Verb Groups Focus

Overview

This lesson builds on Lesson 5 by helping students identify verb groups in sentences about endangered animals and then create their own verb-group sentences. Students will practise actions using a small “verb group bank” and short, informative sentences.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify verb groups in sentences about endangered animals.
• Students will understand that verbs can be expressed as verb groups (for example, “was moving”).
• Students will create short informative sentences that include a correct verb group.
• Students will revise a sentence by improving the verb group to match the action.

Success criteria

• I can point to the verb group in a sentence and say what the action is.
• I can choose the correct helping verb (for example, is/are/was/were) to make a verb group.
• I can write an informative sentence about an endangered animal using a verb group.
• I can improve my sentence by changing the verb group to make the action clearer.

Curriculum links

• AC9E2LA07: understand that verbs may be expressed as verb groups.
• AC9E2LY06: create short informative texts using noun groups and verb groups.
• AC9E2LY05: use comprehension strategies such as questioning to make literal meaning from sentences.
• AC9E2LY06 and AC9E2LA09: use appropriate topic vocabulary and improve sentences by editing vocabulary/word choices.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Warm-up (link from last lesson). Teacher shows 2 sentence cards from the unit and reads them aloud, e.g. “The tiger shark swims near reefs.” and “A small turtle is nesting on the beach.” Students hold up fingers to show where the action word is, then tell a partner what the action is.

2. 4–10 min · Direct teach: What is a verb group? Teacher explains simply: “A verb group is the action part of the sentence. It can be more than one word, like ‘is nesting’ or ‘was trapped’.” Teacher writes two examples on the board:

• “is nesting”
• “was moving” Students repeat chorally and underline the verb group in teacher-provided sentence strips.

3. 10–17 min · Guided practice: Find the verb group. Teacher distributes sentence strips (4 short sentences) about endangered animals. Students work with the teacher to label the verb group using a highlighter colour (teacher models first). Example sentence stems to include:

• “The koala is eating …”
• “The panda was walking …”
• “The rhino is sleeping …”
• “The turtle was swimming …” Teacher asks a question each time: “What is the action? Which words show the action?”

4. 17–24 min · Practice: Build verb groups (action matching). Teacher shows an “action wheel” or word cards: helping verbs (is/are/was/were) and action verbs ending in -ing or action words (eating, sleeping, nesting, swimming, walking, running, protecting). Students in pairs choose one helping verb and one action card to make a verb group. Then they add the matching noun group from a small bank (for example, “The koala”, “The turtle”, “The rhino”, “The panda”) to write a complete informative sentence. Students write 1 sentence in their workbook and read it to a partner.

5. 24–28 min · Editing check: Improve one sentence. Teacher provides one “almost correct” student-style sentence on the board, for example: “The turtle swimming near the rocks.” Teacher asks: “Does this sound right? What verb group do we need?” Students suggest the fix: “The turtle is swimming near the rocks.” Students revise their own sentence by checking that it includes a verb group (two words when needed).

6. 28–30 min · Exit ticket (quick assessment). Each student completes one sentence frame on a mini card: “The (animal) is/was (verb group action).” Students write the verb group and underline it.

Resources

• Sentence strip set (4–6 short sentences) about endangered animals
• Highlighters (one colour for verb groups)
• Verb group word cards: is, are, was, were; eating, sleeping, nesting, swimming, walking, protecting
• Noun group cards: The koala, The turtle, The rhino, The panda, The tiger shark
• Board/interactive display and marker
• Student workbook pages with sentence frames
• “Action wheel” or paper circles for matching (optional)
• Exit ticket cards

Assessment

• Teacher observation checklist during sentence-strip underlining: correct identification of the verb group.
• Marking/walk-by notes during sentence writing: verb group correctness and clarity of the action.
• Exit ticket: confirm students can supply a correct verb group in a new sentence frame.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters and word banks with only 6–8 options to reduce overload (helping verbs + action verbs).
• Use cloze frames with missing verb group words (for example, “The turtle ___ swimming near the rocks.”) for students needing extra support.
• For students needing challenge: ask them to make 2 different verb groups using the same noun group (for example, “The turtle is swimming …” and “The turtle was swimming …”) and choose which is more suitable for the picture/time.
• Support early processing: allow oral rehearsal before writing; offer a “say it, point it, write it” routine.
• EAL/SEN: use consistent visual cues (verb group cards are colour-coded); accept pointing/reading aloud responses before written responses where needed.

Learning flow note (endangered animals theme)

Keep examples consistent with the unit language: koala, turtle, rhino, panda, tiger shark. Maintain short, informative sentences so students can focus on identifying and creating verb groups rather than complex ideas.