Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Swillington Primary
School
Supporting Your Child at Home
With Grammar Toolkit
Year 4
By the end of Year 4 most children should know …
How to expand noun phrases by the addition of modifying
adjectives, nouns and preposition phrases (e.g. the
teacher expanded to: the strict teacher with curly red
hair ),
About fronted adverbials (e.g. Later that day, I heard
the bad news).
Use of commas after fronted adverbials.
How to use paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme.
How to choose the correct pronoun or noun within and
across sentences to aid cohesion and avoid repetition;
How to use inverted commas and other punctuation to
indicate direct speech (e.g. a comma after the reporting
clause; end punctuation within inverted commas: The
conductor shouted, “Sit down!”).
Apostrophes to mark singular and plural possession (e.g.
the girl’s name, the girls’ names ).
Words for pupils:
determiner, pronoun, possessive pronoun, adverbial;
Y4 Literacy Must Haves
. ? and ! in sentences.
, in a list
“ “ inverted comma.
Capital letters for the start of sentences and nouns
Use of: when, if, that, because, or, but, so, and, before,
after a while
Past and present tense accurate
Expanded noun phrases
Adverbs to mark time, place and cause
Begin to use paragraphs
Singular possession
Joined handwriting
Was/were
There/their/they’re
Grammar Terminology Progression Across School – Parent’s
Guide
Year
group Grammar Picture Clue Definition Example
F2 sentence *
A group of words that are put
together to mean something –
must include a verb.
The sky is blue.
Today is Monday.
Her dress looked
beautiful
1 noun *
Name of a person, place or thing.
4 types
Common – table, cat (1)
Proper – John, England (1)
Collective – pride, gaggle, flock
(3)
Abstract – love, bravery (4)
The cat sat on the table.
John lives in England.
Lions live together in a
pride.
Can you feel the love?
1 adjective *
A word that describes a noun. The dog was enormous
and very fierce.
1 verb *
An action or doing word.
Some verbs are irregular –
see – saw / seen
catch - caught
She waited patiently.
She has been waiting …
She waits ...
1 singular
Singular forms refer to one thing
- noun.
Cat
Church
Child
Tooth
1 plural
Plural forms refer to more than
one – noun.
Plural usually marked by addition
of - s, es
Some plurals are irregular.
Some nouns are mass nouns and
do not change in the plural.
cats
churches
teeth / feet fish,
sheep
1 conjunction
*
Used to join two ideas together
within one sentence,
He needed his coat
because it was cold.
The curtains danced in the
wind while the windows
crashed.
Year
group Grammar Picture Clue Definition Example
1 preposition
*
A word that shows the position
of a noun.
The box was under the
table.
I was inside the house.
The clouds above ….
2 pronoun *
A word in place of a noun.
Avoids repetition.
They were on the bus.
He sat down quietly.
2 adverb
Adverbs give extra meaning to a
verb, an adjective or a whole
sentence.
I really enjoyed the party
(adverb + verb)
She’s really nice.
(adverb + adjective)
He works really slowly.
(adverb + adverb)
Really, he should know
better.
(adverb + sentence)
2 connectives
*
Used to join a new sentence to
the previous.
We went to the park and
played on the swings. Then
we had an ice cream.
2 imperative
*
To express the action of the
subject.
He sat quietly on the chair.
Next, slowly turn the tap
on.
2 present
tense
Writing which expresses events
happening now.
Joyce is skipping and
singing a song.
Rex is looking out of the
car window.
Rosie looks confused!
2 past tense
Writing which expresses events
that have already occurred.
Joyce skipped and sang a
song.
Rex looked out of the car
window.
2 suffix
A group of letters added to the
end of a word to change its
grammatical use.
assessment
quickly
beautiful
2 prefix *
A group of letters added to the
beginning of a word to change its
grammatical use.
dismiss
untidy
inedible
Year
group Grammar Picture Clue Definition Example
3 determiner
*
Words used with nouns – this
book, my friend, a book, the book.
