Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons About the unit: The purpose of this unit is to support the creation of a more academic style of writing from students.

Prior Learning

In order to complete this unit successfully, pupils should be able to draw on their experience of:

- Parts of speech- Tenses- What a sentence is- Writing for different audiences- Analysing texts

Expectations

Most pupils will:

Be able to change the verb within a sentence based on the tense

Be able to use the historical present tense Be able to use verbs for analytical writing Be able to nominalise verbs by turning them to nouns Be able to use modal verbs in analytical writing

Some pupils will not have progressed so far and will:

Be able to identify verbs in sentences within a sentence based on the tense

Be able to use the simple present tense Be able to use some verbs for analytical writing Be able to nominalise some verbs Be able to use modal verbs in writing to show certainty or

uncertainty

Some pupils will have progressed further and will:

Be able to use a range of verb forms with precision Be able to use the historical present tense consistently Be able to use a range of verbs for analytical writing Be able to nominalise verbs in order to write about abstract

concepts Be able to use modal verbs to explore multiple

interpretations

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons

Assessment Criteria

AF6 – write with technical accuracy of syntax and punctuation in phrases, clauses and sentences

AF7 – select appropriate and effective vocabulary

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OUTCOMES:

Assessment 1 – Peer assessed writing about a text in the historical present tense (where appropriate), using verbs for

analysis, nominalisations, and modal verbs and modifiers

Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons

Glossary

Verb the most important word in a sentence which expresses an action, event or state of being along with when such events have taken place

Tense the location of a situation in time, an indication of when the situation takes place

Conjugate the modification of a verb from its most basic form

Subject the SUBJECT of the SENTENCE is the person or thing that the information is about

Object the OBJECT is the person or thing that is affected by the SUBJECT

Simple past tense is formed for most regular verbs by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ to the root verb

Perfect past tense is formed by combining the simple past tense form of the verb ‘to have’ with the past tense form of the root verb

Simple present tense is formed through the use of the root verb alone unless referring to the third person singular noun (he, she, it) in which case the suffix ‘s’ or ‘es’ is added

Historical present tense is used when talking about history, literary or media texts in the present tense

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons

Nominalisation turning a verb into a noun

Modal verbs a verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense

Lesson 1 – Verbs and tenses (Knowing your tenses)

Starter

Show students the two examples of tense confusion on Slide 2. Students discuss where and why the speakers are getting the tenses wrong. Can students put the verbs ‘leave’ and ‘leaves’ into legitimate sentences on the same topic?

Introduction

Improve your writing exercises: Follow the link on Slide 3 to the ‘Verb inconsistencies exercise’ (or you may find your own).Students could do this on laptops in pairs / groups, or as a class discussion.

Notice sentences in which verb tenses are inconsistent and try to amend

Development Individually, students write a general account their morning routine in the present tense.“I wake up at 7 o’clock, but I don’t get out of bed for an hour.

I see if the bathroom is free…” *Do not give students any more support than the info. on Slide 4. The aim of this exercise is for students to notice their mistakes. Sticking to the simple present tense is difficult.*

In pairs or as a class, identify the verbs that are out of place on Slide 5. Teacher to highlight. Can students amend with correct present tense verbs? Students to note different tenses in re-drafted version of the opening. See Slide 6.

Plenary

Slide 7: Can students change past tense verbs to present tense in amended book blurb?

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons

Lesson 2 – The historical present tense

Starter

Slide 1: As students are noting objective ask them if they know / can guess what the historical present tense is. The picture is a clue. Students to look at the ‘Season of Secrets’ book blurb from Lesson 1 on Slide 2. Discuss why blurbs are written in the present tense.

Introduction

In pairs, students to identify where Charles Dickens uses the present tense (Slide 3) and discuss the effect it has. Feedback. Discuss the rules of the historic present tense. Students could try using it by writing sentences about a text they know.

Development

Hand out Slide 5. In groups, students to infer and deduce details of the story and annotate their text. Slide 6: Analysing the ending of the story, but referring to their knowledge of the beginning. Students to a discuss questions in pairs and answer in

books, using the features of the historic present tense.

Plenary

Read another pair’s answers. Have they used the historical present correctly?

Lesson 3 - (Great) Verbs for analytical writing

Starter

Handout a copy of Slide 9 to each student. They will do an ‘audit’ of analytical verbs they use. Highlight ones they do, underline ones they recognise. Discussion of use of these verbs on Slides 2 & 3.

