Countable and non-countable nouns
Elementary level
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide practice of countable and non-countable nouns in the context of food.
Subsidiary Aims
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To revise the vocabulary of food and drink and to practice listening for specific information.
Procedure (39-54 minutes)
T shows ss a picture of food items. T asks ss "What did you eat for breakfast or lunch today?" "What do you usually eat?"
T elicits the names of these food items using pictures: "strawberries" (ˈstrɔːbəriz) "peas" (piːz) "chips" (ʧɪps) For each word: T says the word and drills it, with the whole class then individually. T writes the word on the whiteboard.
Demonstrate task 1 by playing the sample audio file and writing the first correct answer on the whiteboard. T gives ss handouts of task 1. SS will then listen to the full audio file and tick the correct answers. SS will then check their answers in pairs. Monitor the pairs closely and correct when appropriate. Nominate ss to give the correct answers. Display the answer keys on the smart board.
Focus students' attention on the two lists A and B from the previous task. Ask SS if they noticed something different between the two lists. Show SS the two lists on the smart board while highlighting the "s" in the words of list B.
Elicit the meaning of countable and uncountable words: Ask ss the following questions: “Can I say three milks?” -> No “Can I say six apples?” -> Yes Write examples to clarify the form of countable and uncountable nouns. "There is an apple": There + is + an + singular countable noun "There is carrot": There + is + a + singular countable noun "There are apples": There + are + plural countables noun "There is milk": There + is + uncountable T must mention that some words have both a countable and uncountable form (coffee/coffees)...
T demonstrates task 2 using the first word. T will gives ss handouts of the task. After finishing the task, SS will check their answers in pairs. Monitor closely and correct when appropriate. Nominate ss to give the correct answers. Display the answer keys on the smartboard.
T demonstrates task 3 using the first word. T will gives ss handouts of the task. After finishing the task, SS will check their answers in pairs. Monitor closely and correct when appropriate. Nominate ss to give the correct answers. Display the answer keys on the smartboard.
Demonstrate the speaking task with one of the ss. Give the ss a picture containing many countable and uncountable food items. The ss work in pairs by asking each other which food items they like and dislike. The T monitors the discussion and notes some of the mistakes made by the ss. If the ss finish too early, ask them to write at least five sentences describing which food items can or can't be found in their fridge (e.g. "There are ten eggs in my kitchen", "There isn't any milk in my fridge") and compare their sentences with a partner. T asks ss about what they've practiced through the lesson, writes down some good language as well as sentences which require correction.