Grade 7 English HYGIENE – LISTENING AND SPEAKING:LISTENING FOR INFORMATION AND MAIN IDEAS Notes
ENGLISH — Listening & Speaking (Grammar focus)
Subtopic: Listening for information and main ideas — Theme: Hygiene
Age: 12 (Kenyan context) — These notes show the important grammar to notice when you listen or speak about hygiene (washing hands, keeping clean, safe water). Use the grammar to ask and give information clearly.
Learning goals
- Recognise key grammar forms when listening: WH‑questions, yes/no questions, imperatives and modal verbs (should, must).
- Use these forms to ask for and give hygiene information (e.g., "When do you wash your hands?").
- Identify the main idea by finding the main verb form (instruction, question, or advice).
Important grammar to notice and use
- Imperatives (commands / instructions)
- Use the base verb: "Wash your hands." "Boil water." "Cover your food."
- Imperatives often give the main idea in a hygiene talk (what to do). - Modal verbs for advice and obligation
- Advice: should, shouldn't. Example: "You should wash your hands before eating."
- Strong obligation: must, mustn't. Example: "You must drink clean water."
- Ability/possibility: can, can't. Example: "You can use soap if there is water." - WH‑questions (for finding information)
- Who, What, When, Where, Why, How: "When do you wash your hands?" "Why is clean water important?"
- These help listeners find the main idea or important details. - Yes/No questions and tag questions (check information)
- Yes/No: "Do you use soap?" "Is the water clean?"
- Tag: "You wash hands before eating, don't you?" — use to confirm facts. - Present simple vs present continuous
- Routines/habits (present simple): "We boil water at home." "I wash my hands every day."
- Actions happening now (present continuous): "The nurse is showing how to wash hands." - Sequence words and connectors
- First, then, next, after that, finally — help listeners follow instructions and main ideas.
- Example: "First wet your hands, then add soap, next rub, finally rinse with clean water."
Short sample script to listen to (teacher or classmate)
Script:
"Good morning. Today we will talk about hand hygiene. First, you should wet your hands with clean water. Then add soap and rub for 20 seconds. Next rinse with clean water and dry your hands on a clean cloth. You must also cover food and keep your latrine clean. Do you have any questions?"
"Good morning. Today we will talk about hand hygiene. First, you should wet your hands with clean water. Then add soap and rub for 20 seconds. Next rinse with clean water and dry your hands on a clean cloth. You must also cover food and keep your latrine clean. Do you have any questions?"
Listening tasks (use the script)
- Underline all the imperatives and modal verbs in the script. (Tip: look for verbs at the start of sentences and should/must.)
- Write three WH‑questions you can ask to get more information from the speaker.
- Find the sentence that gives the main idea (the most important instruction). Explain which grammar form makes it the main idea.
Model answers
1. Imperatives and modals (underlined):
"First, you should wet your hands with clean water. Then add soap and rub for 20 seconds. Next rinse with clean water and dry your hands on a clean cloth. You must also cover food and keep your latrine clean."
2. Example WH‑questions:
- "When should I wash my hands?"
- "How long do I rub my hands?"
- "Why must we cover food?"
The main idea is the instructions to clean hands — shown by imperatives and modal verbs ("should", "must"). Imperatives ("add soap", "rinse") give clear actions to follow, so listeners know what to do.
Speaking practise (pair work)
- Student A reads a short instruction about hygiene (use imperatives and sequence words). Student B listens and writes down: 3 imperatives, 2 modal verbs, and 1 WH‑question to ask. Swap roles.
- Try making polite requests with "Could you..." or "Can you...": "Can you show me how to wash hands?" This helps in asking for demonstrations.
- Try making polite requests with "Could you..." or "Can you...": "Can you show me how to wash hands?" This helps in asking for demonstrations.
Quick grammar checks
- If you hear "should" — the speaker is giving advice.
- If you hear "must" — the speaker is giving an important rule or obligation.
- If a sentence starts with Who/What/When/Where/Why/How — it is asking for key information.
- If a sentence begins with a verb like "Wash", "Boil", "Cover" — it is an instruction (imperative).
Extra practice — short worksheet
1) Change the advice into an imperative:
You should boil drinking water. → ____________________________
2) Make a WH‑question from this statement:
"Children wash hands before eating." → ____________________________
3) Complete with should/must:
"You _____ cover food to keep flies away."
Answers:
1) "Boil the drinking water." (imperative)
2) "When do children wash their hands?" or "Who washes hands before eating?" (whichever detail you want)
3) "must" — "You must cover food to keep flies away."
2) "When do children wash their hands?" or "Who washes hands before eating?" (whichever detail you want)
3) "must" — "You must cover food to keep flies away."
Tip for Kenyan classrooms: Use local examples — washing hands at the dining hall, boiling water from a jerrycan, cleaning a pit latrine — when you practise speaking and listening. Listening for words like "should", "must", "when" and verbs at the start of a sentence will help you find the main idea quickly.
😊 Stay curious — practise asking questions and giving clear instructions about hygiene.