Lesson plan of Verbal Agreement

Objectives (5 - 7 minutes)

1. Understanding basic concepts: Students must be able to understand and identify the concept of subject-verb agreement, as well as its basic rules. That includes understanding that the verb must agree with the subject in number and person.

2. Error identification: In addition to understanding the concept, students must be able to identify subject-verb agreement errors in sentences, and correct them appropriately. That involves applying the rules of subject-verb agreement in practical situations.

3. Practice for reinforcement: Finally, students must be able to apply their acquired knowledge in practice exercises, thus reinforcing their understanding of the concept and their ability to identify and correct subject-verb agreement errors.

   Secondary objectives:

   • Encouraging critical thinking: During the lesson, it is important to encourage students to think critically about the concepts presented, making learning more meaningful.

   • Promoting teamwork: Through group activities, the lesson must also promote collaboration among students, developing their teamwork skills.

Introduction (10 - 15 minutes)

1. Review of necessary knowledge: The teacher must start the lesson by briefly reviewing related concepts, which are essential for understanding the topic of subject-verb agreement. That may include a review on verbs, subjects and their classifications. The teacher can ask questions to check if students recall these concepts and clarify any doubts.

2. Problem situations: The teacher must present two situations that illustrate the importance of subject-verb agreement. For example, you can present a news article with a subject-verb agreement error and a formal letter with correct agreement. Then, the teacher must ask students what they notice in each situation, to start a discussion about the topic.

3. Contextualization: The teacher must explain the importance of subject-verb agreement in the use of the Portuguese language. You can mention that the lack of agreement can lead to misunderstandings and harm communication. In addition, it can be highlighted that subject-verb agreement is one of the characteristics that differentiate formal language from informal language.

4. Introduction to the topic: The teacher must introduce the topic of subject-verb agreement, explaining that it is the rule that defines how verbs change according to the subject. To spark students' interest, the teacher can explain the origin of the term "agreement", which comes from the Latin "concordare", which means "harmony". This can lead to a brief discussion about the importance of harmony in communication.

5. Curiosities: To conclude the Introduction, the teacher can mention two curiosities about subject-verb agreement. For example, you can mention that, in some indigenous languages in Brazil, there is no subject-verb agreement, that is, the verb does not change according to the subject. Another curiosity is that, in some situations, subject-verb agreement may be optional, that is, the verb may or may not agree with the subject, without this being considered an error. These curiosities can spark students' curiosity and motivate them to learn more about the topic.

Development (20 - 25 minutes)

1. Treasure hunt activity (10 - 15 minutes)

   • Preparation: The teacher must prepare cards with sentences that have subject-verb agreement errors. The sentences must be related to different contexts, such as news, informal conversations, formal texts, etc. One card must have the sentence and another the correction. The sentences must be chosen in a way that represents the different types of subject-verb agreement errors. The teacher must hide the cards around the classroom, so that students have to "hunt" them to find the sentences.

   • Execution: The students, divided into teams, must search for the cards and, upon finding them, they must analyze the sentence and identify the subject-verb agreement error. Then, they must find the card with the corresponding correction and correct the sentence. The team that finds and corrects the most sentences correctly wins.

   • Discussion: After the activity, the teacher must gather the students and discuss the sentences found. The teacher must ask the teams what errors they identified and how they corrected them. This will help students consolidate their acquired knowledge and better understand the rules of subject-verb agreement.

2. Board game (10 - 15 minutes)

   • Preparation: The teacher must prepare a board game that represents different situations of language use. Each space on the board must contain a sentence with a subject-verb agreement error. The teacher must also prepare cards with subject-verb agreement rules, which students will need to correct the sentences. The teacher must divide the students into teams and assign a player to each team.

   • Execution: The players, in their respective teams, must roll a die and move their marker around the board. When they stop on a space, they must pick a card with a subject-verb agreement rule and apply it to the sentence on the space. If they correct the sentence correctly, they stay where they are. If they make a mistake, they go back to their previous position. The goal is to reach the end of the board.

