Shakiba Meygardi Shakiba Meygardi

Countable and uncountable nouns
Elementary level

Description

This lesson introduces elementary learners to the concept of countable and uncountable nouns using familiar food vocabulary. It follows a student-centered approach with minimal teacher talking time (TTT), incorporating flashcards, and discovery-based activities. Learners engage in guided categorization tasks, visual matching, and pair/group speaking to internalize the concept. The lesson prioritizes active participation, visual learning, and personal relevance to increase engagement and retention.

Materials

Abc Board game template + dice
Abc CCQs
Abc PPT slides
Abc Game mingling sheet
Abc Reading passage
Abc boxes sheet
Abc Flashcards

Main Aims

  • To provide clarification of countable and uncountable nouns in the context of eating habits

Subsidiary Aims

Perhaps the most important element of any plan is the part where we say what our aims are.Jeremy Harmer in The Practice of English Language Teaching

Procedure

Lead-in (2-5 minutes) • To activate prior knowledge of food vocabulary and introduce the concept of countable vs uncountable nouns through a discovery-based task.

Display 3 groups of 4 food pictures each (using PPT slides): Group A: apple – banana – tomato – rice Group B: cheese – flour – soup – egg Group C: carrot – hotdog – chocolate – water Ask students to work in pairs and look at each group. Ask: “Which one is different? Why?” “Can you say one, two, three…?”

Exposure (5-7 minutes) • Expose students to food-related nouns in context and prompt them to notice differences in countability.

Show slide 3 T says: "Now, read the text individually and find out: What food does she HAVE and what food DOESN’T she HAVE?" Then answer the following questions in pairs. ICQs: do you do it in pairs or yourself? read the text ....? and answer the questions ....? at first read the text or answer the questions?

Highlight (3-5 minutes) • Direct attention to examples of countable and uncountable nouns from the text.

T asks: Why does the text say “some cheese” not “a cheese”? Why can we say “two apples” but not “two milks”? Show flashcards (apple, water, rice, eggs, etc). Ask: “Can we count this?” Students respond with thumbs up/down, and then ask why? Slide: show a two-column chart: Countable | Uncountable “Why can we say two apples but not two milks?” “Why do we say some cheese and not a cheese?”

Clarification (8-10 minutes) • Provide clear and structured explanation of countable and uncountable nouns including meaning, form, and simple grammar rules.

Use the chart created for highlight and clarify: Meaning: Countable = we can count (1 apple, 2 apples) Uncountable = we can’t count directly (milk, cheese) Form: Countables: can take a/an, can be plural (an egg, eggs) Uncountables: no a/an, no -s (some milk, not milks) Use singular verbs with uncountables (Water is cold.) Pronunciation: Drill difficult words: cheese, flour and etc. CCQs: Can I say “a water”? (No) Can I say “three apples”? (Yes) Do we say “milks”? (No)

Controlled Practice (10-15 minutes) • Practice correct categorization of target vocabulary and use them in short accurate phrases.

Students receive flashcards, categorize the flashcards into countable/Uncountable boxes, and stick on the wall. (in pairs) ICQs: do you do it with your friend or yourself? what do you do with it? Then, for each item they say a correct phrase: bread → "some bread" eggs → "three eggs" cheese → "some cheese" T monitors and gives feedback.

Semi-Controlled Practice (8-10 minutes) • Provide fun and interactive fluency practice focusing on C/UC nouns.

Each group gets a board game template and some dice, rolls a dice and lands on a food item. They must say if it is c/uc and a sentence about their own eating habits to their partner: it’s uncountable. I eat some bread every day. ICQs: Are you telling about your own eating habits or someone else’s? How much time do you have? Peers confirm or correct each other with T support.

Free Practice / Game (8-10 minutes) • Practice using C/UC nouns in meaningful speaking tasks.

Give each student a handout: “Find someone who drinks milk every day.” “Find someone who eats an egg for breakfast.” “Find someone who doesn’t eat meat.” ICQs: Are you writing your name or someone else’s? can you use the same person for 2 or more answers? After completing, ask students: “Which of these nouns were countable? Which were not?”

feedback (5-10 minutes) • To review grammar and correct common errors

Ask Ss for 3 examples of each group. Peer correction encouraged.

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