Introduction to Relative Clauses - Who - That and Which - ESL Lesson Plan

A relative clause or adjective clause can be joined together to give more information about something. That is to say, it gives more information about the noun. As an example, the student might write, “This is a dog that is eating a bone.” To introduce a relative clause, include a relative pronoun (such as who, that, whose) or a relative adverb (when, where, why).

What Does Lesson Plan Include?
At Off2Class, we have spent years building lesson plans for ESL teachers. Therefore, we know how to build content that will inform your students and make your job easier. This lesson plan on how to teach relative clauses includes definitions of relative clauses, examples of relative pronouns and relative adverbs. Each example is illustrated to encourage comprehension.

This lesson is suitable for Intermediate students and is classified CEFR High B1 or B1+.

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Transcript

1. RC1.1 Introduction to relative clauses: who, that and which Lesson 1/8 The zebra is an animal that lives in Africa.
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3. Relative Clauses When we begin to learn English, we learn very basic sentences. For example: The girl is wearing glasses. Do you know the girl? But, we can create more advanced sentences using relative clauses. The girl appears in both sentences, so we can use a relative clause to make one sentence. Instead of repeating the girl, we can replace the girl with who. Do you know the girl who is wearing glasses? This is a relative clause!
4. Relative Clauses A relative clause or adjective clause can be used to join two sentences or to give more information about something. The girl is wearing glasses. Do you know the girl? We call it an adjective clause because just like an adjective it gives information about a noun. Do you know the girl who is wearing glasses? Here, the relative clause provides information about the noun, the girl.
5. Here are some more relative clauses Can you find: Notice that we use who when we are describing people and that when we are describing things. …the woman who is applying sunscreen? …the boy who is building a snowman? …the man who is wearing three watches? …the animal that is playing the guitar? …the man who is taking a nap?
6. Making a relative clause Let’s combine these two sentences using a relative clause. The man is tired. He has been working all day. First, replace the pronoun he with the relative pronoun who, because this is describing a person. The man is tired. who has been working all day. Now, we must put the relative clause after the noun it describes (the man). The man who has been working all day is tired.
7. Relative pronouns and relative adverbs Relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun, such as who, that, whose, or a relative adverb, such as when, where, why. The clauses always contain a verb. subject Thomas ate the cake. A relative clause can be used to describe a subject or an object. object Thomas ate the cake that was on the table. The relative clause is describing the object of the sentence, the cake.
8. Relative pronouns and relative adverbs subject Thomas ate the cake. object Thomas, who was really hungry, ate the cake. The relative clause is describing the subject of the sentence, Thomas. Here, the relative clause describes the subject of the sentence.
9. A rule for relative clauses A relative clause always follows the noun it modifies. Students who ask questions learn a lot more. Which students learn more? Students who ask questions. She wore the dress that I bought for her. Which dress did she wear? The dress that I bought for her
10. Let’s learn some relative pronouns! Who is used to describe people. That and which are used to describe things. In general, that is preferred in North American English. Sometimes we also use that to describe people. This is more informal. The man who is standing at the bus stop is my father. The book that is on the table belongs to me. The book, which we talked about, is on sale this week. The man that is standing at the bus stop is my father.
11. Time to practice 1. I met a woman. She is a professor at the local university. I met a woman who is a professor at the local university. 2. We bought a house. It is 100 years old. 3. She joined a gym. It is near her house. 4. The taxi driver was really nice. He drove me to the airport. 5. We watched a movie. The movie was about a murder. Can you combine the two sentences using a relative clause with who or that? More than one answer may be possible.
12. More practice… 6. A fashion designer is a person __________________. 7. An athlete is a person ____________________. 8. A mechanic is a person __________________. 9. A pilot is a person ____________________. 10. A civil engineer is a person ____________________. Can you describe the following jobs using a relative clause? For example: An architect is a person who designs buildings.
13. Who am I? 11. I am a person who sells fruits and vegetables. 12. I am a person who sells meat products. 13. I am a person who takes care of sick animals. 14. I am a person who grows food and raises animals on farms. Read each scenario and guess the answer. Use a relative clause in your answer.
14. Your turn… Now think of a job and describe it using a relative clause. You can choose one of the following jobs or think of your own. This is a person who ________________. accountant, actor, author, baker, carpenter, coach, dentist, doctor, editor, engineer, firefighter, journalist, judge, lawyer, musician, nurse, policeman, politician, teacher, waiter
15. What am I? 15. A refrigerator is a thing _________. 16. A vacuum is a thing _________. 17. An oven is a thing _________. 18. A blender is a thing _________. 19. Knives, forks and spoons are things _________. 20. A coffee machine is a thing _________. Can you describe the following household items using a relative clause?
16. Which animal is this? Now think of an animal and describe it using a relative clause. Choose one of the following animals, or think of your own. This is an animal that ________________. alligator, bear, bee, bird, cat, chicken, cow, dog, duck, elephant, fish, frog, giraffe, horse, kangaroo, lion, monkey, rabbit, shark, snake, spider, turtle, zebra
17. Guess who? Read the description with relative clauses. Can you guess who it is? This person, who was born in 1958, has six brothers and sisters. He is famous for singing songs that are popular all over the world. He was a great dancer who was famous for the moonwalk. This man, who is often called the King of Pop, passed away in 2009.
18. Guess who? Read the description with relative clauses. Can you guess who it is? This man, who was a strong advocate of peace, was a leader of India’s Independence Movement. His belief that people should live simply was an inspiration for many people. This man who inspired many Nobel Peace Prize winners, never received a Nobel Peace Prize.
19. What is it? Read the description with relative clauses. Can you guess what it is? This is something that gives people energy. This is something that many people have in the morning all throughout the world. It is something that you can have with or without milk and sugar.
20. What is it? Read the description with relative clauses. Can you guess what it is? This is something that went on sale in 1983, and at that time it cost almost $4000! This is something that people say they couldn’t live without (and over 3 billion people have). This is something that makes communicating much easier.