Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term - Junior Secondary School 1

FIRST TERM

SUBJECT:  English Language

CLASS:  JSS1

WEEK ONE

Topic: Organs of speech

Content

The organs of speech are parts of the human body which are used for speech production.

The lung serves as the power house from which air flows. When we speak, we breathe normally and as the 

stream of air flows out from the lungs through the narrow space of the wind-pipe some sounds are produced. 

We produce different speech sounds with the help of the vocal cords, the 

velum, hard palate, alveolar ridge, teeth, lips and the tongue as the airstream flows from the lungs.

As the airstream flows from the lungs during the production of speech sounds, a special organ 

called the larynx modifies the sounds. When the vocal cords are placed edge to edge, the glottis 

becomes narrow and when the airstream flow, the vocal cords vibrate. Then voiced sounds are 

produced when the vocal cords are drawn apart airstream flows easily. So, the vocal cords do not 

vibrate and voiceless sounds are  produced.

All the vowels of  English are voiced. A consonant sound may be ‘voiced’ or ‘voicedless’

Evaluation

1. List all the organs of speech.
2. What happens when the vocal cords are placed edge to edge during the production of a sound?
3. What happens when the vocal cords are drawn apart?

Reading Assignment

Organs of speech

Reference: Oral English for Schools and Colleges. Pages 1, 2, &3

Topic: Parts of speech: Noun (functions) 

(Content)

Nouns

What is a Noun? 

Of all the parts of speech, nouns are perhaps the most important. A noun is a word that identifies a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. Here, we’ll take a closer look at what makes a noun a noun, and we’ll provide some noun examples, along with some advice for using nouns in your sentences.

Identifying a Noun

A noun is a part of speech that denotes a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. The English word noun has its roots in the Latin word nomen, which means “name.” Every language has words that are nouns. As you read the following  explanations, think about some words that might fit into each category.

*.Person– A term for a person, whether proper name, gender, title, or class, is a noun.

*.Animal– A term for an animal, whether proper name, species, gender  ,or class is a noun.

*.Place– A term for a place, whether proper name, physical location, or general locale is a noun.

*.Thing– A term for a thing, whether it exists now, will exist, or existed in the past is a noun.

*.Idea– A term for an idea, be it a real, workable idea or a fantasy that might never come to fruition is a noun.

Identifying a noun in a sentence

When we first start to learn the parts of speech, trying to identify different words can seem like a challenge. This process gets easier with practice. Here are some noun examples to help you get started. The nouns in each sentence have been italicized.

*  Person –He is the person to see.

*  Person –John started to run.

*  Person – Plato was an influential Greek philosopher.

*  Animal – The dog barked at the cat.

*  Animal –  Elephants never forget.

*  Animal – Sophie is my favorite horse.

*  Place   – The restaurant is opened.

*  Place   – Let’s go to the beach.

* Place    – Harvard and Yale are two famous universities.

* Thing    – Throw the ball.

* Thing    – Please close the door and lock it.

*.Idea       –  Follow the rules.

*.Idea – The theory of relativity is an important concept.

TYPES OF NOUNS

Common noun

A common noun is a noun that refers to people or things in general, e.g.boy, country, bridge, city, birth, day, happiness.

Proper noun

A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place, or thing, e.g.Steven, Africa, London, Monday. In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters.

Concrete noun

A concrete noun is a noun which refers to people and to things that exist physically and can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, or tasted. Examples include dog, building, coffee, tree, rain, beach, tune.

Abstract noun

An abstract noun is a noun which refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions- things that cannot be seen or touched and things which have no physical reality, e.g .truth, danger, happiness, time, friendship, humour.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things, e.g.audience, family, government, team, jury. In American English, most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular verb: The whole family was at the table.In British English, the preceding sentence would be correct, but it would also be correct to treat the collective noun as a plural, with a plural verb: The whole family were at the table. A noun may belong to more than one category. For example, happiness is both a common noun and an abstract noun, while Mount Everest is both a concrete noun and a proper noun.

Evaluation

Identify the nouns in the following sentences

* Person – Sharon admires her grandfather.

* Place – Look! There’s the Eiffel Tower.

* Thing – The lamp sits on a table next to the sofa.

* Thing –Money doesn’t grow on trees.

* Person – My mother looks a lot like my grandmother, and I look very much like them.

*Idea –Love is a wonderful emotion.

Reading assignment 

Nouns

Reference

English Grammar for Junior Secondary Schools. Pages 8 – 10

Topic: Comprehension/vocabulary development. 

Content: Unit 1: The Family

Titi tells us about herself and her friend Anochie. Titi and her friend live in Ughelli and attend the same Grammar School at Erhiero. They are both in form 1. Titi’s father is a mechanic and her mother works at home.

Anochie’s father is a teacher and his mother is a nurse.

Vocabulary

1. Father – a male parent of a child.
2. Mother – a female parent of a child
3. daughter – a person’s female child
4. son – a person’s male child
5. Brother – a boy or man who has the same mother and father as another
6. sister – a girl or woman who has the same mother  and father as another person.

