English Scheme of Work - this is Redcar & Cleveland and Objectives wide and Sounds’. To ensure...

English Scheme

of Work

6th Edition 2016

Steph Dunn

Zoe Evans

Aims and Objectives

The Twelve Strands of Learning

Long Term Planning

Teaching Reading Comprehension

Reading Objectives

Assessing Reading

Teaching Writing

Writing Objectives

Prompt Sheets and the Box Plan

Teaching Sentence Work

Teaching Grammar and Punctuation Rules

Assessing Writing

Teaching Letters and Sounds

Teaching Word Work

Teaching Handwriting

Speaking and Listening Objectives

Speaking and Listening Activities

References

Contents

To ensure greater consistency and continuity in the planning, teaching and assessment of English across all

year groups.

To plan imaginatively and creatively around whole texts, short stories and novels in conjunction with

extracts..

To follow a long term English plan that ensures there is a balance between the teaching of narrative and

non-narrative genres and long and short tasks.

To teach writing through a structured sequence of high quality lessons.

To incorporate ‘Talk for writing’ strategies into the writing teaching sequence.

To include structured group work, drama and imaginative speaking and listening activities to ignite the

children’s imagination during the writing process.

To teach non-narrative genres across the curriculum.

To ensure children understand the purpose of their writing and the intended audience.

To teach sentence work for at least ten minutes every day.

To teach RWI Spelling for 15 minutes every day.

To encourage the children to recognise and use a variety of sentences so that they are able to play with

sentences to create different effects.

To encourage the children to become independent and confident writers.

To encourage children to read through their work to edit and improve it.

To enable children to develop the fine motor skills to be able to write with ease and stamina.

To encourage children to write with a fluent joined style.

To encourage a ‘love of books’ from nursery to Y6 and beyond!

To teach children a range of reading strategies to use when decoding words.

To teach the higher order reading skills systematically using a range of reading strategies across KS1 and

KS2.

To plan work which is enjoyable and stimulating, thus enabling young children to embrace and understand a

wide-range of reading and writing activities.

To ensure that children have strong phonological awareness through the systematic teaching of ‘Letters

and Sounds’.

To provide children with spelling skills that will enable them to write with confidence and accuracy.

Above all, to continue to raise standards in English through fun and enjoyment.

Aims and Objectives

Speak and Listen for a wide range of purposes in different contexts

1. Speaking Speak competently and creatively for different purposes and audiences,

reflecting on impact and response.

Explore, develop and sustain ideas through talk.

2. Listening and

responding

Understand, recall and respond to speakers’ implicit and explicit meanings.

Explain and comment on speakers’ use of language, including vocabulary,

grammar and non-verbal features.

3. Group discussion and

interaction

Take different roles in groups to develop thinking and complete tasks.

Participate in conversations, making appropriate contributions building on

others’ suggestions and responses.

4. Drama Use dramatic techniques, including work in role to explore ideas and texts.

Create, share and evaluate ideas and understanding through drama.

Read and write for a range of purposes on paper and on screen

5. Word recognition:

decoding and encoding

Read fluently and automatically by using phonic knowledge of grapheme to

phoneme correspondences and the skills of blending as their prime approach

for decoding unfamiliar words and thereby:

-build up a store of words that are instantly recognised and understood on

sight;

-segment words into their constituent phonemes and understand that spelling

is the reverse of blending phonemes into words for reading.

6. Word structure and

spelling

Learn that segmenting words into their constituent phonemes for spelling is

the reverse of blending phonemes into words for reading.

Spell words accurately by combining the use of grapheme to phoneme

correspondence knowledge as the prime approach.

Use a range of approaches to learn and spell irregular words.

7. Understanding and

interpreting texts

Retrieve, select and describe information, events or ideas.

Deduce, infer and interpret information, events or ideas.

Use syntax, context, word structures and origins to develop their

understanding of word meanings.

Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts

Explain and comment on writers’ use of language, including vocabulary,

grammatical and literary features.

8. Engaging with and

responding to texts

Read independently for purpose, pleasure and learning.

Respond imaginatively using different strategies to engage with texts.

Evaluate writers’ purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text

on the reader.

9. Creating and shaping

texts

(Composition and effect)

Write independently and creatively for purpose, pleasure and learning.

Use and adapt a range of forms, suited to different purposes and readers.

Make stylistic choices, including vocabulary, literary features and viewpoints

or voice.

Use structural and presentational features for meaning and impact.

10. Text structure and

organisation

Organise ideas into a coherent structure including layout, sections and

paragraphs.

Write cohesive paragraphs linking sentences within and between them.

11. Sentence structure

and punctuation

Vary and adapt sentence structure for meaning and effect.

Use a range of punctuation clearly to support meaning and emphasis.

Convey meaning through grammatically accurate and correctly punctuated

sentences.

12. Presentation Develop a clear and fluent joined handwriting style.

Use keyboard skills and ICT tools confidently to compose and present work.

The Twelve Strands of Learning

4

Long Term

Planning

2016 - 2017 English Long Term Planning Grid (Year 3) Whale Hill Primary

N = ……5……… N = ……3……… N = ……3……… N = ……0……… N = ……3……… N = ……2………

NN=……3……… NN=……3……… NN=……3……… NN=…….4……… NN=…… 3……… NN=…… 4………

Wk Autumn A

7 weeks

Autumn B

7 weeks

Spring A

6 weeks

Spring B

7 weeks

Summer A

5 weeks

Summer B

7 weeks

1

WB- 5.9.16

Text type:

Recount

Diary Entry

Jac

k an

d t

he B

ean

stal

k

Jul

ia D

onal

dso

n

WB-31.10.16

Text type:

Information

report

Din

osau

r Po

x –

Din

osau

rs

Percy th

e P

ark K

eeper

WB- 3.1.17 (4days)

Text type:

Poetry

Shape

Sto

ne A

ge

Iron

M

an

– Ted

H

ug

hes

Rob

ots

WB-20.2.17

Text type:

Instructions

Geor

ge’s

Mar

vellou

s M

edic

ine

WB-24.4.17

Text type: Recount

Letter

Wor

ld W

ar 2

WB- 5.6.17

Text type:

Discussion

Jac

k an

d t

he B

ean

stal

k

Pira

tes

2

WB- 12.9.16

Text type:

Recount

Diary Entry

WB-7.11.16

Text type:

Information

report

WB-9.1.17

Text type:

Narrative

Adventure

Story

WB- 27.2.17

Text type:

Instructions

WB-1.5.17 (4days)

Text type: Poetry

WW2

Bank Holiday

WB- 12.6.17

Text type:

Discussion

3

WB-19.9.16

Text type:

Poetry

Performance

Poems

WB-14.11.16

Text type:

Information

report

WB-16.1.17

Text type:

Narrative

Adventure

Story

WB- 6.3.17

Text type:

Narrative –

Playscript

WB-8.5.17

Text type: Narrative

Setting

Description

WB-19.6.17

Text type:

Discussion

4

WB-26.9.16

Text type:

Poetry

Performance

Poems

WB-21.11.16

Text type: Instructions

WB-23.1.17

Text type:

Persuasion

Letter

WB-13.3.17

Narrative –

Playscript

WB- 15.5.17

Assessment


Adventure

Story

WB-26.6.17


5

WB-3.10.16

Text type:

Character

Description

WB-28.11.16

Assessment Week Reading

Comprehension

SPAG

Long Task , Short Task

Personal day Friday

WB-30.1.17

Text type:

Persuasion

Letter

WB-20.3.17

Assessment Week Reading

Comprehension

SPAG

Long Task –

Short Task -

WB-22.5.17


Adventure

Story

WB-3.6.17 (4days)

Assessment

Week Reading

Comprehension

SPAG

Long Task , Short

Task -

6

WB-10.10.16

Text type:

Narrative

WB-5.12.16

Text type:

Instructions

Chri

stm

as

WB- 6.2.17

Persuasion

Leaflet

PD day-Friday

WB-27.3.17

Text type:

Poetry -

WB- 10.7.17

Text type: Poetry

7

WB-17.10.16

Text type:

Narrative

WB-12.12.16

Text type:

Christmas Week

+ RE

WB-3.4.17

Text type:

Narrative –

Description

WB-17.7.17

Text type:

End of Term

16

20

Teaching Reading

Comprehension

Reading Inset September 2014

Aims of the New Curriculum:

To develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:

1. Listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and play

scripts.

2. Reading for a range of purposes and reading books that are structured in

different ways.

3. Use dictionaries to check the meaning of unfamiliar words.

4. Increase their familiarity with a wide range of books, and prepare a re-telling of a

story.

5. Identifying themes and conventions in stories.

6. Prepare poems and play scripts to read aloud and perform.

7. Discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s imagination.

8. Recognising some different forms of poetry.

9. Recommending books that they have chosen to their peers, giving reasons for their

choices. (5&6)

10. Making comparisons within and across books. (5&6)

11. Preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and perform, showing understanding

through intonation, volume and tone. (5&6)

Objectives:

To understand what they read by:

1. Checking that the text makes sense to them, by discussing their understanding.

2. Asking questions to improve their understanding.

3. Drawing inferences, such as character feelings, motives and thoughts, justifying

with evidence.

4. Predicting what might happen.

5. Identifying main ideas from one or more paragraphs.

6. Identifying how language structure and presentation contribute to meaning.

7. Retrieve and record information from non-fiction.

8. Participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can

read themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

9. Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language,

considering the impact upon the reader. (5&6)

10. Distinguish between fact and opinion. (5&6)

11. Explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, building on their

own and others’ ideas, providing justification for their views. (5&6)

12. Provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Notes and Guidance:

The focus should be on pupils’ comprehension as a primary element in reading.

Pupils should be taught to recognise themes in what they read.

They should learn the different conventions for different types of writing (e.g. greetings

in letters, or first person in diary writing)

Pupils should have opportunities to listen to stories, poems, non-fiction and other writing,

so they meet books and authors they might not choose themselves.

Pupils should also have opportunities to exercise choice in selecting books and be taught

how to do so, with teachers making use of any library services and expertise to support

this.

Reading, re-reading, and rehearsing poems and plays for presentation and performance

give pupils opportunities to discuss language, including vocabulary, extending their

interest in the meaning and origin of words.

They should be able to read silently, with good understanding, inferring the meanings of

unfamiliar words, and then discuss what they have read. (5&6)

Pupils should be taught to recognise themes in what they read, such as loss or heroism.

They should have opportunities to compare characters, consider different accounts of

the same event and discuss viewpoints (both of authors and of fictional characters),

within a text and across more than one text. (5&6)

Pupils should be taught the technical and other terms needed for discussing what they

hear and read, such as metaphor, simile, analogy, imagery, style and effect. (5&6)

The skills of information retrieval that are taught should be applied, for example, in

reading history, geography and science textbooks, and in contexts where pupils are

genuinely motivated to find out information, for example, reading information leaflets

before a gallery or museum visit or reading a theatre programme or review. Teachers

should consider making use of any library services and expertise to support this. (5&6)

Shared Reading

Shared reading involves the teacher demonstrating reading strategies using a shared text. A suitable text

would be one that the children would find a little difficult to read independently therefore ensuring that the

children are challenged and would benefit from teacher direction. To make sure that shared reading is

effective, teachers need to clearly plan exactly what reading strategy and reading skill is going to be taught so

that it can be demonstrated and practised by the children.

Guided Reading During a guided reading session, a group works on an appropriately challenging text. It provides an opportunity

to discuss reading strategies; group and independent reading where strategies can be applied and text

interrogation. In order for it to be most effective it will need to be well planned so that it does not just

become a ‘reading round’ activity. Teachers will need to have clear expectations of what the intended outcome

is and will be able to use the reading criteria to check that appropriate standards are being achieved during

the task.

Independent Reading Children will also need to be provided with experience of reading by themselves so that they can develop

fluency and apply strategies independently.

Paired Reading This strategy can be used in guided reading sessions where children read sections of the text together in

order to raise the confidence of a weaker reader. When reading one to one, an adult can read with the child

until the child signals that they are ready to read by themselves. If the child then makes a reading error or

pauses for longer than five seconds, the adult begins reading with the child again until the signal is made.

Reciprocal Reading The children use a set of four reading comprehension strategies on a common text in small groups. This

technique was developed by reading researchers, Ann Brown and Ann-Marie Palincsar during the 1980s. It was

designed to enhance comprehension skills in struggling readers and operates on a simple system where there

are four key roles that the children take turns in experiencing over a number of sessions. A related approach

called ReQuest is where the reciprocal reading model has been adapted to whole class teaching. Before

reciprocal reading can be used successfully by the children, they will need to be taught and given time to

practise the four main strategies so that they are able to operate confidently in each role. Clearly the

procedure will require careful text selection and lots of teacher guidance, but there is a lot of research that

shows how successful the technique can be in improving comprehension skills. This model works well as an

activity that can be used during a lunchtime reading club.

1. The summariser will read aloud a section of the text whilst the other children follow silently. When finished,

the child will give a brief summary of the key points of the section.

2. The questioner will pose specific questions about the section and may also point out any unclear points,

puzzling information or unfamiliar words.

3. The clarifier will try to address the confusing parts and attempt to answer the questions that were posed.

4. The predictor will then offer sensible guesses about the next part of the text, e.g. what further

information may be included; what the next events in the story may be and what may happen next to certain

characters etc.

Depending on the age and how well trained the children are, roles in the group then rotate one place to the

right and the next section is read. However, it may be more appropriate for the roles to be rotated at the

beginning of the next reciprocal reading session.

Principle Teaching Methods

Important Teaching Points:

1. It is vital that in reading comprehension lessons children are exposed to the full range of text types

across the year. A simple way of ensuring this occurs is to use the same text used as a model for

writing in reading comprehension lessons too. Whole novel

Short stories

Poetry

Play script

All non-narrative genres

2. Each question type should be taught systematically throughout the year on a weekly basis. The

question type should be chosen depending upon the genre being taught that week. Also, experience of

answering a variety of question types simultaneously should be given regularly to ensure that the

children can apply the skills they have learnt. Remember that inference and deduction is given the

greatest weighting in tests and is a significant reading skill for achieving the expected standard.

3. Two English lessons per week should be devoted to the teaching of reading comprehension. One lesson

should be the teaching of skills lesson where general reading strategies and a comprehension skill

are taught and a second lesson that should allow the children to practise formulating answers

independently, sharing answers aloud and the evaluation of answers.

4. Children need to be aware of how many marks a question is worth. This will help them to know the

number of different points they will have to make in their answer.

5. Children should never copy chunks from the text. Instead they must clearly explain in their own words

and support answers when required with quotations.

6. When explaining what a word or phrase means, they must never try to explain simply by using the same

word again.

7. Before beginning an answer, children must be trained to locate evidence through following directions,

skimming, scanning and highlighting the text. They must become excellent ‘text detectives’!

8. The children should also be regularly provided with a variety of answer formats to practise regularly.

When planning for lesson one, it is useful to specifically identify skill type and answer format to be

taught. E.g. Literal – multiple-choice and one line answers.

9. Test techniques for reading comprehension tests will also need to be planned in and taught in the

reading comprehension lessons.

11. Principle teaching methods for teaching higher order reading skills: text detective training; answer

modelling; question practice; shared reading; guided reading; reciprocal reading and drama activities.

Teaching Reading Comprehension

Year

Gro

up

Reading Objectives Useful teaching activities

Nur

sery

To develop a love of books and to show interest in the

illustrations and print inside a book.

To have a favourite book.

To handle books appropriately.

To know that pictures have meanings.

To understand that print gives information.

To begin to predict words and phrases in stories.

To recognise Jolly Phonics sounds- Bk 1, 2,3

To know the difference between fact and fiction books.

Share stores as a whole class, in small groups,

individually.

Independent story reading in the story corner.

Practise holding books, turning pages from front

to back, one page at a time etc.

Home loan- share stories with parents at home.

Jolly Phonics flash cards, worksheets, alphabet

book, letters box

Rece

ption

To recognise that print gives meaning and information.

To handle books appropriately.

To predict words and phrases in stories.

To understand that books have a beginning, middle and

ending.

To begin to use book language- title, author, cover etc.

To read the 45 key words.

Daily reading of class big book.

Individual daily reading with an adult.

Action word flash cards.

Story time

Reading tapes

Book corner experience

Topic flashcards

Year

1

To read on sight high frequency words in graded reading

books matched to ability.

To read high frequency words on flash cards and in shared

class and group books.

To recognise words by common spelling patterns.

To work out, predict and check the meanings of unfamiliar

words.

To retell a short story with events in the correct order.

To give an opinion about a story that has been read or

listened to.

‘Helping Children to Read’ comments in White,

Brown, and Green reading records.

Action word flash card and worksheet activities.

Full circle

Long vowel sounds flash cards

Silly question cards

Telephone conversation.

Book reviews

Look at photographs and pictures

Year

2

To read high frequency words from the NLS list and

reading books, e.g. ORT words

To apply word level skills through shared and guided

reading.

To retell stories making use of formal story elements.

To understand time, sequential relationships in the story.

To identify and discuss events in stories

To give opinions about stories

To read, learn and recite poems.

To use phonological, contextual, grammatical and graphic

knowledge to make predictions and determine the meaning

of unfamiliar words.

To become aware of authorship and publication.

To read and respond to stories and poems.

‘Helping Children to Read’ comments in reading

records.

Whole class big book reading.

Group reading with a classroom assistant.

Retell story taking turns as story progresses.

Book reviews

Sharing books with children to model good reading.

Library time-Independent reading and choosing of

books.

Recite poems learnt to the class.

Oral answering of comprehension questions.

Ginn comprehension books

Cloze procedures

Differentiated comprehension tasks

Story maps- draw and annotate setting,

characters and events.

KS1 Reading Objectives

Reading Skills Question prompts

Language Choice

Discuss how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader

Find words and phrases that mean…

What does a particular word or phrase mean?

What is the effect of using this word?

What is the effect of putting the words in this order?

What is the effect of using short sentences/questions?

Find six powerful verbs that have been used in the poem.

Find a simile or metaphor and explain why they have been

used.

Underline two words that show…

Find and copy the sentence/ phrase/word that shows…

Explain the meaning of…

What features of the text tell you…?

What do these words tell you?

How has the feeling of... been created?

Underline two words which describe…

Why has the word x been used to describe…?

What does the use of the word x tell you about y?

What does this phrase tell you about how x felt?

Why has the author used a particular word or phrase?

Why do you think the writer described x in this way?

How does the writer build up a sense of fear etc?

How successful has the author been in achieving…?

Prediction

Predicting what might happen from details

stated and implied

Using the front cover, who can you see? What is in the

background? Where might they be?

Based on what you know, how do you think the character

will develop the story?

What details in the text tell us that….. might happen

next? What would happen if…?

Identifying Themes and Conventions

To relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts and literary traditions.

How is character X like someone you know?

Character X does some unusual things. Which of those

things have you done?

Is this a modern or historical story? How do you know?

Is this a traditional tale from another culture? How do you

know?

This is a historical story. What are the key features of

the story?

This story is about anger/bullying/change. Have you

experienced this? How were your experiences? the same

or different?

What is the story (theme) underneath the story? Does

this story have a moral or a message?

Describe different characters' reactions to the same

event in a story.

Summarising/The Main Idea

Identifying the main idea of a text

Can you describe what happened in 3 sentences?

What do you think the author was trying to tell us?

Can you order these events from first to last?

Which of these summaries is the most accurate?

Tick the most appropriate main idea for this text. Find

and copy one piece of evidence to support your idea.

Teaching Reading Comprehension KS2

Reading Skills Question prompts

Retrieve and Record Information

from Non-Fiction

What is….? Who is…? Which…? How is….? Where is…?

List three…

Name…

What happened when…?

Find…

Fill in the gaps in the table.

Complete the table.

Draw a line to match…

How many…?

Find three similarities/differences.

Sequence the main events…

Which of the following facts can be found in this article?

Drawing Inferences

Drawing inferences, such as inferring

character feelings, thoughts and motives

from the actions, and justifying inferences

with evidence.

How does the character feel when…?

Why did the character behave in a certain way?

What does the description tell you about the character?

Why is it a good title?

Why did it happen that way?

What caused…?

Why is… important?

What would be a good subheading for the paragraph?

Explain why…?

What does this sentence tell you about…?

Find and write down two pieces of evidence that…?

Describe why… Write down one reason why…

What is the main idea of the first/second verse?

Explain fully what this shows you about…

Identify how Language, Structure

and Presentation contribute to

meaning

Identify and comment on the structure and

organisation of texts, including grammatical

and presentational features at text level.

What is the purpose of the bullet points, subheadings,

boxes, pictures, diagrams, arrows, underlining etc?

Why are the words at the top of the page in bold/large

font?

Why are some parts of the story/poem/letter printed in a

different font?

Why has a glossary been included?

What is the purpose of the contents page?

What is the main purpose of…?

What is the function of…?

Tick the purpose of this paragraph.

Why is the writing organised into columns?

How does this layout help the reader?

What features tell you that this text is a poem, play script,

instructions etc.

Match the following features to its text type.

Tick three features of an autobiography, newspaper report

etc.

Fact and Opinion

Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion

Is it true/false that...?

How does the author feel about this subject/the theme of

this story?

Is the aim of the text to persuade or to inform? How do you

know?

Which words does the author use to signal that this is

opinion, rather than fact?

Interim teacher assessment framework at the end of Key Stage 1: Reading

end of key stage 2

Working towards the expected standard

The pupil can:

• read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the common graphemes

for all 40+ phonemes*

• read accurately some words of two or more syllables that contain the same

grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs)*

• read many common exception words*.

In a book closely matched to the GPCs as above, the pupil can:

• read aloud many words quickly and accurately without overt sounding and blending

• sound out many unfamiliar words accurately.

In discussion with the teacher, the pupil can:

• answer questions and make inferences on the basis of what is being said and done

in a familiar book that is read to them.

Working at the expected standard

The pupil can:

• read accurately most words of two or more syllables

• read most words containing common suffixes*

• read most common exception words*.

In age-appropriate books, the pupil can:

• read words accurately and fluently without overt sounding and blending,

e.g. at over 90 words per minute

• sound out most unfamiliar words accurately, without undue hesitation.

In a familiar book that they can already read accurately and fluently, the pupil can:

• check it makes sense to them

• answer questions and make some inferences on the basis of what is being said

and done.

