Topic: 'A' level

Relevant for England and Wales National Curriculum at 'A' level (Key Stage 5).

Pitching a product

In this resource, students will be studying two extracts of very different sales pitches from the BBC show The Apprentice. Contestants on The Apprentice had to design an app for a smartphone and then pitch it to an audience at a technology fair. The pitches are printed in the handout that can be downloaded and printed at the bottom of this page.

To help students analyse the extracts, ask them the following questions, which are also included in the handout:

Can you see any features of spontaneous talk being used in either extract?

Adverb identification

Applying the semantic and structural criteria for adverbs

In this activity, students work through the criteria for identifying adverbs.

Adverb identification: Activity 2

The feeling of hopelessness she'd experienced earlier that afternoon swept over her again.

Is earlier an adverb?

Adverb identification: Activity 1

Which words do you think are adverbs? Remember the following clues:

Adjective identification: Activity 2

Somehow, it didn't seem wise.

Is wise an adjective?

Adjective identification: Activity 1

Which words do you think are adjectives?

Adjective identification

In this activity, students work through the criteria for identifying adjectives.

Verb identification

In this activity, students work through the criteria for identifying verbs.

Goals

Practise identifying verbs.
Recognise linguistic criteria for identifying verbs.
Remember the list of verb criteria for use and application later on.

Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students move beyond what is called the notional or semantic way of identifying verbs as 'doing words' to explore grammatical ways of identifying verbs. (You can listen to Bas Aarts discuss this.)

Verb identification: Activity 2

He played cricket with Charlie.

Is played a verb?

Is it a doing word?
Can it show tense? Can you say Yesterday, I ____ed, for example?
Does it add -s to agree with a Subject like he or she, as in He ___s.
Can it take an -ing ending?

He played cricket with Charlie.

Is cricket a verb?

Verb identification: Activity 1

Which words do you think are verbs?

Englicious (C) Survey of English Usage, UCL, 2012-21 | Supported by the AHRC and EPSRC. | Privacy | Cookies