LESSON TITLE: Count and Non-count Nouns - Lesson #: 1

TEACHER NAME: Jaime Lenke

DATE: March 25, 2015

Attach any handouts or materials required for this lesson.

Preparation/Planning
ESL Course:
ESOL 19
Topic/Theme:
Count and Non-count
Nouns
Listening
Objectives
Speaking
Reading
Writing

Ebene

Beginning
X

Intermediate

Advanced

Multilevel

Students will be able to distinguish plural nouns from non-plural nouns.

Students will practice hearing phrases such as (There is, there are/ how
much/ how many) to distinguish whether a noun is count or non-count
Students will practice speaking terms such as (There is, there are/ how
much/ how many) to distinguish between count and non-count nouns
Students will practice recognizing in text the follow terms such as (There
is, there are/ how much/ how many) and other determiners/quantifiers to
recognize count vs. noncount
Students will practice using (There is, there are/ how much/ how many)
and other determiners/quantifier to recognize the proper nouns

Bridging
What background knowledge
do the students already have?

What a noun is.

How to identify a noun in a sentence
Types of articles (definite/indefinite)
Possessive determiners
Demonstrative pronouns
Basic sentence structure

What will you do to activate

or link students prior
knowledge or experience to
upcoming content?

Opening: Students will be asked about their favorite American foods

(or home countries, depending on whether they can be translated into
English or not). Two columns will be made and listed (non-count and
count nouns)

Engagement with New Material

What will you do to engage
Introduction PowerPoint
students in the active learning Using some examples from their textbook, other examples will be
of the new material?
drawn from real-life examples
What will you do to ensure
Pair Work/Group work
that all students are engaged?
Application
What opportunities will you
Introduction of material
provide students to practice
Pair/Share
and apply their
Communicative Exercise
knowledge/skill to meet the
Follow up activity
objectives for this lesson? To
apply to other contexts?

Assessment
How will you assess their
learning of the objectives?

Observation
Activities
Worksheet
HW

Closing
How will you help students
Ask the class to write up 1-5 students (paragraph) about the advantages
recap the learning and link it
in job opportunities provided by living in San Diego vs. their home
back to the original purpose of countries (or vice versa).
the lesson?
Where is the job located? What are the hours? What are the skills?
Technology
If applicable for your context
and your lesson, how will you
meaningfully integrate
technology into your lesson?
Reflection
What went well? How do you
know?

The Computer and powerpoint were used, and students were able to
use the computer to think of vocabulary words for the shopping cart
activity.

The introduction and PP provided a good scaffold for the students into
learning the subject. I thought that they were responding to the material
well, and were asking questions that showed that they were
comprehending the material. The shopping cart activity seemed to
engage the students, and participation was very high during this
activity.
What didnt go as planned?
When I was explaining activity #2, I made a crucial mistake in telling
the students that they were allowed to pluralize any of the words if they
were finished with the initial activity; however, I did not make it clear
that they needed to finish. Moreover, the mention of pluralizing each
set of words led many students to misinterpret the directions and led to
some confusion about the rules they had learned in the previous
introductory activity.
What contingency plan did
I had another activity planned, and I tried to answer as many questions
you employ?
while clarifying the rules to the students before moving onto the next
activity. I chose a few key points to focus on that would provide an
example of each instance and moved on to the next activity.
What would you do
The creation of Activity #2 could have used more clear instructions on
differently next time?
the Handout. Additionally, I would be sure to be very clear on the
objective of the activity (distinguishing between singular non-count
and count nouns).
Did your students meet the
Some of the students displayed evidence that the objectives were met.
purpose and objectives for this This was exemplified in their usage of noncount nouns in Activity #3.
lesson? What is your
Not all students were able to make the connection, but many students
evidence?
were able to distinguish between noncount examples introduced.
What do your students need
The students need to be able to predict the usage of either (some or
next? What is your evidence? a/an) when using nouns in a sentence that is part of a larger paragraph
or essay. Being able to recognize nouns and determiners that
follow/preclude noncount nouns will be crucial to constructing

What did you learn about your

glows and grows as a teacher?
What can you do to work on
your areas needing growth?

intermediate and advanced essay structure.

I learned that the students seem to respect me as a teacher in the
classroom and show a willingness to listen and follow directions. The
students responded to my instruction and seemed eager to learn more.
However, my time management was off, as Activity #2 ran much
longer than anticipated. Additionally, being able to cut-off an activity
before students feel as though it has been completed is a skill that
needs development. Learning how to segue into the next activity is an
integral part to keeping the flow of the classroom moving.

Lesson Plan One (1 HR- 1.5 HR)

Noncount vs Count Nouns
This lesson will focus on identifying count and non-count nouns to use appropriately in describing
food and jobs. The students will also learn the quantifiers (some, how much, how many etc.) that are
associated with learning count and non-count nouns.
This grammar topic is important as a prelude to the correct usage of articles.
Objectives:
Students will be able to categorize count and non-count nouns
Students will be able to categorize count and non-count nouns according to the
quantifiers/determiners which precede.