Working at greater depth within the expected standard

The pupil can, in a book they are reading independently:

• make inferences on the basis of what is said and done

• predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far

• make links between the book they are reading and other books they have read.

Curriculum 2014: Assessment Frameworks

Interim teacher assessment framework at the end of Key Stage 2: Reading

end of key stage 2

Working at the expected standard

The pupil can:

• read age-appropriate books with confidence and fluency (including whole novels)

• read aloud with intonation that shows understanding

• work out the meaning of words from the context

• explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, drawing inferences

and justifying these with evidence

• predict what might happen from details stated and implied

• retrieve information from non-fiction

• summarise main ideas, identifying key details and using quotations for illustration

• evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the

impact on the reader

• make comparisons within and across books.

Reading Aims – A Summary

Develop and create a reading culture

Improve reading comprehension

Read books with fluency, expression and accuracy

Improve and develop vocabulary

Make own choices for free choice reading

Each time a new text is introduced (fiction or non-fiction – in any area of the curriculum)

Ask the following questions:

TEXT LEVEL Who wrote this text?

Who was it written for?

Why was it written? (What is the purpose?)

How is the text organised? (Look at the words that are used (formal/informal) -and

the layout – pictures, bullet points, glossary, headings, sub-headings, diagrams,

paragraphs etc)

What kind of text is this? (Is it instructions, a report, persuasive writing, an explanation,

a discussion article or does it contain elements of more than one genre – How do we know?

What features are present to confirm this?)

SENTENCE LEVEL What types of sentences are used i.e. statements, questions, orders, and exclamations?

What is the structure of the sentences i.e. short sharp, complex, list sentence etc.

And what effect do these create in the text?

What tense is it written in - past, present, future?

Which Person - first, second, third?

How is punctuation used– commas, exclamation marks, ellipses etc?

WORD LEVEL Vocabulary choices, technical or specialist vocabulary – what effect do they have?

Use of word play i.e. alliteration, metaphor, rhyme, personification (effects created by using these)

Have idioms or slang been used?

Are there deliberate misspellings?

Why were these choices made by the writer to achieve his or her purpose?

How successful is this piece of text in achieving its purpose?

What is your response to this piece of text?

A Framework for Interrogating Texts

Set Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6

Higher Jack and the Beanstalk

The Hodgeheg- Dick King-Smith

Charlotte’s Web-E.B. White

The Butterfly Lion- Michael Morpurgo

Danny the Champion of the World – Roald

Dahl

Stig of the Dump

Dinosaur Pox – Jeremy Strong

Cliffhanger

Flat Stanley

George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl

Not Bad for a Bad Lad – Michael Morpurgo

Krindlekrax- Philip Ridley

Kaspar- Michael Morpurgo

Holes- Louis Sachar

Matilda – Roald Dahl

Cool – Michael Morpurgo

The Owl Tree – Jenny Nimmo

The Wreck of the Zanzibar – Michael

Morpurgo

Dear Olly – Michael Morpurgo

Kensuke’s Kingdom- Michael Morpurgo

Friend or Foe- Michael Morpurgo

How to Train Your Dragon

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

There’s a boy in the girls bathroom – Louis

Sacher

The BFG – Roald Dahl

Why the Whales Came – Michael Morpurgo

Tom’s Midnight Garden- Philippa Pearce

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,

the Chamber of Secrets

and the Prisoner of Azkaban

War Horse – Michael Morpurgo

Shadow – Michael Morpurgo

An Elephant in the Garden – Michael

Morpurgo

Goodnight Mister Tom – Michelle Magorian

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe –

CS Lewis

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

Middle Jack and the Beanstalk

The Hodgeheg- Dick King-Smith

Fantastic Mr Fox-Roald Dahl

Charlotte’s Web- E.B. White

The Butterfly Lion- Michael Morpurgo

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad

Pig

Gorilla – Anthony Browne

The Tunnel – Anthony Browne

Hansel and Gretel

The Magic Paintbrush

George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl

Not Bad for a Bad Lad – Michael Morpurgo


Kaspar- Michael Morpurgo


Holes- Louis Sachar

Cool – Michael Morpurgo

The Wreck of the Zanzibar – Michael

Morpurgo

My Granny’s Great Escape – Jeremy Strong

The Minpins – Roald Dahl


Kensuke’s Kingdom- Michael Morpurgo

Adolphus Tips- Michael Morpurgo

How to Train Your Dragon


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

Bill’s New Frock – Anne Fine

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Tom’s Midnight Garden- Philippa Pearce

War Horse- Michael Morpurgo

Shadow – Michael Morpurgo

An Elephant in the Garden – Michael

Morpurgo

Goodnight Mister Tom – Michelle Magorian

Monster Boy – Bruce Coville

Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

Lower The Magic Finger- Roald Dahl

The Enormous Crocodile- Roald Dahl

Fantastic Mr Fox-Roald Dahl

Jack and the Beanstalk

Little Red Riding Hood

Tiddler – Julia Donaldson

Tyrannosaurus Drip – Julia Donaldson

Zog – Julia Donaldson

Flat Stanley

George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald

Dahl

Animal Tales- Michael Morpurgo


The Twits- Roald Dahl

Coraline – Neil Gaiman


The Firework makers’s daughter – Philip

Pullman

My Granny’s Great Escape – Jeremy

Strong

The Minpins – Roald Dahl


The Diary of a Killer Cat- Anne Fine


Mr Skip – Michael Morpurgo

Adolphus Tips- Michael Morpurgo

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory –

Roald Dahl

The Legend of Captain Crow’s Teeth

The Sandman and the Sea Turtles –

Michael Morpurgo

Grandpa Chatterji- Jamila Gavin

Talking Turkeys- Benjamin Zephaniah

War Horse- Michael Morpurgo

Shadow – Michael Morpurgo Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

Monster Boy – Bruce Coville

The Midnight Fox – Betsy Byars

Stuff that Scares Your Pants Off –

Glenn Murphy

The Dancing Bear – Michael Morpurgo

James and the Giant Peach – Roald

Dahl

KS2 Novels used in English


Higher Hedgehog

Giant Panda

Indian Elephant

Dragons

Dinosaurs

Crocodile

Mute Swan

Dragon

Unicorn

Dinosaurs

Bees

Jellyfish

Penguins

Whales

Owls

Marine Mammals

Middle Gorillas

Dragons

T-Rex

Butterfly

Frog

Crocodile

Mute Swan

Dragon

Unicorn

Dinosaurs

Bees

Jellyfish

Penguins

Whales

Owls

Marine Mammals

Lower Gorillas

Dragons

T-Rex

Butterfly

Frog

Crocodile

Mute Swan

Dragon

Unicorn

Dinosaurs

Bees

Jellyfish

Penguins

Whales

Owls

Sharks

Ospreys and Vultures

Marine Mammals

KS2 Animals


Higher Why does it Rain?- Miles Kelly

Volcanoes

Sharks

See Inside the World of

Dinosaurs- Alex Frith and

Peter Scott

See Under the Ground- Alex

Frith and Colin King

India- County Topics

Ancient Egypt- Miles Kelly

Horrible Geography of the

World by Anita Ganers

QED Animal Lives: Elephants-

Sally Morgan. QED Animal

Lives: Penguins- Sally Morgan.

QED Animal Lives: Whales -

Sally Morgan.

See Inside the Second World

War- Rob Lloyd Jones

Polar Bears- National

Geographic

Ancient Greece- Collins

Primary History

DK Rainforests

Exploring the World of Ours-

Tracy C Read

Middle Why does it rain? Miles Kelly

Roman Britain- Fiona

MacDonald



Peter Scott











Sally Morgan.



Lower Weather: Rain or Shine- An

Aladdin/Watts Book

Really Wild Sharks-

Heinemann First Library



Peter Scott











Sally Morgan.



KS2 Non-fiction


Higher Tornado and other shape

poems

What is Green and other list

poems

The Alphabet- Zoe Michaela

Morgan

What shape’s an ape-Gina

Douthwaite

i-Read Poetry Anthology- Pie

Corbett

Nail Soup

Three Little Pigs

Spiderella

12 Fabulously Funny Fairy

Tale Plays- Scholastic

The Puffin Book of Utterly

Brilliant Poems- Brian Pattern

The Snail- Pie Corbett

The Six Ways of Looking at

the Moon- Pie Corbett

Dreams- Pie Corbett

Storytime- Pie Corbett

Seasons Haiku- Pie Corbett

The Hedghog’s Explanation

and the Rabbit’s Advice-

Elizabeth Jennings

The Owl- Pie Corbett

Chicken Dinner- Valerie

Bloom

The Lamplighter- Robert

Louis Stevenson

From a Railway Carriage-

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Pharaoh’s Toothache-

Sean Callery

The Alien and other Plays-

Irene Yates

The Haunting

The Sound Collector- Roger

McGough

The Widow’s Daughters- Pie

Corbett

100 best Poems for Children-

Roger Mc Gough

The Works- Various authors

The Watchers- Leonard

Pearson

I saw a Peacock- Anon

Bombs and Blackberries-

Julia Donaldson

City Jungle- Pie Corbett

Last Night I Saw the City

Breathing- Andrew Fusch

Peters

Mum- Andrew Fusch Peters

Dad- Andrew Fusch Peters

Christmas- John Betjeman

Seaside Golf- John Betjeman

On a Portrait of a Deaf Man-

John Betjeman

Jabberwocky- Lewis Carroll

Spinner-

Twas The Night Before

Christmas- Clement Clarke

Moore

The BFG- Roald Dahl

The Twits- Roald Dahl

War Horse- Michael

Morpurgo

Middle

Lower

KS2 Poetry and Play scripts


Higher Should snacks be sold at playtime?

Should we have an afternoon break?

Should chocolate be banned?

Should we have school trips?

Should computer games be used in

school?

Should dogs be banned from the local

park?

Should children be allowed to bring

scooters to school?

Should the school field be sold to

housing developers?

Should children be allowed to have

pets?

Are football players paid too much

money?

Should the school day be made

longer?

Is homework necessary?

Should marine mammals be kept in

captivity?

Middle Should snacks be sold at playtime?





school?


park?


scooters to school?


housing developers?


pets?


money?


longer?



captivity?

Lower Should snacks be sold at playtime?





school?


park?


scooters to school?


housing developers?


pets?


money?


longer?



captivity?

KS2 Discussion Titles

Assessing

Reading

Reading is assessed termly in years 1, 3, 4 and 5.

Year 2 and 6 assess reading half-termly.

Children are assessed against the objectives below, which are kept inside the children’s books.

Children also take Rising Stars Reading Assessments or past Year 2 and 6 SAT papers.

Comprehension (over 80% of the time) Year 6

Objective Au Sp Su

I show a positive attitude to reading by frequently reading for pleasure, both fiction and non-fiction.

I have read and am familiar with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories,

modern fiction and fiction from literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions).

I can identify themes and conventions in a wide range of writing.

I use contextual evidence to make sense of what I read, and participate in discussions to explore words

with different meanings.

I can ask questions to improve understanding of texts

I can summarise ideas drawn from more than one paragraphs, identifying key details

I can make inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their

actions, and justifying my inferences with evidence.

I can predict future events from details stated and implied

I can distinguish between statements of fact and opinion

In non-fiction, I can retrieve, record and present information to the reader.

I can make comparisons within and across different texts.

I can identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning

I can comment on how language, including figurative language, is used to contribute to meaning.

I can recommend books to others based on my own reading preferences, giving reasons for choice.

I can give views formed through independent reading and books that are read to me, explaining and

justifying my personal opinions, and politely challenging other children’s opinions.

Assessment Focuses for Reading

Teaching

Writing

It has been widely researched and reported that for children to become successful confident and independent

writers, they need to be taught writing in a repeated and structured sequence year on year. In the words of

Pie Corbett, ‘children need to walk through the wheatfield over and over again.’ Also, of great significance is

the recommendation that writing is best addressed in a series of lessons that are explicitly linked to the genre

and form focused on during reading sessions and also the use of oral rehearsal for improving writing quality.

Furthermore, it has been highlighted that providing children with cross-curricular writing experiences is

without doubt another vital tool in improving writing standards.

The Teaching Sequence for Writing

1. Familiarisation with the genre and form of the text.

The children should already be quite familiar with the text as it will have featured in their reading

comprehension lessons. However, they will now be instructed to ‘read the text as a writer’ in order to develop a

text type ‘toolkit’. At this stage children should become highly aware of the specific text type ingredients and

be able to recall them.

2. Daily sentence work

Sentence work should be linked to the types of sentences used in the text type being taught so that the

children have plenty of practice at forming sentences that they will be able to draw upon for inspiration when

writing independently.

3. Prepare and Plan

Children should always be presented with a task, usually via the IWB, so that they can answer the ‘five writing

questions’ to train the children to be able to correctly identify correct viewpoint, purpose and audience. In

addition, the children should always plan using a planning grid (although some adaptations may be needed

depending on ability and the format of the task) to ensure that the children are taught consistent planning

methods across the whole of KS2.

4. Capturing Ideas

At this stage in the writing process children could be given opportunities to develop and extend ideas through

role-play and other drama activities.

5. Talk for Writing

Bridging the gap between quality talk and quality writing is always challenging, but if done effectively it can

vastly improve children’s engagement in the writing process and the quality of writing produced (particularly in

boys). Following their plans, children should be given the opportunity to orally rehearse in small

groups/pairs/individually the article/story that they are intending to write. The greater the number of

opportunities that each child has to orally rehearse their piece of writing, the more interesting the writing will

become. It is through saying difficult sentences aloud that they will become more confident at saying them

silently in their heads when writing.

Obviously, this is an exciting strategy that will need to be developed through frequent repetition, whole class

training and practised cumulatively and progressively each year. Pleasingly, this is a technique that works for

every year group across both key stages.

Teaching Writing

6. Shared Writing

Shared writing has provided teachers with the opportunity to teach writing rather than to merely enthuse and

inspire children to write. It is a powerful teaching strategy and the principle means of teaching writing. Shared

writing is an over-arching term for a range of strategies that effectively facilitate the movement from

dependence to independence.

Teacher modelling/Teacher demonstration- The teacher writes in front of the children and verbalises

writing making decisions. It needs to be sufficiently brisk and interactive as this could easily become

tedious for the children. Children should be drawn into the task through offering suggestions for

improvements or commenting on why a decision has been made.

Shared composition- Teacher acts as the scribe, whilst children offer suitable words and sentences

that could be included in the writing whilst they write it into their books. This method is extremely

supportive and ensures the children have a good quality paragraph to model the rest of their writing

on, but it also has many disadvantages. For instance:

-It allows some pupils to sit back and let others do the work.

-Some pupils spend all of their time trying to keep up with writing it down so don’t get chance to offer

any contributions.

-It causes the children to be heavily dependent upon the teacher.

-It doesn’t directly teach the children the paragraph that they will do next independently so they

then struggle to continue to write to the same standard.

-It encourages lots of shared introductions and openings to be practised rather than the other

paragraphs, but still the children continue to struggle on how to begin when asked to produce an

independent piece.

Therefore, a more effective and efficient way to teach writing would be to use the Pie Corbett’s recommended

model for shared writing below:

Teacher Children Scribing

Re-reading

Valuing all contributions

Articulating choices

Prompting improvement

Dealing with difficult spellings

Promoting varied sentences

Encouraging use of specific nouns

Teaching the objective

Whiteboards

Talking partners

Writing magpies

Writing journals

Dictionary monitors

Thesaurus monitors

Synonym card holders

1. Shared writing of the introduction

2. Hide page

3. Children write introduction

4. Next day or the next part of the lesson, do exactly the same.

The immediate advantage of this approach is that the children all know that the better they interact in the

shared composition, the easier they will find their own paragraph. Clearly, no child will be mindlessly copying

other people’s sentences from the board! Importantly, it ensures that all children experience regular

independent writing in a secure environment and that the writing they produce is their writing, albeit

stimulated from a good example. This safe supported and regular approach will help to reduce the fear that

some children feel when asked to write and of course, ‘fear is the enemy of creativity’.

Teaching Writing

These strategies have all been

suggested specifically because

of their interactive nature which

will, when practised with the

children, enhance the shared

writing experience.

7. Guided Writing

While the other children are writing independently, it may be useful to have a guided group positioned close to

the board that need further support to achieve the objective or a group that will benefit from being taught a

higher level writing technique. The group could also be children who need to concentrate on a specific area,

such as punctuation, using more powerful verbs, joining sentences with lots of ands etc

8. Independent Writing

Independent writing should follow on directly from shared writing. In order for the children to still feel

supported, it is important that writing ingredient checklists or writer’s toolkits are displayed along with

sentence and word banks. The children will require some opportunities throughout the year to plan and write

totally independently so that in test situations they feel fully confident and secure in their own writing ability.

Children need to be regularly asked the five writing questions and the questions must be displayed in the

classroom.

1. Who is going to be reading your piece of

writing? (audience)

2. Who are you pretending to be? (Teacher, child, parent, policeman, Prime Minister

etc.) (viewpoint)

3. What is the purpose of the piece of writing? (To persuade, complain, enquire, discuss, describe,

etc.) (purpose)

4. How should it be organised? (organisation)

5. What language features must be included? (First or third person/ present or past tense.)

The Five Writing Questions

Before beginning a piece of writing children should be

able to answer the following questions:

Teaching Writing

When teaching children to write stories, it can often be tempting to think that they lack imagination. However,

it is actually ‘the building blocks with which to be imaginative with that are often missing’. Many children have

read so little that they have no narrative patterns to draw upon and undoubtedly it is always the children who

are avid readers that write the best stories. Therefore, it our duty to ensure that children have plenty of

opportunities to read and hear stories so that they can internalise many narrative patterns that they can then

use for inspiration.

This idea is central to the ‘Storymaking Process’ devised by Pie Corbett and Mary Rose and now lies at the

heart of the English Primary Framework in the form of ‘Talk for Writing’. Their research demonstrated that

children’s story writing greatly improved in every year group after oral storytelling experience.

The storymaking process has three main strands that all involve oral rehearsal of stories. Once familiar with

each strand, judgements will be required as to which strand is an appropriate starting point and which strand is

the intended outcome for a particular sequence of lessons.

The Three Strands

1. Imitation The aim is to keep retelling a story until it can be retold by the whole class together.

What is the process?

1. Choose a good story.

It may be useful to start with a fairly brief story that has a repetitive pattern.

2. Draw a story map.

This is a crucial element of the process. The map can be annotated with any rhythmic

patterns of special words that are integral to the story or specific story connectives

that you would like the children to use.

3. Practise telling the story aloud.

Using the map to help, practise telling the story several times on your own.

4. Retell the story.

Tell the story to the children with the story map clearly displayed and use

actions for certain words to make it more memorable. E.g. A sweep of the arm

when each connective is used to introduce the main parts of the story- early

one morning, after that, next, unfortunately etc.

Tell the story again encouraging participation with some words and actions.

Keep retelling until it becomes a communal story telling experience.

Put the children into pairs and ask them to retell the story using the map

either together or taking it in turns at a given point or when one child runs out

of an idea. Of course it doesn’t have to be word perfect, but it should follow

the guidelines set out on the map.

Let pairs of children or individuals perform the story.

Finally, the children will write the story. Use shared writing to demonstrate

how the story can be improved further.

Teaching Narrative Writing

2. Innovation Once the children have a firm grasp of the narrative pattern contained in the

original story, it can then be adapted as a whole class or individually depending on the

ability and needs of the group. This can be done in a number of very simple ways.

1. Substitutions- change certain elements of the main story, e.g. in ‘Goldilocks and

the Three Bears’, substitute the porridge, chairs and beds for other household

items.

2. Alterations- alter the setting or the character of the story, e.g. in ‘Cinderella’,

change the girl to a boy and the ball to a football tournament. Change the wishes and

the outcome in the ‘Genie and the Magic Lamp’. Alter or adapt the ending of the

original story.

3. Change the viewpoint- tell the story from a different character’s point of view,

e.g. in ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ tell the story from his mother’s or the giant’s point of

view.

Now that the children have their own version of the story, they will need to draw

a story map that they can follow when orally rehearsing their story. In Y3

(depending on ability) children will need to begin to adapt story maps into story

mountain plans.

They will need the opportunity to retell their story at least three times before

it begins to become fluent and some will require six retellings before they are

ready to write.

Finally, the children now have a go at writing their own adapted story.

3. Invention The third strand represents the ability to invent stories as a whole class or

individually. All children need regular practice and will find it so much easier once

they have experienced the imitation and innovation stages a number of times.

Stories should have a simple five part structure: opening, build-up, problem,

resolution and ending as this eventually supports the teaching of paragraphs.

Story ideas should be simple and may possibly have a twist or unexpected ending

to excite the reader depending on story genre.

Using a story map or mountain plan, children should practise retelling their

stories orally using the group’s established story connectives.

Once fluent, the children begin to write the story. If following a shared plan,

shared writing should be used before each part of the story to further enhance

the quality of the language being used.

Help children to internalise the five stage story mountain plan through plenty of discussion and experience.

It can be helpful to use familiar stories and show how they can be divided up into the main sections.

Children could then do this individually or in pairs.

Another useful activity is to give children a list of random story sentences and ask them which part of the

story mountain they belong to, e.g. ‘At that moment the woodcutter rushed in with his axe high above his

head.’ – resolution.

Using drama and role-play, in groups children could act out each stage of the story and then perform the

story as a whole.

The children could also be split into groups of five and presented with a simple story mountain plan. Each

child then takes a part of the story and then they practise orally telling the story. After orally retelling a

number of times, the children write their paragraph and the group then practise reading it aloud to check

that it flows. It can be useful to give children starting connectives for each paragraph. Once confident the

children could then read their stories to the whole group. Each group could have a different story mountain

plan depending on the ability of the children.

Talk for Writing

As a class, in pairs and individually have a go at inventing simple five part stories that match a particular

story genre.

Chart a nursery rhyme on a mountain plan and then use it to covert the rhyme into a story. With older

children it could be interesting to change the ending or add extra humorous details.

Make sure children are able to consult the plan and answer the following questions:

-Who is the main character?

-Where is the main character?

-What happens at the start?

-What is the main character doing?

-What goes wrong?

-How is it sorted out?

-What happens at the end?

