English Standard Four – Unit 1 – Lesson 17: Describing Objects by Colour, Size, Shape and Weight

Main Competence: Demonstrate mastery of basic English language skills.

Specific Competence: Develop vocabulary by relating words with objects in the environment.

Main Activity: Describe objects found in the environment by their colour, size, shape and weight.

Specific Activity: Describe familiar objects using words that show colour, size, shape and weight.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the 40-minute lesson, a pupil should be able to:

• Identify words used to describe the colour, size, shape and weight of objects.
• Describe familiar objects using appropriate words for their characteristics.
• Construct simple meaningful sentences describing objects.

Key Vocabulary

Colour: red, blue, green, yellow, black, white. Size: big, small, large, little, long, short. Shape: round, square, rectangular, oval. Weight: heavy, light.

Lesson Development

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

A teacher to display familiar objects or pictures and ask pupils to describe what they can see, including the colours and sizes of the objects.

Pupils to observe the objects or pictures and mention their colours and sizes using familiar words.

2. Competence Development (15 minutes)

A teacher to guide pupils to describe selected objects by colour, size, shape and weight, and model simple sentences using the describing words.

Pupils to listen, repeat the describing words, compare objects and practise describing them orally.

Examples:

• The ball is red and round.
• The box is big and rectangular.
• The ruler is long and light.
• The small stone is heavy.
• The plate is round and white.

3. Design (10 minutes)

A teacher to guide pupils to choose familiar objects and plan short descriptions using words that show their colour, size, shape and weight.

Pupils to select objects and organise words to describe each object’s characteristics.

4. Realisation (10 minutes)

A teacher to ask pupils to write simple sentences describing selected objects, invite some pupils to read their sentences and guide corrections.

Pupils to write and read sentences describing objects by colour, size, shape and weight and improve them using feedback.

Assessment

• Describe one object by its colour and size.
• Name two words that describe the shape of objects.
• Write two simple sentences describing familiar objects by their characteristics.

Teaching and Learning Materials

TIE English Standard Four Pupil’s Book, pictures or real objects of different colours, sizes, shapes and weights, English dictionaries, chalkboard and chalk or whiteboard and markers, and pupils’ exercise books.

Reference

Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE). (2024). English Pupil’s Book for Standard Four (Third Edition), Unit 1.