The very first contact with English. Learners build the alphabet, sounds, numbers and a handful of survival phrases — enough to say who they are and exchange a few words.
Printable one-to-one lesson plan
Colors & basic adjectives
Describe everyday people and things with colors and basic adjectives, placing the adjective correctly before a noun or after be.
Use after the complete A0 sequence, not as a lesson quiz.
Open diagnostic →15–20 minutes optional: Tutor-read color and adjective listening check · Five-minute next-day adjective retrieval
Derived from this lesson’s source
Lesson-specific teaching brief
This is not a second lesson registry. The plan reads the same native content that produces the learner page.
What the learner should do
Describe everyday people and things with colors and basic adjectives, placing the adjective correctly before a noun or after be.
What must become clear
A descriptive adjective does not change for a plural noun. Say one red car and two red cars . The noun changes to cars ; the adjective stays red .
High-value friction points
- a red carThe adjective goes before the noun, so red comes before car: a red car, not a car red.
- two green doorsA descriptive adjective does not take plural -s. The noun is plural (doors), but the adjective stays green, not greens.
- The cars are red.Use are with the plural subject the cars. The adjective red does not change.
Protect these lesson moments
- Bring articles, plurals, and be into a description
- Discovery check: choose the color the cue describes
- Listening check: complete the description
- Drill 1: match each word to its opposite
- Drill 2: choose the adjective the cue describes
Learner production
A phone in a picture: Describe it with one color and one quality. The phone is black and new. It is a new black phone.
- A vehicle: Choose a real or invented car, bike, bus, or train. Compare it with another vehicle. The bus is big and slow. The bike is small and fast.
- Clothes in a picture: Name three items and add a second identifier to one. I can see a blue shirt, black shoes, and the brown jacket on the left.
- A room: Describe a real, pictured, or invented room. The office is big. The chairs are gray. The old desk is near the door.
- A city: Compare two features with an explicit reference point. The downtown buses are slow at 5 p.m. The north park is big compared with the other parks.
Carry this language into the next session
Retrieve Colors & basic adjectives in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only contrastive support
L1 Transfer Lens
Test a pattern. Do not label a learner. Use this only after the learner’s actual production gives you evidence.
Select a first language to reveal only the contrasts relevant to this lesson.
Mandarin Chinese → English
One pattern to test
Use be before an English adjective
- Possible transfer
I very tired. / The room cold.
- English rebuild
I’m very tired. / The room is cold.
Why it can happen: Mandarin adjective predicates do not require 是 in the way English requires be. English needs am, is, or are to connect an ordinary subject with an adjective describing its current state or quality.
Natural English:
- The instructions are clear.
- My new coworker is very friendly.
Use while teaching
Operational teaching notes
Choose a route before class, but change it when the learner’s production gives you better evidence.
Ask before explaining
- Which examples in “Bring articles, plurals, and be into a description” express the same core meaning?
- How would you explain this decision in your own words: A descriptive adjective does not change for a plural noun. Say one red car and two red cars . The noun changes to cars ; the adjective stays red .
- What needs to change in this repair, and why: a red car
Correct for the stage
- Controlled work: correct immediately, then require the complete repaired sentence.
- Fluency building: note repeated errors and reformulate after the learner finishes the thought.
- Communication: interrupt only when meaning breaks down or the target decision is the lesson’s main evidence.
Retrieve, do not reteach
Retrieve Colors & basic adjectives in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Short, core, or extended
Choose the route
All three routes end in learner production. More time means more contrast and transfer, not a longer explanation.
Short route
Retrieve for 3 minutes. Notice and discover for 8. Use the two most diagnostic tasks from Bring articles, plurals, and be into a description and Discovery check: choose the color the cue describes for 12. Protect 9 minutes for Learner production, then reflect for 3.
Core route
Follow the six-stage sequence below. Reduce repeated controlled items when accuracy is already stable, but keep the nearest useful contrast and final production.