Characterisation

Children often struggle to include character description in a story without halting the pace or making the

description sound stilted and unnecessary. They need to be taught how to show the reader as opposed to

telling the reader.

Successful stories have character details woven into the fabric of the story in a number of simple and

effective ways.

For example:

-characters with an interesting name and one or two special details, e.g. a mischievous girl with blue

piercing eyes who collects pictures of snakes; an old man with gnarled arthritic hands and crooked yellow

teeth; (Sam, who had chestnut brown eyes and a small button nose, was transfixed by the small brown package on the seat next to him. He wore green shorts that showed off his knobbly knees, shiny black shoes and a multi-coloured T-shirt that made his arms look like twigs.) -character description through what is said;

(Hurry up!’ yelled Jack to his younger sister Daisy, as he swiftly buttoned up his warm black woollen coat. “Get out!” Lucy snarled.) -character description through what is done;

(Molly stormed across the playground muttering to herself. Sam stooped down and patted the Labrador

softly on the head.)

-showing not telling.

(Tom darted through the forest, his heart pounding in his chest. The colour drained from Emily’s face as

the door suddenly flew open.)

Sentences that lend themselves nicely to character description are: 1. Speech sentences

2. Extra-information sentences

3. List sentences

4. Ing sentences

5. Ed sentences

Story Writing Guidelines

The Setting

Children regularly forget to describe the setting which causes the story to lack substance and makes it

very difficult for the reader to build a picture in their imagination. As with characterisation, setting

description needs to be subtle and drip-fed through the story as too much could interrupt the flow of the

narrative.

Successful writers use a number of different techniques to ensure setting description is evident.

For example:

-naming places in the story, e.g. Dead Man’s Cove, Apple Tree Lane, Cornfields Primary;

-Using specific nouns, e.g. Renault Clio, King Charles Spaniel, oak tree;

-Referring to the time of the day throughout the story;

-Include description about the weather and how it changes throughout the story, e.g. The rain lashed the

street while the howling wind whipped up empty coke cans into a frenzy.

Sentences that lend themselves nicely to setting description are: 1. Short descriptive sentences 5. As sentences

2. Preposition sentences 6. Conjunction sentences

3. List sentences 7. Extra-information sentences

4. Time connective sentences

Regular use of a senses chart during sentence work encourages good ideas for setting description.

See

Smell

Taste

Touch

Hear

Feel

sea

waves

dolphins

sharks

flying fish

reflection

sun

clouds

sky

sails

horizon

salt

fresh air

fish

salt

water

sick

boat

water

dolphins

fish

rain

crashing

splashing

creaking

roaring

flapping

carefree

excited

exhilarated

anxious

worried

scared

seasick


Setting the scene: Aboard a boat in the middle of the ocean.

Examples of sentences stimulated by the senses chart:

Adverb sentence: Excitedly, I scanned the crystal blue waters around me while the breeze rushed through my strawberry blonde hair.

Connective sentence and a short sharp sentence: In the distance, I noticed a black fin slicing through the water coming closer. Closer. Too close.

As sentence: As I looked down into the warm waters below, I could see my excited grin smiling back at me.

Extra-information sentence: The boat, which was called the Peggy Sue, rocked unsteadily as the waves crashed unmercifully onto the deck beneath my feet.

Conjunction sentence: While the dolphins danced in the ocean, I stared, mesmerised by the beautiful sight.

List sentence: I ran to my cabin, quickly locked the door and dived under my quilt to block out the claps of thunder above.

It is useful for the children to be able to see a list of story ingredients relevant to their level on display in

the classroom.


1. Paragraphs

2. Begin with speech, action or description.

3. Use title somewhere in the story

4. Detailed description of characters and setting- Remember

your senses!

5. Speech marks

6. Verbs in the past tense

7. Exclamation marks!!!!!

8. Question marks?????

9. Commas,,,,,,,,,,

10. Brackets ( )

11. Ellipses… … …

12. Tension and suspense

13. Similes

14. Time connectives

15. Adjectives

16. Adverbs

17. Specific nouns

18. Unexpected ending (a twist)

19. Main character learns a lesson

20. Variety of different sentence types

Each ability group will need

to have their own list so

that it matches their

particular needs. We must

ensure that the lists don’t

overwhelm the children.

Story Openings

1. Time Openings This is the easiest of the story opening techniques and one that younger children are most confident with.

-Once upon a time...

-One day...

-One winter’s morning...

-One summer’s day...

2. Dialogue Openings Speech sentences are often a useful and effective way to begin a story as it immediately demonstrates

that the children know how to punctuate speech accurately and with an as clause can instantly reveal

important details to the reader. E.g. “What a lovely day to go to the beach!” yelled Joe to his best friend

Mary as they hurtled down the winding pathway that led onto the golden soft sand. Instantly, the reader

knows that the two characters are best friends; it is a nice day; they are excited to be going to the beach

and the beach is clean and child friendly even if the path down to it is a little too dangerous to be running

on!

Sentence work on teaching children how to punctuate speech correctly will be important when teaching

dialogue openings and can also be demonstrated in shared writing.

They will need to know the basic rule of- new speaker-new line as early as possible so that they can set it

out correctly on the page.

It is important to limit the children to the number of speech sentences that they can use so that they

don’t overflow the story with boring aimless talking between the characters that the reader can’t follow.

When focusing on speech, teach the children to put the speech verb after what is spoken, e.g. ‘I hope the

hamster doesn’t bite,’ whispered Jake. Once confident at using the correct punctuation, an as clause could

be added or the speech verb could be moved to the middle or the beginning.

3. Character Openings Opening the story by introducing the main character is another alternative way that children could be

taught to begin their story.

-Jemima Jackson had had enough of being picked on by her brother.

-Sam Granger had enjoyed living on Hawthorn Drive all his life. Well that was until the new family moved in

next door.

- The new girl’s name was Poppy and everyone thought she was funny- at first.

4. Setting Openings

Using setting description to begin a story can be an interesting way to hook the reader and make them

want to continue to read the story.

-On the edge of town stood an empty warehouse.

-Wayside Primary was located in the middle of town.

-The park was always busy on a Saturday afternoon.

-The beach was Jenny’s favourite place to visit during the school holidays.

5. Action Openings

The action opening could be very dramatic or just enough to get the story going depending on the story

genre.

-Emma tiptoed past her parent’s bedroom and down the stairs, missing the fourth step because it always

squeaked.

-Hannah raced across the playground and through the door before anyone had chance to talk to her.

-Lucy switched on the TV, just in time for the news.

-Matthew stomped upstairs to his bedroom and angrily slammed the door.

-A door banged.


The art of crafting a poem is a wonderful skill and practice of this skill should feature prominently in English

planning. In fact, Pie Corbett has suggested that a week on poetry should precede every two week story

writing block. This is because the skills involved in writing poetry are transferable to all types of writing and all

writing benefits from experimentation with word choice; deliberation over detail and word order; use of the

senses to stimulate description and awareness and thoughtfulness about what is around them. Above all poems

appeal to children because they are fairly short, often funny and easy to redraft and improve.

There are many simple warm-up poetry activities outlined by Pie Corbett in his ‘Jumpstart’ series that can

be used with children of all ages that produce original quirky poems and help give children the confidence

and freedom to play with words. Also, they are a useful way of introducing the children to a range of poetic

tools and techniques. The following are a few of the ‘Jumpstart’ examples.

Picture Poems

Teaching Poetry

A speed boat patiently waits,

Tranquil water slowly breathes,

Soft sand sparkles,

Palm trees welcome and wave,

High above clouds keep a watchful eye.

As Joe glanced out across the tranquil turquoise water, he noticed

a deserted sleek speed boat sitting silently. Could it really be the

boat that the pirates had used to make their getaway earlier that

day? Excitedly, Joe marched across the soft sparkling sand

towards the sea determined to investigate. He wondered to

himself how much the reward money would be for finding the

precious jewels. Slipping his trainers off, Joe dived in and swam

towards the mysterious vessel.

1. Begin by identifying the nouns in the picture.

2. Then give instructions on how each line should

begin, e.g. with the noun; with an adjective or a

preposition etc.

3. Could ask the children to include a literary

stylistic device such as a simile, metaphor,

alliteration or personification.

The Metaphor Game

A metaphor is where you say one thing is another, e.g. The sky is a soft velvety blanket.

In this game the children choose an animal and then compare it to six of the following:

-a person

-a place

-an object

-a mood

-a colour

-a number

-a vegetable

-a fruit

-a vehicle

-a TV programme

-a character from a book

-a plant

-an insect

Unquestionable Boasting

This poetry activity provides the children with a rare opportunity to show off and invent lots of boastful

comments about themselves. At first it would be useful to share with the children Pie Corbett’s example to

illustrate exactly how far they need to go with their boasting!

It works best if the children are also given a list of

basic categories, that the children can extend if

necessary, to trigger off their boasting ideas.

For example:

Sports

Books

Authors

Scientists

Artists

Cars

Films

TV

Cooks

Olympics

Places

Inventors

Inventions

World records

Creatures

Buildings

Landmarks

Teaching Poetry

A giraffe is...

A clown on stilts at the circus,

The Eiffel Tower in Paris,

A hatstand with no hats,

A hopeful glance across the town,

A yellow streak of sunset,

The number one.

Pie Corbett is...

A Mercedes at top speed,

An undiscovered planet,

The first person to eat

Three Shredded Wheat

And have space for more,

Cleverer than Einstein,

A number one hit record,

A regular feature in

The Guinness Book of Records,

A stand in for Harry Potter,

A cutglass chandelier,

A member of the Magnificent Seven,

The finest vintage wine,

Cooler than James Bond,

And hotter than Vesuvius.

Opposite Poems

Opposite poems are another simple idea that causes the children to really think about everyday objects in

new and imaginative ways. The children make a list of eight everyday occurrences and finish by describing

the opposite of what they do.

For example: Tonight at noon,

Rain will drip upwards,

The sun will shine darkly,

Clocks will run backwards,

Teachers will be set homework,

Electric eels will get a nasty shock,

Banks will open their vaults,

And spelling tests will begin with the answers.

I Wish Poems

Create a few strange wishes as a group before encouraging the children to have a go in pairs or individually.

For example: I wish I was the tooth fairy, who can always stay up late,

I wish I was the power behind the foot that shoots the ball in the net,

I wish I was the soft runny centre of a chocolate orange crème.

Fast Poems

This is a quick activity that reinforces word class teaching. Simply show them an example and allow them to

choose from list of suitable nouns.

1 noun Spaghetti, Butterfly,

2 adjectives Thin and Soft, Delicate and light,

3 adverbs Silently, slowly, easily, Softly, nimbly, nervously,

4 verbs Slipping, sliding, slithering, Fluttering, flying, hovering,

Disappearing. Landing.

Teaching Poetry

When introducing one of the six non-narrative text types to the children, a good model featuring all of the

appropriate language and organisational features should be used. It is also imperative that ingredient

checklists (suitable for your set) are displayed in the classroom along with appropriately coloured planning

skeletons. Teaching of this text type should also be regularly reinforced in other curriculum areas.

Talk for Writing

As with the teaching of narrative writing, speaking and listening activities should also seamlessly fit in the non-

narrative teaching sequence. Due to their distinctive features each text type lends itself to different

speaking and listening activities that can be used at the ‘capturing ideas’ stage of the writing sequence.

Text type Activity Examples

Recount Drama/Role-play In groups children act out a particular event from

their planned sequence of events.

Freeze-framing Again in groups children show a living representation

of certain events from their recount plan.

Retelling Children retell sections of the recount or all of it to

partners or the whole class.

Report Show and Tell Children could present the subject of the report to

the rest of the class in a show and tell type format.

TV or radio documentaries Presentations involving commentary, interviews and

mini-dramatisations.

Hot-seating In role pupils answer questions from the class.

Shared Brain A panel answer questions on a subject they have

researched.

Just a Minute Children must speak for a whole minute on a subject

they have researched. Can also be done in pairs.

Instructions Do it yourself The children actually do or make the thing they are

going to write about.

TV demonstration Children pretend to be on TV miming actions and

providing a running commentary whilst pretending to

produce the object.

Explanation Shared Brain A panel answer questions on a subject they have

researched.


Just a Minute Children must speak for a whole minute on a subject

they have researched. Can also be done in pairs.

Persuasion Small group discussion Discussion of open-ended questions in which the group

must meet a consensus, e.g. ordering a set of

statements according to importance.


Discussion Debates Formal debates with pupils in role presenting and

responding to arguments.

Question Time A panel of experts are questioned by the audience.

Teaching Non-narrative Writing

The Three Strands

When teaching non-narrative writing, we have become reliant on the ‘hope’ that through frequent exposure to

examples of the text type, children will automatically absorb written language patterns and reproduce them

independently. Whilst a small number of talented children can cope with jumping straight to the invention

stage, the majority of children require opportunities to imitate and innovate before being required to produce

their own piece of non-narrative writing.

1. Imitation

1. Begin by choosing, adapting or creating a suitable model that is at the appropriate level for the ability of

the children being taught and contains the language and organisational features that the children will be

expected to use. E.g. A discussion article- Should children play computer games in school?

2. Use this text in the reading comprehension lesson so that the children, through text interrogation, are

already starting to become familiar with the text.

3. Using the IWB, display key connective phrases and picture cues for each paragraph for the children to

follow as they listen to the non-narrative article a number of times.

4. Next, connect actions to the key connective phrases and ask the children to join in orally rehearsing

each paragraph until all of the article can be recalled. Practise as a whole class, in groups and in pairs or

even individually.

5. Box up the article during a shared planning session to ensure the children understand the purpose behind

each paragraph and what the plan would look like. Shared answering of the five writing questions to ensure

children are thinking about viewpoint, audience and purpose. Identify the significant language and

organisational features to create a writer’s toolkit/ success criteria and display in the classroom.

2. Innovation

6. Introduce the non-narrative task. E.g. To write a discussion article for the school website- Should

children have to do homework? Shared planning of the article using the same grid that was introduced

during the ‘boxing it up’ lesson in the imitation stage.

7. Display the key connective phrases for each paragraph on individual pieces of card and display on a

washing line where all the children can see them. Also, ensure that there is a list of grammatical function

words and a list of topic related words on display for the children to see.

8. Using the same/similar connective phrases learnt at the imitation stage, use them in shared writing to

produce the introduction for the new title. Remove this from view and then ask the children to

independently write their introductions. Follow the same process for each paragraph and include time for

checking, editing and improving.


3. Invention

9. Give the children two different titles to choose from. E.g. Should scooters be allowed in school? Is a

trampoline a good toy for children to play on? Ensure titles are introduced as part of a task from which

children have to identify, viewpoint, audience and purpose by answering the five writing questions. Ask the

children to use the same box plan that they have used at both the imitation and innovation stage. Remind

them of the key connective phrases displayed on the washing line for each paragraph that they will be able

to use to structure their very own discussion article.

10. Children to write their own discussion articles independently. Include time for checking, editing and

improving.

Over the three week teaching period for each text type the children will produce two longer pieces of

writing and experience the planning process three times. It will be vital to teach the process of planning

and writing short tasks for each of the text types through history and geography lessons. Therefore,

writing tasks for topic lessons will need to be carefully planned in.

The three week teaching block should be planned systematically to ensure that there are six reading

comprehension lessons and nine writing lessons altogether.


Writing

Objectives

Year

Group

Narrative Writing: Short stories, play scripts and poetry

Long Narrative Tasks Short Narrative Tasks Poetry

Nur

sery

Retelling of a known story

Simple description of a

favourite part of the story. Singing simple rhymes

Rece

ption


Simple description of a

character or setting.

Description of a favourite

part of the story.

Finishing nursery rhymes

Year

1

Retelling of a known

story

Picture storybooks

Historical story

Adventure story

Traditional tale

Real life story

Description of a character

Description of an event in a

story

Write an event in a story

from a character’s point of

view.

Poems

Prayers

Year

2

Retelling of a known

story

Traditional tale

Adventure story

Real life story

Humorous story

Description of a character

Description of the setting

Description of an event in a

story

Write an event in a story


view.

Riddles, poems on similar

themes, puzzles, jokes,

tongue twisters.

Author/poet study

KS1 Narrative Writing Objectives

Year

Group

Narrative Writing: Short stories, play scripts

and poetry

Planning: In all year groups planning should take the form of a

box plan

Long Narrative Tasks Short Narrative Tasks Poetry

Year

3


Real life story

Traditional tale

Adventure story

Play script

Write an event in the story


view

Write a letter from point of

view a character in the story

A short scene from a play

Performance poetry

Shape poems

Calligrams

Year

4

Historical story

Fantasy story

Real life story- dilemma

Story from a different

culture

Play script

Character sketches

Setting descriptions

Write an event in the story


view


Haiku /Cinquain

List poems

Classic poems

Year

5

Myths, fables and legends

Real life story

Mystery/Suspense story

Adventure story

Play script

Story from a different

culture.

Write a letter from point of

view a character in the

story.

Alternative endings

Story openings

Character sketches


Suspense paragraphs

Action paragraphs


Classic poems

Narrative poems

Performance poems

Year

6

Time-slip story

Fantasy story

Traditional tale

Real life story

Mystery/Suspense story

Extended story ( After

SATs)

Play script

Book blurbs

Alternative endings

Story openings

Character sketches


Suspense paragraphs

Action paragraphs

Descriptions of objects,

people, places and events


Free verse poems

Poems that reflect on an

issue

Classic poems

Shape Poems

KS2 Narrative Writing Objectives

Year

Group

Recount: To retell events of an outing or an event from history.

Language and

organisational

features to be taught

Form Progression

Nur

sery

Verbs in the past tense

First person

Description of a

significant event, e.g.

holidays, birthdays, visits,

productions.

Description of weekly

shopping visit.

Informally recounts incidents in

their own life to other adults and

children and listens to others

doing the same. Experiment with

writing in a variety of play,

exploratory and role-play

situations.

Rece

ption


First person

Diary writing

Description of a

significant event, e.g.

birthday, school trip,

Christmas holidays etc.

Letter

Sequencing events on a

timeline

Write sentences to match

pictures or sequences of pictures

illustrating an event. Use

experience of simple recounts as

a basis for shared composition

with an adult such as retelling,

substituting or extending leading

to simple independent writing.

Year

1


Powerful verbs

Interesting adjectives

Sequential connectives

First person

Letter

Autobiography- diary

writing

Description of a favourite

holiday, trip or event.

Book and film reviews

Interview

Describe incidents from their

own experience in an audible voice

using sequencing words and

phrases such as ‘then’, ‘after that’

and listen to other children’s

recounts and ask relevant

questions.

Year

2


Powerful verbs



First person

Letter

Autobiography- diary

writing

Description of a visit, trip

or weekend event.

Description of an activity

Interview

Read personal recounts and begin

to recognise the generic

structure, e.g. ordered sequence

of events, use of words like:

first, next, after, when. Write

simple first person recounts

linked to topics of interest or

personal experience using the

language of texts read as models

for own writing, maintaining

consistency in tense and person.

KS1 Recount

Year

Group

Recount: To retell events of an outing or

an event from history.

Planning: In all year groups planning for recount writing should take the

form of a box plan.

Language and organisational


Form Progression

Year

3


Powerful verbs



First person

Letter

Newspaper or

magazine report

Diary

Watch or listen to third person

recounts such as news or sports

reports on television, radio or

podcast. Identify the sequence of

the main events. Read examples

of third person recounts such as:

newspapers, letters and diaries.

Year

4


Powerful verbs


Adventurous adverbs


First person

Paragraphs

An introductory paragraph, which

answers: Who is it about? What

happened? When and where did it

happen? Why was it interesting?

A simple concluding sentence

Letter

Newspaper or

magazine report

Diary

Write newspaper style reports,

e.g. about school events or an

incident from a story, using a

wider range of connectives and

including detail expressed in ways

which will engage the reader.

Year

5


Powerful verbs


Adventurous adverbs


First person

Paragraphs





Reported speech

A concluding paragraph

Letter

Newspaper or

magazine report

TV report

Interview

Accident Report

Identify the features of

recounted texts such as sports

reports, diaries, police reports,

including introduction to set the

scene, chronological sequence,

varied but consistent use of past

tense. Consistent degree of

formality adopted and a varied

use of connectives. To write

contrasting recounts based on

the same subject, e.g. before and

after an event, one event two

opposing viewpoints.

Year

6


Powerful verbs


Adventurous adverbs


First person

Paragraphs





Reported speech

A concluding paragraph

Biographical writing

Autobiographical

writing

Newspaper or

magazine report

Radio report

Newsletter

Distinguish between biography

and autobiography, recognising

the effect on the reader of the

choice between first and third

person, distinguishing between

fact and opinion, distinguishing

between implicit and explicit

points of view. Develop skills of

biographical writing in role of

historical characters, preparing a

CV, a biographical account based

on research, police description,

school report, obituary.

KS2 Recount

Year

Group

Instructions: To tell someone how to do or make something.

Language and

organisational


Form

Progression

Nur

sery

title- a statement of what is

to be achieved

numbered steps

Instructions

Recipe

Rules

Listen to and follow single

instruction and then a series of two

and three instructions. Give oral

instructions when playing games.

Read and follow simple classroom

instructions on labels with additional

pictures of symbols.

Rece

ption


to be achieved

numbered steps

imperative verbs

Instructions

Recipe

Rules

Listen to and follow single

instruction and then a series of two

and three instructions. Give oral

instructions when playing games.

Read and follow simple classroom

instructions on labels with additional

pictures of symbols. Attempt to

write instructions on labels, for

instance in the role play area.

Year

1


to be achieved

list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person

short descriptive and

conjunction sentences

Instructions

Directions

Recipe

Rules

Listen to and follow a single more

detailed instruction and a longer

series of simple instructions. Think

out and give clear single oral

instructions. Routinely read and

follow written classroom labels

carrying instructions. Read and

follow short series of instructions in

shared context. Contribute to class

composition of instructions with

teacher scribing. Write two

consecutive instructions

independently.

Year

2


to be achieved

list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person

short descriptive and

conjunction sentences

Instructions

Directions

Recipe

Rules

Listen to and follow a series of more

complex instructions. Give clear oral

instructions to members of a group.

Read and follow simple sets of

instructions such as: recipes, plans,

constructions which include

diagrams. Identify and note typical

language and organisational features.

