Recount lessons

© 2010 Glenda Inverarity www.hubpages.com/profile/gramarye 1

Topic Page

Introduction 2

Grammar 3

Recounts 13

Practice tests

Writing 28

Speaking 31

Listening 32

A day at the park.

During the holidays, my family went to a park. First we had a picnic

lunch. Then the boys kicked an old footy around because they were

bored. After a while, Jimbo kicked it into a tree and it got stuck.

They threw long sticks and big stones at it, but it stayed firmly stuck

in the tree. Later on, Tommo climbed the tree but he couldn’t reach

it. Eventually we went home and left the football in the tree.


INTRODUCTION

What is a recount?

A recount tells what happened. It tells events in the order they happened.

Its social purpose:

Its purpose is to talk or write about things we have done in the past. A holiday,

the weekend, watching TV, what our children have done.

In a recount you will find staging:

Orientation – tells about people, where and when it happened

Record of events – tells what happened in the order they happened

Conclusion – ends the story

Grammar of a recount:

Staging – Orientation, record of events, conclusion ………………………………………..3

Time markers – First, after that, next, finally, last Saturday ……………………..4

Independent clauses - simple sentence (words, groups + 1 verb) …………………6

Noun groups – noun + adjective …………………………………………………………………………….7

Conjunctions – and, but, so, because ……………………………………………………………………8

Past tense verbs – past simple – was/were …………………………………………………..…...9

Action verbs – drove, jumped, ran, kicked ……………………………………………………….10

Personal pronouns – I, we, they, us …………………………………………………………………….11

Correct spelling of important words ………………………………………………………………….12


GRAMMAR

Staging

Orientation – is always at the start.

It tells us who, where and when it happened.

Who is this recount about? ……………………………………………………………

Where did it happen? ………………………………………………………………………

When did it happen? …………………………………………………………………………

Record of Events – makes the body of the story.

It tells what happened in order of the events.

What did we do first? …………………………………………………………………………

What did we do next? …………………………………………………………………………

Then what happened? ………………………………………………………………………….

What else did they do? ……………………………………………………………………….

What was the last thing they tried? ……………………………………………….

Conclusion – tells how the story ends.

What two things did they do at the end of the story?

1. ……………………………………………… 2. ……………………………………………….


GRAMMAR

Time Markers

Time markers tell when things happened, and in what order.

What happened during our day at the park?

………………….. the holidays, my family went to a park. ………………. we had a

picnic lunch. …………….. the boys kicked an old footy around because

they were bored. ………………………………, Jimbo kicked it into a tree and it

got stuck. They threw long sticks and big stones at it, but it stayed

firmly stuck in the tree. ……………………, Tommo climbed the tree but he

couldn’t reach it. ………………………. we went home and left the football in

the tree.

Listen to the recount and write down the time markers


List the time markers from the above recount:

1. …………………………………………………..

2. …………………………………………………..

3. …………………………………………………..

4. …………………………………………………..

5. …………………………………………………..

6. …………………………………………………..

Can you think of some other words that are time markers?

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

…………………………….. …………………..………….. …………..…………………

During this term, record other time markers that you learn


GRAMMAR

Independent Clauses

An Independent clause is a simple sentence made up of words and groups.

It must have 1 verb.

Clause We had a picnic lunch.

Group We had a picnic lunch.

Word We had a picnic lunch.

The groups in these sentences are like this

Naming who or what

(Noun Group)

Subject

Naming the action

(Verb Group)

Verb

Naming who or what,

(Noun Group)

Object

My family went to a park.

We had a picnic lunch.

Tommo climbed the tree.

He couldn’t reach it.

We went home.

See if you can write some clauses by filling spaces below

My friend ate

ran into the water.

My son out of a tree

Your dog my lunch.

gave me some money.

Our family

fell

a computer.


GRAMMAR

Noun Groups

The main part of a noun group is the noun.

1. We had a picnic lunch.

2. The boys kicked an old footy.

3. Tommo climbed the tree.

Sometimes, we add an adjective to tell more about the noun and this

makes a (NOUN GROUP).

1. We had a (picnic lunch).

2. The boys kicked an (old footy).

What are some adjectives you could add to these nouns?

………………… girl ……………….. woman ……………….. teacher

………………… book ……………….. party ………………… brother

………………… chair ……………….. table ………………… job

………………… picture ……………….. day ………………… tree

………………… boys ……………….. game ………………… box

………………… friend ……………….. boat ………………… carpet

………………… water ……………….. cat ………………… house

………………… cup ……………….. coat ………………… dress

………………… hat ……………….. hands ………………… shoes


GRAMMAR

Conjunctions

A simple sentence has one independent clause.

1. The boys kicked an old footy around.

2. They were bored.

A compound sentence has two or more clauses.

We join the clauses with conjunctions (joining words).

The boys kicked an old footy around because they were bored.

The conjunctions we use a lot are: and but so because

And:

But:

So:

Because:

I went to town and did some shopping.

(positive) (positive)

I like living in this city but it’s very expensive.

(positive) (negative)

They haven’t got much money but they’re very happy.

(negative) (positive)

It was a very wet day so we stayed at home.

(reason) (result)

I didn’t go to work because I felt sick.

(result) (reason)


Practice Conjunctions: (and, but, so or because)

1. It was a lovely day………….. we decided to go out.

2. We walked to the station ………… caught the train.

3. I like John very much ………… I don’t like his brother.

4. I’d like to live somewhere by the sea ………… I love the sun.

5. She enjoys learning English ………… she finds it very difficult.

6. The restaurant had to close down ………… very few people went there.

7. I got up ………… had my breakfast

8. I’m very busy today ………… I can’t come and see you.

9. It’s a very interesting job ………… the pay isn’t very good.

10. We can’t go out tonight ………… we haven’t got any money

11. The music was playing very loudly ………… I didn’t hear the phone.

12. He went to the theatre last night ………… had a wonderful time.

13. They didn’t want to walk home ………… it was very dark.

14. It’s a beautiful place ………… the people aren’t very friendly.

15. I felt very tired ………… I left the party early.


GRAMMAR

Past Tense Verbs For more information about past tense verbs,

please see page ….…. of your blue book.

I walked to school. Past simple tense: positive

I

You

She

He

It

We

They

Walked.

Write the past simple of these verbs:

Stay Listen

Rain Love

Help Wash

Carry Stop

Want Ask

Play Look

Smoke Open

Walk Start

Study Live

Cry Watch

Work Like

Spelling

like liked e, add d

study studied consonant + y, change y to i + ed

stop stopped vowel + consonant, double the

consonant + ed

Play played y and w at the end of a word

are not consonant sounds, so verbs

ending in y or w do not double the

consonant


GRAMMAR

Personal Pronouns Subject Verb Object

I see them.

She knows me.

We don’t like it.

Subject pronouns

I you she he it we they

Object pronouns

me you her him it us them

Circle the correct word in the following sentences:

1. Can you help we/us with these bags?

2. We/Us usually see they/them at the weekend.

3. How did you teach he/him to read?

4. I/Me write to she/he once a month.

5. He/Him loved she/her very much.

6. Why did you ask they/them to come?

7. I/Me don’t think she/her understands I/me.

8. Please don’t wait for we/us.

9. Did they/them tell she/her the news?


GRAMMAR

Spelling

Words ending in s, ch, sh, or x, add e before final s:

glass glasses pass …………………………

match matches catch …………………………

dish …………………… wash …………………………

box ……………………. fix …………………………

Words ending in consonant + o often add es:

tomato ……………………….. potato …………………………..

But words ending in vowel + o, add s: radio ……………..

And abbreviated endings ending in o, add s:

Kilo ………………………… photo ………………………………

We drop the single e at the end of a word before adding

another ending:

Before ing: smile …………………….. live ……………………….

Before ed: love …………………….. dance …………………..

Before er and est: nice nicer nicest

Verbs ending in ee: see seeing

agree agreeing agreed


My Granddaughter

Last Friday I took my granddaughter to kindy. First she played with

some blocks and put three on top of each other! Then she read a

book, and showed me a picture of a big red car. After that all the

children sat on the floor. They all listened to a story. Finally she was

tired so we went home. We both had a really good time at kindy.

1. This is about

a. A day out

b. My family

c. Going to kindy

2. What did she do first?

_______________________________________________

3. What did she do after she read a book?

_______________________________________________

4. What picture was in the book?

_______________________________________________

5. What happened when she sat on the floor?

_______________________________________________

6. Why did they go home?

_______________________________________________

Staging:

Write the orientation:

_______________________________________________

Write the conclusion:

_______________________________________________


Now you do some writing about somewhere you went with a friend or

someone in your family.

What is your title?

_________________________________________

First, write your orientation.

It tells us who, where and when it happened.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Now, your body.

It tells what happened in order of the events.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Now your conclusion.

It tells how the story ends.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Speaking:

Close your book, and tell this recount to your partner


Cleaning the house Yesterday I decided to clean the house. I started in the kitchen.

First I washed the dishes and put them in the cupboard. Then I

washed the floor. While it was drying I went into the bedroom and

made the beds. After that I did some washing and hung it on the line

to dry. My house is nice and clean now.

1. This is about

a. Washing

b. Cleaning

c. Shopping

2. Where did I put the dishes?

_______________________________________________

3. What did I do while the floor was drying?

_______________________________________________

4. What did I do in the bedroom?

_______________________________________________

5. What was the last thing I did?

_______________________________________________

6. Draw lines to show the order that I did things

(the first one is done for you)

1 Wash the floor

2 Do the washing

3 Hang clothes on line

4 Wash the dishes

5 Made the beds

6 Put the dishes in the cupboard

7. Draw circles around all the time markers in the recount. Add

them to your list on page 5.


