Lesson Plan of Article ‘a’ and ‘an’ and ‘the’
Students’ Learning Outcomes
· Recall the rules for the use of ‘a’ and ‘an’. and ‘the’.
· Choose between ‘a’ or ‘an’.
· Choose between ‘a’ or ‘an’ before words that start with mute consonant letters.
Information for Teachers
· Definition of Articles. An article is a word used to change a noun, which is a person, place, object, or idea. Theoretically, an article is an adjective, which is any word that changes a noun. Generally adjectives change nouns through narrative, but articles are used in its place to point out or refer to nouns
· There are only three articles in English language: ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’.
· ‘A’ and ‘an’ are the indefinite articles. They are used before unspecific nouns.
· Indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ are always used with singular nouns.
· ‘A’ is used when the noun begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, or z)
(For example: a book, a holiday, a suitcase, a country).
· ‘A’ is also used before words that start with a vowel but the vowel sounds a consonant.
(For example: a university, a unit, (the words start with a vowel but the vowel u sounds as the consonant y)
· ‘An’ is used when the noun begins with a vowel (a, e, I, o, u).
(Examples: an eagle, an island, an owl, an umbrella.
· ‘An’ is also used before words in which a consonant letter is mute or silent and the word starts with a vowel sound.
(Example: an hour, an honor (the consonant letter ‘h’ is mute and the words starts with the vowel sound o)
· ‘The’ for singular and plural nouns but the noun have to be specific.
· In short, we use ‘an’ if the word starts with a vowel sound. We use ‘an’ if the word starts with a vowel sound.
Material / Resources
Chalk/marker, board etc
Worm up activity
· Start the lesson by asking students:
Ø What are the two articles we learned in grade 3? The students may answer: ‘a’ and ‘an’.
Ø Are the articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ used before singular nouns or plural nouns?
Ø The word which start with consonant letters take ‘a’ or ‘an’? What are vowel letters? Do words which start with vowel letters take ‘a’ or ‘an’?
· Divide the class into two teams, Team A and Team B. you can also give some name to each team or ask the teams to come up with a name for their team.
· Draw two columns on the board. Write ‘a’ on top of one column. Write ‘an’ on top of another column.
· The team a gives words that take the article ‘a’ before them. The team B gives words that take the article ‘an’ before them.
· If any member of both teams writes a plural noun, the team loses a point.
· Play the game for 5-8 minutes. The team which scores more points wins.
· You may ask to clap for the winning team or give them colored stars on their notebooks.
· Tell the class that the articles ‘an’ is also used before the words that start with a consonant letter but the consonant letter is not spoken, it is silent or mute. The next letter in such words is a vowel so the word starts with a vowel sound.
· Write and pronounce examples of the words that start with mute consonant letters. Say the words so that the students understand.
· Ask the class: which ‘sound’ does the word start with? Then ask, is it a consonant sound or a vowel sound?
· Tell the students that the article ‘a’ is also used before the words that start with a vowel letter but the vowel sounds as a consonant.
· Write the examples of such on the board and pronounce them
Development
Activity 1
· Write 15 words on the board.
· Tell the students that they have to add ‘a’ or ‘an’ before the words depending on the sound of the first letter of each word.
· Remind the students that a word may start with a consonant letter but it can be mute. A word may start with a vowel letter but sounds like a consonant.
· Ask the students that they should pronounce each word slowly to themselves to know the sound of first letter.
· Repeat the instructions if necessary. Help the students if required.
· Give the students some more words (a little difficult) if they finish the work early.
Sum up / Conclusion
· Quickly review the lesson by asking the students questions:
Ø What are ‘a’ and ‘an’ called?
Ø Which article is used when a word starts with a vowel?
Ø Which article is used when a word starts with a vowel but the vowel sounds like a consonant? Etc.
Assessment
· Assess students’ ability to recall the rules for the use of articles (an, an) through their correct responses during worm up activities.
· Assess students’ ability to choose between ‘a’ or ‘an’ through the answer written in the activity
· Assess students’ ability to choose between ‘a’ or ‘an’ before words that start with mute consonant letters through the activity 1.
· Arrange an oral or written quiz after a few days to further assess students’ ability to use articles ‘a’ and ‘an’.
Follow up
· Write eight sentences on the board and ask students to copy them in in their notebooks. Tell students to fill in the blanks using ‘a’ or ‘an’. Ask them to pronounce the words carefully to know the beginning sound. Give this activity as homework.
Sample Words-activity
· Add ‘a’ or ‘an’ to the following words:
1. _____ Island, 2. _____ Village. 3. ____ cartoon. 4. ____ umpire. 5. ____hour.
6. ______universe. 7. _____wedding. 8. ___U-turn. 9. ____helicopter. 10. ____idea.
11. _____bucket. 12. _____envelope. 13. ____honor. 14. _____chocolate. 15. ___order.
Sample sentences – activity
· I saw ____ car crash last week.
· The guests are staying in _____hotel.
· This is ____ amazing painting.
· Farah is _____ excellent student.
· I took _____ taxi to go to stadium.
· Come back in ___ hour.
· ____ Library is ____ good place to study.
· I saw ___friends at ___store.