Definite article the

Indefinite article a, an

Quantifiers: Some, any

Students will be able to correctly produce and construct count and non-count nouns according to
quantifiers/determiners that precede.
Activities will focus on:
There is/are

Many/much

Few/little

Lesson
Conscious raising activity #1 (5-7 mins)
Make two columns
One correct vs. non-correct
Example:
Education
Coffee
Weather
Toast
Cereal

Educations
Coffees
Weathers
Toasts
cereals

Warm-up activity #1 (5-7 mins)

Ask for some examples of their favorite foods in English
Have students student work with a partner to complete worksheet #1
Activity #1 PowerPoint of Form/Grammar Rules (15-20 mins)

This PowerPoint will introduce the grammar topic and offer some examples of non-count and count
nouns. Additionally, the students will be introduced to quantifiers that are used to use plural noncount nouns.
Activity #2 Shopping list game (10-15 mins) (See Attachment A)
Students will be split into 3-4 groups. Similar to the alphabet game, the students will be prompted to
say, Im going shopping for __________. The next student will repeat and then add their own item.
For example: Im going shopping for some bread. Im going shopping for some bread and some
butter. Im going shopping for some bread and some butter and some bananas.
Activity #3 - (15-20 minutes) (See Worksheet #2)
Communicative practice Students will be placed in groups, and will discuss things that San Diego
has a lot of, including:

Educational opportunities

Recreational activities

Climate

Transport

Housing

Cost

Next, they will talk about things that San Diego has versus there home cities.
For example: My home city has a lot of public trains. San Diego only has buses. There is a lot of hot
weather in San Diego. San Diego has a lot of fun places to go outside. In my city, there is only one
university. In San Diego, there are a lot of universities.

HW/Follow up activity
Ask students to write (or type) 1-5 sentences (paragraph) about the advantages provided by living in
San Diego (USA) vs. their home countries and have them underline all of the nouns. Guided
questions will include: What are fun things to do in San Diego? What kind of jobs are offered? Are
there many places to live? Are they expensive? Cheap?
Evaluation correct usage of NC/C-nouns and production according to quantifiers. Connection to
how much/how many LP for the following class period. Story writing and descriptive tasks are a
good way to have students practice using nouns.

Worksheet #1
A, An, or Some? Decide which article or quantifier to
use with each noun and use as many words as you can
in a conversation with your partner.
1.bagel
2.banana
3.bread
4.candy
5.cereal
6.chip
7.coffee
8.egg
9.fruit

10. hambu
rger

18. sandwi
ch

11. ice
cream

19.

soda

12.

juice

20. strawb
erry

13.

milk

21.

toast

14.

olive

22.

tuna

15.

orange

23.

water

16.

peach

24.

yogurt

17.

rice

Activity #2 Lets Go Shopping! (Attachment A)

Students sit or stand in groups.

The Teacher will model for the groups.
The first student (teacher) says:
I'm going to buy some ______ ." The teacher says something like "some apples" or "some rice" or
another count noun or noncount noun. The student to the left of the teacher has to continue the
shopping by saying "I'm going to buy some ______ (what the teacher just said) and some ______
(something new). Then the next student continues by adding another item to the list. "I'm going to
buy some ______ and some ______ and some ______ . After about five or six students and when
memories begin to falter, the next student can start with a new single item.
This game reinforces the use of count or noncount items related to food or products bought at a
store. The teacher's role is to correct the student's grammar. If a student says, "I'm going to buy some
egg." The teacher should repeat the correct sentence and have the same student repeat it correctly
again.
Im going to buy some ____________. Im going to buy some _____________ and some
_____________. Im going to buy some ___________ and some _______________ and some
_________________.

Worksheet #2
Part I
San Diego has a lot of fun things to do!
Talk with your group about some of the things that San Diego has a lot of:
For example:
San Diego has a lot of beaches. There is a lot of hot weather in San Diego.
Here are some topics talk about:

Educational opportunities

Recreational activities
Climate

Transportation
Housing
Cost

Here is some vocabulary to help you with your sentences:

Rain
Expensive
Restaurant

Write 5 sentences about San Diego below:

Snow
University
Traffic

Museum
Cheap
Transportation

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

_________________________________________________________.
_________________________________________________________.
_________________________________________________________.
_________________________________________________________.
_________________________________________________________.

Part II

Talk with the other members of your group and compare San Diego to your home country.

For example:

In my country, there is a lot of rain. In San Diego, it does not rain a lot.

If you want to, you can use the sentence prompts below:

In my country, we have a lot of __________________.

We have a lot of __________________ in my country.

There are a lot of _______________ in my country.

In San Diego, the weather is ___________, but in my country the weather is ____________.

Now, write 3 sentences comparing your country to San Diego.

1. _________________________________________________________.

2. _________________________________________________________.

3. _________________________________________________________.