With teacher scribing, compose a

set of instructions with additional

diagrams. Write simple instructions

independently.

KS1 Instructions

Year

Group

Instructions: To tell someone how to do or make

something.

Planning:

In all year groups planning for instruction

writing should take the form of a box plan.



Form Progression

Year

3

title- a statement of what is to be achieved

list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person

short descriptive and conjunction sentences

instructions

recipes

rules

directions

Read and compare examples of

instructional texts evaluating

their effectiveness. Work in

small groups to prepare a set

of oral instructions. Write

clear written instructions using

correct language and

organisational features.

Year

4


list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person


adjectives and adverbs added for clarity

rather than effect

Connectives- first, next, then, finally

instructions

recipes

rules

directions

In group work, give clear

oral instructions to

achieve the completion

of a common task. Follow

oral instructions of

increased complexity.

Evaluate sets of

instructions for

effectiveness.

Year

5


list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person



rather than effect

Connectives- first, next, then, finally

Extra information in boxes, e.g. safety

advice, interesting associated facts

instructions

recipes

rules

directions







Evaluate sets of

instructions for

effectiveness.

Year

6


list of equipment

numbered steps

imperative verbs

present tense

second person



rather than effect

connectives- first, next, then, finally

extra information in boxes, e.g. safety

advice, interesting associated facts

instructions

recipes

rules

directions







Evaluate sets of

instructions for

effectiveness.

KS2 Instructions

Year

Group

Explanation: To explain how or why something

happens or how something works

Planning:

In all year groups planning for explanation writing

should take the form of a box plan.



Form Progression

Year

3

present tense

formal and impersonal style

third person

technical vocabulary

connective sentences

Labelled diagrams

and flowcharts

Newspaper or

magazine article

Create diagrams such as

flowcharts to summarise or

make notes of stages in a

process. Use notes to

explain processes orally

before writing

independently.

Year

4

present tense


third person


introductory paragraph

bullet points if appropriate


causal sentence openings, e.g.

The reason is that… This results

in… This causes…

paragraphs

concluding sentence

Labelled diagrams

and flowcharts

Newspaper or

magazine article

Read and analyse a range of

explanatory texts to identify key

features. Distinguish between

explanatory texts, recounts and

reports while recognising that an

information book might contain

examples of all these forms.

Orally summarise processes using

notes contained in flowcharts and

cyclical diagrams when

appropriate. After oral rehearsal,

write explanatory texts

independently from a flowchart or

other diagrammatic plan.

Year

5

present tense


third person


introductory and concluding

paragraph





in… This causes… Consequently…

paragraphs

subheadings if appropriate

Labelled diagrams

and flowcharts

Newspaper or

magazine article

Letter


explanatory texts and be aware of

key language and organisational

features. Engage in teacher

demonstration of how to research

and plan a page for a reference

book on one aspect of a class topic

using shared writing. After shared

writing, independently plan,

compose, edit and refine

explanatory texts, using reading as

a source, focusing on clarity,

conciseness and impersonal style.

Year

6

present tense


third person


introductory and concluding

paragraph





in… This causes… Consequently…

paragraphs

subheadings if appropriate

Labelled diagrams

and flowcharts

Newspaper or

magazine article

Leaflet


explanatory texts and be aware of

key language and organisational

features. Engage in teacher

demonstration of how to research

and plan a page for a reference

book on one aspect of a class topic

using shared writing. After shared

writing, independently plan,

compose, edit and refine

explanatory texts, using reading as

a source, focusing on clarity,


KS2 Explanation

Year

Group

Report: To describe the way something is or the way things are.

Language and

organisational


Form Progression

Nur

sery

present tense (except

historical reports)

Labels

Menus

Lists

Individual descriptions

for class book

Describe something/someone

(possibly after drawing

it/them). Develop the

description in response to

prompts or questions. (What

does she eat? Has she a

favourite toy?) Ask similar

probing questions to elicit a

fuller description from

someone else.

Rece

ption


historical reports)

Pictures with captions

Lists

Labels

Menus

Read information books and

look at and reread

independently. Experiment

with writing labels, captions

and sentences for pictures or

drawings in a variety of play,

exploratory and role-play

situations.

Year

1


historical reports)

factual writing often

involving technical

words and phrases.

Bullet points

A description

Diagrams and labels


Lists

Charts and tables

Interview

Find out about a subject by listening

and following text as information

books are read or a video is watched.

Contribute to a discussion on the

subject as information is assembled

and the teacher writes the

information. Assemble information on

a subject in own experience, e.g. food,

pets. Write a simple information

report by writing sentences to

describe aspects of the subject.

Year

2


historical reports)

factual writing often

involving technical

words and phrases.

A description

Diagrams and labels


Lists

Charts and tables

Letter

After a practical activity or

undertaking some research in books or

on the web, take part in a discussion in

another curriculum subject,

generalising from repeated

occurrences or observations.

Distinguish between a description of a

single member of a group and the

group in general, e.g. a particular dog

and dogs in general. Read texts

containing information in a simple

report format. Assemble information

on another subject and use the text

as a template for writing a report on

it using appropriate language to

present and categorise ideas.

KS1 Information Report

Year

Group

Report: To describe the way something

is or the way things are.

Planning:

In all year groups planning for report writing should take

the form of a box plan.



Form Progression

Year

3

present tense (except historical

reports)

third person / first person

factual writing often involving technical

words and phrases.

Note taking

Labelled diagrams

Newspaper or magazine

article

Description of favourite

meal and holiday

destination.

Analyse a number of report texts and

identify key language and organisational

features. Teacher demonstrates research

and note-making techniques using

information and ICT texts on a subject.

Distinguish between generalisations and

specific information and between

recounts and reports, using content taken

from another area of the curriculum.

Analyse broadcast information to identify

presentation techniques. Write own

report independently based on notes from

several sources.

Year

4


reports)

third person/ first person


words and phrases

introductory paragraph

use of headings and subheadings to

split up the report into sections

adjectives and adverbs to engage and

excite the reader

Note taking

Labelled diagrams


article


a hobby, favourite time

of the year and a

special outing.

Collect information to write a report.

Draw attention to the precision in the use

of technical terminology and how many of

the nouns are derived from verbs. Shared

writing followed by independent planning,

composing, editing and refining non-

chronological report focusing on clarity,


Year

5


reports)

third person/first person


words and phrases

introduction and conclusion



use of paragraphs within subsections


excite the reader

Note taking

Labelled diagrams


article

Letter

School website

Description of a secret

place, a special object

and a special person.

Collect information to write a report in

which two or more subjects are

compared, e.g. spiders and beetles. Draw

attention to the precision in the use of

technical terminology and how many of

the nouns are derived from verbs. Shared

writing followed by independent planning,

composing, editing and refining non-

chronological comparative report focusing

on clarity, conciseness and impersonal

style.

Year

6


reports)

third person/ first person


words and phrases

introduction and conclusion



use of paragraphs within subsections


excite the reader

avoid flowery description

impersonal voice

Note taking

Labelled diagrams


article

a comparative report

between two items, e.g.

moths and butterflies,

football and rugby

Leaflet

School website


pet, sport, TV

programme, film, game,

friend etc.

Secure understanding of the form,

language conventions and grammatical

features of information reports. Write

reports as part of a presentation on a

non-fiction subject. Choose the

appropriate style and form of writing to

suit a specific purpose and audience,

drawing on knowledge of different non-

fiction text types.

KS2 Non-chronological Report

Year

Group

Persuasion: To argue the case for a point of view



Form Progression

Nur

sery

present tense

simple points

appropriate details

letter

invitation

message

Talk about how they respond to

certain words, stories and

pictures by behaving or wanting

to behave in particular ways, e.g.

pictures of food that make them

want to eat things.

Rece

ption

present tense

simple points

appropriate details

letter

invitation

message

Watch and listen when one person

is trying to persuade another to

do something or go somewhere.

Recognise what is happening. Give

oral explanations from real life or

from stories of why and how they

can persuade or be persuaded.

Year

1

present tense


simple points

appropriate details

letter

invitation

message

Read captions, pictures, posters

and adverts that are trying to

persuade. Begin to recognise what

they are trying to do and some of

the ways they do it. Through

games and role-play begin to

explore what it means to

persuade and be persuaded and

what different methods might be

effective.

Year

2

present tense


simple points

appropriate details

letter

invitation

message

Explore simple persuasive texts

(posters, adverts etc.) and begin

to understand what they are

doing and how. Evaluate simple

persuasive devices, e.g. say which

words would make them want to

buy a product and why. Create

simple persuasive texts to

persuade others to think, do or

buy something. Continue to

explore persuading and being

persuaded in a variety of real-life

situations through role-play and

drama.

KS1 Persuasion

Year

Group

Persuasion: To argue the case for a

point of view.

Planning:

In all year groups planning for persuasion writing should take the

form of a box plan.

Language and

organisational


Form Progression

Year

3

present tense


introductory statement setting

out the argument

simple points


third person


Letters

Posters

Read and evaluate a wider range of simple persuasive

texts, explaining and evaluating responses orally. Begin to

use words, pictures and other communication modes to

persuade others when appropriate to particular writing

purposes. Through role-play and drama explore particular

persuasive scenarios.

Year

4

present tense


introductory statement setting

out the argument and a

concluding statement

some points elaborated with

evidence


third person


exaggerated language

emotive words and powerful

adjectives

Written

adverts

Radio and TV

adverts

Leaflets

Read and analyse a range of persuasive texts to identify

key language and organisational features. Distinguish

between texts which try to persuade and those that

simply inform, whilst recognising that some texts might

contain examples of each of these. Analyse how a

particular view can be most convincingly be presented and

how statistics, graphs, images can be used to support and

reinforce arguments. To present a point of view both

orally and in writing linking points persuasively and

selecting style and vocabulary appropriate to the

listener/reader. Design an advert on paper and on screen.

Year

5

present tense


introductory paragraph setting


concluding paragraph

an elaborated argument with

evidence per paragraph


third person




adjectives

rhetorical questions

Letters

Magazine or

newspaper

articles

Posters

PowerPoint

presentation

Read and evaluate letters intended to inform, protest,

complain, persuade considering language and

organisational features. To compare writing which

informs and persuades, considering for example the

deliberate use of ambiguity, half-truth, bias, how opinion

can be disguised to seem like fact. Select and evaluate a

range of texts in print and other media for

persuasiveness, clarity and quality of information. From

reading collect and investigate use of persuasive devices

such as words and phrases, rhetorical questions and

connectives. Write individual, group or class letters for

real purposes. Construct an argument and present the

case to the class using multi-media packages. Understand

how persuasive writing can be adapted for different

audiences and purposes, and how it can be combined with

other text types.

Year

6

present tense


introductory paragraph setting


concluding paragraph

an elaborated argument with

evidence per paragraph


third person




adjectives

rhetorical questions

Written

adverts

Radio and TV

adverts

Leaflets

Letters

Articles

PowerPoint

presentation

Through reading and analysis, recognise how persuasive

arguments are constructed to be effective through: the

expression, sequence and linking of points; providing

persuasive examples, illustration and evidence; pre-

empting or answering potential objections; appealing to

the known views and feelings of the audience. Orally, in

writing and using a multi-media package, construct

effective persuasive arguments that: use persuasive

techniques; develop a point logically and effectively;

anticipate possible objections; harness the known views

of the audience. Overall participate in whole class

debates using the conventions and language of debate

including standard English. Draw on knowledge of

different text types and combine where appropriate.

KS2 Persuasion

Year

Group

Discussion: To present arguments for and

against an issue

Planning:

In all year groups planning for discussion writing should take

the form of a box plan.



Form Progression

Year

3

present tense

third person


simple arguments both for and against

simple introduction and concluding

sentence


opposite argument connectives

Newspaper

or magazine

article

Read and evaluate a wider range of simple discussion

texts, explaining and evaluating responses orally. Begin

to use words, pictures and other communication modes

to discuss with others when appropriate to particular

writing purposes. Through role-play and drama explore

particular debating scenarios.

Year

4

present tense

third person


simple arguments both for and against

simple introduction and concluding

statement


opposite argument connectives

Newspaper

or magazine

article

Letter

Read and analyse a range of discussion texts to identify

key language and organisational features. Distinguish

between texts which try to discuss and those that

simply persuade, whilst recognising that some texts

might contain examples of each of these. Analyse how

two points of view can be most convincingly be

presented and how statistics, graphs, images can be

used to support and reinforce arguments. To present

two points of view both orally and in writing linking

points persuasively and selecting style and vocabulary

appropriate to the listener/reader.

Year

5

present tense

third person

formal, general and impersonal style

elaborated arguments both for and

against

connective sentences and opposite

connectives

opposite argument connective to

introduce third paragraph

four paragraphs: introduction, arguments

for, arguments against and conclusion

introduction- general statements, briefly

present both sides of the argument

conclusion- present own viewpoint

summarising arguments to back up

viewpoint

Newspaper

or magazine

article

Speech

Letter

Read and evaluate letters intended to inform, protest,

complain, persuade and discuss considering language and

organisational features. To compare writing which

informs, persuades and discusses considering for

example the deliberate use of ambiguity, half-truth,

bias, how opinion can be disguised to seem like fact.

Select and evaluate a range of texts in print and other

media for presenting two opposing views, clarity and

quality of information. From reading collect and

investigate use of debating devices such as words and

phrases, rhetorical questions and connectives. Write

individual, group or class articles for real purposes.

Understand how discussion writing can be adapted for

different audiences and purposes, and how it can be

combined with other text types.

Year

6

present tense

third person

formal, general and impersonal style

elaborated arguments both for and

against

connective sentences and opposite

connectives

opposite argument connective to

introduce third paragraph

four paragraphs: introduction, arguments

for, arguments against and conclusion

introduction- general statements, briefly

present both sides of the argument

conclusion- present own viewpoint

summarising arguments to back up

viewpoint

Newspaper

or magazine

article

Speech

Leaflet

Letter

Through reading and analysis, recognise how opposing

arguments are constructed to be effective through:

the expression, sequence and linking of points;

providing persuasive examples, illustration and

evidence; pre-empting or answering potential

objections; appealing to the known views and feelings of

the audience. Orally and in writing, construct effective

arguments that: use persuasive techniques; develop a

point logically and effectively; anticipate possible

objections; harness the known views of the audience.

Overall participate in whole class debates using the

conventions and language of debate including standard

English. Draw on knowledge of different text types and

combine where appropriate.

KS2 Discussion

Prompt Sheets

and the Box Plan

A vital element of any sequence of writing lessons is the interrogation of the prompt sheet. Throughout the

year these prompt sheets will most probably be shown to the children via the interactive white board.

However, in test situations children will need to be presented with their very own prompt sheet.

Using the important five questions (displayed in your classroom and appropriately worded to match the

ability of your set) children should be taught how to write down the answers to these questions before

attempting to plan the piece of writing using a box plan. The children should again be reminded of the

answers to these questions before beginning the piece of writing. Each child should write the answers down

on the planning sheet to ensure that every child thinks of an answer for themselves. Initially, the answers

can be found as a group and completed together. Once in the spring term, children can then eventually be

asked to answer these questions individually and then answers could be checked as a group to guarantee

that the correct answers have been ascertained.

The practice of answering the five important writing questions regularly is to encourage the children to

understand that every piece of writing that they do has a purpose, an audience, a particular format and

certain language and organisational features.

Every writing task that the children are asked to undertake must be introduced using a prompt sheet. This

includes all cross-curricular writing tasks in the foundation subjects. The children need regular practice at

establishing the correct text type, audience and form of the task from a prompt sheet and how to use this

information to plan in an organised manner.

In autumn and spring, prompt sheets should contain helpful reminders about important sentence types that

need to be included; technical vocabulary that may be useful; important punctuation marks etc.

It is vital that all children are introduced to the box planning grid so it can be used consistently and

successfully when planning. The box plan allows the children to visualise how their writing should look when

it is completed and ensure that the children organise their ideas into appropriate paragraphs. The box plan

requires the children to think about the topic behind each of their paragraphs so that their ideas are

grouped together suitably as opposed to having random arguments and facts littered haphazardly

throughout their piece of writing.

Prompt Sheets and the Box Plan

The Box Plan

1.____________________________________________

2.____________________________________________

3.____________________________________________

4. ____________________________________________

5. ____________________________________________

Prompted Task Examples

There are many amazing and wonderful animals in the world from guinea pigs whirring around in their

cages to dolphins diving and dancing in the world’s oceans. Your task is to choose just one animal to write

about.

Write an exciting and interesting description about your favourite animal. Carefully choose an animal that

you have seen in real life or have read about in books or on the Internet.

In your interesting description remember to include:

A detailed description of the animal’s appearance and behaviour.

Your feelings and thoughts about the animal.

Your reasons for choosing this particular animal.

Why your favourite animal is an important part of our world.

Any dangers or problems your favourite animal might face.

Short Task

Long Task

SCHOOL DESTROYED BY FIRE

What will happen to

our children?

Where will they be

taught?

How did the fire

start?

When did it start?

We have lost everything!

Classrooms have just

disappeared. Whoever did

this must be caught!

Your task is to write an article for the local newspaper about this headline.

Remember to think about:


Imagine that you are a ten year old child living in London

during World War Two. Some of your friends have been

evacuated, but you have decided to stay with your Mum in

London. Describe what your life is now like since the war

started. Explain how it has changed and what things you

find easy and difficult to cope with.

Short Task

Your task is to write a biography about

Sir Edmund Hillary for a children’s

magazine.

Use the facts on the sheet to help you

organise your information about Sir

Edmund Hillary.

Long Task

1938- He decided to climb Mount

Everest.

1946- Began training for the

expedition.

May 1953- Climbed Mount Everest.

1954- Received a medal from the

Queen.

His life before

he climbed

Mount Everest.

What it was like

climbing Mount

Everest.

His life after

climbing Mount

Everest.

A Letter of Explanation

Adventure City!

A new outdoor activity centre called “Adventure City” has been opened in the Lake District, to give

people the chance to enjoy and participate in outdoor activities.

Golf Horse Riding Cycling Sailing Camping


For the last half term, you have not handed in any homework. There are many reasons for

this, but each time you don’t hand in your homework you are getting into trouble! Your

teacher does not want ‘any more excuses’ and has told you that she is very angry about

this and is going to be telling Mrs Newell to speak to you and punish you accordingly.

You are too worried and scared to speak to your teacher or Mrs Newell about this and

therefore, have decided to write a letter, explaining your reasons for the lack of

homework and what you will do to correct this situation.

Your task is to write a letter to Mrs Newell explaining why you

have not handed in any homework and what you are going to do in

the future.

The centre needs a leaflet, to persuade people to visit the centre, and to tell them about

the fun activities, that they can partake in. Your task is to produce the writing which will go

in the leaflet.

You should think about:

What there is to see and do.

Reasons why people should visit the centre.

Other useful information.

Some pictures of the activities at the centre are drawn below.

Short Task

Long Task

Why does the Narwhal Whale have a long twisting tooth?

How to Make Ruskin Splinter


National Geographic would like an explanation sheet about the Narwhal Whale's long twisting

tooth. Scientists are not exactly sure as to what the function of the tooth is. However, they

have some very sensible ideas as to what it is used for.

Protection

Detecting temperature

Detecting sound and movement.

Your task is to produce the explanation text for children aged 8-12.

You must include information on:

How or why the Narwhal Whale uses its tooth for protection.

How or why it uses its tooth to detect temperature.

How or why it uses its tooth to detect sound and movement.

Long Task

Imagine that you could collect all of the ingredients needed to make Ruskin, mix

them up and then bake him!

Your task is to write a set of instructions - How to make Ruskin

Splinter for a children's recipe book.

Short Task

The Barn Owl

A Trip to the Farm


Once seen, the barn owl is

unmistakable!

Your task is to write a non-chronological report about the barn owl for the

Junior National Geographic magazine. The report must include

information about the barn owl's appearance, diet and habitat. Don't

forget to include fact boxes and pictures.

Long Task

Imagine that you have spent a couple of days at Treginnis - one of Michael

Morpurgo's farms for inner city children.

You worked in the vegetable garden,

milked the goats, fed the baby lambs

and moved them into the field, mucked

out the pigs and collected eggs from

the hens!

Your task is to write a report recounting one of your days at Treginnis for other

children of your age to read.

Long Task

The Little Red Hen The Papaya that Spoke

Why Man Lives with Dog Cinderella

KS1 Story Map Examples

Teaching

Sentence Work

The ability to rapidly construct and automatically vary sentences is one of the very basic skills of writing. If

children have difficulty in constructing sentences, then this will interfere with their ability to be imaginative

and creative. When writing, children are expected to be able to adapt their sentences to create different

effects appropriate to each text type. Without regular good quality sentence teaching, children will be unable

to structure sentences accurately, let alone play with their sentences to create different effects.

Therefore, sentence work teaching is an integral part of the writing teaching sequence and must feature in all

English lessons. Sentence work needs to be carefully planned and presented in a variety of different ways to

achieve maximum impact. Activities across the week need to reflect a range of techniques that promote a

gradual move towards independent sentence writing.

Important Sentence Teaching Points:

Keep the sentence work session focused speedy and lively. Children need to see that manipulating words and

sentences is fun, worthwhile and achievable.

Remember to allow the children to test out ideas orally before writing sentences down on whiteboards or

into their sentence books.

Ensure that the sentence type taught and practised is linked to the text type being taught so that the same

sorts of sentences are modelled in shared writing. Also, make it clear to the children that they are

expected to use the sentence types practised in their own writing.

When each sentence type is taught and how they are introduced to the children will be dependent upon the

age and ability of the children in the group.

Always insist on correctly punctuated sentences. Asking the children to mime an action to represent a piece

of punctuation when reading their sentences aloud can help to make sure that the correct punctuation marks

are being used.

A consistent approach to the vocabulary we use when teaching sentence work is fundamental to the success

of sentence work. The fifteen sentence types were named and developed to promote a shared approach and

to acknowledge that the children do not arrive in school with a linguistics degree! Continuous use of this

shared terminology over the primary years allows the children to pick up vocabulary to discuss the

mechanics of writing and provides them with sound foundations for secondary school.

Here, we distinguish between conjunctions as words that join ideas within sentences and connectives as

words that join ideas between sentences.

