Speech Work: Consonant Sound /h/ – JSS2 English Lesson Note (First Term)

The consonant sound /h/ is a breathy sound made by letting air out through the open mouth without vibrating the vocal cords, as in hit, home and hall.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. identify and write words that contain the consonant sound /h/, and name words in which h is silent;
2. explain the difference between direct speech and indirect speech;
3. change direct speech to indirect speech, using the correct tense, pronoun, place and time changes;
4. report questions and commands correctly;
5. write a formal letter of invitation.

What does this lesson cover?

• Speech work: the consonant sound /h/.
• Grammar: direct and indirect speech.
• Writing: a formal letter, specifically a letter of invitation.

Which words have the consonant sound /h/?

The sound /h/ is heard at the start or in the middle of a word, and never at the end.

Which wh words have the sound /h/?

Some words spelt with wh start with /h/, while others start with /w/.

• /h/ words: who, whom and whole.
• /w/ words: what, when, where, which and why.

When is h silent?

The letter h is silent when it is written but not pronounced.

• hour: sounds like “our”.
• honour: the h is silent at the start.
• honest: the h is silent at the start.
• heir: the h is silent at the start.
• vehicle: the h is silent in the middle.
• exhibit: the h is silent in the middle.
• exhaust: the h is silent in the middle.

Practice exercise

1. Write out twenty examples of words that contain /h/.

Reading assignment

• Exam Focus English JSCE, pages 143 to 144.

What are direct and indirect speech?

Direct and indirect speech are the two ways of showing what a person said.

What is direct speech?

Direct speech is the actual words of the speaker, written within inverted commas.

• I said, “I don’t understand you.”
• She asked, “What are you doing here?”
• The sweeper said, “There is nobody in the library.”

What is indirect speech?

Indirect speech reports what a person said earlier to someone else, without inverted commas.

• I said that I didn’t understand him.
• She asked me what I was doing there.
• The sweeper said that there was nobody in the library.

What is the difference between direct and indirect speech?

What are the steps for changing direct speech to indirect speech?

1. Find the reporting verb (said, asked, told) and the words spoken.
2. Remove the inverted commas and join the two parts with “that”.
3. Change the pronouns to suit the person who is reporting.
4. Change the tense if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
5. Change the words of place and time.

How do tenses change in indirect speech?

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb in the reported words usually moves one step back in time.

What are the rules for tense in indirect speech?

How does each tense change?

What are examples of tense changes?

When does the tense not change?

Reported speech that states a universal truth or a habitual fact is not changed.

• Direct: My father said, “Honesty is the best policy.”
• Indirect: My father said that honesty is the best policy.
• Direct: The teacher said, “The earth moves around the sun.”
• Indirect: The teacher said that the earth moves around the sun.

How do pronouns, place and time words change in indirect speech?

Pronouns change to suit the person reporting, and words of place and time change to suit the new time and place of reporting.

How do pronouns change?

How do place and time words change?

How do we report questions and commands?

A reported question uses asked or wanted to know, and a reported command uses told, ordered or asked followed by “to”.

How do we report questions?

• Wh questions: keep the question word (where, what, why) and use statement word order.
• Yes or no questions: use “if” or “whether” after the reporting verb.
• Punctuation: drop the question mark in the reported form.

How do we report commands and requests?

• Commands: use told or ordered, then the person, then “to” and the verb.
• Requests: use asked or invited, then the person, then “to” and the verb.

Practice exercise

Change the direct speech to reported speech.

1. The professor said, “I work all day.”
2. He said, “I will be visiting Italy in December.”
3. The weatherman announced, “It may rain today.”
4. “I can be a great president,” said Martin.

Reading assignment

• Exam Focus English JSCE, pages 93 to 94.
• English Grammar by P.O. Olatunbosun, pages 90 to 94.

How do you write a formal letter of invitation?

A formal letter of invitation is a letter that politely asks a person or group to attend an event.

• Revision: formal letters were taught in week four, so use the same layout.
• Task: write a formal letter of invitation.

What are the parts of a formal letter of invitation?

1. Sender’s address: written at the top right of the page.
2. Date: written below the sender’s address.
3. Receiver’s name, title and address: written on the left.
4. Salutation: “Dear Sir/Madam,” or “Dear” followed by the person’s title and name.
5. Subject heading: a short title in capital letters, for example INVITATION TO A TALK SHOW.
6. Body: the details of the event and the reason for the invitation.
7. Complimentary close: “Yours faithfully,” after “Dear Sir/Madam”, or “Yours sincerely,” after a named person.
8. Signature, name and position: for example, Secretary, organising committee.

What should the body of the letter contain?

• Opening line: states that you are inviting the reader to the event.
• Event and purpose: says what the event is and why it is being held.
• Date, time and venue: gives the exact details so the guest can plan.
• Benefits: explains what the guests will gain by attending.
• Reply: asks the reader to confirm attendance.
• Closing line: thanks the reader and expresses hope that they will attend.

Practice exercise

1. Your school is organising a talk show on the topic of child abuse. As the secretary of the organising committee of the school, write a formal letter of invitation to be sent out to neighbouring schools, highlighting the various benefits they stand to gain in the talk show.

Evaluation

General evaluation and revision. Choose the correct option.

1. She didn’t know ____ when his boss called.
   • a. He was where
   • b. Where he was
   • c. Was he where
   • d. Where was he
2. Malaria, which can be fatal if left untreated, is transmitted by the female, ____ by the male mosquito.
   • a. not
   • b. however
   • c. despite
   • d. instead
3. A good student must know _____
   • a. to study hard
   • b. to be a good student
   • c. how to study effectively
   • d. the way of efficiency in study
4. Perspiration increases ____ vigorous exercise or hot weather.
   • a. during
   • b. when
   • c. at the time
   • d. for
5. Physical fitness exercises can cause injuries ____ the participants are not careful.
   • a. that
   • b. to
   • c. if
   • d. with

Assignment

Weekend assignment. For each question, choose the best answer from the options given.

1. “We’re going out for dinner tonight,” announced Dad. Dad told us that ______
   • a. we were going out for dinner that night
   • b. we’re going out for dinner tonight
   • c. we were going out for dinner the following night
   • d. we would be going out for dinner the previous night
2. “Where’s the class monitor?” asked the headmaster. The headmaster wanted to know _____.
   • a. where was the class monitor
   • b. where the class monitor was
   • c. where is the class monitor
   • d. where the class monitor would be
3. “I’m sure Ibrahim was not telling the truth when he spoke to us yesterday,” commented Abdullah. Abdullah commented that he was sure that Ibrahim was not ______.
   • a. tells them the truth when he speaks to them yesterday
   • b. told them the truth when he spoke to them yesterday
   • c. telling them the truth when he spoke to them that day
   • d. telling them the truth when he spoke to them the previous day
4. “What are you doing here?” asked Asake. Asake asked me _____.
   • a. what am I doing here
   • b. what I was doing here
   • c. what was I doing here
   • d. what were I doing here
5. “I’m going home now,” he said. He said that he was _____.
   • a. going home now
   • b. going home then
   • c. went home now
   • d. gone home then

Also do English Grammar by P.O. Olatunbosun, page 93, Exercise 16, 4(a-g).