Content
New curriculum in English
Spelling
Punctuation
Grammar
Each of these will include manageable
suggestions for you at home.
Curriculum - 2014
Transcription – handwriting and
spelling
Composition – organisation and
purpose
Vocabulary, grammar and
punctuation
What is SPaG?
The new English grammar, punctuation and spelling test
introduced in May 2013 as part of the SATs programme,
replacing the previous English writing test.
‘The Government wants all children to leave primary school with
a sound grasp of essential English skills,’
From May 2016, the SPaG test has been updated (in line with
the new primary curriculum) and will be more challenging.
The SPaG test includes questions that assess the following
elements of the English curriculum:
Sentence grammar through both identifying and writing sentences that
are grammatically correct
Punctuation through identifying and writing sentences that are correctly
punctuated
Vocabulary through identifying and writing sentences in which a word is
used correctly
Spelling
Spelling
Helps a child to succeed:
in reading
gives writing meaning
Spelling – end of year expectations Year 1
 Spell:
•
•
•
Words containing each of the 40+ phonemes already taught
Common exception words*
The days of the week
•
•
Naming the letters of the alphabet in order
Using letter names to distinguish between alternative spellings of the same
sound
 Name the letters of the alphabet:
 Add prefixes and suffixes:
•
•
•
Using the spelling rule for adding –s or –es
Using the prefix unUsing –ing, -ed, -er and –est where no change is needed in the spelling of the
root words
 Apply simple spelling rules
 Write from memory simple sentences dictated by the teacher
that include words using phonics, graphemes and common
exception words taught so far.
Examples of the common
exception words…
the
a
do
to
today
of
said
says
are
were
was
is
his
has
I
you
your
they
be
he
me
she
we
no
go
so
by
my
here
there
where
love
come
some
one
once
ask
friend
school
put
push
pull
house
our
Spelling – end of year expectations Year 2
 Spell by:
• Segmenting words into phonemes and graphemes and spell many
correctly
• Spell common homophones
• Distinguish between homophones and near-homophones
• Spell common exception words*
• Spell more words with contracted forms
• Learn the possessive apostrophe
 Add suffixes to spell longer words (-ment, -ness, full, -less, -ly)
 Apply spelling rules and guidelines
 Write from memory simple sentences dictated by
the teacher that include words using phonics,
graphemes and common exception words taught so
far.
Examples of the common
exception words…
door
floor
poor
because
find
kind
mind
behind
wild
climb
most
only
both
old
cold
gold
hold
told
every
everybody
even
great
break
pretty
beautiful
after
fast
last
past
father
class
grass
pass
plant
bath
path
hour
move
sure
eye
could
who
any
busy
people
water
again
half
End of Key Stage 1 test paper example:
Spelling – end of year
expectations Year 3/4
Add prefixes to words, such as: dis-, mis-, in-, il-,
im-, ir-, re-,
sub-, inter-, super-, anti-, auto• Add suffixes to words, such as: -ation, -ly
• Spell words with the endings sure, ture, sion,
tion, ssion, ous
• Spell words ending ue
• Spell words containing sc
• Spell homophones (brake / break, main /
mane, peace / piece).
And the 100 words (available on the website)
Spelling – end of year
expectations Year 5/6
Spell words ending cious / tious
• Spell words ending cial / tial
• Spell words ending ant / ance / ent / ence /
able /ably / ible /ibly
• Use hyphens in words such as re-enter and cooperate
• Learn words containing ough
• Learn words containing silent letters, such as:
lamb, knight.
And the 100 words (available on the website)
How spelling is taught
Regular spelling lessons for each year
group: investigating rules and exceptions.
Clear focus against the national curriculum
objectives.
Provide children with strategies for
learning spellings.
Apply in writing lessons.
Spelling homework and spelling logs.
Top tips for learning tricky words
Highlight the hard bit
Make it stick!
Break it down
Copy it, copy it , recall
Look, cover, write, check
Create pictures in your mind
Say it as it’s written
Create an acronym/mnemonic
Strategies for learning spellings
Supporting your child with
spelling at home.
Use some of the strategies that I have shown
for tricky words
Games – Boggle, Scrabble
Word Searches, hangman, crosswords
Number plate game VS12 ANR
Online games – lots of spelling apps available.
Reading !
Punctuation
Year
Objectives
Year 1
Spacing words, capital letters, full stops, question marks
and exclamation marks
Year 2
Commas for lists, apostrophes for possession and
contraction
Year 3
Inverted commas for speech
Year 4
Apostrophes for plural possession and commas after
fronted adverbials.
Year 5
Brackets, dashes or commas for parenthesis and
commas to clarify meaning.
Year 6
Semi colon, colon, dashes to separate clauses, colon for
lists, bullet points to list information, hyphens
KS1 Sample Questions
KS2 Sample Questions
KS2 Sample Questions
Games, games, games!
Alien
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/using_punctuation/play/
Comma Chameleon
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/grammar/punctuation.htm
Trapped!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/secondlevel/literacy_and_english/writing
/punctuation/play/
Vocabulary, grammar and
punctuation
There is an extensive list of words
associated with grammar that children
need to know, understand and use.
Until recently, in many primary schools,
the teaching of grammar has been implicit
– children learned the appropriate skills
without really knowing that they were
learning them.
Grammar
While the whole prospect doesn’t seem so
daunting, it is difficult to progress to
learning a foreign language without a
secure understanding of the vocabulary
associated with English grammar.
Additionally, if children write an inaccurate
sentence, they are unlikely to be able to
unpick it and correct it without a sufficient
understanding of grammar.
Year 1
 Sentence:
•
•
Expectations in KS1
How words can combine to make sentences
Joining words and joining clauses using and
 Text:
Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
Year 2
 Sentence:
•
•
•
Subordination (using when, if, that, because) and coordination (using or, and,
but).
Expanded noun phrases for description and specification (for example, the
blue butterfly, plain flour)
How the grammatical patterns in a sentence indicate its function as a
statement, question, exclamation or command.
 Text:
• Correct choice and consistent use of present tense and past tense
throughout writing.
KS1 Sample Questions
Expectations in KS2
In KS2 children are expected to become much
more grammatically technical.
They are taught to use a wide range of vocabulary
relating to grammar and will become aware of the
use of grammar in formal and informal situations.
In years 3, 4, 5 and 6 children will construct more
ambitious sentences but need to maintain sound
grammatical accuracy, even in longer pieces of
writing.
KS2 Sample Questions
KS2 Sample Questions
Grammar at home…
Lots of suggestions in the grammar and punctuation guide