Appropriate lists of word banks displayed in the classroom are essential for providing support and

inspiration. However, it is important that these lists are differentiated to suit the needs of your particular

children as otherwise they could end up being detrimental to progress. Children should not be overwhelmed

with lists of adverbs, powerful verbs, connectives etc. Instead they should feel confident and understand

how to use a smaller number of them accurately in their writing.

In essence, sentence work activities can be represented by a number of simple manipulation games:

-Dictation sentences- children write down a sentence that they hear.

-Rearrange the sentence- words in the sentence are rearranged to form a sentence that makes sense.

-Improve the sentence- a boring sentence is improved by replacing boring verbs, adding in adjectives etc.

-Sentence starters- children are provided with sentence starters to stimulate the practice of a particular sentence type.

-Sentence doctor- the children have to ‘fix’ a sentence with deliberate errors in.

- Drop in- insert extra clauses into simple sentences to transform them into extra-information sentences, ing sentences and ed sentences.

-Join sentences- provide sentences that can be joined with a conjunction.


Topic Sentences

Although the topic sentence is not included in the fifteen sentence types listed, it is without doubt another

vital sentence format that should be taught directly to the children and referred to often when planning and

during shared writing. The topic sentence is a simple technique that can be employed to help children plan and

organise their writing coherently.

Often children struggle to organise their ideas into paragraphs and mix up information, e.g. they write about

what a penguin looks like; its feeding habits and where it lives all in the same paragraph. Excitingly, teaching

the children to practise planning and thinking about information in terms of topics and beginning the paragraph

with a sentence that we call the topic sentence can help to solve the problem.

Why is Whitby such a great place to visit?


Whitby is a great place to visit because there are

lots of things to do.

Firstly, people can walk up the one hundred and

ninety-nine steps and look at the abbey. Secondly,

they can go on the go-carts and then on the

trampolines. In addition, they can eat fish and

chips. Moreover, they can go in the amusements.

Also, children can build sand castles on the beach.

Finally, people can eat rock or fudge.

Whitby is a great place to visit because it has

many wonderful and interesting features that

keep tourists going back month after month!

Firstly, the fishing town is famous for its many

culinary delights. Tourists can feast upon

anything from sensational ice-cream to mouth-

watering fish and chips. There really is enough

food to tempt everybody's taste buds! If you are

struggling to ensure that your children have a

good hearty breakfast, Whitby even has its very

own version of a fried breakfast! Watch out it

could be as hard as rock!

Without a topic sentence. With a topic sentence.

A clearly organised paragraph focusing on

first on the food tourists can eat when they

visit Whitby.

A paragraph containing a jumbled up assortment

of different ideas about why Whitby is such a

great place to visit.

different ideas about why Whitby is such a great

place

Topic sentence

Below is a useful topic sentence activity that also provides a valuable opportunity for the children to

practise using the planning skeletons:

Penguins


Webbed feet and flippers.

Bullet-shaped bodies.

Tallest- 1m and smallest species- 40cm.

Topic- Appearance

Imagine that you are writing a report on penguins and this is part of the plan for your second

paragraph. Begin your paragraph with a topic sentence.

Penguins are flightless birds that have shiny black and white waterproof feathers.

Interestingly, their wings have become flippers and they have webbed feet which help them to

swim underwater. Also, penguins have small heads with bullet-shaped bodies and short legs that

cause them to waddle when they walk. The tallest penguins are the Emperor Penguins and they

can grow to 1m whilst the Fairy Penguins only grow as tall as 40cm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pygoscelis_papua.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pygoscelis_papua.jpg

Name of Sentence Definition Example

1. Short Descriptive

Sentences

(Simple sentences)

A simple sentence with:

a powerful verb

an adjective

an adverb

all of the above

The waves crashed onto the shore.

The young boy walked home.

The boy nervously walked

home.

The vicious dog snapped angrily at

Jack.

2. Conjunction Sentences

(Compound sentences)

(Complex Sentences)

Two simple sentences that are

joined together by a balanced

conjunction to form a compound

sentence.

A compound sentence is created

when two simple sentences are

joined together with and, but, or,

and so. Each clause has equal

weight.

However, when conjunctions such

as: although, after, if, while,

since, though, when, which, until,

because, than, that, unless, are

used in sentences they produce

complex sentences.

It was late, but she wasn’t tired.

Jack closed the door and walked

down the path.

People should not smoke because it

causes lung cancer.

I ate my breakfast while my

younger brother struggled to free

himself from his highchair.

Children should not be given mobile

phones until it can be guaranteed

that they do not cause brain

damage.

While Michael scanned the horizon

for a passing ship, the crystal blue

water lapped at his feet.

3. Fronted Adverbial

Sentences:

Time

Sequential

Additional

Opposite

Causal

Explanation

Persuasive

Emphasis

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that begin with a

connective (adverb).

Adverbs that tell you when,

where and to what degree

something was done.

As quick as a flash, I jumped up

and dashed from my hiding place.

Furthermore, children should be

allowed to stay up until ten o’clock

on a weekend to reward them for all

of their hard work at school during

the week.

However, other people think that

all children should be in bed asleep

by eight o’clock every night.

Consequently, children are too tired

to work in school during the day.

For instance, the children who

regularly achieve high marks in

their tests have at least nine hours

sleep each night.



4. Imperative Sentences

(Command sentences)

(Simple sentences)


commanding verb.

Feed your fish every morning

and night.

Place the lid on the tank.

Check the water filter is

working.

5. Speech Sentences (Use

of inverted commas)

(Simple Sentences)

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that contain speech.

Children to be taught that

speech comes first then who has

said it not the other way round,

e.g. “Look out!” Michael yelled.

As opposed to Michael yelled,

“Look out!”

This allows the children to then

be able to add an as clause on to

their speech sentence.

“Where are you going?”

Jessica mumbled to her mum.

“I’m petrified,” Alex

whispered to his best friend

Tom, as they hid behind the

stone wall of the local

graveyard.

6. Question Sentences

(Simple sentences)

A question that the writer can use

to ‘grab the reader’s attention’.

Are you happy with the state

of the local park?

Have you ever been to the

theatre?

Was he alone?

Would the life boat arrive in

time?

7. Short Sharp Sentences

(Simple sentences)

Short sentences designed to add

impact to a piece of writing.

It was silent.

He was gone.

The fox stopped.

You would be amazed.



8. Adverb Sentences/

Adverbial Phrase

Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that begin with an

adverb.

Adverbs give information on how

the verb was done.

Anxiously, Laura stared at the

stony floor below.

Suddenly, the boat plunged

sideways.

Wearily, the teacher stared at

the noisy line of children.

Quietly, Jack tiptoed out of the

room.

With a nervous glance towards

the door, Jess opened Mum’s

purse and removed a five pound

note.

9. As Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that either begin or end

with an as clause.

Beginning:

As I scanned the deserted

island, the sound of wild animals

filled my ears.

As drivers are now more likely to

stick to the speeding limit, there

should be fewer deaths on

Britain’s roads.

Ending:

James curled up into a ball, as

his parent’s raised voices

filtered into his room.

The contents inside the bag will

remain dry, as the bag is made

of waterproof material.

10. List Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that contain a series of

actions or a description.

Jack entered the classroom,

slammed the door, pulled out his

chair, picked up a chewed pencil

and began to write furiously.

Mum stopped chopping up

sandwiches, wiped her sticky

fingers on a nearby cloth and

answered the telephone.

He wore green shorts, shiny

black shoes and a multi-coloured

T-shirt that made his arms look

like twigs.

11. Preposition Sentences

(Complex Sentences)


preposition.

On the wall above the fireplace,

hung a large mirror.

Behind the door, stood the

ancient wooden grandfather

clock.



12. Ing Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that begin with verbs

ending in ‘ing’.

Looking rather lost, she

pulled a map from her bag.

Running along the lane, Jack

became aware that he was

being followed.

Searching for food, Michael

scrambled up the tree.

13. Ed Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that begin with verbs

ending in ‘ed’.

Paralysed with fear, Holly

peered through the bushes to

see if the school bully was

still in pursuit.

Transfixed, Michael stared

at the brown paper package in

front of him.

14. Relative-clause

Sentences

(Complex Sentences)

Sentences that have added

information between commas either

at the beginning, middle or end of

the sentence.

Beginning:

Tired of waiting on his own,

Michael followed the queue

into the stadium.

Middle:

The charity event, which will

be held on Thursday, is to

raise money for the NSPCC.

End:

I walked along the street,

shivering with fear.

15. Simile Sentences

Sentences that contain a simile. End:

The crisp white snow covered

the ground like sparkling

white diamonds.

Beginning:

Like waves against the shore,

the wind hit the wooden

house.


Year

Group

Sentence types to be taught

Year

Group

Sentence types to be taught

N Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences (and) Y3 Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences (and, but, then,

so, when, because)

Fronted Adverbial Sentences

Imperative Sentences

Speech Sentences

Question Sentences

Short Sharp Sentences

R Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences (and, but) Y4 Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences (and, but, or, so,

when, because, if, after)

Fronted Adverbial e Sentences


Speech Sentences

Question Sentences


Adverb Sentences

As Sentences

List Sentences

Preposition Sentences

Simile Sentences

Y1 Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences (and, but,

or, so, because)

Connective Sentences


Question Sentences

Y5

Short Descriptive Sentences

Conjunction Sentences(and, but, so, or, when,

because, if, after, that, which, until, where)



Speech Sentences

Question Sentences


Adverb Sentences

As Sentences

List Sentences


Ing Sentences

Ed Sentences

Extra-Information Sentences

Simile Sentences


Conjunction Sentences (and, but,

or, so, because)

Connective Sentences

Speech sentences


Question Sentences


Conjunction Sentences (and, but, so, or. when,

because, if, after, that, which, until, where)



Speech Sentences

Question Sentences


Adverb Sentences

As Sentences

List Sentences


Ing Sentences

Ed Sentences

Extra-Information Sentences

Simile Sentences


Sequential

Adverbials

Adverbials used to sequence events and points.

Firstly

First of all

First and foremost

To start with

To begin with

Secondly

Thirdly

Next

After that

Then

Finally

Eventually

At last

At the end

To conclude

Additional Adverbials

Adverbials used to add another piece of information.

Also

In addition

Furthermore

Another important reason/point/argument

Opposite Adverbials

Adverbials used to introduce an opposing fact or point of view.

However

Alternatively

On the other hand

Despite this

Nevertheless

In contrast

Explanation Adverbials

Adverbials used to give an example.

For instance

For example

In fact

In other words

Causal Adverbials

Adverbials used to show cause and effect.

As a result

Therefore

Consequently

Due to this

Due to the fact

As a consequence

Persuasive Adverbials

Adverbials used to make points sound more persuasive.

Unfortunately

Fortunately

Obviously

Personally

Clearly

Surely

Everyone knows that

Not only that

Highlighting Adverbials

Adverbials used to highlight certain points of interest.

Interestingly

Amazingly

Surprisingly

Unusually

Luckily

Incredibly

Generalising Adverbials

Adverbials to introduce generalisations.

Usually

Generally

Arguably

On the whole

Mostly

Probably

Non-narrative Adverbial Lists

Take a short sentence e.g. The fox ran for cover.

Add an adjective or two to describe the fox – The sly, red fox…

Add an adverb that says how he ran – The sly, red fox ran quickly…..

Add in where he took cover – The sly, red fox ran quickly for cover in the undergrowth.

Give jumbled up sentences and get the children to unscramble them e.g.

fox ran the sly quickly cover for the in red undergrowth – the children will also put in the capital letter and

full stop to complete the sentence. They could then make up their own for their partner to unscramble.

Make rules on what should be included in their sentence.

Use sentence frames to develop an understanding of specific sentence structures e.g. the use of adjectives

and adverbs.

The fat cat slept peacefully. can become………….

The thin dog barked furiously. Or………………..

The huge bull charged angrily.

Use a wall of words (could include weekly spellings). Children make ten different sentences using ten words

from the wall each time.

Split the class into groups. Each group starts with an envelope containing two cards, one that has the word

‘The’ printed on it and the other with a full stop. Ask each group to think of a person or animal (remind that

these are ‘animate’ nouns) and then write their word on a piece of card and place in the envelope. Pass the

envelope on to another group. All groups then have to think of an adjective, write it on a piece of card, take

out the other two word cards and read the three words between the group. They then put all the pieces back

into their envelope and pass it on to another group. Each group then add a powerful verb to a piece of card

(then read their four word cards together within the group) and pass the envelope on to another group.

Carry on in the same way adding an adverb and finally an adjectival phrase describing ‘where’. Finally the

children hold up and read out their group sentence from the envelope using the full stop to end their

sentence.

Put a word in a bubble, e.g. waves then brainstorm words around it that could be linked to its description

e.g. crashing, vast, enormous, thunderous, deadly, exploding, silent etc. Then create a sentence using some

of the words e.g.

The enormous, deadly waves crashed and exploded violently on to the silent shore.

Select a word relating to a current theme, e.g. spiders. Ask the children to brainstorm words that describe

spiders e.g. hairy, scary, black, horrible etc. Now brainstorm what spiders do and add them to the list, e.g.

lurk, creep, spin, pounce. Now combine and make sentences, e.g. Hairy spiders creep. Now brainstorm how

they creep e.g. secretly, quietly etc and add this to the sentence and finally brainstorm adverbial phrases

to identify where this happens, e.g. in the quiet garden, under the dusty plant pots. Choose a phrase and

read out the completed sentence. Get the children to write other sentences using the words from the lists.

Short Descriptive Sentence Activities

Start with a sentence on the board e.g. We went to the swimming pool.

Ask the question – Who went? Class answers – Class 8. Then rewrite- Class 8 went to the pool.

Ask the question – Who took you? Class answers – Miss Carter. Then rewrite-

Miss Carter and Class 8 went to the swimming pool.

Ask the question – How did you get there? Class answers – we walked. Now rewrite-

Miss Carter and Class 8 walked to the swimming pool.

Ask the question – Walked sounds a bit dull. How else could you say that? Class answers –

rushed, dashed, hurried etc. Now rewrite- Miss Carter and Class 8 rushed to the swimming pool.

Ask the question – Why? Class answers – because it was our turn, because we wanted to cool off,

Now write- Miss Carter and Class 8 rushed to the swimming pool because we wanted to cool off.

Use any of the short, descriptive sentence activities but add on the question WHY? Or get them to

add a conjunction (but, although, and) to the end of their sentence and then finish it again.

Divide the class into 3 groups. Give first and third groups a selection of short sentences. The second group

is given blank cards on which to write a ‘joining’ word or phrase.

First group hold up a sentence, e.g. The man was running on the path.

Third group choose a sentence that could complement the first sentence e.g. He tripped over.

Second group choose a joining word, write it down and then holds it between the other two, e.g.

The man was running on the path when he tripped over.

You might decide to add other words, e.g. The man was running on the path when all of a sudden he tripped over on a banana skin.

The activity could continue moving into a different mode, for instance, cause and effect, e.g. The man was

running when all of a sudden he tripped over because a banana skin had been left on the path. Alternatively,

they could use a conjunction that compares or contrasts two statements, e.g. I like going to somewhere hot

for my holidays, but my brother likes to go skiing.

A good way of teaching how conjunctions direct meaning in a sentence is to provide the stem and the

conjunctions of the sentence and then ask the pupils to brainstorm the endings e.g.

He fell off his bike when the towel got stuck in the wheel.

He fell off his bike after he hit the big rock.

He fell off his bike then he sat by the road and yelled.

He fell off his bike because he had never ridden it without stabilisers before.

Give short sentences and lists of conjunctions – get children to join them together. Give long sentences and

ask children to split them up into two or three short ones. Give sentence starters with conjunctions and ask

children to finish them.

Conjunction Sentence Activities

Show children lists of adverbials and headings and see if they can group them according to their purpose and

meaning.

For example:

However Surely

Firstly Finally

As a result Consequently

In addition Suddenly

Give short sharp sentences and ask the children to use adverbials at the start of the sentences to link ideas

between them, e.g.

She was alone in the house. She thought she was being watched. She felt something move.

She was alone in the house. However, she thought she was being watched. All of a sudden, she felt

something move.

Many children stay up far too late watching television. They are too tired to work in school during the day.

Many children stay up far too late watching television. Consequently, they are too tired to work in school

during the day.

Give children a piece of text where the adverbials have been omitted, e.g. suddenly, after that, finally, first, next, later, meanwhile, then, after a while, when I finished. Discuss suitable adverbials to go in the

spaces and then reveal to them the one used in the original text.

Play a game where children have to tell a simple fairy story or the story of a favourite book, film or

television programme without using the words ‘and then’. If they do so, someone else has to take over.

Enlarge a page of a comic strip, e.g. The Snowman, or Father Christmas. Describe the events as they occur

in the pictures, using appropriate adverbials to drive the narrative along. Children could write a sentence or

two underneath each picture using adverbials.

Create a page of text all strung together with ‘and then’. Read through it with the children and discuss the

effects it has on the reader and the interest of the text e.g.

I saw a plane and then it flew over and then it seemed to disappear and then just when I thought that it

had gone it came back and I could hardly believe it and then just when I did not know if I was awake or

dreaming it shot in over the trees and then it landed on the lake and then out climbed a man and then he

was rowing across to me and then he spoke to me and then I found myself talking to the first human being

that I had seen in months and then I knew that it was over. - Now get the children to rewrite it in pairs

using connectives.

Adverbial Sentence Activities

Choose a piece of text with a lot of dialogue and read it through with the class giving the characters parts

to individuals to read (like a play script) but have a narrator to read the bit…said John, or said Mary. This

helps children to identify which parts of the speech have speech marks around. The position and punctuation

can then be reinforced.

Give children short pieces of text with the direct speech missing. Prepare some large speech bubbles with

the missing quotations. The children have to copy out the piece of text putting in the correct quotation

from one of the speech bubbles and remembering to use the correct punctuation, e.g.

Beethoven, the famous composer, went completely deaf so he never heard his own greatest

music.“__________________,” he said just before he died. (In one of the speech bubbles offered to the children it might say - I shall hear it in heaven.)

Give pieces of text with dialogue to children to punctuate on the computer during ICT literacy lessons. Give

unpunctuated dialogue sentences to punctuate – ask them to change the font colour of the speech so that it

stands out from the rest. On the computer or on paper, ask children to write speech sentences as a

conversation between characters and punctuate them. Give short pieces of play script to write as

punctuated dialogue.

Ask children to write a short storyboard with speech bubbles and then re-write it with background

information answering the questions – Who? What? Where? When? How? They should use the speech

bubbles as the dialogue in their story. Children will learn the importance of story text other than speech

and the need to say who is talking.

Get children to practise changing direct speech into reported speech. Hold up sentences of direct speech

and ask children to re-write on whiteboards using reported speech, e.g.

“I will huff and puff and blow the house down,” said the wolf. – the children then write –

The wolf said that he would huff and puff and blow the house down. Highlight differences.

(I changes to he, will changes to would, present tenses change to the past, punctuation).

Improve speech sentences by finding interesting words for ‘said’. Give a list of speech sentences (include

questions and exclamations) and ask the children to re-write them using other words for said. They could

read out their sentences in the style of the word e.g.

“It really hurts,” squealed Tom. OR “Come here this minute!” shouted Bill’s mum. OR

“What is that weird shadow?” whispered Beth.

Improve speech sentences by adding an ‘as clause’ e.g. “How many times have I asked you to use a plate?”

asked Mum as she swept up the crumbs from the floor. Split children into 3’s –first thinks up dialogue,

second thinks of an interesting way of saying it (not using said), third thinks up an ‘as clause’ to add on at

the end – they then write down their sentence with correct punctuation and perform it in front of the class.

(At first the children may need practice adding clauses to given speech sentences or at least given the

dialogue).

Speech Sentence Activities

Play the adverb game to ensure children know exactly what an adverb is.

Make a set of cards with adverbs printed on them. Place them face down and get the children to come out

one at a time and pick a card. The other children give them instructions e.g. play football, eat your lunch,

brush your teeth- the child at the front has to do the action in the style of the adverb on the card they

have chosen and the class have to guess the adverb they are demonstrating.

Give children some sentences and get them to underline the adverb, e.g.

The man walked slowly across the field.

The boy kicked the football skilfully into the net.

The teacher carefully wrote the spellings onto the blackboard.

Then, as an extension to this, children could rearrange the sentences to put the adverb at the beginning

(discuss the use of a comma), e.g.

Slowly, the man walked across the field.

Skilfully, the boy kicked the football into the net.

Carefully, the teacher wrote the spellings onto the blackboard.

Give children sentences without adverbs – they have to find an appropriate adverb e.g.

The bully laughed – nastily

The girl watched the door - anxiously

The sun sank – slowly

Ask children to change their sentences so that the adverb is at the start. Then rewrite the sentence

adding extra information or an ‘as clause’ e.g.

Slowly, the sun sank below the horizon and the day was over. - OR -

Anxiously, the girl watched the door, as the sound of the footsteps grew louder.

Compare sentences and discuss the effect created by moving the adverb.

Look at different types of adverbs e.g. adverbs of time – firstly, shortly, presently, adverbs of manner – quietly, happily, sadly, Give children a piece of text and ask them to go through and mark examples of each type of adverb used

in sentences.

Give the children two nouns e.g. book, spider; - ask them to compose two sentences to read aloud to the

class including the two nouns and using the two types of adverbs e.g.

Firstly, I grabbed the book and then squashed the spider against the wall. Quickly, I grabbed the book and squashed the spider against the wall. Discuss the effects if the adverb is moved into the sentence

Ask children to write a silly sentence with an adverb of manner using alliteration (tongue twisters). The soft

slug sang sweetly. – Change it to – Sweetly, the soft slug sang.

Which is easiest to say? – Try out other tongue twisters.

Write adverb poems e.g.

Slowly the tide creeps up the sand, Slowly the shadows cross the land.

Slowly the cart-horse pulls his mile, Slowly the old man mounts his stile.

Children choose other adverbs (or adverbial phrases) to start their poems.

Adverb Sentence Activities (Adverbs of Manner)

Make two sets of cards – one set to contain ‘as clauses’ eg.

As John walked quickly out of the classroom,

As Mary explored the old house,

As car passengers are more likely to wear seat belts,

And the other set to contain short sentences, e.g

The teacher asked for homework to be given in.

There was a strange noise.

There are fewer serious injuries when accidents happen.

Match up the ‘as clause’ with the sentence and rewrite (discuss use of the comma).

