Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Grammar sequence

Might, Should, Must

Modal verbs

Lesson 11 of 14
Year 5 45 min

Objective

Use modal verbs to indicate degrees of possibility and necessity, order them by strength, and write modal + have, never modal + of, never two modals together.

Board title: Modal verbs  ·  Say it: “Today we're choosing little verbs like might, should and must to show exactly how sure we are, and after every one of them we write have, never of.”

Curriculum

  • Y5: indicate degrees of possibility using modal verbs or adverbs
  • Y3: word families and verb forms (revisited)
  • Terminology: modal verb
  • STA domain: G1.6

Success criteria

  • order the modals from might up to must
  • choose a modal to match how sure I am
  • write might have and should have, never might of
  • use one modal at a time before a plain verb

Key vocabulary

modal verb · possibility · necessity · certain · perhaps · degree

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: It might rain v It will rain. Same forecast? Take answers but do not resolve it, both are grammatical, only the strength changes.
9 min
Build the dial: might-may-could leave the door open, should-ought to advise, must-will shut it. Sort kitchen rules into advice and law together, hand-washing is law, tasting first is advice.
6 min
The of trap: You must of tasted it. Say must have slowly and hear the v, it is phonetics, not carelessness. Then the four vote pairs, a child says WHY before each reveal (answers: a-right, b-left, c-left, d-right).
8 min
What's Cooking? on the whiteboard, Spicy band. Class votes before you tap; ask how sure the speaker is every round and say the whole sentence aloud with its modal.
14 min
Worksheet, independent, dial left on screen. Circulate on Task 3 and ask whether they meant might or must, the strength matters more than the spelling. Warn Medium and Spicy about Task 2: one must of course in there is honest work.
3 min
Plenary: two children read a Task 3 sentence, class points low, middle or high on the dial. Then the class quiz: find both mistakes in It might could rain, so I must of moved the tables inside.
On screenSPAGhetti → What's Cooking? → Spicy. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. The modal level is today's content; ~8 items in 10 minutes with discussion.
SPAGhetti · Grammar sequence · Lesson 11 of 14  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils Might, Should, Must · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the four pairs aloud and vote with thumbs. The lesson still works.
If they're on devicesLesson code MODLE (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

must of, could of, should of. They write what they hear: have weakens to 've in speech. It is phonetics, not laziness. Drill modal + have + participle, and have them say must have slowly.

Can I v may I pedantry. Someone will insist can I means are you able. Name it and defuse it: both are heard as requests today; may is simply more formal. Do not let it derail the lesson.

Might and will read as the same strength. It might rain and it will rain trigger the same response. Build the dial, might-may-could, should-ought to, must-will, and keep asking where the speaker stands.

Double modals: might could, will must. One modal per verb in standard English. Some dialects allow two in speech, worth saying so, but writing takes one, plus an adverb if more shading is needed.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: Tasks 1 and 2, then Task 3 orally with a scribe. Keep to might, should, must. Game on Medium.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, the same sentence at three strengths, and a line on what changes for the reader.
  • EAL: modals rarely translate one-to-one. Teach the dial as a picture, not a word list, and drill modal + have for past possibility.

Play it

Lesson code MODLE at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Grammar sequence · Lesson 11 of 14  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora