LA 7.02The Article
Using the farm, the child learns that "a," "an," and "the" come before a noun and tell whether we mean any one or a particular one.
Age 5–5½Work 2 of 6 in Function of Words (Grammar)
Presentation
- 1
Place several cows and one horse on the farm.
- 2
Say to the child, "Give me a cow." The child can bring any cow.
- 3
Say, "Give me the horse." There is only one, so the child brings that one.
- 4
Write "a cow" on a slip; the child reads it and places it by any cow.
- 5
Write "the horse"; the child reads it and places it by the horse.
- 6
Introduce "an" with a noun starting with a vowel sound: "an ox."
- 7
Give the child several article-and-noun slips to read and place.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Choosing the correct article for a list of nouns
- Game where the child requests farm objects in writing ("the pig")
- Finding articles in a book
Control of error
The farm: "the" must point to a single object; the adult checks a/an use.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Uses a and an correctly before nouns
- Explains or shows the difference between "a" and "the" with objects