Now write about some work you do. What is your title?

_________________________________________

Orientation.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Body.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Conclusion.

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Editing: Check what time markers you have used. Circle them in your

writing and write them below:

…………………………….. …………………………….. ……………………………….

…………………………….. …………………………….. ……………………………….

……………………………. ……………………………… ……………………………….

Speaking:



A Day at Tea Tree Plaza I had a really good weekend but Saturday was especially good. First I

realised that I still had a gift voucher from my birthday so I caught

the O-bahn to Tea Tree Plaza to spend it. When I got there I went to

Myer and found a very nice pair of jeans. Then I went to look for

some shoes, but I couldn’t find any that I liked. I still have $40 left

on my gift voucher for another day!

1. What is this about?

a. A bus ride

b. Shopping

c. A day out

2. How did I get to Tea Tree Plaza? __________________

3. What did I buy? ______________________________

4. What did I do after I bought jeans? _______________

5. What didn’t I buy? ____________________________

6. Did I spend all the money on my gift voucher? ________

Write the order that I did things

Went to Myer

Realised I had a gift voucher

Looked for some shoes

Caught the O-bahn

Underline some independent clauses in the recount


Write about somewhere you have been.

_________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Editing: Check your work for independent clauses.

In the spaces below, write your independent clauses as groups.

Naming who or what

(Noun Group)

Naming the action

(Verb Group)

Naming who or what,

(Noun Group)

Speaking:



Victor Harbor Last year, we had a really good holiday at Victor Harbor. The first

day, we went fishing. My husband caught four fish but I didn’t catch

any! After that we went for a long walk along the beach and collected

some pretty shells. The next day was very hot so we went for a swim

then played cards before we went to the pub for a meal. It was only a

short holiday, but I really enjoyed it.

1. This is about:

a. Fishing

b. Walking

c. A Holiday

2. What two things did we do on the first day?

_______________________________________________

3. What did we find on the beach?

_______________________________________________

4. What did we do before we played cards?

_______________________________________________

5. Number the order that we did things

(the first one is done for you)

1. walk on the beach

2. go for a swim

3. go fishing

4. go for a meal

5. play cards

6. List some noun groups from the recount:

……………………………… …………………………………….. …………………………………..

……………………………… …………………………………….. …………………………………..


Today, we will speak first.

Think about last weekend. What did you do?

When you finish speaking, write your recount.

_________________________________________

____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Ask your partner to check your work and list all your noun

groups below:

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….

…………………………………………. …………………………………………….


A Weekend Away We went to Sydney last weekend. We flew there on Friday night and

stayed in a nice hotel in the city. On Saturday we caught the ferry to

Manley and ate fish and chips on the beach. On Sunday I visited my

Sister. It was her birthday and we had a lovely party. After the

party, we went straight to the train station and had a relaxing trip

home on the train. It was a very busy weekend, but we had a really

good time.

1. When did we fly to Sydney? ____________________________

2. Where did we stay?

With friends

At a hotel

In a camping ground

With her sister

3. What day did we go to Manley? _________________________

4. What did we eat on Saturday? _________________________

5. What day did we go to a birthday party? __________________

6. Number the events in the story in the correct order.

We went to Manley

We went to the train station

We went to a party

We flew to Sydney

7. This recount is about

A birthday party

A trip to Manley

A weekend away

8. What conjunctions have been used in the recount?

……………………….. ……………………….. ……………………. ………………… …………………..


Tell your partner about your trip to Australia (You should tell your story in less than 2 minutes)

_________________________________________

____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Edit your work: Which conjunctions did you use? Write your sentences and label with positive or negative (See page 8)

........................................... ………….. ………………………………………………

( ) ( )

........................................... ………….. ………………………………………………

( ) ( )

........................................... ………….. ………………………………………………

( ) ( )

........................................... ………….. ………………………………………………

( ) ( )


My Best Friend’s Wedding Last month my best friend got married. It was a busy day for me. First I got up

early and drove to her house. Then I took her to the hairdresser and we both had

our hair done. After that, we stopped at the florist to collect the flowers before

we went home. Next we had to get dressed. It took a long time to help her get

dressed because there were a lot of buttons to do up. When she was dressed, I

got ready and then the wedding car came to pick us up. Finally we got to the Rose

Gardens and the ceremony began. I’m very happy for my friend because it was a

beautiful wedding.

