Year Group

Year 10 (ages 14-15)

Duration

60 minutes

Class Size

16 students

---

National Curriculum Links

This lesson aligns with the National Curriculum for Languages (MFL) in England, ensuring progression towards GCSE Spanish skills, specifically:

• KS3 Framework & GCSE Foundation:
  • Understand and manipulate sentence structures as foundation for communication.
  • Identify and use nouns and verbs in context.
  • Recognise and apply pronouns appropriately.
  • Begin to construct simple sentences independently using grammatical knowledge.
• Fosters linguistic knowledge (spelling, grammar, and vocabulary) as stipulated under:
  “Pupils should develop their knowledge about the grammar and how to apply it in communication.” (National Curriculum MFL, England)

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify nouns and verbs in English sentences using the “food test” and “eat test”.
2. Understand that sentences use templates with interchangeable parts but fixed grammatical slots.
3. Recognise and use the Spanish pronoun eso as a noun/noun phrase substitute.
4. Start forming simple Spanish sentences using pronoun substitution within templates.
5. Demonstrate awareness of sentence structure as a foundation for communication in Spanish and English.

---

Success Criteria

Students will:

• Correctly underline noun phrases and circle verbs in example sentences.
• Explain the “food test” and “eat test” confidently.
• Complete sentence substitutions with “eso” demonstrating understanding of pronoun use.
• Participate in class discussions demonstrating oral understanding.
• Complete a mini-quiz evidencing their grasp of grammatical concepts.

---

Lesson Outline

Starter (8 minutes)

Cultural Starter & Do It Now:

• Write on the board:
  1. Food makes me happy.
  2. Losing myself in a new city makes me happy.

Ask:

• What’s the difference between “food” and “losing myself in a new city”?
• Which is a single word, which is a phrase?
• Which could you swap with “food” and the sentence still works?

Explain:

• Both single words and entire phrases can function as nouns depending on their role in the sentence.

Differentiation:

• Use coloured text for single words (green) and phrases (blue) to visually separate for dyslexic learners.
• Provide a word bank with examples of nouns and phrases.

---

Teacher Input (15 minutes)

Introduction to Sentence Templates (Mr Potato Head Analogy)

• Use the digital board to show a ‘Mr Potato Head’ toy image.
• Explain how sentences are composed of interchangeable parts (nouns, verbs, adjectives), but the structure must stay grammatically correct (slots for each type).

Examples:

• The dog runs fast.
  • “The dog” = noun slot (like eyes on Mr Potato Head).
  • “Runs” = verb slot (like mouth).
• Swap parts: Food eats fast. (still makes grammatical sense.)

Introduce Parts of Speech Focus:

• Noun: Can replace word/phrase with “food” – the sentence remains grammatical.
• Verb: Can replace word with “eat/eats/ate” – sentence stays grammatical.

Explain:

• The Food Test and Eat Test visually as flowcharts on the screen for clarity.

Dyslexia-Friendly Strategy:

• Use clear fonts (Arial or Comic Sans) on slides.
• Present tests in bullet points with examples emphasised in bold for clarity.

---

Guided Practice (12 minutes)

Teacher-led identification of nouns and verbs in example sentences:

1. Don’t forget your purse.
   • Food swap → “your purse” → noun
   • Eat swap → “forget” → verb
2. Waiting around like this isn’t my favourite activity.
   • Food swap → “Waiting around like this”, “my favourite activity” → noun phrases
   • Eat swap → “isn’t” → verb

Class Activity:

• Students annotate sentences projected on the board, underlining nouns and circling verbs.
• Teacher models via document camera or shared screen.

Differentiation:

• Pair students of mixed abilities.
• Provide sentence strips for tactile learners to physically move words/phrases into noun or verb piles.

---

Independent Student Task (15 minutes)

Task: Identify nouns and verbs in given sentences using food and eat tests.

• Sentences (printed and digital options):

  1. The dog runs fast.
  2. Eating vegetables is good for you.
  3. She wants to travel to Spain.
  4. Don’t forget your homework.
  5. Listening to music relaxes me.
  6. He plays football and I watch.

Instructions:

• Underline nouns (use food test)
• Circle verbs (use eat test)
• Discuss answers in small groups, then share as class.

Extension for Advanced Learners:

• Identify noun phrases vs simple nouns.
• Attempt brief translations of sentences into Spanish, focusing on sentence structure.

Differentiation for Diverse Learners:

• Use coloured pencils or highlighters for easier visual identification.
• Provide simplified sentence versions for students needing extra support.

---

New Learning: Introducing “eso” (10 minutes)

Explain:

• “Eso” = “that” in Spanish, a pronoun replacing nouns/noun phrases.

Demonstrate substitutions:

• Losing myself in a new city makes me happy. → Eso makes me happy.
• Don’t forget your purse. → Don’t forget eso.
• Waiting around like this isn’t my favourite activity. → Eso isn’t my favourite activity.

Mini-Task:

• Students rewrite 3 sentences from independent task, replacing one noun with eso.

Visual Aid:

• Show sentence with highlighted noun, then substituted sentence on whiteboard/digital screen.
• Use voice recordings for pronunciation practice of eso.

Dyslexia-Friendly:

• Provide a pronoun chart with clear examples.
• Offer sentence scaffolds in a large font.

---

Plenary / Check for Understanding (5 minutes)

Quick Oral/Written Quiz:

1. What is the “food test”?
2. What is the “eat test”?
3. What kind of word is eso in Spanish?
4. Replace the noun in this sentence with eso: My homework is on the table.
5. Why is it important to think about how words function in a sentence, not just what they mean?

Success Criteria:

• Students respond clearly and confidently, demonstrating lesson objectives met.

Higher Ability Extension:

• Ask students to create their own example sentence using eso orally.

---

Resources Needed

• Whiteboard and markers
• Digital board with PowerPoint slides featuring Mr Potato Head analogy, tests, examples
• Printed sentence worksheets with clear fonts and spacing
• Coloured pencils/highlighters
• Word banks and pronoun charts (printed and digital)
• Voice recording for pronunciation of eso

---

Assessment & Feedback

• Formative assessment during guided practice and independent tasks.
• Use peer and self-assessment checklists for underlining and circling nouns/verbs.
• Exit quiz to assess understanding of key concepts.

---

Differentiation Summary

Learner Needs	Strategies
Dyslexic learners	Clear fonts, colour coding, chunked text, oral instructions
SEN / EAL learners	Simplified sentences, visual aids, paired work, scaffolding
Advanced learners	Extension translations, complex sentence constructions
Whole class	Mix of verbal, visual, tactile activities for different styles

---

This lesson provides a solid foundation for GCSE Spanish grammar and sentence manipulation, leveraging engaging analogies, practical tests, and inclusive teaching methods to meet the National Curriculum goals and diverse learner needs.