Give children lists of sentence beginnings and ask them to complete the sentences using an ‘as clause’ e.g.

The room was dark and cold,

John hid quickly behind the fence,

Children may write:–

The room was dark and cold as Mary began to search for the paper.

John hid quickly behind the fence as the school bully approached.

Give children lists of sentence endings and ask them to start the sentences using an ‘as clause’ e.g.

the sound of happy voices filled the air.

there should be fewer accidents on bonfire night.

Children may write: As we got closer to the fairground, the sound of happy voices filled the air.

As children become more sensible about using fireworks, there should be fewer accidents on bonfire night.

Give children as sentences. Ask them to break them up into two short sentences e.g.

As we got closer to the fairground, the sound of happy voices filled the air. We got closer to the fairground. The

sound of happy voices filled the air. Then give two short sentences and ask them to change them into an as

sentence.

Give children direct speech sentences, e.g.“Get out of my way,” shouted the bully- and ask them to add an ‘as clause’ to make it into a longer sentence, e.g.“Get out of my way,” shouted the bully as he pushed

Jonathan hard against the wall.

As an extension – leave out the punctuation and ask children to punctuate the speech as well as adding the

as clause.

As Sentence Activities

Give the children a set of instructions and ask them to highlight all of the imperative verbs at the

beginning of each sentence. Create a word bank of all imperative verbs that are found.

Match up imperative sentences with the commanding verb missing and their appropriate imperative verb, e.g.

................ the bread in the toaster. Heat ……………… the toast with butter. Cut ……………… the toast in half. Put ……………… the beans in a pan. Spread

Look at a set of instructions with the incorrect imperative verb placed at the front of each sentence.

Children are to replace imperative verb with a more suitable alternative, e.g.

Place the kettle with water. Spread the button on. Take the boiling water carefully into the teapot. Fill for five minutes until water has turned brown. Check a small amount of milk into a cup.

Give the children a variety of imperative verbs and ask them to finish the sentence in an appropriate way.

Take Cut Clean Turn

Present the children with a jumbled set of instructions. Ask them to put the imperative sentences into

the correct order so that the set of instructions make sense.

Pour the soup into a bowl. Open the tin with a tin opener. Pour the soup into a pan. Stir the soup as it comes to the boil. Turn on the heat. Leave the soup to simmer for five minutes.

Show the children a jumbled set of instructions with missing capitals and full stops. Ask the children to

find the imperative verbs so that they can use these to help them to put the instructions into the correct

order.

dry the car with a cloth add soap to the water rinse the soapy water off with a hose add polish to the car and rub vigorously until the car looks shiny dip the sponge into the soapy water and wash the car fill the bucket with warm water

Imperative Sentence Activities

Look at a piece of text that contains list sentences and pick these out with the children. Discuss the effect

this type of sentence has on the action of the story. Take away the commas and put the text into short

sentences to compare the effect. Get different children to read the two types of text out loud. How did

they feel when they read it aloud?

Make short sharp sentence cards that would fit together in one long list sentence, e.g. She opened the window. She climbed out on to the ledge. She slid down the tree trunk awkwardly. She landed on the grass with a bump. She ran out through the gate. Make some cards with large commas on them. Bring some

children out to choose cards and stand them one next to each other. Get the children to put the commas

over the full stops that need to be omitted to make a list sentence. Discuss which words will also need to be

removed (she) and what happens between the last two sentences (addition of ‘and’ instead of a comma).

Give sets of sentences for the children to edit into one long list sentence. Ask the children to make up

their own. Read out and discuss children’s sentences. Make sure children have punctuated them properly –

especially the last part of the sentence.

Look at a sentence where there is a list of objects rather than a list of action, e.g. The boy went camping

and he took a penknife, a sleeping bag, two pillows, a tent and plenty of food to last him the weekend.

Discuss with the children how this is the same principle as the action sentence – it is still a list. Break it

down into small sentences. Discuss which words will need to be added.

Give children lists of objects to buy at the shop or take on a holiday or tasks they have to complete for

their parents. Ask children to put each list into a list sentence and punctuate properly. Then ask them to

make up one of their own and write it down.

Read out the children’s sentences and discuss.

Share pieces of text with the children that have a list of description, e.g. I ran past house after house, all with their doors shut, their window tightly closed, their curtains drawn, their lights out and their gardens guarded by little fences.

OR

The baby was really cute with eyes wide and blue, little fingers pink and wrinkly, soft curly hair and its toes curled round like tiny shells. Compare these with the other list sentences. Which words will need to be added to make short sentences?

Ask children to work in pairs to change the text in short sentences. Do any words need to be changed

around? Discuss the results.

List Sentence Activities

Make a collection of advertisements that ask questions in order to persuade the reader to buy the

product – display and discuss who is being persuaded and how. For example:

Are you giving your children the best start in life?

Do you care about the health of your dog?

Are you tired of your mobile?

Ask children to design an advertisement for a new computer game or a new chocolate bar. They should use

questions to persuade the reader to buy it. For example:

Do you deserve the best?

Are you tired of the same old boring chocolate bars?

Do you want value for money as well as tingling taste buds? (Discuss value of alliteration)

Give children a list of statements to change into dramatic questions e.g.

Martha wasn’t sure whether she was alone. - Was she alone?

Martha thought she might be locked in. - Was she locked in?

Martha wondered whether the bridge would collapse before she got to the other side. – Would she make it? Would the bridge hold her weight? Could she survive?

Give children a list of statements that need a question to increase tension:

David suddenly heard a noise. - What was that?

David tried to turn the key but it wouldn’t move. – Would he be locked in forever?

David managed to grab the lifebelt again. – Was this his last chance?

Show examples of texts where questions are used to hook the reader e.g.

The opening of The Iron Man

Brainstorm questions that could be used in an opening paragraph as a hook e.g.

Would I ever forget this day?

Are you brave enough to read this story?

Do you believe in ghosts?

Change sentences into questions e.g.

The spider was lurking beneath the pot. – Was the spider lurking beneath the pot?

The girl was alone in the haunted house. – Was the girl alone in the haunted house?

Change questions into statements e.g.

Can you really believe this story? - You can really believe this story.

Was this the best day of my life? - This was the best day of my life.

Give a sentence then write a list of questions that could be asked about it e.g.

The teacher shouted.

What was the teacher’s name? – When did she shout? – Why did she shout?

Who did she shout at? – Where was she when she shouted? – How did she shout?

Question Sentence Activities

Pick out short sharp sentences from a variety of texts that use them for impact.

Make a list for children to copy. Get children to read them aloud in the tone of the sentence. For example:

Suddenly she froze! It was something black. There was silence. It disappeared!

It was impossible! My heart stopped. She stood stone still. Lightning flashed!

Invent a situation or read a short piece of action text to the children and ask them to brainstorm short

sharp sentences linked to it. For example:

(Remind about use of exclamation marks)

A young girl was crossing the road when all of a sudden a car came speeding around the corner towards her.

Her heart stopped! She froze! Tyres screeched! She screamed! Lights flashed!

Give the children long sentences to reduce into short sentences for impact. For example: She stopped moving immediately as soon as she saw it. - She froze.

All of a sudden he turned around. - He turned suddenly.

There was a bright flash of lightening. - Lightning flashed.

He seemed to wait around for hours. - Hours passed.

Then do the opposite and give children short sentences to expand and give more detail. For example:

Night passed. - The dark night faded slowly into the light of day.

She suddenly realised that he had left the room. - He had gone.

Give children a list of words and ask them to add powerful verbs to make short sharp sentences with

impact. For example:

Night - faded, darkened, ended. The waves - crashed, folded, splashed.

Shadows - crept, danced, arrived.

His heart - stopped, pounded, missed a beat.

Give a few long sentences of action and ask the children to change them into short sharp sentences, e.g.

We turned on the engine and threw the old van into gear before screeching away down the steep hill. We

could see the school as we flew past and we saw all the children running out to see what was going on. The

teachers were also shouting and the parents were waving their arms about, but we knew we couldn’t stop

now.

We turned on the engine and threw the van into gear. We screeched down the hill! We flew passed the

school. Children ran out. Teachers shouted. Parents waved their arms about. We couldn’t stop!

Read both versions aloud and discuss the difference the short sharp sentences make to the impact of the

action in the text.

Short Sharp Sentence Activities

Make lists of prepositions, e.g. under, over, against, beside, next to and ask children to use them to begin

sentences. Use the classroom as a guide for sentences, e.g. Above the computer table is a Viking display. Next to the door is a window. Below the whiteboard is a poster about food.

Give cloze procedure with prepositions extracted. For example:

The car sped _____ the corner and ran _____ a double-decker bus. Give passages where the prepositions have to be underlined/listed/changed.

Give sentences, which include prepositions and get the children to change them around so that the

sentence begins with the preposition, e.g. A large mirror hung on the wall above the fireplace – becomes –

On the wall, above the fireplace, hung a large mirror.

Get children to draw a plan of their bedroom. Include books, television, posters etc. Then get them to

describe what they can see by using preposition sentences e.g. On the shelves are some books. Explain it is

like a camera ‘panning’ effect used by a film maker.

Extend the previous activity by asking children to write an extra sentence, in between each preposition

sentence, to describe the first item e.g. On the shelves are some books, thick books and thin books, books about vampires and story books.

Give a variety of texts using preposition sentences to describe a setting and get the children to draw what

they read. Include colour, size and shape.

Give different settings (using photographs on the whiteboard) and get children to write a few preposition

sentences to describe what they can see.

As an extension to this- get them to add sounds, smells and feelings.

Preposition Sentence Activities

Show children two short sentences, the first beginning with a name, e.g. Jack ran through the park. He caught sight of the stranger. Sarah looked both ways. She crossed the road. Show the children how to change these into one sentence by moving the subject of the sentence and

changing the verb to the present tense, e.g. Running through the park, Jack caught sight of the stranger.

Looking both ways, Sarah crossed the road.

Then give children more pairs of sentences to practise changing into one sentence.

Start with a short, boring sentence, e.g. She came through the door. Ask children to come up with more powerful verbs instead of came and rewrite the sentence, e.g. She crashed through the door. OR She bounded through the door.

Then add a simile to give more detail, e.g. She bounded through the door like an excited kangaroo.

Next add another sentence about what she did next, e.g. She waved a lottery ticket in the air. – Ask how she

waved it and rewrite, e.g.She frantically waved a lottery ticket in the air.

Finally put the two sentences together, dropping the first pronoun, changing the first verb to the present

tense and changing the first full stop to a comma, e.g. Bounding through the door like an excited kangaroo, she

frantically waved a lottery ticket in the air. (Discuss the way in which this new sentence creates movement). Make a collection of ‘ing’ words (maybe go through the alphabet or use dictionaries) and then ask the

children to use them to write some interesting starts to ‘ing’ sentences. The children could then read out

their favourites and other children could offer endings – have some fun with these and make some silly

sentences. For example:

Hanging helplessly high above the trees, she wished she had been more careful with the weight on the end of the helium balloon. Diving skilfully into the swimming pool, John suddenly realised it had been emptied for cleaning.

Start with a list of sentences (including an adverb) about somebody doing something. For example:

Mary crept cautiously through the dark churchyard.

Peter waited anxiously for the final lottery number to come out. Then concentrate on ‘feelings’ adding a feeling to the beginning of the sentence e.g. Feeling afraid, Mary crept cautiously through the dark churchyard. Feeling really excited, Peter waited anxiously for the final lottery number to come out.

Ask the children to find some good ‘ing’ sentences in texts and practise changing them around so that the ‘ing’ clause is moved to the other end of the sentence and also practise splitting the sentence into two shorter sentences (changing the verb to the past tense), e.g. Mary felt afraid. She crept cautiously through the dark churchyard.

Ing Sentence Activities

Show the children how sentences can be changed into ed sentences. For example:

Katie was mesmerised as she stared at the shiny gold key in her crinkly palm. - Mesmerised, Katie stared at the shiny gold key in her crinkly palm.

Give children ed sentences. Ask them to break them up into two short sentences, e.g. Terrified, Sam stumbled through the long grass, desperately searching for his missing key. – Sam was terrified as he stumbled through the long grass. He was desperately searching for his missing key. Now do the opposite and give the children two short sentences and ask them to make one ed sentence.

Give children a range of ed sentence starters and ask the children to finish the sentences.

Horrified, Transfixed, Puzzled, Amazed,

Stupefied, Bewildered, Baffled, Shocked,

Paralysed with fear, Petrified, Mystified, Dazed,

Transfixed, Traumatised, Confused, Stunned,

Mesmerized, Magnified, Astonished, Surprised,

Mesmerized, the children watched as the trapeze artist swung through the night air. Bewildered, Alex searched for his missing piece of homework. Surprised, Laura glanced around the room at the smiling faces singing Happy Birthday.

Make a collection of ‘ed’ words (maybe go through the alphabet or use dictionaries) and then ask the

children to use them to write some interesting ‘ed’ sentences. The children could then read out their

favourites.

Give children lists of sentence endings and ask them to start the sentences using an ed word.

Ask the children to find ed words in texts and find out whether they can be used to make ed sentences.

Ed Sentence Activities

Look at a piece of text which contains complex sentences, i.e. sentences with an embedded clause which

give extra information to the sentence, but when removed, the sentence still makes sense. Ask the children

to find these and write them up on the board. Identify punctuation, i.e. commas, and where the extra

information is situated in the sentence. (Some very good examples of texts on the ‘Grammar for Writing’

CD which can be displayed on IWBs and annotated).

Do shared writing to compose a simple sentence e.g. The dangerous dog barked wildly at Amy. Ask the

questions- Where could we add on extra information? At the beginning, middle or end? What will help us

join this information on? Ask some children to hold up cards with ideas for extra information printed on

them, e.g. with glaring eyes, who was very frightened, showing its sharp teeth. Ask children to find places in the sentence where these could be inserted correctly.

(Identify where commas will need to be used to separate the two parts).

Give a list of sentences. For example:

The boy approached the bully. The teacher found her favourite pen in the bin. The old house stood silently on the hill. Ask the children to re-write these adding in extra information.

The boy, trembling in his shoes, approached the bully. With great relief, the teacher found her favourite pen in the bin. The old house stood silently on the hill, towering over the city.

Make groups of 3 children and give them 2 cards with a comma on each. Between them they have to make

up a sentence with an embedded clause and then say it in front of the class, each child taking a different

part of it.

For example:

The red-faced boy, who hadn’t been listening, tried to answer the teacher’s question.

To extend - remove the commas and middle child to check if the sentence makes sense.

Spilt children into small groups and get them to compose good complex sentences with extra information

that they can act out to the rest of the class e.g. The terrifying alien, with disgusting grunge dripping

from its teeth, chased the frightened girl around the classroom. One child in the group could be the

narrator.

Using computers, give children a list of sentences with added information in different places in the

sentence. Children then change the added information into another colour to highlight it. Try changing

around the clauses in sentences using cut and paste. Which way is best?

Give children sets of two-clause sentences and ask them to change them into one-clause ‘extra information’

sentences (model and discuss what needs to be changed), e.g.

Roald Dahl is the author of many children’s books. He died a few years ago. Roald Dahl, author of many children’s books, died a few years ago.

Extra-information Sentence Activities

Create a simile bank. Collect similes when reading that can be used in the children’s own writing.

Give the children a selection of sentence starters and similes for the children to match up appropriately.

For example:

The boat rocked like… a fury balloon with the air escaping. He was as slow as a… a baby’s cradle. The hamster ran around the cage like tractor on a country lane.

Present the children with sentence starters for them to finish off with a suitable and original simile.

The wind raged through the trees like… His heart raced like… The waves pounded the beach like… Her hair was as shiny as… His eyes were as brown as…

Give the children a subject/object to create a simile about, e.g.

The weather A teacher

The ocean A policeman

The sky A bully

Animals A surgeon

Show children photographs on the whiteboard of the ocean, the sky at night, a forest, a beach,

a meadow, a park, a fire etc. Practise creating good similes to describe a setting.

The flames danced around like a ballet dancer. The sand was as soft as marshmallows.

Show children a picture of a character or give them a list of character traits and details. Ask the children

to produce similes to describe the character.

Her eyes sparkled like the precious jewels on a tiara. His hair was as spiky as the bristles on a tooth brush.

Give children some similes and ask them to practise rearranging the simile by putting the simile first, e.g.

The stairs creaked like an out of tune violin. Like an out of tune violin, the stairs creaked. James tore along the pavement like a runaway train. Like a runaway train, James tore along the pavement.

Simile Sentence Activities

Teaching Grammar

and Punctuation

Sentence Structure

Clause:

A clause is a part of a sentence which includes a verb. A main clause is a clause which makes sense on its

own.

E.g. Jack looked after his hamster.

Phrase:

A phrase is a group of words that do not have a verb and do not make sense on their own.

E.g. the black dog

Noun Phrases/ Expanded Noun Phrases:

A noun phrase refers to a group of words that function in the same way as the noun in the sentence.

E.g. the new girl; the delicate flower; the menacing waves.

Noun phrases allow the writer to expand information interestingly and sophisticated writers often use a

mixture of expanded noun phrases and subordination to pack details into their sentences.

E.g. The new boy in the Manchester United shirt, who only joined the school team last week, is expected to perform well this season.

Short Descriptive Sentences Question Sentences Short Sharp Sentences Imperative Sentences

Simple sentence:

A sentence with only one clause, which is known as the main clause.

E.g. It was raining. Holly ran home from school. Conjunction Sentences

Compound sentence:

A sentence which has two or more clauses of equal weight joined by and, but, or, so, yet, nor.

And, but, or, so, yet, nor are known as co-ordinating conjunctions.

E.g. The car screeched to a halt, and the fox dived into the hedgerow.

I like jam, but my brother prefers peanut butter.

Conjunction Sentences As Sentences Simile Sentences

Complex sentence:

A sentence which has at least one main clause (which can stand on its own and make complete sense) and

one or more subordinate clauses.

A subordinate clause is joined to the main clause by subordinating conjunctions when we teach

conjunctions sentences. The most common subordinating conjunctions used by children are: because,

when, as, if.

Grammar and Punctuation Rules

Type of Conjunction Examples

Time when, while, before, after, since, until

Place where, wherever

Condition if, unless, in case, as long as

Contrast whereas, while, whilst

Concession although, though, if, even if,

Exception except, but

Reason because, since

Purpose in order to, so, as to

Result so, so that

Similarity as, like

Comparison as if, as though, like

Adverbial Sentences

Adverbials (previously known as connectives):

An adverbial is a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence that links clauses between sentences and

paragraphs while conjunctions link clauses within sentences. These connecting adverbs maintain the

cohesion of the text in a number of basic ways. For example the following table contains the adverbial

families that we use for teaching adverbial sentences in non-fiction writing:

Type of Adverbial Examples

Sequential Firstly, First of all, First and foremost, Secondly, Finally, Eventually

Additional Also, In addition, Moreover, Furthermore

Opposite However, Alternatively, On the other hand, Conversely

Explanation For example, For instance, In fact

Causal As a result, Therefore, Consequently, Due to this

Persuasive Unfortunately, Obviously, Clearly, Surely, Personally

Highlighting Interestingly, Surprisingly, Amazingly, Unusually

Generalising Generally, Usually, Arguably, Probably


Adverb and Adverbial Phrase Sentences

Adverbials/Adverbial Phrases:

Adverbials are a word or a group of words playing the role of the adverb. They are used to express a wide

range of meanings and can be seen to answer when, where, how and to what extent. For example:

Type of Adverb Examples

Time- When? later, soon, never, now, tomorrow, hourly

Place- Where? here, there, far, near, close

Manner- How? happily lazily, angrily, slowly, anxiously, silently

Degree- To what extent? very, rather, slightly, extremely

Adverbs and adverbial phrases can be used in several positions within a sentence and moving the position of

the adverbial phrase demonstrates a greater level of control and level of sophistication.

E.g. Suddenly, the red Ferrari skidded to a halt. (time)

In the blink of an eye, the black figure had disappeared. (time)

The rain eventually stopped after two hours. (time)

Anxiously, Sam trudged home without his school bag. (how)

James marched along the cobbled street with his fists tightly clenched. (how)

With a smile on her face, Lucy pushed open the heavy paint-chipped door of her home. (how)

A storm was brewing in the distance. (where)

In the gadget-filled kitchen, the unsuspecting family happily ate their breakfast. (where)

Under the mud-encrusted plant pots, hundreds of beetles hid waiting patiently for the sun to set.

(where and how)



Prepositional Phrases:

A prepositional phrase is a group of words that start with a preposition and act as an adverb or as an

adjective which accounts for the overlap with the previous adverbial phrase examples.

When acting as an adjective the propositional phrase will answer the question- Which one?

E.g. The swing in the park was broken.

The letter from Grandad was left unopened on the kitchen table.

Jack, along with the other pupils, breathed a sigh of relief as the bus reached the top of the bank.

When acting as an adverb the prepositional phrase will answer questions such as- How? When? Where?

E.g. In the quiet garden the flowers danced in the gentle breeze.

Before I even had chance to scream, I was thrown overboard into the ferocious sea.

The children huddled together under the checked blanket to keep warm.

Examples of prepositions to begin sentences with

for our preposition sentences.

above, about, across, against, along, among, around, at, before,

behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down,

during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on,

since, to, toward, through, under, until, up, upon, with and within.

Extra-information Sentences Ing Sentences Ed Sentences

Varying the position of main and subordinate clauses in complex sentences is one way of varying sentence

structure. Subordinate clauses can be embedded within a main clause.

E.g. Mrs Jackson, although nearly eighty years of age, chased after the burglar.

Embedded clauses can also be created using relative pronouns such as who, that and which.

E.g. Joe Lawson, who had a habit of falling over, volunteered to go first on the assault course!

Ing and ed clauses can also be added at the beginning or the end of a sentence to demonstrate varied

sentence structure.

E.g. Waving furiously, Jack watched at the train sped off into the distance. Munching noisily on his apple, Mr Swan marched along the corridor. Transfixed, Sam stared at the screen. Perplexed, Molly closed the empty box.

I tiptoed nervously up the steps, shivering with fear. I stared at my watch, confused by the frozen hands.


