Make Actions Specific

Overview

This is lesson 15 of 35 in Grammar in Action. Students build on their understanding of verbs and simple sentences by adding adverbs that explain how an action happens. Through acting, matching and oral rehearsal, students then independently write expanded sentences using a clear sentence frame.

Curriculum links

• Verbs representing doing processes and how they control meaning in a clause.
• Clauses as grammatical units containing a subject and a verb that agree.
• Sentences as key units for expressing ideas, with word order supporting meaning.
• Grammatical morphemes used to create related word forms, including verb forms such as jump, jumped and jumping.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• identify the verb in a simple sentence
• understand that an adverb can tell how an action happens
• orally expand simple sentences by adding a suitable adverb
• write sentences with a subject, verb and adverb.

Success criteria

• I can find the verb in a sentence.
• I can choose an adverb that makes the action more specific.
• I can say my whole sentence before I write it.
• I can write a sentence with a capital letter and full stop.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Predictable welcome and hook. Teacher displays the lesson goal and opens the hook and learning goal slides; teacher says and acts out “The dog ran” first slowly, then quickly, asking, “What changed about the action?” Students watch, imitate one action and identify which performance gave more information.

2. 5–12 min · Explicit teaching. Teacher uses the verb and adverb teaching slides to model: “The girl walks” and “The girl walks quietly.” Underline walks as the verb and circle quietly as the word that tells how; explain that the adverb gives more detail about the action. Students repeat the sentences, locate the verb and adverb with finger signals, and help generate one further example.

3. 12–22 min · Act and match. Teacher places the action cards and adverb cards from the grammar terminology cards where all three students can reach them, then displays the action-matching instructions and examples. One student chooses or is given an action, such as stomp, whisper or walk; the student acts it in a way that matches an adverb while peers select a suitable adverb and say the complete sentence. Rotate roles after each turn, using a visual three-step routine: choose, act, say.

4. 22–30 min · Guided sentence building. Teacher displays the sentence-frame practice slides and rehearses the frame: “The ___ ___ ___.” Model selecting a subject, verb and adverb, for example, “The kangaroo hopped carefully.” Students each build two oral sentences, first using teacher-provided choices and then choosing their own. Prompt students to check: “Who or what? What did they do? How did they do it?”

5. 30–40 min · Independent writing. Teacher distributes the expanded-sentence writing worksheet and models completing the first item without supplying every answer. Students independently write three expanded sentences using the sentence frames, illustrations and word bank, reading each sentence aloud to themselves or a teacher before moving on. Teacher conferences briefly with each student, checking that the adverb describes the verb rather than the subject.

6. 40–45 min · Review and exit check. Teacher returns to the review and exit-check slides and reads “The bird sang ___.” Students each suggest an appropriate adverb, explain how it changes the meaning, and complete a final oral sentence. Collect the worksheet and ask each student to point to the verb and adverb in one sentence they wrote.

Resources

• the complete lesson slide deck
• the expanded-sentence writing worksheet
• the grammar terminology cards
• Whiteboard and markers
• Three pencils and erasers
• Small individual whiteboards or scrap paper
• Visual timer
• Three-seat work area with clear turn-taking spaces

Assessment

• During acting and matching, listen for students identifying the verb and selecting an adverb that logically describes how the action occurs.
• During oral rehearsal, check that each student produces a complete sentence with an appropriate subject, verb and adverb.
• Use the worksheet and final oral sentence to assess whether students can independently write or dictate three expanded sentences, with accurate word order and basic sentence punctuation.

Differentiation

• Provide a colour-coded sentence frame: blue for the subject, red for the verb and green for the adverb. Offer a reduced choice of two adverbs when needed.
• For students with ADHD, keep instructions to one step at a time, use the visual timer, include movement in every turn and provide brief, specific feedback.
• For autistic students, preview the routine, allow a non-performing role such as card selector or sentence reader, and accept spoken, written, typed or dictated responses.
• Support working memory by keeping the sentence frame visible and rehearsing orally before writing. Extend confident students by asking them to use the same verb with two different adverbs and explain how the meaning changes.