Lesson Plan of Intonation Patterns
English Grade IV
Students’ Learning Outcomes
· Recognize and use the convention to mark these intonation patterns.
Information for Teachers
· Intonation Patterns:
o The variation in the pitch of the speaker’s voice gives information or changes meaning.
· There are three basic pitches in English normal, high, low.
o The normal pitch is where the voice usually is.
o High is where the voice rises to indicate information focus.
o Low is where the voice falls, usually at the end of a sentence.
· Stressed words:
o Main verbs, nouns and adjectives are usually stressed in a sentence.
o Unstressed words are ‘a’, ‘and’, ‘to’, ‘on’ etc.
· Tone:
o The certain pattern of voice movement is called ‘tone’.
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· While teaching the lesson, the teacher should also use textbook where and when applicable.
Material / Resources
Chalks/markers, board, duster, charts, papers, etc.
Worm up activity
· Ask students to read the falling and rising tone in questions which they have completed at home as homework.
· Rising tone: questions having yes/no answers.
· Falling tone: questions without yes/no answers.
· Talk about the differences between stressed words and non-stressed words.
Development
Activity 1
· Write the sentence on board.
“Ali and Sadia play football happily”
· Ask the students to read the sentence. Note the pronunciation and style of the reading of each student.
· Underline the stressed words in the sentence. Ask student to try reading aloud again with the focus on stressed words this time, “Ali and Sadia play football happily”.
· Repeat the other sentences
Activity 2
· Write the following paragraph on the board:
My mother and father are true friends. They love us. My sister and I love our parents because they are the only ones who have tried hard to make us realize the importance of education.
· Ask one child to read one sentence.
· Ask another child to show some difference in the intonation.
· Ask the class which one they thought sounded better.
· Be surprised at how quickly your pronunciation improves! By focusing on stressed words, non-stressed words and syllables.
· When listening to native speakers, focus on how those speakers stress certain words and try to copy their stress pattern.
Tips:
· Remember that non-stressed words and syllables are often ‘swallowed’ in English.
· Always focus on pronouncing stressed words well, non-stressed words can be glided over.
· Don’t focus on pronouncing each word. Focus on the stressed in each sentence.
· Students must practice carefully for a few minutes. You must listen carefully and provide support and correction where needed.
· Arrange a class competition and ask children to read one sentence each, in pairs. The best pair will be awarded with a star on his/her hand.
Sum up / Conclusion
· Ask students why intonation is important and how intonation makes a difference to meaning.
· Discuss with students how they can continue to improve their intonation.
(How they can listen to more and more English spoken by the native speakers)
Assessment
· Listen to students’ responses carefully to know their level of understanding. You must make them practice this concept in every lesson.
Follow up
· Ask students to make two sentences of their own. Practice reading a few sentences with intonation patterns at home.
· Use these sentences in role plays by giving students real-life situations.