They limit the reference to the
noun.
They include articles (a/an, the),
possessive pronouns,
demonstratives (this/that,
those/these) and quantifiers
(some, many, no etc) and numbers.
This book is yours.
I’ve got some sweets.
I will have an apple.
Which colour do you
prefer?
3 clause
Contains a subject and a verb.
There are two types of clauses:
1) Independent – this can
stand alone.
2) Dependent – works only as
a whole sentence. It could
begin with after, although,
because, if, when, while
Independent
She can leave the office
now
Dependent clause
because she finished work
early.
3 phrase *
A small group of closely related
words with no verb.
If you can
At the museum
Prepositional phrases:
In the house
Under water
Out of here
3 paragraph
A section of a piece of writing.
A new paragraph marks a change
of focus, change of time, change
of place or change of speaker.
Should be marked by a new line
and a clear indent.
3 collective
noun
Name of a person, place or thing.
4 types
Common – table, cat (1)
Proper – John, England (1)
Collective – pride, gaggle, flock
(3)
Abstract – love, bravery (4)
The cat sat on the table.
John lives in England.
Lions live together in a
pride.
Can you feel the love?
Year
group Grammar Picture Clue Definition Example
3 relative
pronoun
Introduce a relative clause – who,
whom, which, that,
The train was late, which
annoyed me greatly.
This is Sam, who can play
the piano.
3 subject
The noun or pronoun that is
carrying out the action in the
sentence.
The dog broke the window.
The children ripped the
paper.
3 object
The object in the sentence that
is having the action done to it.
The dog broke the window.
The children ripped the
paper.
3 subordinate
clause
A clause with a subject and a
verb but cannot stand alone, so is
in addition to the main clause.
Although I was scared, I
crept inside.
I crept inside is the main
clause as it can stand alone
and still make sense.
4 possessive
pronoun
Tell who owns something. They can be in front of a
noun or after.
my pen / that pen is mine.
4 adverbial
Adverbials of manner – how
Adverbials of place – where
Adverbials of time – When / how
often
Adverbials of probability – How
certain we are
Shouted loudly
He drove as fast as
possible
I saw him over there.
They start work at six
thirty.
In a minute, I will start.
Perhaps we should go
He will certainly say yes.
4 abstract
noun
Name of a person, place or thing.
4 types
Common – table, cat (1)
Proper – John, England (1)
Collective – pride, gaggle, flock
(3)
Abstract – love, bravery (4)
The cat sat on the table.
John lives in England.
Lions live together in a
pride.
Can you feel the love?
4 fronted
adverbial
The use of an adverb to begin a
sentence to make the sentence
more interesting.
On the table stood a vase
of flowers.
Next to the window was a
bookcase.
At the end of the lane, Bob
passed.
Year
group Grammar Picture Clue Definition Example
4 Article
A, an or the
A sub-category of determiners.
an elephant
a bear
the teddy
5 relative
clause
A clause (with verb) using who,
whom, which, whose to relate it
back to the subject but that
cannot stand alone.
Polly’s hair, which was long
and brown, hung loosely
around her head.
The boy was funny, which
made me smile.
5 modal verb
To show if we believe something
is certain, probable or possible or
not!
can/could, may/might,
shall/should, will/would,
must/ought
Perhaps I should stay
behind.
Can I get you a drink?
Sam will be here soon.
I must go now.
5 cohesion
The structure rules that allow
ideas to be compiled together. If
you start writing in the past
tense you would stay writing in
the past tense to keep the
writing in cohesion.
I went to the market this
morning and bought a
drink; then, I went to the
store a few hours later an
purchased another orange
juice.
5 ambiguity
The presence of two of more
possible meanings within a single
word.
The Rabbi married my
sister.
The fisherman went to the
bank.
6 active voice
Verbs can be active or passive.
In an active sentence the subject
performs the action. In a passive
sentence the subject is on the
receiving end of the action.