Full stops and capital letters

How to avoid a comma splice:

A comma splice occurs when two main clauses have been written together and separated only by a comma

when a full stop, semicolon, dash or conjunction would be more appropriate. To check whether a comma is

being used to splice two main clauses together, simply see whether a full stop could be used .E.g. She strolled along the deserted gallery, all of a sudden the people in the pictures started moving and talking, Jessica couldn’t believe her eyes. (Incorrect- comma splicing in action.) She strolled along the deserted gallery. All of a sudden, the people in the pictures started moving and talking- Jessica couldn’t believe her eyes. (Correct.)

Question marks and Exclamation marks

To be used at the end of sentences.

Do not allow the children to use more than one exclamation mark at the end of a sentence. E.g. !!!

Commas

Commas in a list:

Commas used to separate description or actions within one sentence but not before the ‘and’.

E.g. Katie stomped into the classroom, pulled out her chair and sat down hoping no one would try to talk to her until she had calmed down. Luke, with his long spaghetti arms, scrawny legs and huge feet was hopeless at any sport he attempted.

Commas used to separate two adjectives in the noun phrase when the word ‘and’ could theoretically

be placed in between them:

E.g. The vast, inhospitable sea… The cruel, menacing waves…

Commas before a conjunction:

Use a comma to separate two main clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction in a compound

sentence. Do not use a comma before coordinating conjunctions if they connect an independent clause with

a dependent clause (a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence).

E.g. I dived straight into the pool, but I was shocked by how cold the water was. I peeled the vegetables, and my mum washed the dishes. E.g. The teacher told the boy off for being late and sent him to the office. (No comma needed because,

‘sent him to the office’ is not an independent clause.)

I watched the sky for hours but didn’t see a shooting star. (No comma needed because, ‘didn’t see a

shooting star’ cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Commas used to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause:

E.g. As the heavy, black clouds gathered in the grey sky, the Viking raiders travelled ever closer to the

island of Lindisfarne.

Interestingly, many children attended a wide variety of different clubs during the holidays. Shivering with fear, Alex clutched tightly onto his mum’s necklace.

Commas after connective words and phrases:

E.g. Next, cut the pizza into quarters using a sharp knife.

All of a sudden, the bell chimed signalling that it was time for Cinderella to make a speedy exit.

Commas used to show when extra-information has been embedded into the sentence:

E.g. James, who has an amazing collection of pet spiders at home, put his hand up to offer his services.

Commas after an interjection:

E.g. No, I will not bully you or anybody else ever again.

Well, I should think not!

Indeed, dogs do need regular exercise.

However, most interjections are followed immediately by an exclamation mark instead.

E.g. “Good! Now we can be best friends,” exclaimed Lucy.


Speech marks

Speech punctuation refers to the range of punctuation marks needed to punctuate speech accurately.

E.g. “Look out!” yelled Jack. “Where are we going?” muttered Holly, as she slowly zipped up her blue anorak. Mrs Henderson, the head teacher of the school, exclaimed: “The people responsible for this will be severely punished!” “First we must find the right conkers,” she said. “And there’s only one place to find a champion conker and that’s Cropton Wood.”

Colon:

Colons are used to introduce something.

E.g. You will need: Colons are used in newspaper report writing when reporting on speech from an eyewitness. E.g. Mr Rodgers, the caretaker of the school, exclaimed: “I will call the police immediately if this ever happens again!” Semicolon:

Semicolons in a list:

Use a semicolon to separate items in a complex list.

For the picnic, Mum packed: ham and cheese sandwiches; ready salted crisps; strawberry flavoured lollies and pink lemonade.

Semicolons to replace a conjunction:

Semicolons can be used to replace coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, so and yet) in compound

sentences. This works when the second clause is short and closely connected to the first clause.

E.g. The athlete from Spain came second; he was awarded a silver medal. James worked hard; Josh did not. However, be aware of overuse. If all coordinating conjunctions in a piece of writing were replaced by a

semicolon then this would become boring and annoying for the reader.

Brackets:

Use brackets to insert additional information into a sentence. If the information inside the brackets was

removed then the sentence should still work. Brackets can be included in a sentence when a comma has

already been used in the sentence.

E.g. As the clock struck twelve, Buster (a rather ferocious looking guard dog) broke free from his chain and chased after the dark figure.

Be aware that using brackets unnecessarily, or using them too frequently is actually a sign of bad sentence

structure. Commas are generally used more frequently to separate extra information in a sentence thus

reducing the need for brackets.

Dashes:

Dashes are very useful pieces of punctuation because if the children are ever confused as to whether they

should use a colon, semicolon or an ellipsis then they could use a dash instead.

E.g. He blamed his missing homework on one thing- his dog. No one was seriously hurt in the accident- apart from Kit the dog.


Ellipses:

The three dots can be used very effectively by children in story writing to build up tension and suspense.

E.g. Slowly, the door opened and … Max bounded into the room.

Apostrophes:

It is worth noting that the apostrophe causes more errors than any other punctuation mark.

Apostrophes to show possession:

When the noun is singular, the apostrophe comes before the s. However, if the noun is plural, then the

apostrophe comes after the s.

E.g. Pour the dog’s food into the bowl. (one dog, one bowl) Pour the dogs’ food into the bowls. (several dogs, several bowls)

However, plural words that don’t end in s, have the apostrophe before the s.

E.g. men’s toilets / children’s packed lunch boxes / people’s savings Also, singular nouns ending in an s can have an apostrophe at the end or with an apostrophe s.

To determine whether to add the apostrophe or an apostrophe s depends how it is pronounced.

E.g. Use James’s report if pronounced as ‘Jamesiz report’. Use Mr Williams’s room if pronounced as ‘Mr Williamsiz room

Apostrophes to show missing letters:

Ironically, despite the word its being used to mark possession, it does not have an apostrophe.

E.g. The rabbit is very messy. Its cage needs cleaning out again. It’s means it is. It’s cold outside, so remember to put your coat on. We frequently use contracted apostrophes to reflect how people speak and they are generally only used in

informal pieces of writing.

Hyphens:

Hyphens can be used to link the words in a compound adjective. (A compound adjective is a single adjective

made up of more than one word.)

E.g. ten-storey building three-page document four-bedroom house air-conditioned room razor-sharp teeth

well-known actress long-awaited decision much-needed operation well-mannered boy twenty-one one-third Always use a comma, not a hyphen between two adjectives when you could have used an ‘and’ between them.

E.g. the old, dilapidated building Never use a hyphen when the combination of adjectives are used after the noun.

E.g. The young boy was extremely well mannered. The actress was very well known. The operation performed on the girl was much needed.


Ten common grammatical errors to fix in school:

Common errors How can we fix it?

1. could of should of would of

Ensure that we correct all verbal and written errors.

Clearly state correct expanded form:

could have should have would have

2. I done it. Ensure that we correct all verbal and written errors.

Clearly state correct forms:

I did… I have done…

3. I have been sat here all day. Where were you sat?


Clearly state correct forms for irregular past tense verb endings:

I sit / I sat / I have sat / I have been sitting / I was sitting

I have been sitting here all day. Where were you sitting?

4. I have been stood here for hours in the rain. I was stood at the front of the queue.



I stand/ I stood/ I have stood/ I have been standing / I was

standing

I have been standing here for hours in the rain. I was standing at the front of the queue.

5. I laid down on the bed. He laid down and had a nap. Kate laid on the sofa and watched TV. On holiday I laid on the beach reading books.



I lie / I lay / I have lain / I have been lying / I was lying

(to recline)

I lay on the bed. He lay down and had a nap. Kate lay on the sofa and watched TV. On holiday I lay on the beach reading books.

6. The book is laid on the table. Ensure that we correct all verbal and written errors.


I lay / I laid / I have laid / I have been laying / I was laying

The hens have been laying their eggs in the barn. I was laying the table when the doorbell rang. Lay the book on the table. (to put down)

I laid the book on the table. The book is lying on the table. (resting and reclining)

7. You must practice your spellings every day.


Clearly state correct form:

To practise is a verb while practice is a noun.

It is time for Hymn Practice. With plenty of practice, you will get better. You need to practise forming your digits more carefully.


Common errors How can we fix it?

8. There are less children in the lower ability group. There are less chairs in the classroom this year compared with last year.



The correct way of distinguishing between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’ is to

remember that we use less with mass nouns and fewer with count

nouns. Mass nouns are simply things that you can’t count or make

plural, e.g. less clutter, less mess, less coffee, less water, less furniture etc. Count nouns are things that you can count, e.g. fewer

people, fewer children, fewer chairs, fewer pens etc.

9. A large amount of children enjoyed the trip. A small amount of packed lunches were left in the dining hall.



The rule for number and amount is also based on mass and count

nouns. When you can’t count the noun or make it plural, use amount

and then use number with all things that you can count, e.g. A large number of children arrive in time for mental maths every morning.

10. Jack and me went swimming yesterday.



It should be: Jack and I went swimming yesterday.

Due to the notion that there is something wrong with ‘me’ leads

people to overcorrect and avoid using me when it is perfectly

appropriate. People feel the need to put in I or even myself.

However, me is perfectly acceptable in many cases, e.g. The award

was presented to William and me by the head teacher. The picture

was drawn by Lucy and me. This work has to be finished by Sam and

me.

We may try to avoid using ‘me’ by using ‘myself’ instead. It is

appropriate to use myself when I has been used earlier in the same

sentence, e.g. I am not particularly fond of cabbage myself. I kept

half of the money for myself.


Year

Group

Grammar to be taught

Year

Grou

p

Grammar to be taught

N Y3 Using conjunctions for subordination (because,

if, when, that, as)

Commas to separate items in a list

Apostrophes for singular possession

Introduction to prepositions

Introduction to adverbs for time –

additional/sequential connectives

Introduction to inverted commas for speech

Using ‘a’ or ‘an’ depending on what the next word

begins with.

Apostrophes for omission

R Y4 Fronted adverbials followed by a comma

Noun phrases, adverbial phrases and

prepositional phrases

Introduce adverbials as ‘time, manner and place’

Varying nouns and pronouns to avoid repetition

Apostrophes to mark plural possession (HA)

Use of inverted commas and other punctuation

for direct speech

Y1 Using ‘and’ to join sentences

Using Capital Letter for names and

‘I’

Using full stops at the end of a

sentence

Finger spaces between words

Introduction to question mark and

exclamation mark

Y5

Use of relative clauses using ‘who’, ‘which’,

‘where’, ‘when’, ‘whose’

Introduce modal verbs e.g. might, should

Using adverbs for possibility e.g. surely, perhaps,

Brackets, dashes and commas for parenthesis

Fronted adverbials and connectives for linking

ideas within a paragraph

Fronted adverbials and connectives for linking

paragraphs

Hyphen to join co-ordinating words

Bullet points to list information

Y2 Using ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’ for co-

ordination

Using ‘because’, ‘when’, ‘if’ and ‘that’

for subordination

Present and past tense verbs

Identifying statements, commands,

questions and exclamation

sentences

Using question marks, exclamation

marks, full stops and capital letters

Commas to separate items in a list

Apostrophes for omission

Apostrophes for singular possession

Y6 Passive verbs

Differences between formal and informal

language

Semi-colon, colon and dash

Colon and semi-colon for lists

Bullet points to list information

Hyphens to avoid ambiguity

Ellipsis

Grammar and Punctuation

Assessing

Writing

Independent Writing Tasks will be completed by the children once per half term, with a

focussed mark taking place.

Writing assessent sheets are kept in books and objectives are regularly assessed against.

Writing Composition

Objective (over 90% of the time) Au Sp Su

I can use language to create a particular effect where appropriate

I can link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials of time (e.g. later) number (e.g. secondly) and

place (nearby)

I can use expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely

I can use examples of onomatopoeia, similes, metaphors and personification where appropriate

In narrative, I can describe settings, characters and atmosphere and integrate dialogue to convey

character and advance the action.

I can use complex sentences with:

- Passive voice

- Technical Vocabulary

- Hypothetical language (if, then, when)

- Casual and temporal connections (while, during, as a result, due to)

I can use the correct tense and person accurately across a piece of writing

I can move between past and present tense where appropriate

I can perform my own compositions using tone and intonation for a clear meaning

Text Structure

Objective (over 90% of the time) Au Sp Su

I can use a range of devices to support cohesion within and across paragraphs (secure use of

pronouns, connectives, references back to text)

I can structure material clearly with sentences organised in paragraphs

I can make clear links between paragraphs

I can effectively link the introduction and conclusion in non-fiction writing

Year 6 Assessment Criteria

Grammar and Punctuation

Objective Au Sp Su

I am beginning to punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop, question mark or

exclamation mark. (30-50% of sentences punctuated using capital letters and full stops leaving spaces

between words)

I use a capital letter for names of people, places, the days of the week, and the personal pronoun

‘I’(30-50% of capital letters used for the names of people, places, days of the week and the personal pronoun ‘I’)

I leave a space between words (30-50% of the time)

I can use suffixes that can be added to verbs where no change is needed in the spelling of root words

(e.g. helping, helped, helper)

I can use regular plural noun suffixes –s or –es [for example, dog, dogs; wish, wishes], and understand

the effects of these suffixes on the meaning of the noun

I can join words and clauses using ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘because’ (Clauses mostly joined with and)

I can understand how the prefix ‘un–‘ changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives [negation, for

example, unkind, or undoing: untie the boat]

Assessment Criteria

Autumn Spring Summer

Non-negotiable objectives

secured

Non-negotiable

objectives secured

Non-negotiable objectives

secured

Other objectives secured Other objectives secured Other objectives secured

Total Total Total

Outcome Outcome Outcome

Year 6 Assessment Criteria

Teaching

Letters and Sounds

Being able to read is the most important skill children learn during their early schooling and will have far-

reaching implications for life-long confidence and well-being. Letters and Sounds is a systematic, synthetic

phonic system which enables teachers to teach children how the alphabet works for reading and spelling. In

Phase 1, children’s speaking and listening skills are developed in preparation for learning phonic skills and

knowledge in Phases 2 to 6. This approach should be incorporated into our daily literacy teaching and

opportunities given for skills and knowledge to be applied in other curriculum areas. It is important that

teaching systematically follows the L&S programme with each phase building on the previous phonemes taught

in the correct sequence.

The aim of Letters and Sounds is that all children become competent readers by the end of KS1 having

completed Phase 6. Children, however, progress at different rates so as a consequence some children in KS2

will need to continue to have a daily Letters and Sound input. This will take place within the ten to fifteen

minute word work session of the English lesson. The phases that each ability group revise and teach will be

recorded and monitored so that every child is being taught at their level across the school. Of course SEN

children will need to have a richer diet of Letters and Sounds and time devoted to it in each of their English

lessons will be in accordance with this need.

The Letters and Sounds document contains many resources and activities which can support the teaching of

phonics in both Key Stages.

Principles of High Quality Phonics Underlying the Six Phases:

Letters and Sounds enables children to see the relationship between reading and spelling from an early

stage so that the teaching of one reinforces the understanding of the other.

Decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) are treated as reversible processes.

Grapheme- phoneme correspondences are taught in a clearly defined incremental sequence.

To apply the highly important skill of blending phonemes in the order in which they occur, all through the

word to read it.

To apply the skills of segmenting words into their constituent phonemes to spell.

The Six Phase Teaching Programme:

Phase 1- Children are helped to develop good speaking and listening skills in order to them to make a

confident start when the systematic phonics teaching begins. Tuning into sounds, listening and

remembering sounds and talking about sounds.

Phase 2- Children are taught at least 19 letters and will move from oral segmenting to blending and

segmenting with letters. By the end of the phase, they will be able to read and spell some VC and CVC

words.

Phase 3- Children will learn another 25 graphemes. They will learn letter names and begin to read and spell

some tricky words.

Phase 4- Children are helped to consolidate their knowledge of graphemes in reading and spelling words

containing adjacent consonants and polysyllabic words.

Phase 5- Children will broaden their knowledge of graphemes and phonemes for use in reading and spelling.

They will learn new graphemes and alternative pronunciations for graphemes they already know where

relevant

Phase 6- Reading skills: reading for comprehension; vocabulary work and interrogating the text. Spelling

skills: words in the past tense; learning how to use suffixes and the application of spelling in writing. A big

focus on spelling!

Letters and Sounds

Phase Assessment Criteria for the end of each Phase

One

Nursery

Will have experienced a wealth of listening experiences including songs, stories and

rhymes.

Will be able to distinguish between speech sounds and many will be able to blend and

segment words orally.

Some will be able to recognise spoken words that rhyme and will be able to provide a

string of rhyming words, but inability to do this does not prevent moving onto Phase 2.

Two

Reception

(6 weeks)

Will be able to give the sound when shown any phase 2 grapheme: s a t p i n m d g o c k

ck e u r h b f ff l ll ss.

Find any phase 2 grapheme when given the sound from a display.

Will be able to orally blend and segment CVC words. E.g. cat, dog, leg, fuss, rock, pib, hin

etc.

Will be able to blend and segment in order to read and spell (using magnetic letters) VC

words. E.g. in, at, on, og.

Will be able to read the five tricky words: the, to, I, no, go.

Three

Reception

(12 weeks)

Will be able to give the sound when shown all or most Phase Two and Phase Three

graphemes: j v w x y z zz qu ch sh th ng ai ee igh oa oo ar or u row oi ear air ure

er.

Will be able to find all or most Phase Two and Phase Three graphemes from a display

when given the sound.

Will be able to blend and read CVC words (i.e. single-syllable words consisting of Phase 2

and Phase 3 graphemes).

Will be able to segment and make a phonemically plausible attempt at spelling CVC words.

Will be able to read the tricky words: he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, her, they,

all, are.

Will be able to spell the five tricky words: the, to, I, no, go.

Will be able to write each letter correctly when following a model.

Four

Reception

(6 weeks)

Will be able to give the sound when shown any Phase Two and Phase Three grapheme.

Will be able to find any Phase Two and Phase Three grapheme when given the sound from

a display.

Will be able to blend and read words containing consonant clusters.

Will be able to segment and spell words containing consonant clusters.

Will be able to read the tricky words: some, one, said, come, do, so, were, when,

have, there, out, like, little, what.

Will be able to spell the tricky words: he, she, we, me, be, was, my, you, her, they,

all, are.

Will be able to write each letter, usually correctly

Five

Year 1

Will be able to give the sound when shown any grapheme that has been taught from

Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four and Phase Five.

Will be able for any given sound, write the common graphemes.

Will be able to apply phonic knowledge and skill as the prime approach to reading and

spelling unfamiliar words that are not completely decodable.

Will be able to read and spell phonically decodable two-syllable and three-syllable words.

Will be able to accurately spell most of the words in the list of 100 high-frequency

words.

Will be able to form each letter correctly.

Letters and Sounds

Spelling Rules and Conventions

Adding Suffixes to Words

Year 1 Pluralisation:

s and es added to nouns and verbs, as in cats, runs, bushes, catches;

Adding

–ing, –ed and –er

to verbs where no change is needed in the spelling of root words (e.g. helping, helped,

helper)

Adding un: How the prefix un– changes the meaning of verbs and adjectives [negation, for example, unkind, or

undoing: untie the boat]

Adding er and est:

added to verbs to denote the person doing the action, as in runner, reader, writer;

added to adjectives to give the comparative form, as in bigger, slower, longer, wider;

Adding y:

added to nouns to form adjectives, as in funny, smoky, shiny.

First 100 High-frequency Words

Letters and Sounds

103

Phase

Six

Spelling Rules and Conventions

Adding Suffixes to Words

Year 2 Pluralisation:

s and es added to nouns and verbs, as in cats, runs, bushes, catches;

adding ies to words ending in y.

Putting verbs into the past tense:

ed and ing added to verbs, as in hopped, hopping, hoped, hoping;

Adding ful:

added to nouns, as in careful, painful, playful, restful, mouthful;

Adding er:

added to verbs to denote the person doing the action, as in runner, reader, writer;

added to adjectives to give the comparative form, as in bigger, slower, longer, wider;

Adding est:

added to adjectives, as in biggest, slowest, shortest;

Adding ly:

added to adjectives to form adverbs, as in slowly, quickly, happily;

Adding ment:

added to verbs to form nouns, as in payment, advertisement, development;

Adding ness:

added to adjectives to form nouns, as in darkness, happiness, sadness.

Adding y:

added to nouns to form adjectives, as in funny, smoky, shiny.

Next 200 High-frequency Words

Letters and Sounds

Ability

Group

Nursery

Reception

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Skill

Teach

Teach

Revise

Teach

Revise

Teach

Revise

Teach

Revise

Teach

Revise

Teach

Revise

Teach

Lower Initial

sounds

using Jolly

Phonics

Action

Words

Phase 1

Extend into

Phase 2

Consolidate

Phase 1

Teach

Phases 2 &

3

Extend into

Phase 3/4

Phase

2

Phase

3/4

Phase

3/4

Phase

4

Phase

3/4

Phase

5

Phase

3/4/5

Phase

5/6

Phase

5/6

Phase

6

Middle Phase

3/4

Phase

4/5

Phase

4/5

Phase

5/6

Phase

5/6

Phase

6

Phase

5/6

Phase

6

Higher

Phase

4

Phase

5

Phase

5

Phase

6

Phase

6

Phase

6

Coverage of Letters and Sounds Across the Ability Groups

Term Glossary of Terms

Grapheme The written representation of a sound.

Phoneme The smallest unit of sound in a word, e.g. sh-o-p.

We talk about bouncy sounds and stretchy sounds, but be careful to pronounce

them softly.

Digraph Two letters representing one sound/phoneme, e.g. ch-ur-ch.

Vowel

Digraph

Two letters representing one vowel sound, e.g. ai, ee, oo.

Split Vowel

Digraph

Two letters representing one vowel sound made with an e on the end, e.g. time,

hole.

We often call this the magic e. When the e on the end magically changes vowel

from its sound to its letter name.

Consonant

Cluster

Two or three consonants with discreet sounds which are then blended together

when decoding, e.g. cr, bl, str, nd, ng.

We sometimes call these blends.

Blending Synthesising phonemes together to pronounce a word.

We begin by doing this orally- sound talking using sound buttons underneath

words.

Segmenting The opposite of blending. Splitting words up into its individual phonemes in order

to spell the word, e.g. c-a-t.

Sound

Buttons

A teaching aid which helps children to blend and segment the phonemes in words.

Synthetic

Phonics

A programme of phonics teaching based on blending and segmenting sounds

for reading and spelling.