Evaluation

Practice 2 page 21

Reading Assignment

Vocabulary – family relationships

Reference

Effective English for J.S.S. 1 Pages 24 and 25

Reading Assignment

Study skills

Reference: Effective English for J.S.S 1

Topic: 

Composition writing

Composition writing is a process to take. One of the first things to consider is to determine what type of composition to be used. When you are going to write, you usually have a central purpose or central idea in communicating your readers. You also aim to produce some effects to the readers. These purpose or ends is the one that determines the type of discourse that you are going to use in writing a composition.

Types of composition writing 

Distinguishing between types of essays is simply a matter of determining the writer's goal. Does the writer want to tell about a personal experience, describe something, explain an issue, or convince the reader to accept a certain viewpoint? The four major types of essays address these purposes.

Narrative Essay 

A narrative essay relates mainly, a sequence of events. It tells what happened and how it happened and is often indistinguishable from a short story.

Characteristics of Narrative Essay.

1. It must have beginning that is interesting and arresting.
2. It must proceed in a chronological sequence to the end.
3. The use of past tense is highly essential since the narrative involves past events.
4. The narration must be presented in a sequential order.
5. You must avoid verbosity and an unnecessary elaboration of a particular incident

The Descriptive Essay

This consists of description.

A descriptive essay is one that requires a writer to write a description of an object, a person, an animal, an incident or a scene. In a descriptive essay, the writer should show, not tell, through the use of colorful words and sensory details. The best descriptive essays appeal to the reader’s emotions, with a result that is highly evocative.

Characteristics of a Good Descriptive Essay

* The writer must be orderly in the presentation of facts.

* Clarity of expression is necessary. The use of simple and straight-forward language is required.

* The use of simple present tense is very common but the writer is free to use other tenses as the need arises. 

* There must be particular emphasis on objects or things being described. The description must be vivid enough with the use of good and appropriate vocabulary.

* The use of adjective is highly indispensable.

Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay is the one that requires a writer to present a subject with a view of persuading the reader to agree with the writer’s  point of view.

Characteristics of a Good Argumentative Essay.

* The argument must be convincingly presented.

* There must be clarity of expression and the ideas presented must not be disjointed.

* ‘Pro’ arguments should be kept separate from ‘con’  arguments.

* The strongest argument, both on the ‘pro’ side and on the ‘con’ side, should be left to the last.

*  Verbosity should be avoided.

Expository Essay

An expository essay is the one that requires a writer to write on an exposition or explanation of an idea or how to do or make some thing. The expository essay is an informative piece of writing that presents a balanced analysis of a topic. In an expository essay, the writer explains or defines a topic, using facts, statistics, and examples. Expository writing encompasses a wide range of essay variations, such as the comparison and contrast essay, the cause and effect essay, and the “how to” or process essay. Because expository essays are based on facts and not personal feelings, writers don’t reveal their emotions or write in the first person. The following constitute the areas in which expository essay may feature. 

1. How mechanics work
2. How things are made

iii. How certain processes are carried out

1. Definition of concepts.

The explanation might be clean so as not to confuse the reader or audience.

It must contain a vivid explanation of things.

Evaluation

Give a brief explanation of each of the following.

1.   Narrative essay
2. Descriptive essay

iii. Argumentative essay

1. Expository essay

Reading Assignment

Type of essay

Reference:

English Language communication skills page 103 – 108.

.

Topic: Literature

Content

Definition of Literature

Literature is any printed and unprinted materials that instructs, informs, entertains and educates people. Literature is a subject that mirrors people, their customs and traditions for others to see and learn from. In other words, Literature is the caricature of human society and all the activities embedded in it, that is, there is a kind of reciprocal relations between literature and life.

Functions of  Literature.

1. Literature helps a lot in the development of language. 
2. Literature creates awareness of one’s society and that of others.
3. It teaches moral lessons.
4. It corrects wrong doings
5. Literature recognizes achievements and achievers.
6. It assists a lot in the process of projecting the customs and tradition of the people.
7. It also entertains, educates and instructs readers.

Types of Literature

Oral Literature : Oral literature is a term generally applied to spoken literary traditions such as folk tales, musical theater, proverbs, riddles, life histories, plays, proverbs, epic poems and historical recitations. Unlike written literary genres, oral literature is conveyed or passed down to future generations by word of mouth, typically through memorization and recitation. It is considered a verbal art form.

 Dance: the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or simply taking delight inthe movement itself.

Evaluation

List all the functions of literature

What is literature?

Reading Assignment

Literature (Definition, purpose)

Reference

Essential literature pages 1, 3, and 4

General Evaluation

1. Mention and explain the types of nouns and explain
2. With reference to the related text, explain the types of literature.

Weekend Assignment

Underline the nouns in the following sentences and state their kind.

1. The book was lying on the table.
2. Love begets love.
3. We cannot live without water.
4. The jury has given its verdict.
5. The Hindus regard Krishna asan incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
6. Alcohol is injurious to health.
7. Smoking is a bad habit.
8. Wild animals live in forests.
9. The childhood of Peter was full of misery.
10. All the girls were singing.
11. Gold is a precious metal.
12. Rice is the staple food of South Indians.
13. The earth moves round the sun.
14. Mankind should love nature.
15. We get wool from sheep.

Reference

English Grammar for JSS 1 pages 91 and 92