Active –
The bog bit Ben.
The subject is performing
the action.
Passive –
Ben was bitten by the dog.
The subject is on the
receiving end of the action.
6 Passive
voice See above See above See above
* Children are aware of what this element is but they do not have to use the correct terminology
during that year group.
Sentences, phrases and clauses
What is a sentence?
A sentence is a group of words that make complete sense. It must contain a main verb and begin with
a capital letter. It ends in a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark.
Examples:
Samik plays tennis.
Layla likes acting on stage.
Ashveer walked down the hill and into town.
Almost all of your work will be written in sentences.
What is a clause?
A clause is a group of words containing a verb, which makes up part of a sentence.
Examples:
They arrived early because everyone was really excited. = two clauses:
o 1. ‘they arrived early’
o 2. ‘because every was really excited.’
The man wanted to sneeze and he got his handkerchief out. = two clauses:
o 1 ‘the man wanted to sneeze’
o 2 ‘and got his handkerchief out’
NOTE: every clause has a verb … ‘arrived’, ‘excited’, ‘wanted’, ‘got out’
Types of clause.
Clauses can be put into two types:
1) Independent or main clauses – these make sense on their own and have a subject and a verb
in them;
2) Subordinate clauses – these need another part of the sentence to make sense.
Examples:
1. Independent or main clauses:
It was hot
I eat a lot of bread
This tree is very old
2. Subordinate clauses:
Because of the amount of rain we’ve had
Even though they were really keen to start
Running down the hill
Types of sentences:
We classify sentences according to the number and types of clauses that are present. There are two
types of sentences.
1. Single-clause sentences: These have just one main clause in them.
Examples:
The shops are on the other street.
We often go to France.
2. Multi-clause sentences: These have two or more clauses in them, all of them being main
clauses.
The clauses can be joined together by conjunction like and, or, so and but
Examples:
The rain has been heavy and we have decided not to go out.
The child in the green shirt won the race but, her horse was bigger than the rest.
They can also be linked together using a mixture of main clauses and subordinate clauses.
Examples:
If you’d like to learn to play guitar this term, you will need to sign up for lessons.
Teachers often spend whole evenings marking, even when they are very tired.
Phrases:
A phrase is a small group of words that forms a meaningful part of a clause. There are several
different types, as follows:
Noun phrase - A noun phrase is built around a single noun,
Examples:
A vase of roses stood on the table.
She was reading a book about the emancipation of women.
Verb phrase - A verb phrase is the verbal part of a clause.
Examples:
She had been living in London.
I will be going to high school next year.
Adjective phrase - An adjective phrase is built around an adjective.
Examples:
He’s led a very interesting life.
A lot of the girls are really keen on football.
Adverbial phrase - An adverbial phrase is built round an adverb by adding words before
and/or after it.
Examples:
The tortoise ran very slowly.
They wanted to leave the country as fast as possible.
Prepositional phrase - In a prepositional phrase the preposition always comes at the beginning.
Examples:
I wanted to live near the sea.
The dog was hiding under the kitchen table.
Perfect punctuation
Write a short piece of text with full stops in the wrong place. Read it through together.
Does it sound right? Alter it by reading through and listening to hear when the sentence is
complete. Correct accordingly.
Paragraphing
The key point to take on board is that all written work needs paragraphs. As soon as you are
writing an answer or a piece of more than a few sentences, you need to start considering
paragraphs.
Paragraphs in non-fiction writing
You must have paragraphs to separate out the different ideas in your writing.
Paragraphs should not just be random breaks in your work when you feel a gap is
needed.
They should clearly show where the steps in the ideas are.
They show how you are organising your thinking across a whole text.
Introductions and conclusions have particular functions and should be separate
paragraphs.
The introduction should lead the reader into your piece by giving an idea about what
you are going to write about and why it is an interesting topic.
The introduction should not be vague; be specific and avoid just repeating words from
the question or title.
