Display photo/collage of historical landmarks from around the world. I will ask students about travel and favorite vacation locations.

Students will then read a short story about "The World Traveler" In the next slide I will reveal to students the lesson plan for today - Articles (A/AN/The) Students will read the story again in order to answer the following two questions: 1.How many articles are in this short story? 2.Which article appears most frequently? This 1st exercise will be completed in breakout rooms Answer Key: Count of Articles • THE: Used 14 times. 1. The sun 2. the sky 3. the 4. the middle 5. the desert 6. the 7. the tourists 8. the landmark 9. the Atlantic Ocean 10. the United States 11. the Statue of Liberty 12. the ferry (Note: In your previous draft, this was "a ferry," but in this specific text, it counts as one mention.) 13. the end • A: Used 3 times. 1. a crepe 2. a vendor 3. a bench • AN: Used 4 times.

I will discuss Articles; when, why and how they are used in a sentence. Students will also have an opportunity to test their understanding through exercises and tasks. Articles are small but important words that come before nouns. They help us to understand whether we are talking about something general or something specific. Indefinite articles (A, An) Definite article (The) Used when talking about something general or not specific Used when talking about something specific that both the speaker and listener know. Example: 1. “a” is used before words that start with a consonant sound I saw a dog in the park. (Any dog, not a specific one.) 2. “an” is used before words that start with a vowel sound I ate an apple for breakfast. (Any apple, not a specific one) Example: 1. When both the speaker and listener know what is being talks about: I saw the movie you recommended. 2. When there is only of something: The sun is shining 3. Before superlative adjective: This is the best pizza ever! 4. ? Usage Rules "A" before consonant sounds. "An" before vowel sounds. "A"/"An": Used for non-specific, general, or first-mentioned nouns. "The": Used for specific, unique, or previously mentioned nouns. SPECIAL CASES for "A" and "An" Choosing “A” or “An” doesn’t depend on spelling, but on the sound of the word that follows. What matters is whether the word begins with a vowel or a consonant sound. Correct or Incorrect? A hour (H is silent) An university (yoo-niversity) The with Country Names Some country names need “The, while others don’t. The key rules is the type of name, not the country itself. Singular: France, JAPAN Plural and Descriptive Country Names: The Netherlands, The Philippines Countable Nouns Countable nouns are words for things we can count using numbers. Numbers: You can put a number in front of them (e.g., one book, five apples).Singular and Plural: They have both a singular form (one) and a plural form (more than one).Articles: You can use a or an before the singular form (e.g., a dog, an orange).

Exercise 1: Indefinite Article Sort (A vs. AN) Fill in the blanks with a or an. Remember to look at the sound of the next word, not just the first letter. 1. I saw ______ elephant at the zoo. 2. My sister wants to be ______ engineer. 3. It takes ______ hour to get to the city. 4. He bought ______ new car yesterday. 5. She is ______ university student. Exercise 2: Definite vs. Indefinite (A, AN, or THE) Fill in the blanks with the correct article. Pay attention to whether the noun is specific or general. 1. We stayed at ______ hotel near the beach. 2. ______ moon looks very bright tonight. 3. I need ______ umbrella because it’s raining. 4. Look at ______ blue T-shirt over there! 5. He is ______ best player on our team. 6. There is ______ cat sitting on ______ wall. Exercise 3: Complete the short story by inserting a, an, or the. Yesterday, I went to (1) ______ park. I sat on (2) ______ bench under (3) ______ old oak tree. Suddenly, I saw (4) ______ small bird. (5) ______ bird was bright blue. It flew up to (6) ______ sky and disappeared. It was (7) ______ amazing sight!

"He bought a crepe from a vendor and sat on a bench nearby." The sentence describes a past action where a person purchased a specific type of food (a crepe) from a person selling things (a vendor) and then used a seat (a bench). Students will be asked the following questions: 1. What is the meaning of this sentence? 2. What are the article(s) in this sentence? 3. Why is this particular article used? Understanding: Q: Do we know the name of the person who sold the food? Q: Is this a specific bench that we talked about before? Q: How many crepes did he buy? FORM He bought a crepe from a vendor and sat on a bench nearby. I will hide the answers from the students and have them try to figure they correct response on their own. [Subject] + [Verb (Past)] + [Article (a/an)] + [Countable Noun] Sentence: He + bought + a + crepe... 1. Can I say "He bought crepe" without the word "a"? 2. Why do we use "a" instead of "an" for the word "crepe"? Extra Credit: How many countable nouns are in this sentence? PRONUNCIATION 1. The article "a" is almost never pronounced like the letter "A." It is pronounced as a very soft, quick /ə/ (like the "u" in "up"). 2. The Two Standard Pronunciations 1. "Thuh" (/ðə/): Used before words that start with a consonant sound. Examples: Thuh book, thuh car, thuh university (remember: "university" starts with a "y" consonant sound). 2. "Thee" (/ðiː/): Used before words that start with a vowel sound. Examples: Thee apple, thee egg, thee hour (remember: "hour" starts with an "ow" vowel sound because the "h" is silent). What word(s) link HERE? Practicing saying these words: a-crepe /əˈkreɪp/ a-vendor /əˈvɛndər/ a-bench /əˈbɛntʃ/ What word(s) link? He bought a crepe from a vendor and sat on a bench nearby. Understanding: 1. Does the speaker stop or pause between "bought" and "a"? 2. Which word connects the two actions in this story? He bought a crepe from a vendor and sat on a bench nearby. Intonation He bought a crepe  from a vendor and sat on a BENCH nearby. Do we say the word "A" loudly and clearly like the letter in the alphabet? Does my voice go up or down at the very end of the sentence? Where is the sentence stress? He bought a crepe from a vendor and sat on a bench nearby.

Students will have a chance to answer these next set of exercises: Read each sentence. If the country name is used correctly, write "C". If it is incorrect, write "I" and fix it. 1. ______ We are planning a trip to the Italy next summer. 2. ______ My cousin lives in the United Kingdom. 3. ______ Have you ever visited Philippines? 4. ______ The Brazil is the largest country in South America. 5. ______ He is from Dominican Republic.

Determine if the noun on the left is correct or incorrect and confirm whether it is singular/plural Name Correct or Incorrect Singular or Plural An apples Incorrect Singular The apples Correct Plural An boat Incorrect Singular Some orange Incorrect Plural Some boat Incorrect Plural

Write a short story about your favorite vacation using A, AN and The