ALEX Learning Activity

  

Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Kelly Hamric
Organization:0
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 3033
Title:
Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes
Digital Tool/Resource:
Grammar Cop's Winning Olympic Facts: Learn about the Olympic Games as you practice subject/verb agreement (See materials section for access directions)
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

For this activity, students will read an online article titled "Grammar Cop’s Winning Olympic Facts." They will see rules and information about the correct verbs to use with singular subjects and plural subjects, and also learn how to determine which verbs to use with tricky subjects like indefinite pronouns. They will fill out a guided notes form while reading this article, allowing them to have examples of subject-verb agreement to refer to later. This learning activity was created as a result of the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.

  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
39. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage in writing.

a. Evaluate the usage of pronouns for the proper case.

Examples: subjective, objective, possessive

b. Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.

c. Use varied pronouns and their antecedents correctly in composing and revising writing.

d. Use subject-verb agreement correctly when composing and revising writing.

e. Use verb tenses to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.

f. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement.

g. Use perfect verb tenses to compose and revise writing.

h. Use correlative conjunctions correctly when composing and revising writing.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
39.
  • Demonstrate
  • Command
  • Conventions
  • Standard English grammar
  • Standard English usage
39a.
  • Evaluate
  • Pronouns
  • Proper case
  • Subjective
  • Objective
  • Possessive
39b.
  • Identify
  • Inappropriate shifts
  • Pronoun number
  • Pronoun person
39c.
  • Pronoun
  • Antecedents
  • Composing
  • Revising
39d.
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Composing
  • Writing
39e.
  • Verb tenses
  • Times Sequences States Conditions
39f.
  • Recognize
  • Correct
  • Inappropriate shifts
  • Verb tense
  • Subject-verb agreement
39g.
  • Perfect verb tenses
  • Compose
  • Revise
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions
  • Composing
  • Revising
Knowledge:
39. Students know:
  • Standard English grammar and usage conventions.
39a.
  • There are three cases of pronouns: subjective, objective, and possessive.
  • The subjective case is used when the pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence.
  • The objective case is used when the pronoun is used as an object of a verb or preposition.
  • The possessive case is a pronoun that expresses ownership.
39b.
  • There are three person pronouns in English: first-person, second-person, and third-person.
  • First-person is used when an author is talking about themselves (I, me, we).
  • Second-person is used when an author is talking directly to the reader (you).
  • In the third person, there are distinct pronoun forms for male, female, and neutral gender (e.g., he, she, it).
  • In addition to person, pronouns also show the number of individuals involved; there are two numbers: singular and plural.
39c.
  • The noun or noun substitute that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.
  • To create engaging writing, authors should use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
39d.
  • A subject and its verb must both be singular or both plural.
39e.
  • The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when something existed or happened.
  • In English, there are three main tenses: the present, the past, and the future.
  • There are regular verbs that follow a predictable pattern when changing tenses, but there are also irregular verbs that can change their entire spelling when changing tenses.
39f.
  • The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when something existed or happened.
  • A subject and its verb must both be singular or both plural.
39g.
  • Perfect verb tense is used to show an action that is complete and finished.
  • This tense is expressed by adding one of the auxiliary verbs have, has, or had to the past participle form of the main verb.
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words, phrases, or clauses.
  • The correlative conjunctions are either, or; neither, nor; both, and; not only, but also; whether, or.
Skills:
39. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate correct standard English grammar and word usage in writing.
39a.
  • Identify pronouns in a sentence.
  • Evaluate sentences to determine if the correct case of the pronoun was used.
39b.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun person in writing.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun number in writing.
39c.
  • Use varied pronouns and their antecedents correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing to use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
39d.
  • Write sentences with correct subject-verb agreement.
  • Revise writing to ensure all sentences have correct subject-verb agreement.
39e.
  • Use verb tenses to describe various times, sequences, states, and conditions in writing.
39f.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement, in writing.
  • Correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement, in writing.
39g.
  • Use perfect verb tenses correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing for correct usage of perfect verb tenses.
39h.
  • Use correlative conjunctions correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing for correct usage of correlative conjunctions.
Understanding:
39. Students understand that:
  • Demonstrating command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing is necessary to convey meaning.
39a.
  • To clearly convey meaning in writing, the correct case of pronouns must be used.
39b.
  • A personal pronoun indicates the viewpoint of the writing and refers to the number of individuals.
  • To clearly communicate in writing, the correct pronoun number and person must be used.
39c.
  • To compose engaging writing pieces, they should use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
  • Revising their writing can improve it and make it more interesting to read.
39d.
  • To clearly communicate in writing, subjects and verbs must agree in number within each sentence.
  • Revising their writing can ensure it follows standard English grammar conventions.
39e.
  • They can change the tense of verbs in writing to indicate various times, sequences, states, and conditions.
39f.
  • Standard English grammar conventions require specific and cohesive verb tense usage and subject-verb agreement in writing.
39g.
  • The perfect verb tense should be used for actions that are completed and finished.
  • A perfect verb tense is created by using a helping verb and the past participle of the main verb.
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions can be used in writing to show a strong relationship between the ideas being joined.
Learning Objectives:

