Identify — Who and What
Name the players. Point each word back to a person. Say who does what.
The Identify arc gives newcomer and early-intermediate students the language to answer the two questions every reader asks first: who or what is this sentence about, and what does the evidence say they did? Students match subject pronouns to a named person or thing, choose am / is / are for that subject, choose a, an, or the for the nouns in a short case file, and repair short broken lines into complete sentences that stay inside the stated evidence.
Learning goal
By the end of the arc, students can name who or what a short sentence is about, match he / she / it / we / they to a person or thing the case file names, use am / is / are with that subject, choose a, an, or the with a reason, and repair short incomplete lines into complete sentences using only the actor and action the evidence states. This arc works on short, controlled case-file sentences — not on every sentence in every text.
Who it is for
Newcomer to early-intermediate ESL/ELD (grades 9–12). Works as a first unit of the year, a re-teach block for long-term English learners, or a targeted intervention for students whose writing loses the subject.
Progression
- ID-01 — subject pronouns (he, she, it, we, they, I, you) + am / is / are.
- ID-02 — a / an / the to introduce a noun or to point to a noun we already know.
- ID-03 — subject + verb + complete idea.
What is included
Each lesson includes a 17-slide teacher presentation with slide-specific teacher notes, a 6-page student packet, and a teacher guide with answer key. The arc also includes an integrated assessment and answer key, a Start Here guide, a preview, cover, and license/credits. Members can download this arc's printable files from My Vault: 27 files in all—slide decks with teacher notes, student packets, teacher guides with answer keys, and the arc assessment or performance task where the arc has one. Each file opens through a short-lived, member-verified link. The same arc is also sold as an editable pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Lessons in this arc
- ID-01 · Identity Check — Students read a short labelled case file and draw each pronoun back to the person or thing it points to, one line at a time. They then choose am, is, or are for each subject, using a three-group model: I → am; he / she / it → is; you / we / they → are.
- ID-02 · The Missing Article — A short case note is missing every article. Students first ask whether the reader already knows which one, then — if it is one new person or thing — listen to the next sound to choose a or an. Students write one short reason for each choice.
- ID-03 · Who Does What? — A tampered incident report has lines that are missing a subject or a verb. Students label the subject and verb of each line, then repair the broken lines — but only when the evidence names who did it. If the report never says who, students say so instead of inventing an actor.