Lesson Plan Gerunds

Lesson Plan for April 14th, 2010, 7th English and 7th English Accelerated: Today's lesson is a break from
the bigger unit and will be focusing on gerunds.
Classroom Arrangement: Regular (see notes)
Essential Questions: Does learning grammar really affect how we communicate? Why should we spend
time learning grammar, or should spend any time learning grammar?
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the class session, students will be able to explain the difference
between gerunds and participles and demonstrate this understanding through identification. They will
also know that learning grammar helps them to increase their communication skills.
Material s Needed: PowerPoint, sticky notes, and student notebooks.
Activities:
Warm-ups (see notes)
The students will write for five minutes about a time when they had to practice something that
they did/didn't like and explain why. We will then discuss their reasons and find similarities to
learning grammar.
Students will be shown a few PowerPoint slides explaining the basic differences between
gerunds and participles. I will call on random students after these slides to have them
summarize what we've learned about grammar and gerunds. (For the accelerated class, I will do
the same process but I will write an "-ing" word on the board and have them give examples of
how it can be sued. So, while I will be explaining to the regular students, the accelerated
students will be given the chance to discover the differences for themselves).
I will then show different slides with sentence examples where students will be asked to identify
if the "-ing" word is a participle or a gerund.
After this, students will be asked to take out a piece of paper to turn in. They will then create
three sentences: on with a gerund, one with a particle as an adjective, and one with the present
progressive.
Finally, students will be given a sticky note to write what they learned about gerunds and
grammar.
Assessment: This will be done through the class discussions and questions, as well as through the piece
of paper and sticky notes that will check for understanding.
Notes: The regular setup has the desks divided with a row so that the teacher can walk through. The
warm-ups are the daily exercises that the students do to get ready for the day.