Letters and Sounds

Teaching

Word Work

Year

Group

Word work that must be covered in

each year group

Word Level Objectives

Useful teaching activities

Nur

sery

Jolly Phonics

To recognise phonemes by shape and sound.

To discriminate between different sounds.

To hear initial sounds in words.

To be aware of alliteration.

To name and label people, objects, events

and places.

To be aware of and understand rhyme.

Silver Sound Bag- contains objects

beginning with the phoneme of the week.

Soft toy of the week linked to the initial

phoneme, e.g. s for snake, e for elephant

etc.

I spy activities

Alphabet jigsaws/snap/pairs

Picture word lotto

Contrast games and matching games

What’s missing?

Animal Fruit Lotto

‘BLAST’ rhyming activities

Rhyme lotto

Nursery rhyme tape game

Nursery rhyme books

Weekly homework- sound of the week

Rece

ptio

n

Jolly Phonics

To link sounds to letters

To learn initial phonemes- a –z, ch, sh, th

To learn final phonemes

To learn medial phonemes, a e i o u

To read and spell 45 high frequency action

words.

To join in with rhyming activities.

Jolly Phonics Flashcards and Actions

Weekly phoneme display ( a collection of

objects and books)

Action word flash cards

CVC quiz

Weekly phoneme homework

Weekly spelling card homework

Word Work in KS1

Spelling Year 2

Objective Au Sp Su

I can spell most words with the ‘n’ sound spelt ‘kn’ e.g. know

I recognise and spell some words with the ‘r’ sound spelt ‘wr’ e.g. wrap

I can spell most words with the ‘el’ or ‘l’ sound spelt ‘le’ e.g. bottle

I can spell some words with the ‘el’ sound spelt ‘el’ e.g. camel

Words end in al or il (not many) – metal, pedal, capital, hospital, animal, pencil, fossil, nostril

I can spell some words with the ‘j’ sound spelt ‘dge’ e.g. badge

I can spell some words with the ‘j’ sound spelt ‘ge’ e.g. huge

I can some words with the ‘j’ sound spelt ‘g’ or ‘j’ e.g. gem or jar

I can spell some words with the suffix ‘tion’ e.g. motion

I can spell some words with the ‘s’ sound spelt ‘c’ e.g. ice, race

I can spell some words with the ‘ie’ sound spelt ‘y’ e.g. cry, dry

I can spell some words with the ‘ee’ sound spelt ‘ey’ e.g. key

I can change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’ e.g. cries, tries

The sound ‘or’ usually spelt as a before l and ll, - all, ball, walk

The ‘O’ sounds spelt or after w nd qu – want, was, watch, quantity, squash

The sound ‘u’ usually spelt o – mother, Monday, other

I can add ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ to most words ending in a e with a consonant before it, dropping the – hiking,

nicest

I can add ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ to most words ending in one syllable – doubling the consonant to keep the vowel

‘short’ e.g. patting, hummed

I can change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding ‘ed’, ‘er’, ‘est’ e.g. cried, replied, happiest

I can spell some contractions e.g. didn’t, can’t, I’ll

I can spell some homophones and near homophones e.g. hear, here

I can spell some words with the suffixes ‘ment’, ‘less,’ ‘ly’ and ‘ful’

Word Work in KS1 (Example)

Year 3 List

address calendar earth heart length popular separate

appear complete forward imagine natural position straight

answer consider fruit important naughty potatoes strange

build continue grammar increase notice promise suppose

Spelling Year 3

Objective Au Sp Su

I can spell most words with the ‘n’ sound spelt ‘kn’ e.g. know

I recognise and spell some words with the ‘r’ sound spelt ‘wr’ e.g. wrap

I can spell most words with the ‘el’ or ‘l’ sound spelt ‘le’ e.g. bottle

I can spell some words with the ‘j’ sound spelt ‘dge’ e.g. badge

I can spell some words with the ‘j’ sound spelt ‘ge’ e.g. huge

I can some words with the ‘u’ sound spelt ‘ou’ e.g. country, touch, double

I can spell some words with the suffix ‘tion’ e.g. motion

I can change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’ e.g. cries, tries

I can add ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ to most words ending in one syllable – doubling the consonant to keep the vowel

‘short’ e.g. patting, hummed

I can change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ before adding ‘ed’, ‘er’, ‘est’ e.g. cried, replied

I can spell words with the prefixes ‘un’, ‘dis’ and ‘mis’ e.g. disagree, mistaken

I can spell some contractions e.g. didn’t, can’t, I’ll

I can spell words with the prefixes ‘in’, ‘re’ and ‘super’ e.g. inactive, redo and superman

I can spell most words with the ‘ei’ sound spelt ‘ei, ey or eigh’ e.g. weigh, they, neighbour

I can spell some homophones and near homophones e.g. hear, here

I can add suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words of more than one syllable, e.g.

forgotten/forgetting

I can spell some words with the suffixes ‘ment’, ‘less,’ ‘ly’ and ‘ful’

I can spell the words on the Year 3 word list correctly 80% of the time

Word Work in KS2 (Example)

Teaching

Handwriting

Year

Group

Handwriting objectives to be covered in each year group

Handwriting Objectives Useful teaching activities

Nur

sery

To teach one handed skills

To strengthen hand muscles through

manipulating a variety of objects.

To draw lines and circles.

To develop effective pencil grip.

Water play

Cutting and sticking

Painting

Play dough/ baking/ sandwich making

Jolly Phonics- term 2

Rece

ption

To develop a comfortable and efficient

pencil grip.

To practise lower case formation using a lead

in stroke.

Practise handwriting patterns ooo mmm cccc ililil

To practise early manipulation skills

through: finger painting, dough, lego,

multilink etc.

Cripps Handwriting Book 1

Copywriting

Weekly formation of phoneme

homework

Year

1

To develop a comfortable and efficient

pencil grip.

To practise lower and uppercase letter

formation.

To practise handwriting in conjunction with

spelling.


in stroke.

To begin to join some letters together.

Y1 handwriting booklet- practise

forming letters together.


Air-writing

Practise writing letters on palms of

hands with a finger.

Year

2

To practise and secure lower and uppercase

letters.

To practise handwriting and link to spelling

practice.


in and lead out stroke.

To begin to join most letters together.


Whiteboard practice

Handwriting sheets

Copywriting

Year

3 To practise joins

To ensure writing sits on the line

To ensure ascenders and descenders are

accurately formed.

Introduce letters in groups:

C group: c a d g o qu s

l group: l t i u y j

r group: r n m h k p b

tall letters d h b l k

others: e f v w x z

letters with loops j g y q

letters that join from the top: o v w

consonant digraphs: th ch sh

basic long vowels: ay ee ie oa oo

other long vowel joins: ai ae igh ow ue

ew or are r ir ur oy oi aw au ear air.

Year

4 To ensure handwriting is joined and legible.

To ensure handwriting is regular in size and

spacing.

To use upper case and lower case letters

accurately.

Year

5 To ensure letters are appropriate in size and

position.

To ensure loops are visible and letters are

not being squashed together.

Year

6 To ensure handwriting is consistent and

fluent with letters and words appropriately

placed.

To develop a personal style to engage a

reader

Handwriting Objectives

Teaching

Speaking and

Listening

Spoken language – years 1 to 6

Statutory Requirements:

Pupils should be taught to:

listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers

ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge

use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary

articulate and justify answers, arguments and opinions

give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes,

including for expressing feelings

maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic

and initiating and responding to comments

use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining

and exploring ideas

speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English

participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and

debates

gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)

consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions

of others

select and use appropriate registers for effective communication.

These statements apply to all years. The content should be taught at a level appropriate to the age of the pupils. Pupils should build on the oral language skills that have been taught in preceding years.

Pupils should be taught to develop their competence in spoken language and listening to enhance the effectiveness with which they are able to communicate across a range of contexts and to a range of

audiences. They should therefore have opportunities to work in groups of different sizes – in pairs, small groups, large groups and as a whole class. Pupils should understand how to take turns and when and how to

participate constructively in conversations and debates. Attention should also be paid to increasing pupils’ vocabulary, ranging from describing their immediate

world and feelings to developing a broader, deeper and richer vocabulary to discuss abstract concepts and a wider range of topics, and to enhancing their knowledge about language as a whole.

Pupils should receive constructive feedback on their spoken language and listening, not only to improve their knowledge and skills but also to establish secure foundations for effective spoken language in their

studies at primary school, helping them to achieve in secondary education and beyond.


Example: Year 6

Spoken Language

Objective Au Sp Su

I use listen and respond appropriately to adults and my peers

I can ask relevant questions to extend my understanding and knowledge

I can use relevant strategies to build my vocabulary

I can articulate and justify my answers, arguments and opinions

I can give well-structured descriptions, explanations or narratives for different purposes,

including for expressing my feelings

I can maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic

and initiating and responding to comments

I can use spoken language to develop my understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and

exploring ideas

I can consider and evaluate different viewpoints, attending to and building on the contributions of

others

I can speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English

I can participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and

debates

I can gain, maintain and monitor the interest of the listener(s)

I have learned a range of poetry by heart.


Buzz Buzz

All children move about the hall not making eye contact. Teacher shouts 'freeze' all children freeze. Teacher

points to one child and says 'buzz' and that child has to perform a repeating movement (an accompanying sound

can also be made) while the others watch. Then the teacher shouts 'buzz buzz' and all children copy exactly the

action of the first child, keeping together in rhythm. After a few minutes the teacher calls 'walk' and the group

continue walking around the hall until the next command of 'freeze' starts the game again.

Liar

All children sitting in a circle. One person (A) starts a mime e.g. lighting a fire. Another person who wants to go

into the middle asks 'What are you doing?' (A) must answer untruthfully e.g. 'I am flying a kite' (B) then has to

mime flying a kite while (A) rejoins the circle. Then another person comes in to ask the question 'What are you

doing?' and so on. Develop into more difficult mimes e.g. A man trying to shave on a moving train or taking the

dog for a walk while trying to fasten shoes or cleaning teeth and getting dressed at the same time.

Many Marcels

The children are each given a slip of paper and told to find a space. They may not speak or do anything other than

think about what is written on their paper. When the teacher says 'go' everyone mimes according to their piece

of paper. After about ten seconds the teacher says 'freeze' and everyone swaps their piece of paper and the

game starts again. An interesting variation is for half the class to watch then change over but use different slips

of paper if you are going to guess what is happening. Some ideas for the paper might be:

Everybody in the room smells! Oh no! This parcel I am holding has just started to tick!

I have lost a tiny key and it's so important that I find it. My trousers/shoes are too tight.

I am holding a very hot plate which has to be put on the table very carefully.

It's freezing in here. What! My hair has turned green. I am an elephant on roller skates.

Mystery Box

All sitting in a circle and a box is passed around. Each child opens the box and mimes something taken from the

box - it could be a kitten, a toothbrush, a football etc. Others guess. The box is then passed on.

Machines

All in a circle - one child goes into the middle and creates a moving part of a machine, the next follows trying to

link their movement to the first, then the next child joins on and so on. Sounds can also be used. This can also be a

group task, each showing their machine once they have rehearsed it. An extension can be to give each moving part

of the machine a feeling and a line to say how they are feeling. Ask 'What is this machine making/doing?'

Describe what your function in the machine is?'

Zoom Eek

Children all say Zoom one after the other around the circle. Anyone can stop it and reverse it by shouting Eek

instead of saying Zoom. It must then change direction. No one can say Eek more than once. An extension could be

to send a Zoom in each direction.

Warm-up games for Drama

Cross the circle

Everyone is numbered around a circle as 1,2,3,4,or 5 depending on how many in the group. Call their number and

they have to cross the circle as ..a ballerina ..a moonwalker ..a fashion model etc

Steal a slave

Have children in pairs, one on a chair, the other standing behind. Pupil on the chair MUST sit with their back

touching the back of the chair. Pupil behind, MUST keep their hands behind their backs. The seated pupil is

the slave. The standing pupil is the master. One chair is empty with a child behind it. They have to get a slave

by winking at someone else's slave who will attempt to sneak away from their old master. Masters have to stop

slave from leaving by tapping their slave on the shoulder. If the slave gets away before being tapped on the

shoulder the newly 'slave-less' master has to wink at another slave etc.

Led by string

Children move about the hall and must imagine that a string is attached to various parts of the body that the

teacher will shout out e.g. big toe, nose, ear, elbow knee etc....

Catch a story

Have a ball or a beanbag. Begin a story. Throw it to someone who must continue the story. This is better than

trying to drag it around the circle and shy people can get rid of the story after only one word. A variation on

this is fortunately, unfortunately. Each person must add a sentence e.g.

Unfortunately, the plan's engines failed.

Fortunately, the pilot had a parachute.

Unfortunately, the parachute would not open.

Fortunately, he fell into a haystack etc.

Change the action

Children must copy the teacher's previous action every time 'change' is shouted ego

Teacher claps hands. Pupils sit still. Teacher shouts 'change' and begins to pat knees. Children clap their hands.

Teacher shouts 'change' again and begins to click fingers. Children now pat their knees.

The ruler game

A ruler is passed around a circle. Each person who receives the ruler has to make it become something with a

mime. It might become a watch, a comb, a trumpet etc. A mime cannot be repeated. Try different shaped

objects to stimulate imagination.

Hula Hoop

Warm-up games for Drama

Collective drawing

Groups create a picture to represent a character or place, which is a shared understanding of that person or

place drawn. They can also add words or phrases to the drawing, which detail feelings, thoughts or opinions

about the place or person.

Defining the space

A space is arranged to represent a fictional place e.g. a crucial place in the story/the place in which the drama

is to take place.

Diaries, letters, journals and eye -witness accounts

These can be used to interject information not previously known or to link events in the story or move the

story on. They are very useful for developing depth to character in writing. For example, letters can be written

from one fictional character to another expressing feeling, describing experiences or ideas. Eyewitness

recounts can give an unbiased view or help to link a series of events together and give a variety of different

perspectives at once.

Objects

Old parchment, a large and unusual key, a bundle of clothes etc can stimulate much discussion and provide a

starting paint for a range of dramatic or language activities or change the direction of a scene.

Hot-seating

A person in role is questioned by the rest of the class who are out of role in order to obtain a shared

understanding of the character's background, attitudes, motives etc. It is also a good way of exploring the

gaps in a character's story.

Teacher in role

It is similar to using different voices etc. when reading a story. Children respond very positively to this. It

encourages them to enter fully into their roles and treat the issues seriously. A good starting point is to adopt

the attitudes and opinions of another without necessarily giving a 'performance' e.g. as a character from a

book or a developer who wants to build on a green belt.

Still pictures/freeze frames

Groups or individuals create a still image or 'photograph' to illustrate a specific incident or event in the drama.

Positioning and body shape have to be considered carefully in order to represent ideas or emotions. Sequential

frames can be used to represent the key events as a narrative progresses. They can also be brought to life

through improvisation or used as the basis for thought tracking.

Thought tracking

Drama Techniques for the Classroom

Meetings

A group or teacher in role calls a meeting for the whole class to attend. Meetings enable information to be

shared with the whole group so that a group decision can be made about the situation they face. They

encourage children to adopt a collective role, which can help less confident children. Used at the start of a

drama, they can be an efficient way of creating roles or focusing on a problem.

Narration

A child tells a story while the others 'act it out'. It can be a simple narrative or a comment on the action from

differing points of view. The class or group can sit in a circle and take it turns to move the narrative on.

Forum Theatre

This allows an incident or event to be seen from different points of view, making it a very useful strategy for

examining alternative ideas. A small group acts out a scene while the rest of the class watch them. The class

work as directors of the group in role, e.g. asking them to act or speak in a different way, suggesting that a

character might behave differently or ask the drama to be replayed in a different way.

Flashbacks/flashforwards

These will get children to focus on the consequences of action rather than the action itself. Stop the dramatic

action and ask children to refocus on something that happened before, which may have caused the event, or

happened later, perhaps as a consequence of the action.

Paired improvisation

This strategy helps to get children quickly into a drama. Pairs are given roles or agree them for themselves.

They begin a dialogue on a signal, making the conversation up, in role as the character, as they go along.

Conscience alley

This is a means of exploring a character's mind at a moment of crisis and of investigating the complexity of

the decision they are facing. The class create two lines facing each other. One child in role as a particular

character walks down the 'alley' between the lines. Children voice the character's thoughts, both for and

against a particular decision or action that the character is facing, acting as his/her conscience. The child in

role listens to his conscience before making a decision about the course of action to take.

Play world machines

Children work in groups of about eight. Choosing a line from a selection offered for the play they are working

on. Each child (or pairs of children) go to a corner of the room and create a sound and movement which

captures the spirit of the line. They then return and one by one come into the centre of a circle to perform

their lines - repeating over and over if they so wish. Other children may want to walk amongst the machine of

words and movement to experience the world of play that is created.

Soundscapes

Sounds (and sometimes key words) are used to create the atmosphere of the 'place' in which the scene takes

place. These are performed by each group and evaluated for success.

Drama Techniques for the Classroom

Talking partners

Put children into pairs and allocate time for each to talk to the other at specific points in a teaching sequence,

e.g. to share experiences, generate ideas etc. Retain pairs for a period of time, e.g. a half term, so that they

can establish routines, gain confidence and develop more extended turns.

Debates

Encourage children to stick to a point of view and to use language persuasively. Divide the class into small

groups to develop their arguments and reasons. They can either choose one person to present the ideas or

assign arguments to particular children in the group.

Predicaments and problems

Use opportunities from across the curriculum. Focus on language required when trying to solve a problem. It

may involve role-play if representing a problem faced by an important historical figure or a character from a

novel.

Photos and Paintings

Using photographs and paintings ask children in groups to construct a news report. Children should tell the

story dramatically and in the style of a reporter.

Just a minute

Give children a topic and ask them to speak without hesitation, deviation or repetition for up to a minute.

Others can challenge if the rules are broken and then the challenger must take over to the end of the minute

if unchallenged. This can be extended to five minutes with older children or it can be done in pairs. The

children take turns to speak about the topic, but must not repeat each other.

Glove puppets and shadow theatre

Puppets can be used to make and tell stories. Children can rehearse and develop scripts for their puppet show.

Radio/TV broadcast

In pairs or small groups children could be asked to make a radio or television broadcast. Before producing the

broadcast children should have the opportunity to watch examples of broadcasts and identify their significant

features.

Speaking Activities for the Classroom

Babble gabble

Tell the children that they are going to listen to a story and afterwards work in pairs and retell it. After the

initial telling one child begins to retell the story to a partner as fast as they can , but including as much detail

as they can remember. After a minute call ‘Change’ and the listener now has to take over and continue retelling

the story.

Barrier games

Place children on either side of a screen so that the speaker can describe an object that the listener has to

draw. Alternatively, speaker can give directions from one map while the listener draws the route on a blank

version of the same map.

Word tennis

Each partner says one word of phrase of a story in turn so that the story is continually passed backwards and

forwards.

Draw a story

Read a story while the children sit and listen. Pause at the end of sections and allow some think time and tell

the children to draw the relevant part of the story. At the end of the story ask children what the story is

about and get them to retell the story from their drawings.

Telephone conversations

To emphasise the need to use language rather than gestures and facial expression, children should sit back to

back with ‘telephones’ for conversation.

Ways to listen

Use listening frames to help children focus on what they are listening to. Ask the children to make notes as

they listen. Give children questions to answer as they listen. Ask children to note down key words connected to

the topic they are studying.

Listening Activities for the Classroom

Think-Pair-Share

Children are asked to consider an issue individually. Then they must share their ideas with a partner. After the

pairs have discussed the issue, they may then join another pair and share their ideas.

Envoys

Children are put into small groups to discuss an issue. Each group then sends out one member as an envoy to the

next group. Envoys then move round all the other groups in turn explaining and sharing information from the

groups they have visited.

The Market Place

At the beginning of the lesson children are shown on the whiteboard a list of questions that they are unable to

answer. The children are divided up into small groups and each group is given some information about the same

topic/issue. Each group has to display the information visually on a large sheet of paper. The written

information is then collected up. One child in each group is the ‘shopper’ and they must visit other groups with

a notebook and ‘buy’ information which they must note down. The other children are the ‘shop keepers’ and

they must explain what the pictures mean to each shopper.

Once the children have ‘bought’ all of the information on offer then they must return back to their groups and

share the information that they have bought. The groups then have five minutes to discuss the information.

After the five minutes the children are shown the list of questions again and asked to answer the questions.

The Statements game

Children in pairs are given a list of statements and they are asked to agree or disagree with the statements.

Where they disagree they must persuade the other child to agree with their viewpoint.

Rainbowing

The children are put into groups and then given a colour. When the first group task is complete they can then

be asked to form a new group according to their colour.

Group Discussion Activities for the Classroom

References

Literacy: What Works?- Sue Palmer and Pie Corbett

How to Teach Story Writing at Key Stage 1- Pie Corbett

How to Teach Story Writing at Key Stage 2- Pie Corbett

How to Teach Poetry Writing- Pie Corbett

Talk for Writing- Pie Corbett

Storyteller 9-11- Pie Corbett



Jumpstart Storymaking- Pie Corbett

Jumpstart Literacy- Pie Corbett

Jumpstart Poetry- Pie Corbett

Jumpstart Creativity- Steve Bowkett

Jumpstart Drama- Teresa Cremin and Roger McDonald

Speak Out Ages 9-11- Pie Corbett

Speak Out Ages 7-9- Pie Corbett

The Bumper Book of Storytelling into Writing KS2- Pie Corbett

The Bumper Book of Storytelling into Writing KS1- Pie Corbett

How to Teach Writing Across the Curriculum at Key Stage 1 –Sue Palmer

How to Teach Writing Across the Curriculum at Key Stage 2- Sue Palmer

Speaking Frames Year 3 to Year 6- Sue Palmer

Talk for Writing Across the Curriculum- Pie Corbett and Julia Strong

Writing Exciting Sentences: Age 7 Plus- Alan Peat

Get Your Head Around Punctuation and how to teach it! – Alan Peat

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation- Jane Straus

Grammar For Writing- National Strategy

Letters and Sounds- National Strategy

Support for Writing- National Strategy

Support for Spelling- National Strategy

The Primary Framework For English and Maths- National Strategy

References

6th Edition

November 2016

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