Stretch route
Add Tutor-read color and adjective listening check · Five-minute next-day adjective retrieval, then repeat the communication task with a new situation or stricter success criteria.
45–55 minutes core working plan
Session sequence
Protect the final communication and reflection time. If the learner needs more support, reduce the number of controlled items instead of removing production.
- 5 min
Retrieve
Activate what the learner already controls and check any prerequisite language.
Teacher move: Open with the first practice route: Bring articles, plurals, and be into a description · Discovery check: choose the color the cue describes · Listening check: complete the description.
- 6–8 min
Notice
Let the learner observe meaning and form in a small sample before naming the rule.
Teacher move: Keep the noticing conversation anchored to this decision: A descriptive adjective does not change for a plural noun. Say one red car and two red cars . The noun changes to cars ; the adjective stays red .
- 8–10 min
Discover
Connect form, meaning, use, word order, and the nearest useful contrast.
Teacher move: Test the learner’s explanation against this repair: a red car The adjective goes before the noun, so red comes before car: a red car, not a car red.
- 12–15 min
Build + drill
Move from accurate choices to faster retrieval and sentence construction.
Teacher move: Prioritize these lesson tasks: Bring articles, plurals, and be into a description · Discovery check: choose the color the cue describes · Listening check: complete the description · Drill 1: match each word to its opposite. Reduce repetitions if needed, but keep the final production time.
- 12–15 min
Communicate
Use the target language for a real adult purpose the learner cannot complete by copying.
Teacher move: Learner production: A phone in a picture: Describe it with one color and one quality. The phone is black and new. It is a new black phone.
- 3–5 min
Reflect
Make progress visible and choose one specific next use.
Teacher move: Retrieve Colors & basic adjectives in one true sentence at the next lesson.
Tutor-only source
Listening scripts
Read these lines from the tutor plan while the learner lesson remains on screen. Each clip names the learner item it supports.
Tutor-read color and adjective listening check
- Clip 1
Read: She has a green bag.
Supports: She has a listen bag.
- Clip 2
Read: It is a black phone.
Supports: It is a listen phone.
- Clip 3
Read: We work in a small office.
Supports: We work in a listen office.
- Clip 4
Read: He wants cold water.
Supports: He wants listen water.
- Clip 5
Read: That is an expensive watch.
Supports: That is an listen watch.
- Clip 6
Read: I need the dark blue shirt.
Supports: I need the listen shirt.
Delivery and evidence notes
- Read naturally: 1. She has a green bag. 2. It is a black phone. 3. We work in a small office. 4. He wants cold water. 5. That is an expensive watch. 6. I need the dark blue shirt.
- For a contrast round, replace each answer with the paired distractor and ask the learner to identify the changed word.
Keep only useful evidence
After-lesson notes
These notes are for deliberate tutor records or printing. Nothing is stored in the learner’s browser.
The learner can now…
Write one observable use of the target language.
Still needs support with…
Record one repeated error, contrast, or point of hesitation.
Next retrieval prompt
Write one short prompt the learner will answer at the next session.
Anonymous live-lesson evidence
Learner pilot worksheet
A0 · Colors & basic adjectives
Pilot 1 of 30 recorded · 3 remaining
Date
Approximate starting level
Core lesson time
Starting evidence
What did the learner already control? What was the first misconception, hesitation, or contrast that mattered?
Did the principle become clear?
A descriptive adjective does not change for a plural noun. Say one red car and two red cars . The noun changes to cars ; the adjective stays red .
Did the first hint help?
Record the first item that caused difficulty and whether the contextual hint led to self-correction before the full repair appeared.
Could the learner do the outcome?
Describe everyday people and things with colors and basic adjectives, placing the adjective correctly before a noun or after be.
Listen for: The learner uses the target language independently for a real purpose.
What remained available?
If possible, check before rereading in the next session. Record what returned independently and what still required a cue.
Keep, revise, or investigate?
Note any explanation the tutor still had to supply, the smallest useful revision, and whether another pilot should test the same issue.