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

We Was, or We Were?

Standard English verb forms

Lesson 10 of 14
Year 4 45 min

Objective

Use Standard English verb forms in writing: was/were agreement, did/done, and a single negative. Handle with care, spoken forms are non-standard, not wrong. Many children say we was at home; the lesson is about register in writing, never about correcting how anyone or their family speaks.

Board title: Standard English verb forms  ·  Say it: “Today we're choosing the verb forms that writing puts on, we were, I did, I have done, and remembering that spoken forms are different, not broken.”

Curriculum

  • Y4: Standard English forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken forms
  • Y2: past tense -ed (revisited)
  • Terminology: Standard English, verb inflection
  • STA domain: G6.1

Success criteria

  • match was and were to the subject
  • use did alone, done with have or has, and should have
  • keep exactly one negative in a sentence
  • say why writing uses the standard forms

Key vocabulary

Standard English · register · verb · subject · agreement · negative

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter cards: we was against we were, which goes in the letter to the paper, and why? Say it explicitly before anything else: many children in this room say we was at home and their families are not making a mistake, writing has a different uniform. Hold the thought.
10 min
Model the three swaps. Count the subject for was/were and chant the six together: I was, he was, she was, we were, you were, they were. Give done its helper and chant the pair: I did it, I have done it. Then show that writing keeps just one negative, didn't plus anything, not nothing, and file should of under always-should have.
9 min
What's Cooking? on the whiteboard, Medium band, which includes the tricky irregular pasts went, ate, made. The class says the whole sentence aloud before you tap, and the timer cue tells you when. About 10 dishes in the time.
5 min
The four vote pairs: a child says WHY before each reveal, and take 'my nan says it that way' as a good answer about speech, then ask what print would do (answers: a-right, b-left, c-left, d-right).
13 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3, and never mark a spoken form as wrong speech in the margin, the target is the written register. The trickiest hunt is Task 2's letter: one was/were is already right, We were proud in Mild, so catch anyone swapping every single form on principle.
3 min
Plenary: two children read Polpetta's newspaper letter, We was so proud, and the café done brilliantly, aloud as newsreaders, and the class calls the swaps. The register does the teaching.
On screenSPAGhetti → What's Cooking? → Medium. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. ~10 sentences in 10 minutes with discussion; the Medium band includes the tricky irregular pasts (went, ate, made).
SPAGhetti · Grammar sequence · Lesson 10 of 14  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils We Was, or We Were? · side 2

On the day

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

Misconceptions to watch for

we was / you was. The most common non-standard inflection in the country, and for many children the form they hear at home. Never frame it as wrong speech, writing swaps it for we were; speech belongs to the speaker. Count the subject, then choose.

should of. They write what they hear: should've sounds exactly like should of. It is always should have, and the same goes for could and would.

done as a past tense on its own. She done her homework. Done needs have or has; did works alone. Chant the pair: I did it, I have done it.

Double negative as emphasis. I didn't do nothing feels stronger to the child, and many speakers use it. Writing keeps just one negative: I didn't do anything.

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: Task 1, then Task 3 orally with a scribe. Game on Mild.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; read Task 2 aloud before they edit.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, rewrite a spoken line for print without losing its warmth.
  • EAL: subject–verb agreement works differently across languages, chant the six was/were pairs twice before writing.

Play it

Lesson code STNDD 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 10 of 14  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora