Stress and Intonation (In a Dialogue) and Reading Aural Discrimination of Sounds for Primary 3

Class: Primary 3
Term: 1st Term
Week: 6
Age: 8 years
Duration: 2 Periods (90 minutes)
Subject: English Studies
Curriculum Theme: English Studies
Previous Lesson: Making Simple Statements Using the Correct Stress.
Topic: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Grammatical Accuracy
Subject Matter: Stress and intonation in dialogue; Aural discrimination of vowel sounds /e/, /ei/; Future tense (affirmative and negative).

Specific Objectives

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

Cognitive Domain:

• Identify stress and intonation in simple dialogues.
• Discriminate between the vowel sounds /e/ and /ei/ in words.
• State the meaning and usage of future tense.
• Identify future markers in sentences.

Affective Domain:

• Show interest in participating in dialogues.
• Appreciate the importance of correct pronunciation of vowel sounds.
• Value the use of appropriate tenses for clear communication.

Psychomotor Domain:

• Demonstrate short dialogues with appropriate stress and intonation.
• Pronounce words containing the sounds /e/ and /ei/ correctly.
• Form affirmative and negative sentences using ‘will’ and ‘shall’ in the future tense.

Social Domain:

• Interact respectfully with peers during dialogue practice.
• Listen attentively to the teacher and classmates during pronunciation exercises.
• Communicate future plans clearly using correct grammar.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum for Primary 3
• State Unified Scheme of Work
• Macmillan Primary English for Primary 3
• https://www.google.com
• https://www.youtube.com

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Flashcards with words containing /e/ and /ei/
• Chart showing example dialogues
• Whiteboard/chalkboard
• Markers/chalk

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson helps pupils develop effective communication skills through proper stress and intonation in dialogues. It also enables them to accurately pronounce vowel sounds and construct grammatically correct sentences about future events, which are important for clear expression and understanding in everyday life.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can identify basic letter sounds and read simple sentences. They also have a foundational understanding of present tense verbs.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Listening and Speaking, Reading, and Grammatical Accuracy

Listening and Speaking: Stress and Intonation in Dialogue

What is a Dialogue?

A dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. It helps us to communicate our thoughts and feelings.

Stress and Intonation

• Stress: This is the emphasis placed on certain words or syllables in a sentence. It makes some parts of a sentence sound louder or longer.
• Intonation: This is the rise and fall of the voice when speaking. It helps to convey meaning, emotion, or whether a sentence is a question or a statement.

Example Dialogue:

Pupil A: Did you do your homework yesterday?

Pupil B: Yes, we did, Sir.

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Reading: Aural Discrimination of Vowel Sounds

Aural discrimination means being able to hear the difference between sounds.

Sound /e/

The sound /e/ is a short vowel sound, like the ‘e’ in “egg”.

Examples of words with /e/:

• egg
• set
• ten
• bed
• pen

Sound /ei/ (spelled ‘ay’)

The sound /ei/ is a long vowel sound, often spelled with ‘ay’ or ‘a_e’. It sounds like the ‘a’ in “say”.

Examples of words with /ei/ (spelled ‘ay’):

• day
• say
• pay
• play
• may

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Grammatical Accuracy: Future Tense

What is Future Tense?

The future tense tells us about actions that will happen at a later time, tomorrow, or in the future.

Future Markers: Words that show future tense include: tomorrow, next week, later, soon, in the future.

Using ‘Will’ and ‘Shall’

‘Will’ and ‘shall’ are used to form the future tense. ‘Will’ is generally used for all persons, while ‘shall’ is often used with ‘I’ and ‘we’ in more formal contexts or for expressing determination.

• Affirmative Sentences (Positive):
  • I will wear my new sandals tomorrow.
  • She will visit her grandmother next week.
  • We shall go to the market later.
• Negative Sentences: To make sentences negative, we add ‘not’ after ‘will’ or ‘shall’.
  • I will not (won’t) wear my sports uniform tomorrow.
  • He will not (won’t) play outside today.
  • We shall not (shan’t) be late for school.

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 reviews the previous lesson. The teacher then introduces the topic by asking pupils about how they talk to each other and how they say words.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings and questions, recalling previous knowledge.
Learning Point: Pupils are prepared for the new lesson and connect it to their prior knowledge.

Step 2: Listening and Speaking – Dialogue, Stress and Intonation

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation/Demonstration
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher presents a short dialogue on a chart or writes it on the board. The teacher reads the dialogue, demonstrating proper stress and intonation. The teacher explains what stress and intonation are.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen attentively as the teacher reads and explains. They observe the stress and intonation.
Learning Point: Pupils understand the concepts of dialogue, stress, and intonation.

Step 3: Reading – Aural Discrimination of Sound /e/

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Phonics Instruction/Drill
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the vowel sound /e/ and provides examples of words (e.g., egg, set, ten) using flashcards or writing on the board. The teacher leads pupils in pronouncing these words correctly.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, repeat the words after the teacher, and practice pronouncing the /e/ sound.
Learning Point: Pupils can identify and pronounce words containing the /e/ sound.

Step 4: Reading – Aural Discrimination of Sound /ei/ (spelled ‘ay’)

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Phonics Instruction/Drill
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher introduces the vowel sound /ei/, explaining that it is often spelled ‘ay’ (e.g., day, say, pay). The teacher uses flashcards and leads pupils in pronouncing these words.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, repeat the words, and practice distinguishing between /e/ and /ei/ sounds.
Learning Point: Pupils can identify and pronounce words containing the /ei/ sound (spelled ‘ay’).

Step 5: Practice and Application (Lesson 1)

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher asks pupils to work in pairs to practice the dialogue from Step 2, focusing on stress and intonation. The teacher also asks pupils to read out a list of words containing both /e/ and /ei/ sounds.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils practice dialogues in pairs and read the words aloud, demonstrating their pronunciation skills.
Learning Point: Pupils apply their understanding of stress, intonation, and vowel sounds.

Step 6: Evaluation/Review

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

1. What is a dialogue?
2. What is stress in speech?
3. Give two words with the /e/ sound.
4. Give two words with the /ei/ sound.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Lesson 2: Grammatical Accuracy

Step 1: Introduction (Lesson 2)

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Set Induction
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and briefly recaps the key points from Lesson 1 (dialogue, stress, vowel sounds). The teacher then introduces the concept of future actions by asking pupils what they plan to do tomorrow.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, recall previous learning, and share their plans for tomorrow.
Learning Point: Pupils are prepared for the new lesson and connect it to their daily experiences.

Step 2: Explaining Future Tense

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Explanation
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher defines future tense as actions that will happen later. The teacher provides simple examples and introduces future markers like “tomorrow,” “next week,” etc.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen and copy the definition and examples into their notebooks.
Learning Point: Pupils understand what future tense is and how to identify it.

Step 3: Using ‘Will’ for Future Actions

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Explanation
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains how to use ‘will’ to form affirmative sentences in the future tense, giving examples such as “I will go to school tomorrow.” The teacher then explains how to form negative sentences using ‘will not’ (won’t).
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, write down the examples, and practice forming simple sentences with ‘will’ and ‘will not’.
Learning Point: Pupils learn to construct affirmative and negative sentences using ‘will’.

Step 4: Using ‘Shall’ for Future Actions

Time: 10 minutes
Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Explanation
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains that ‘shall’ is also used for future tense, especially with ‘I’ and ‘we’, often in more formal contexts. The teacher provides examples for both affirmative and negative forms (e.g., “We shall overcome,” “I shall not forget”).
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen, copy examples, and practice forming sentences with ‘shall’ and ‘shall not’.
Learning Point: Pupils learn to construct affirmative and negative sentences using ‘shall’.

Step 5: Sentence Construction Practice

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Guided Practice
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher gives pupils prompts (e.g., “study hard,” “visit Lagos,” “play football”) and asks them to construct affirmative and negative future tense sentences using both ‘will’ and ‘shall’.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils construct sentences orally and write some in their notebooks.
Learning Point: Pupils apply their knowledge of ‘will’ and ‘shall’ in constructing sentences.

Step 6: Evaluation/Review

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

1. What is the future tense?
2. Give two examples of future markers.
3. Make an affirmative sentence using ‘will’.
4. Make a negative sentence using ‘shall’.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 5 minutes
Teaching Skill: Summarization
Teacher’s Activity: The teacher summarizes the entire lesson, reiterating the importance of clear communication through proper stress and intonation, accurate pronunciation of vowel sounds, and correct use of the future tense. The teacher assigns homework which includes writing five sentences in the future tense.
Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and copy down the homework assignment.
Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their learning and receive further practice.

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

Lesson Keywords

• Stress – The emphasis placed on certain words or syllables in speech.
• Intonation – The rise and fall of the voice when speaking.
• Dialogue – A conversation between two or more people.
• Vowel – A speech sound produced with the vocal tract open, like /e/ or /ei/.
• Future Tense – A verb tense used to describe actions that will happen in the future.
• Will – A modal verb used to form the future tense.
• Shall – A modal verb often used with ‘I’ and ‘we’ to form the future tense.

Differentiation

For slow learners, the teacher will provide simplified dialogues and more focused drills on specific sounds and simple future tense sentences. Fast learners will be encouraged to create longer dialogues, identify more words with the target sounds, and construct complex sentences using different future markers.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Encourage active participation in dialogues and pronunciation drills. Use real-life examples and scenarios to make the future tense relevant to pupils’ experiences. Provide constructive feedback on grammar and pronunciation to help pupils improve their English language skills.