and past tense.
• A short comprehension passage.
• Chalkboard/Whiteboard and marker/chalk.
• Pupils’ English textbooks.

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils communicate clearly and effectively by teaching them how to use correct stress and intonation. It also improves their ability to understand what they read and use verbs correctly in the simple present and simple past tenses for everyday conversations and writing.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils have basic knowledge of words, sentences, and can read simple texts. They can also identify some action words.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

ENGLISH STUDIES

Listening and Speaking

Making Statements and Commands with Appropriate Stress and Intonation

Statements are sentences that tell us something. They usually end with a full stop (.).

Commands are sentences that tell someone to do something. They can end with a full stop (.) or an exclamation mark (!).

Stress is the emphasis placed on certain words or syllables in a sentence. Intonation is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking.

Correct stress and intonation help to make our speech clear and easy to understand.

• Example Statement: “The boy is playing.” (Falling intonation)
• Example Command: “Sit down!” (Falling intonation, strong stress)
• Example Command: “Please open the door.” (Polite command, falling intonation)

Reading

Reading for Meaning

Reading for meaning means understanding what you read. It is not just saying the words, but knowing what the words and sentences mean together.

To read for meaning, you should:

• Read the passage carefully.
• Think about the main idea of the passage.
• Look for important details.
• Ask questions about what you read.
• Try to understand new words from the sentences around them.

We will read a short passage about drug abuse and its consequences to practice reading for meaning.

Grammatical Accuracy

The Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used for:

• Habitual actions: things we do regularly.
  • Example: I go to school every day. She eats rice.
• Eternal truths or facts: things that are always true.
  • Example: The sun rises from the east. Stars bring light. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

When using “he,” “she,” “it,” or a singular noun, we add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the verb.

• Example: He plays. She sings. It rains.

The Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is used for actions that happened and finished in the past.

For most regular verbs, we add ‘ed’ to the verb to form the simple past tense.

• Example:
  • Present: walk → Past: walked
  • Present: play → Past: played
  • Present: jump → Past: jumped
  • Present: clean → Past: cleaned

We will practice changing simple present tense verbs to simple past tense verbs and making sentences with them.

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Lecture, Demonstration, Question and Answer, Visual Aids

Instructional Procedures

Lesson 1: Listening and Speaking & Reading

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Set Induction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and asks them to recall what they learned in the previous English lesson. The teacher then introduces the topics for the day: Listening and Speaking (stress and intonation) and Reading for Meaning.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to the greeting, recall the previous lesson, and listen attentively to the new topics.
Learning Point: Pupils connect new learning with prior knowledge and understand the focus of the lesson.

Step 2: Listening and Speaking – Making Statements and Commands

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation/Demonstration
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what statements and commands are, demonstrating with examples. The teacher then explains and demonstrates appropriate stress and intonation for simple statements and commands using charts. For example: “The book is red.” (statement) and “Close the door!” (command). The teacher guides pupils to repeat after him/her.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to explanations, observe the demonstrations, and practice making statements and commands with correct stress and intonation.
Learning Point: Pupils learn to identify and produce statements and commands with appropriate stress and intonation.

Step 3: Reading – Reading for Meaning

Time: 15 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher presents a short comprehension passage (e.g., about drug abuse and its consequences). The teacher reads the passage aloud first, modeling fluent reading. Then, the teacher guides pupils to read the passage silently and then aloud, focusing on understanding the meaning. The teacher asks simple questions about the passage to check for understanding.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the teacher read, read the passage themselves, and answer questions to show their understanding of the text.
Learning Point: Pupils develop skills in reading for meaning and understanding the content of a passage.

Step 4: Evaluation/Review

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. Make a simple statement with correct stress and intonation.
2. Give a simple command with correct stress and intonation.
3. What is the main idea of the passage we read today?
4. Mention two things you learned from the comprehension passage.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 5: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Summarization
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarizes the key points of the lesson, reinforcing the importance of clear communication through stress and intonation, and understanding what is read.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and ask any remaining questions.
Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their understanding of Listening and Speaking and Reading for Meaning.

Lesson 2: Grammatical Accuracy

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Set Induction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and briefly reminds them about the importance of using correct words. The teacher then introduces the topic for the day: Grammatical Accuracy, focusing on the simple present and past tenses.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to the greeting and listen attentively to the new topic.
Learning Point: Pupils understand the focus of the lesson on correct grammar.

Step 2: Grammatical Accuracy – The Simple Present Tense

Time: 15 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation/Illustration
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains the simple present tense, using diagrams, pictures, and real objects to form sentences. The teacher emphasizes its use for habitual actions (e.g., “I eat yam every morning.”) and eternal truths (e.g., “The sun rises from the east. Stars bring light.”). The teacher asks pupils to identify the action words (verbs) in sentences and to form their own sentences.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to explanations, observe examples, identify verbs, and form simple present tense sentences.
Learning Point: Pupils learn to use the simple present tense for habitual actions and eternal truths.

Step 3: Grammatical Accuracy – The Simple Past Tense

Time: 15 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains the simple past tense and how it is used for actions completed in the past. The teacher focuses on regular verbs, demonstrating how to add ‘ed’ to change them from simple present to simple past (e.g., walk → walked, play → played). The teacher writes simple present tense words on the board and guides pupils to change them to simple past tense and then make sentences with them.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to explanations, practice changing verbs from simple present to simple past, and make sentences using the simple past tense.
Learning Point: Pupils learn to form and use the simple past tense for regular verbs.

Step 4: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. Give two examples of sentences in the simple present tense.
2. Change the following verbs to their simple past tense form: (a) jump (b) clean
3. Complete the sentence: “The sun always _____ from the east.”
4. Make a sentence using the simple past tense of ‘walk’.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 5: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Summarization
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarizes the lesson by recapping the uses of the simple present and simple past tenses, emphasizing how important they are for speaking and writing correctly.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and ask any final questions.
Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their understanding of the simple present and simple past tenses.

Home Task: Write four correct English sentences that demonstrate the main language skill in Listening and Speaking, Reading, Grammatical Accuracy.

Lesson Keywords

• Statement – A sentence that tells something.
• Command – A sentence that tells someone to do something.
• Stress – The emphasis on a word or syllable when speaking.
• Intonation – The rise and fall of the voice when speaking.
• Meaning – What something communicates or signifies.
• Simple Present Tense – Used for habits and general truths.
• Simple Past Tense – Used for actions completed in the past.
• Regular Verb – A verb that forms its past tense by adding ‘-ed’.
• Eternal Truth – A fact that is always true.

Differentiation

For struggling learners: Provide simpler sentences for stress and intonation practice. Give more direct questions for comprehension. Offer fill-in-the-blanks exercises for tenses.
For advanced learners: Encourage them to create their own statements and commands with varying intonation. Ask them to summarize the comprehension passage in their own words. Challenge them to use irregular verbs in the past tense.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Ensure pupils understand that stress and intonation can change the meaning or intent of a sentence. When teaching tenses, use clear visual aids and encourage pupils to create their own examples from daily life. Emphasize the difference between regular and irregular verbs, focusing on regular verbs for this lesson. The lesson is divided into two periods to allow for sufficient coverage of the three distinct subject matters.