Tenth graders meet a feature that makes Swahili special — subject prefixes (viambishi vya nafsi). The “who” of a verb lives right at its front: ni- (I), u- (you), a- (he/she), tu- (we), m- (you all), wa- (they). ninasoma = “I read,” tunasoma = “we read.” They sort verbs by singular vs plural subject.
Students will be able to…
Who is doing it? How does Swahili show the subject inside the verb?
Project this and sort each Swahili verb by its subject — singular (one person) or plural (more than one).
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
How does Swahili show who does the action?
Students learn.
Students practice.
Students speak.
Students close.
Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Intermediate-Low).
Compare agreement systems.
Interpretive: read the subject prefix.
Presentational: build verbs by person.
Interpersonal: use verbs correctly.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students change one verb from “I” to “we” in Swahili (ninacheza → tunacheza). A printable Swahili prefixes sheet is in the World Languages library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.