Defining Relative Clauses ESL Lesson Plan (A2, 60 Minutes)

Who it is for. Elementary students who can define words with a person who and a thing that. They don't use where for places, they repeat the object (the book that I read it), and they don't know that the pronoun can be left out.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

Main aim. To clarify and practise defining relative clauses with who, which, that (subject and object) and where, and leaving out the pronoun when it is the object.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can describe their favourite people, places and things, e.g. Kandy is the city where I was born. Amma is the person who makes the best curry. This is the song (that) I listen to every morning.

• Subsidiary aim. To read a personal blog for specific information.
• Subsidiary aim. To develop speaking about favourite people, places and things.

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

• Don't repeat the object: the book that I read it ✗.
• where = in which / at which: the town where I live.

• Defining relative clauses tell us which person, thing or place we mean. Without them, the sentence is incomplete or unclear: That's the girl. (Which girl?) That's the girl who won the race.

• who, that, which are weak in connected speech: the girl who lives next door /ðə ɡɜːl hu lɪvz/.
• When the pronoun is left out, the clause follows the noun without a pause: the film I watched.

• This is the café where we first met. Is the café a person, a thing or a place? (A place.) So which word? (where.)
• That's the film I watched yesterday. Who watched the film? (I did.) Is I the subject of watched? (Yes.) · Can we add that? (Yes: the film that I watched.)

10 out of 12 or better on Handout 2. Students use where for places and leave out object pronouns correctly. No repeated objects in the written sentences.

Did students understand when the pronoun can be left out? Was the personal survey motivating?

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Nethmi's Blog: My Favourite Things

My favourite place is Unawatuna. It's the beach where my family goes every holiday. There's a small café there which sells the best mango juice in the world!

My favourite person is my grandmother. She's the person who taught me to cook. The curry my grandmother makes is better than any restaurant curry.

My favourite teacher is Mr Perera. He's the teacher who helped me with English when I was in Grade 6. He gave me a book that I still read every year: Charlotte's Web.

My favourite song is one that my brother wrote for me on my birthday. It's the song I listen to every morning!

Answer the questions.

• Where does Nethmi's family go every holiday? ______________________________
• Who taught Nethmi to cook? ______________________________
• Which book does she still read every year? ______________________________
• What does she listen to every morning? ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Choose who, which or where.

B. Can you leave out the pronoun? Write Yes or No.

C. Join the sentences.

• This is the hospital ______ I was born.
• She's the girl ______ won the singing competition.
• I lost the watch ______ my father gave me.
• Kandy is the city ______ my grandparents live.
• He's the man ______ sold me this phone.
• That's the film ______ made me cry.
• The cake that I made was delicious. ______
• The boy who sits next to me is very funny. ______
• The shoes which I bought are too small. ______
• That's the café. We meet there every Friday. → That's the café ______________________________
• I have a friend. She speaks four languages. → I have a friend ______________________________
• This is the book. I'm reading it now. → This is the book ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Complete the sentences about you.

• The place where I feel happiest is ______________________________
• The person who makes me laugh the most is ______________________________
• The food that I could eat every day is ______________________________
• The town where I was born is ______________________________
• The song I listen to most is ______________________________
• A person who I really admire is ______________________________
• The present that I liked best was ______________________________
• The place where I'd like to live one day is ______________________________

Example: Galle is the city where I live. The Fort is the place where tourists love to walk. Pedlar Street is the street where you can buy the best ice cream.

Handout 1

Handout 2, Exercise A

Handout 2, Exercise B

Handout 2, Exercise C

Common errors to watch for

• Unawatuna (beach) · 2. Her grandmother · 3. Charlotte's Web · 4. The song her brother wrote for her.
• where · 2. who · 3. which · 4. where · 5. who · 6. which
• Yes (object) · 2. No (subject) · 3. Yes (object)
• where we meet every Friday. · 2. who speaks four languages. · 3. (that / which) I'm reading now.