Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
About the unit: The purpose of this unit is to support the creation of a more academic style of writing from students.
Prior Learning
In order to complete this unit successfully, pupils should be
able to draw on their experience of:
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Parts of speech
Tenses
What a sentence is
Writing for different audiences
Analysing texts
Expectations
Most pupils will:
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Be able to change the verb within a sentence based on the
tense
Be able to use the historical present tense
Be able to use verbs for analytical writing
Be able to nominalise verbs by turning them to nouns
Be able to use modal verbs in analytical writing
Some pupils will not have progressed so far and will:
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Be able to identify verbs in sentences within a sentence
based on the tense
Be able to use the simple present tense
Be able to use some verbs for analytical writing
Be able to nominalise some verbs
Be able to use modal verbs in writing to show certainty or
uncertainty
Some pupils will have progressed further and will:
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Be able to use a range of verb forms with precision
Be able to use the historical present tense consistently
Be able to use a range of verbs for analytical writing
Be able to nominalise verbs in order to write about abstract
concepts
Be able to use modal verbs to explore multiple
interpretations
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Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
OUTCOMES:
Assessment Criteria
Assessment 1 – Peer assessed writing about a text in the
historical present tense (where appropriate), using verbs for
analysis, nominalisations, and modal verbs and modifiers
AF6 – write with technical accuracy of syntax and punctuation in phrases, clauses and sentences
AF7 – select appropriate and effective vocabulary
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
Glossary
Verb
the most important word in a sentence which expresses an action, event or state of being along with
when such events have taken place
Tense
the location of a situation in time, an indication of when the situation takes place
Conjugate
the modification of a verb from its most basic form
Subject
the SUBJECT of the SENTENCE is the person or thing that the information is about
Object
the OBJECT is the person or thing that is affected by the SUBJECT
Simple past tense
is formed for most regular verbs by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ to the root verb
Perfect past tense
is formed by combining the simple past tense form of the verb ‘to have’ with the past tense form of
the root verb
Simple present tense
is formed through the use of the root verb alone unless referring to the third person singular noun
(he, she, it) in which case the suffix ‘s’ or ‘es’ is added
Historical present tense
is used when talking about history, literary or media texts in the present tense
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
Nominalisation
turning a verb into a noun
Modal verbs
a verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense
Lesson 1 – Verbs and tenses (Knowing your tenses)
Starter
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Show students the two examples of tense confusion on Slide 2.
Students discuss where and why the speakers are getting the tenses wrong.
Can students put the verbs ‘leave’ and ‘leaves’ into legitimate sentences on the same topic?
Introduction
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Improve your writing exercises: Follow the link on Slide 3 to the ‘Verb inconsistencies exercise’ (or you may find your own).Students could do this on laptops in
pairs / groups, or as a class discussion.
Notice sentences in which verb tenses are inconsistent and try to amend
Development
 Individually, students write a general account their morning routine in the present tense.“I wake up at 7 o’clock, but I don’t get out of bed for an hour. I see if the
bathroom is free…” *Do not give students any more support than the info. on Slide 4. The aim of this exercise is for students to notice their mistakes. Sticking to
the simple present tense is difficult.*
 In pairs or as a class, identify the verbs that are out of place on Slide 5. Teacher to highlight. Can students amend with correct present tense verbs?
 Students to note different tenses in re-drafted version of the opening. See Slide 6.
Plenary
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Slide 7: Can students change past tense verbs to present tense in amended book blurb?
Lesson 2 – The historical present tense
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
Starter
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Slide 1: As students are noting objective ask them if they know / can guess what the historical present tense is. The picture is a clue.
Students to look at the ‘Season of Secrets’ book blurb from Lesson 1 on Slide 2. Discuss why blurbs are written in the present tense.
Introduction
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In pairs, students to identify where Charles Dickens uses the present tense (Slide 3) and discuss the effect it has. Feedback.
Discuss the rules of the historic present tense. Students could try using it by writing sentences about a text they know.
Development
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Hand out Slide 5. In groups, students to infer and deduce details of the story and annotate their text.
Slide 6: Analysing the ending of the story, but referring to their knowledge of the beginning. Students to a discuss questions in pairs and answer in books, using
the features of the historic present tense.
Plenary
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Read another pair’s answers. Have they used the historical present correctly?
Lesson 3 - (Great) Verbs for analytical writing
Starter
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Handout a copy of Slide 9 to each student. They will do an ‘audit’ of analytical verbs they use. Highlight ones they do, underline ones they recognise.
Discussion of use of these verbs on Slides 2 & 3.
Introduction
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Slide 4 & 5: Pairs / groups / class choose appropriate verbs. Does more than one active verb make sense in each of the examples? Can students use plural verb
forms and can they turn verbs into nouns?
Slides 6 & 7: As above.
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
Development
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Students to create sentences(referring to a text or not) using the verbs they are confident using.
In groups, compare variety of sentences and verb uses.
Plenary:
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Hear examples from class. What do they mean?
Lesson 4 – Nominalisation (Turning Verbs into nouns)
Starter
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In pairs, students to discuss speech on Slide 2 and decide which is more formal. As well as noticing the absence of the pronoun ‘we’ in the second e.g., students
should be made aware of the fact that the verb ‘walked’ has been changed into a noun.
Introduction
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Discuss the process of nominalisation on Slide 3. Can students give examples?
Pairs / class: Complete nominalisation exercise on Slide 4.
Pairs / class: Complete nominalisation exercise on Slide 5.
Discuss the nominalisation in formal essay writing on Slide 6. Can students give examples?
Development
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Slide 7: Students to use 3 or 4 active verbs and create sentences with them.
On Slide 8, teacher to model how these sentences can be changed so the verb is the head of the noun phrase.
Now do ‘denote / connote’ or similar activity with Dali painting on Slide 9. Encourage students to verbs like ‘suggests’, ‘symbolises’ and ‘represents’
Write up findings using analytical verbs (Slide 11)
Plenary
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Slide 12: Which analytical sentences can you nominalise to give your writing more variety and authority?
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
Lesson 5 – Modal verbs and modifiers (Certain or uncertain?)
Starter
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In pairs or groups, students to look at an example of abstract art or an ambiguous picture etc.) like the e.g. on Slide 1 (Encourage them to use modal verbs (Slide
2)
As a class, students to recognise that there are negative forms of these modal verbs. Record on Slide 3.
Show Slide 4 and model how modals can be modified by adverbs like ‘probably’, ‘possibly’ and definitely’ ‘perhaps’ and ‘certainly’.
Introduction
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Slide 5: In pairs students predict what’s going to happen to each other this week. Encourage them to use modal verbs and modifiers. Record good examples on
IWB.
In groups, complete the statements on Slide 6 and discuss. Again, notice use of modal verbs and modifiers.
Development
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Group or pairs look at the first line of a poem by Emily Dickinson on Slide 8. Using modal verbs and noticing figurative language, discuss possible meanings.
Students decide on 3 ideas or interpretations then write up their ideas in a mini paragraph using modal verbs, adverbs and active verbs for analysing.
Remind students to use the historical present!
Plenary
Swap pieces and identify modal verbs, adverbs and active verbs for analysing. Hear examples.
Lesson 6 – Analysing a poem – Strange Fruit
Starter
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In pairs students to brainstorm what they’ve been working on during this unit to complete their Learning Objective (Slide 1).
Ask students what they think the image behind the text box is. Show students actual image on Slide 2 if you wish.
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons
 Show contextual info. on Slide 3 and get students to write 3 bullet points in the past tense about the history / context of the song / poem.
Introduction
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Slide 4: Show verbs for analysing images. Students (class, group or paired) to annotate images (Slides 5, 6, 7) using active verbs for analysis.
Development
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Play Billie Holliday’s Strange Fruit as students read handout of the poem (Slides 8 & 9).
Class / group / paired: Analysis of aspects of language in Strange Fruit and whole class feedback and annotation (Slides 10, 11, 12).
Share mini-essay question.
Plenary
Model planning of mini-essay while students plan their own. Share plans.
Lesson 7 – Write mini-essay. 45 mins.
*Encourage students to refer to the work they have done during this unit and to use the skills they have developed.*
Lesson 8 – Peer Assessment
Starter
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Students swap work with a partner. Discuss APP AFs (Slide 1) and why they are important in academic writing.
Introduction
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Use Slides 2-7 and worksheets and forms available for this lesson so students can peer assess each other’s writing. Students to identify where their partner has
used the skills addressed during this unit and comment on whether they have used accurate tenses, verbs and nouns for analysis, modal verbs and modifiers.
Development
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Use Slide 9 and self and peer assessment forms so students can comment on their work and their partner’s.
Academic Writing Unit
Unit: The versatile verb
Duration: 8 lessons