The student will choose or supply the correct verb to agree with a subject. The student will be able to identify mistakes in subject-verb agreement and correct them. The student will create a sentence in which the verb agrees with the subject.

  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

The students will use the link to the article “Grammar Cop’s Winning Olympic Games” by Storyworks. While reading the online article, the students will fill in the guided notes which give examples of subject-verb agreement. On the back of the worksheet with the fill-in notes, students will correct a paragraph containing subject-verb agreement errors. Students will highlight verbs that do not agree with the sentence's subject and write in a verb that does agree. Then, students will create a sentence that includes the correct use of subject-verb agreement.

Link to Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LGee87-6Q9iGxKSYumt3oU8sJqopV6r1_pXy0Z522bE/edit?usp=sharing

Assessment Strategies:

The teacher may choose to take up the notes to check to see if the students got the correct answers. An answer key is included in the Advanced Preparation section. The teacher may also use questioning to see if students understand the concept of subject-verb agreement.


Advanced Preparation:

Approximate Duration: 30 minutes

Materials/Resources:

Teacher:

1. Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes (printed out copies, or link assigned electronically)

2. Answer Key for Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes

3. Word Bank for Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes

4. Link to the AVL Resource provided by teacher to students

Subject Verb Agreement Guided Notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LGee87-6Q9iGxKSYumt3oU8sJqopV6r1_pXy0Z522bE/edit?usp=sharing

Answer key to Guided Notes:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I_x8OXUE2zZ6CwmgBg5_qrrrL7RzQQxMjOgVe7kKlPg/edit?usp=sharing

Subject-Verb Agreement Word Bank

ttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1I-4vNdey2PG_ZA4MY9ej48Tt71MXlx0NlTiadmnljec/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Online Resource:

https://discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=fff4728b-55cb-3720-89ee-4a5568f2f174

Citation for Online Resource:

Grammar Cop’s Winning Olympic Facts: Learn about the Olympic Games as you practice subject/verb agreement. (2020). Storyworks, 27(6), 27.

If link does not work, go to the Alabama Virtual Library homepage (https://www.avl.lib.al.us/). Click on the Middle School tab at the top. In the box on the top left that says, "Search the EBSCO Discovery Service," type in "Grammar Cop's Winning Olympic Facts."

The teacher should decide whether to assign this assessment electronically or on paper. If done electronically, the teacher will need to post the link with instructions on the school's online learning platform. If done on paper, the teacher will need to print the Subject-Verb Agreement Guided Notes and make copies.

Student:

Materials/Resources:

1. laptop with access to the school's online learning platform (charged and ready for classroom use)

2. pencil

3. highlighter

 

Background/Preparation: Students should be familiar with Subject-Verb Agreement according to the previous grade's content standards and course of study. The students must have basic online navigational skills. 

Variation Tips (optional):

Intervention: The teacher may choose to scaffold this assignment by giving a word bank to students who are struggling with the concept.

A Word Bank is linked below:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1I-4vNdey2PG_ZA4MY9ej48Tt71MXlx0NlTiadmnljec/edit?usp=sharing

Acceleration Strategy: Students who have mastered the concept will write a paragraph of five-ten sentences and include five errors in subject-verb agreement. After teacher review, these can be used in a future activity in which the author of the paragraph leads peers who need additional help with subject-verb agreement to correct the errors in the student paragraphs.

Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This learning activity aligns with substandard d of ELA21.5.39: Use subject-verb agreement correctly when composing and revising writing.

This lesson can be used in conjunction with the Subject-Verb Agreement Response Cards (before activity) and Subject-Verb Agreement Exit Slip (after activity).

  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: agreement, subject, verb