   • Discussion: After the game, the teacher must gather the students and discuss the rules that were applied and the difficulties encountered. The teacher must also correct the sentences that are still incorrect, so that students can see the correction.

3. Story creation activity (5 - 10 minutes)

   • Preparation: The teacher must divide the students into groups and give each group a picture. The pictures must be different and represent different situations and characters.

   • Execution: The groups must create a short story, of up to 10 sentences, using the picture as a basis. The stories must be written on the board or on large paper, so that all students can see.

   • Discussion: After creating the stories, the teacher must read each one aloud, and the students must identify and correct any subject-verb agreement errors. The teacher must correct the stories, if necessary, and explain the corrections made.

Review (8 - 10 minutes)

1. Group discussion:

   • The teacher must gather all the students and promote a group discussion about the solutions or conclusions found by each team during the activities. Each team must share their corrected sentences or created stories, and the teacher must guide the discussion, highlighting the correct or interesting points of each one.

   • The teacher must encourage students to explain the reasoning behind their corrections, or the logic used to create their stories. This will help consolidate learning and promote deeper reflection on the lesson topic.

   • During the discussion, the teacher must also correct any misconceptions or errors that may have been made by the teams, thus reinforcing the correct concepts of subject-verb agreement.

2. Connection to theory:

   • After the discussion, the teacher must bridge the gap between the practical activities carried out and the theory presented at the beginning of the lesson. The teacher must highlight how the rules of subject-verb agreement were applied in the activities, and how understanding these rules was essential for carrying out the tasks.

   • The teacher must also reinforce the importance of subject-verb agreement in the correct use of the Portuguese language, and how the lack of agreement can lead to misunderstandings and harm communication.

3. Self-assessment:

   • To conclude the lesson, the teacher must propose that students make a brief self-assessment of their learning. The teacher must ask questions like: "Do you feel comfortable now in identifying and correcting subject-verb agreement errors?", and "What were the most important concepts you learned today?".

   • The teacher must encourage students to be honest in their self-assessment, and to indicate any doubts or difficulties they may still have. This will allow the teacher to plan future lessons according to the students' needs.

4. Teacher feedback:

   • Finally, the teacher must provide general feedback on the lesson, highlighting the positive points and the areas that need improvement. The teacher must also reinforce the importance of the lesson topic and motivate students to continue practicing at home.

   • The teacher must also answer any final questions that students may have, and clarify any remaining doubts about the lesson topic.

Conclusion (5 - 7 minutes)

1. Summary of main contents: The teacher must summarize the main points discussed during the lesson, reinforcing the concepts of subject-verb agreement, the different types of errors and the rules for their correction. The teacher can do this interactively, asking students to remember the most important points.

2. Connection between theory and practice: The teacher must highlight how the lesson connected theory, through the explanation of the rules of subject-verb agreement, with practice, through the activities of correcting sentences and creating stories. The teacher can remind students of how the activities helped to apply and reinforce the theoretical knowledge.

3. Supplementary materials: The teacher must suggest some supplementary materials for students who wish to deepen their knowledge of subject-verb agreement. This may include books, websites, videos and online exercises. For example, the teacher can suggest that students visit an online grammar website that explains in detail the rules of subject-verb agreement, or that they watch a YouTube video that exemplifies the application of these rules.

4. Relevance of the topic: The teacher must end the lesson by reinforcing the importance of subject-verb agreement in the use of the Portuguese language. The teacher can recall the problem situations presented at the beginning of the lesson and discuss how the correct application of subject-verb agreement could have prevented the observed errors. The teacher can also emphasize that knowledge of subject-verb agreement is important not only for writing, but also for reading and understanding texts.

5. Encouragement to practice: Finally, the teacher must encourage students to practice what they have learned, either through the suggested supplementary materials or through subject-verb agreement exercises. For example, the teacher can suggest that students make a list of sentences with different types of subjects and practice subject-verb agreement, or that they try to identify and correct subject-verb agreement errors in texts they read. The teacher must also remind students that, like any skill, subject-verb agreement improves with practice.