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    Ready, Set, Action! Exploring Verbs

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    Subject: ESL/ELL (English Language Learning)

    Lesson Length: 30 - 45 mins

    Topic: Action Verbs

    Grade Level: 3, 4, 5, 6

    Standards / Framework:

    Brief Description: Students will practice using action verbs to describe what is happening in the present tense.

    Know Before You Start: Students should be familiar with common action verbs. This lesson is a great way to reinforce adding ing to the end of a verb to show present tense. Use this as a check for understanding sentence structure and spelling patterns.

    Hook:

    • Ask students: "What am I doing right now?"
    • Have students name the action. "You are ______." Student answers may include talking, standing, looking.
    • Explain that action verbs are words which explain an action by someone or something.

    Activity:

    • Read and discuss the sample comic. After reading each panel, ask:

      • Which word tells us what the person is doing in the sentence?

      • Which word is the subject, i.e. the person completing the action?  

    • Guide students to understand that we can add ing on the end of verbs to show they are happening now, in the present.

    • Discuss how each sentence starts with a subject and then the correct form of be. Then we add ing to the end of the verb to show the action. 

    • Practice reading aloud or acting out the sentences to promote understanding of the present tense.  

    • Have students role play to show what they are doing while the other students identify the action using the correct form of the present-tense verb. 

    • Have students create a comic showing their action while using the correct sentence structure.

    Closure:

    • Have students share their comic with the group or with a partner.
    • Emphasize the importance of conjugating the verb correctly to show present tense.

    Differentiation:

    • Provide sentence stems as needed.

    • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.

    • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

    • Allow students to work with a peer model.

    • Provide a list of common verbs.

    • Provide visuals for students.

    • Utilize student language levels to differentiate for individual students.

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    Related Ideas

    Verb Tenses

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    Adverbial Phrases

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    Students will learn about perfect verb tenses and create a comic to demonstrate their understanding of perfect verb tenses.