Why do we need to teach grammar?
One of our main aims at Welton is to ensure that children can
communicate fluently; both in their speech and their writing.
In order to communicate fluently, children need to know the
nuts and bolts of language.
Understanding the mechanics of a sentence help children to
become analytical about their own writing.
What is a sentence?
A sentence is a set of words which expresses a complete
thought, containing a subject and a verb.
There are different type of sentences – command,
question, statement and exclamation
The dog ran.
Can I help you?
You can’t do that!
Its so noisy in here!
Nouns
A noun is the name of a person, place or thing.
There are two types of nouns: common nouns and
proper nouns.
Common – table, book, dog, cat
Proper – Welton, James, I
Titles – (books…) Kensuke’s Kingdom
I am very important so I need a capital letter
Pronouns
A little word that takes the place of a noun.
He, she, it, they, his, her, I, me, their...
Don’t repeat smelly feet!!!
Danny loved to play football with Danny’s friends. On Saturday Danny had
Danny’s best game all season. Danny scored three goals and Danny was awarded
man of the match for Danny’s performance.
Overuse of noun (name)
Adjectives
An adjective describes (modifies) a noun.
I gazed at the bright sun
I ambled down the elongated road
I climbed the perilous, steep mountain.
Making sure it’s effective
The golden, bright, glorious, immense, beautiful sun.
Ambitious at different age groups – don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus with the
children.
Adjective ranking games (diamond 9, circle map)
Say the adjectives – what is the noun?
Verbs
A verb is an action word
We often describe verbs as ‘doing’ words or action words.
However, not all verbs describe an action, as such, but rather a state or the idea of
existence.
e.g.
I am sad.
It will be cold.
You seem sad.
I belong to Welton Primary.
How many different ways can you move from one side of the room to the other?
Match the action word with the cartoon
Adverbs
An adverb describes or modifies a verb. Lots
of adverbs end in ‘ly’. These are great for
improving sentences as they provide the
reader with more detail. They can be
located at the beginning of the sentence
also.
He cautiously climbed the mountain.
Cautiously, he climbed the mountain.
Acting adverbs
Code Cracker!
Fronted adverbials
Giving information on: When? Where? How?
I fell over my shoe lace walking down the street.
Walking down the street, I fell over my shoelace.
Before break, I had eaten three bags of crisps.
Silent and forbidding, the school building loomed in
front of me.
TASK
Adverbial Phrase
Adverbial phrase (or adverb phrase) is the term for two or more words which play
the role of an adverb (Again, stating when, where or how and can be used
anywhere in the sentence).
He did his homework before he had his tea.
The opera singer sang in a high pitch voice.
Last night, I sept like a baby.
I couldn’t park my car at the supermarket.
Over the rainbow was the pot of gold.
TASK
Using conjunctions and connectives to link
ideas – simple and compound sentences
BOYS
(to join to independent clauses)
I love chocolate. I hate crisps.
I love chocolate, but I hate crisps.
I was tired. I went to bed
It was rainy. It was still warm.
Compound sentence frames
Connective is a more general term for words and phrases that link
ideas of a text together.
They often express time and cause, and can start a sentence by
connecting it to the previous sentence. As children become more
confident with their writing, we encourage them to use a greater
range of connectives before experimenting with position in the
sentence.
Children are then ready to experiment with complex
sentences
Complex sentences
A complex sentence contains a independent (main) clause and at
least one dependent clause. A dependent clause needs the main
clause to make sense even though it may contain a subject and a
verb. Connectives are then used to link ideas.
e.g.
I heated my coffee in the microwave because it was too cold..
He was still unhappy though he was very rich.
When she was younger, she believed in fairy tales.
She went to bed after she had finished marking.
I have to save this coupon because I don’t have time to shop right
now.
I’ll have fruit because I don’t like crisp
I heated my coffee in the microwave because it
was too cold..
He was still unhappy though he was very rich.
When she was younger, she believed in fairy tales.
She went to bed after she had finished marking.
I have to save this coupon because I don’t have
time to shop right now.
I’ll have fruit because I don’t like crisp.
What is the independent clause?
What is the main clause?
Changing the order of complex sentences
I’m still going to the park even though it is rainy
today.
Vegetables are good for you because they are full
of vitamins.
I’m going to sleep for hours when it is the weekend.
Even though it is rainy today, I’m still
going to the pork because I want to see
my friends.
Because they are full of vitamins,
vegetables are good for you so try to eat
plenty.
When it is the weekend, I’m going to
sleep for hours to try and refresh my
brain!
Unfortunately, barn owls are often killed flying
across busy roads and motorways. They have
also suffered from habitat loss in recent years.
Unfortunately, barn owls are often killed flying
across busy roads and motorways.
Furthermore, they have suffered from habitat
loss in recent years.
Prepositions
Prepositions are position words (the clue’s in the name!). They usually
describe the position of something, or the time when something happens.
above, against, before, after, below,
between, inside, near, on, up...
Task: can you create some sentences using
prepositions?
Chair game
Punctuation
.
,
!
? ;
:
-
... “ ”
Kung Fu
Punctuation
Commas
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
To separate items in a list (this includes lists of adjectives before a noun)
Before you open direct speech
Before some conjunctions
After a fronted adverbial – clarifying
To mark off a subordinate clause
When you are writing, a comma does not indicate a
pause!
If in doubt, leave ‘em out!
I had ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch, they
were delicious.
At the shop I bought, apples, pears, grapes and bananas.
There were lots of things to buy in the shops: apples,
pears, grapes and bananas.
Comma or colon:
I could see lots of
trees, flowers and butterflies.
Children learn many subjects at Welton maths, literacy
and science.
Direct speech
Miss Seddon said, “I just love SATs
tests!”
Before some conjunctions
I like pizza, but I don’t like pasta.
I was tired, so I went to bed.
You can play football, or you can play
rugby.
It is sunny, yet it is still cold.
After a fronted adverbial
At the end of the day, Miss Clarkson
needs chocolate.
Next year, I am emigrating to Iceland.
Slowly and tiredly, Miss Seddon marked
her books.
Comma Splicing
When a comma is used to connect two independent
clauses
I love chocolate, I try not to eat too much!
Bill usually gets on with everybody, he is a caring person.
I love to travel, my favourite place is America.
Encourage children to connect, or use a semi-colon
Where is the comma splicing in the following
paragraph?
Walking through the forest, I noticed
the beautiful trees, they were
immense. In the wind the flowers
danced elegantly, they gave off an
unusual fragrance. The bees were
busy collecting pollen, the butterflies
fluttered their delicate wings.
The dreaded apostrophe ’
Only used in two instances.
1. To show that letters are missed out of a word (contraction)
it’s
don’t
hadn't
you’re
couldn’t
can’t
2. To show ownership of something (possession). This means that something belongs
to someone or something.
The boy’s pen
James’s hat
Apostrophes should not be used for plurals!
Cauliflower’s are half price
Cauliflowers are half price
Paragraphs
‘Just as the sentence contains one idea in all its fullness,
so the paragraph should embrace a distinct episode.’
Winston Churchill
TiPToP
Time. Place. Topic. Person.