Introduction

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons Slide 4 & 5: Pairs / groups / class choose appropriate verbs. Does more than one active verb make sense in each of the examples? Can students

use plural verb forms and can they turn verbs into nouns? Slides 6 & 7: As above.

Development

Students to create sentences(referring to a text or not) using the verbs they are confident using. In groups, compare variety of sentences and verb uses.

Plenary:

Hear examples from class. What do they mean?

Lesson 4 – Nominalisation (Turning Verbs into nouns)

Starter

In pairs, students to discuss speech on Slide 2 and decide which is more formal. As well as noticing the absence of the pronoun ‘we’ in the second e.g., students should be made aware of the fact that the verb ‘walked’ has been changed into a noun.

Introduction

Discuss the process of nominalisation on Slide 3. Can students give examples? Pairs / class: Complete nominalisation exercise on Slide 4. Pairs / class: Complete nominalisation exercise on Slide 5. Discuss the nominalisation in formal essay writing on Slide 6. Can students give examples?

Development

Slide 7: Students to use 3 or 4 active verbs and create sentences with them. On Slide 8, teacher to model how these sentences can be changed so the verb is the head of the noun phrase. Now do ‘denote / connote’ or similar activity with Dali painting on Slide 9. Encourage students to verbs like ‘suggests’, ‘symbolises’ and ‘represents’

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons Write up findings using analytical verbs (Slide 11)

Plenary

Slide 12: Which analytical sentences can you nominalise to give your writing more variety and authority?

Lesson 5 – Modal verbs and modifiers (Certain or uncertain?)

Starter

In pairs or groups, students to look at an example of abstract art or an ambiguous picture etc.) like the e.g. on Slide 1 (Encourage them to use modal verbs (Slide 2)

As a class, students to recognise that there are negative forms of these modal verbs. Record on Slide 3. Show Slide 4 and model how modals can be modified by adverbs like ‘probably’, ‘possibly’ and definitely’ ‘perhaps’ and ‘certainly’.

Introduction

Slide 5: In pairs students predict what’s going to happen to each other this week. Encourage them to use modal verbs and modifiers. Record good examples on IWB.

In groups, complete the statements on Slide 6 and discuss. Again, notice use of modal verbs and modifiers.

Development

Group or pairs look at the first line of a poem by Emily Dickinson on Slide 8. Using modal verbs and noticing figurative language, discuss possible meanings.

Students decide on 3 ideas or interpretations then write up their ideas in a mini paragraph using modal verbs, adverbs and active verbs for analysing. Remind students to use the historical present!

Plenary

Swap pieces and identify modal verbs, adverbs and active verbs for analysing. Hear examples.

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons

Lesson 6 – Analysing a poem – Strange Fruit

Starter

In pairs students to brainstorm what they’ve been working on during this unit to complete their Learning Objective (Slide 1). Ask students what they think the image behind the text box is. Show students actual image on Slide 2 if you wish. Show contextual info. on Slide 3 and get students to write 3 bullet points in the past tense about the history / context of the song / poem.

Introduction

Slide 4: Show verbs for analysing images. Students (class, group or paired) to annotate images (Slides 5, 6, 7) using active verbs for analysis.

Development

Play Billie Holliday’s Strange Fruit as students read handout of the poem (Slides 8 & 9). Class / group / paired: Analysis of aspects of language in Strange Fruit and whole class feedback and annotation (Slides 10, 11, 12). Share mini-essay question.

Plenary

Model planning of mini-essay while students plan their own. Share plans.

Lesson 7 – Write mini-essay. 45 mins.

*Encourage students to refer to the work they have done during this unit and to use the skills they have developed.*

Lesson 8 – Peer Assessment

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Academic Writing Unit Unit: The versatile verb

Duration: 8 lessons Starter

Students swap work with a partner. Discuss APP AFs (Slide 1) and why they are important in academic writing.

Introduction

Use Slides 2-7 and worksheets and forms available for this lesson so students can peer assess each other’s writing. Students to identify where their partner has used the skills addressed during this unit and comment on whether they have used accurate tenses, verbs and nouns for analysis, modal verbs and modifiers.

Development

Use Slide 9 and self and peer assessment forms so students can comment on their work and their partner’s.

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