The conclusion should give a clear summary of what you have said in your work, and
should give the reader a clear idea of what they should go away thinking.
It is often a good idea to refer back to the introduction in your conclusion. Do not
merely repeat the introduction or leave things unresolved.
Each paragraph should have the same basic structure
A topic sentence – summarises and introduces the idea of the paragraph. It is like a
mini-introduction to your paragraph.
Detail/ development – sentences in the middle of the paragraph that give further
explanation and take your ideas further
Rounding off – a sentence that draws the paragraph together.
Connectives: You should make regular use of connectives to join together ideas both
within and between your paragraphs.
This will help show how your ideas link together and will make your work logical.
Connectives include: therefore, in contract, because, however, on the one hand, on the
other hand, thus, hence, although, in conclusion.
Paragraphs in narrative/ descriptive writing:
You also always need to use paragraphs when you are writing more creative pieces –
descriptive writing or narrative (story) writing, for example.
In this type of writing, you can use the TiP ToP rule. This says that you should
start a new paragraph for a change of Time, Place, Topic or Person.
In more creative pieces of work, you can also use very short paragraphs for effect
and impact.
Ideas of activities to help your child at home
Make as many as you can… root words
The challenge is to find as many words as you can from one root …
e.g. wind – windy, windier, windfall, windpipe, windscreen, window etc.
rain…
heavy…
happy… and so on and so on.
Poetry please…
Work together to write fantastic descriptive poetry…
Select a topic … the sea.
Player 1 - thinks of three adjectives to describe the sea – raging, crashing, sparkling…
write them on pieces of card.
Player 2 – collects three more words – encourage use of thesaurus (online or
otherwise)
Carry taking it in turns to collect words and record on card.
When you have enough – arrange and rearrange them to build your poems;
Try this with other types of topic
Read! Read! Read!
Take a page of writing (fiction or non-fiction). Put it under the microscope.
How many sentences are there?
What type of sentences can you see?
What sort of sentence does the author use first?
How does that make you feel?
What is the page about?
What types of words are used?
Punctuation police
Look at a selection of magazines, advertisements, newspapers or leaflets. Highlight the
punctuation marks you can see.
How many of each type can you see?
Why are they there?
Can you think of a rule?
Can you find any exclamation marks?
Why are they where they are?
What emotion are they showing – surprise, anger, fear or anything else?
Scriptwriter!
Look at a short piece of film with the sound turned down (not too many characters). Look at
the action and discuss what the characters might be saying to each other.
What sort of mood are they in?
How would they be talking? – shouting, whispering, grunting etc.?
Write out the dialogue using speech marks and the correct punctuation.
Try to avoid using ‘said ‘all of the time.
“I want to be the top man! “bellowed the Godfather.
“Why is that? “ enquired his son.
Can you spot the conjunctions in these sentences?
Underline them:
1. I put on my shoes and I went out to play.
2. I can’t eat my sweets until after dinner.
3. I can’t go out tonight because I have to stay in and do my homework.
4. It had been a long time since I had last played football.
5. I was going to eat the sweets but I saved them for my sister.
6. She was nice to me although she wouldn’t let me play with the lego.
Use conjunctions to make these sentences more interesting.
7. I can’t go swimming. I have forgotten my swimming trunks.
8. I’d like to go to the park. My mum won’t let me.
9. The old woman wanted to feed her dog. There was nothing in the cupboard.
10. I bought some sweets. I ate them on the way home.
11. The teacher was cross. She was late.
12. I went to the pictures. I really wanted to stay at home.
13. I couldn’t go out. My dad came home.
Useful Websites
Try some of these online activities to support your child’s learning…
Contractions in apostrophes…
http://www.oswego.org/ocsdweb/match/matchgeneric.asp?filename=jwildecontractions
Sentences…
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?e=spelling-grammar03
Punctuation
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/punctuation.htm
More sentences
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.html