1. Where did they go to get their hair done? __________________

2. What did the get at the florist? _________________________

3. Why did the dress take a long time to put on?

______________________________________________________

4. Where did they go to get married? _______________________

Number the events in the story in the correct order

Picked up the flowers

Drove to my friend’s house

Got dressed

Had the wedding ceremony

Went to the hairdresser

5. This story is about

A day out

A wedding

Hairdressers

Getting dressed

6. Make a list of the simple past tense verbs:

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..


Tell your partner about a wedding or celebration (You should tell your story in less than 2 minutes)

Partner to time how long …………………… minutes

Your partner must list the simple past tense verbs they hear you use:

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

Write about your trip to Australia:

_________________________________________

____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

What simple past tense verbs have you used?

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..

………………………… ……………………………. …………………………. ………………………..


Rose’s Day

Rose had a good day. She woke up and had some mango for breakfast.

She ate a whole mango and after that we went for a walk up to the

lighthouse with Mater and Pater. By the time we got to the

lighthouse, she was really cranky, so we came straight back home and

she went to sleep. She slept for a while but not too long because I

was waiting for Joe to come around. I was really keen for her to play

with Joe and we all went down to the beach for a swim. She’s getting

really confident in the waves now. When we finished swimming I

wrapped her up in a towel and we walked back up the hill and now she’s

playing on the swing with her cousin Rosalee.

1. Number the events in the order they happen in the story.

The first one has been done for you.

____ Rose went for a swim

____ Rose had a sleep

____ Rose played with Joe

__1_ Rose ate breakfast

____ Rose played on the swing

____ Rose went for a walk

Answer these questions in no more than four words

2. How much did Rose eat for breakfast?

______________________________________________

3. Where did Rose go on her walk?

______________________________________________

4. Where did Rose go after her sleep?

______________________________________________

5. Who did Rose go swimming with?

______________________________________________


6. Who did Rose play with on the swing?________________________________

7. Write some past tense verbs from the story

_______________ ______________ ______________ _______________

8. Write some noun groups from the story

________________________________ _________________________________

________________________________ _________________________________

________________________________ _________________________________

9. Write some conjunctions that are in the story

_______________ ______________ ______________ _______________

10. Write some time phrases from the story

________________________________ _________________________________

________________________________ _________________________________

________________________________ _________________________________

11. Write the personal pronouns that are used in this story

_______________ ______________ ______________ _______________

_______________ ______________ ______________ _______________

_______________ ______________ ______________ _______________

11. Who is Rose?

a. The person’s friend

b. The person’s husband

c. The person’s wife

d. The person’s child


Writing a Recount checklist

More than 60 words

Staging

Conjunctions

Time markers

Noun groups

Past tense verbs

Personal pronouns

Punctuation & all one paragraph

Spelling


Homework Test Practice

1. Each day of the weekend, write a recount

2. Edit your writing using the written recount checklist (page 27).

3. The recount can be real or pretend.

Thursday

_______________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________


Friday

_______________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Saturday

_______________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________


Sunday

_______________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Monday class practice

_______________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________


Practice speaking test

Speaking a Recount checklist

Ask your listening partner to tick off the things they hear.

More than 30 seconds

Staging

Conjunctions

Time markers

Noun groups

Past tense verbs

Personal pronouns

Vocabulary appropriate to topic

Pronounce words with clarity and stress


Practice listening test

On the Murray The best holiday I ever had was on the Murray River. I went for two

days on a river boat. On the first day we travelled slowly up the river

from Renmark before stopping for the night. We made a wonderful

dinner of Australian food such as kangaroo with wild yams, and

blackberries for desert. On the second day, we returned to Renmark

but stopped at several places along the way. One place we stopped

was an aboriginal park and they told us about their culture. It was

really relaxing to be on the river.

1. Where did I go for my holiday? __________________________

2. How many days did I go for? __________________________

3. What did I eat on the first day? _________________________

4. Number the events in the story in the correct order

Ate dinner

Returned to Renmark

Visited an aboriginal park

Left Renmark

5. What was this story about?

A holiday

The River Murray

Aboriginal culture

Australian food


Practice listening test (Ask a friend to read aloud for you)

Mother-in-law Last weekend my mother-in-law came to visit us from Sydney. We

picked her up from the airport very early on Saturday morning and

took her home. After we got home, I cooked a big breakfast for all of

us. After that, we went to Harbour Town and did some shopping, then

we went to Glenelg for lunch at a Seafood restaurant. In the evening

we went to the movies and then went home. On Sunday we all went to

church together before we took her back to the airport. I like my

mother-in-law, but it was good to say goodbye too.

1. When did my mother-in-law arrive from Sydney?

_______________________________________________________

2. Where did they go shopping? ____________________________

3. Where did they eat lunch? ______________________________

4. What day did they go to the movies? ______________________

5. Number the events in the story in the correct order

Went to Harbour Town

Went to the movies

Went to church

Had breakfast

Took her to the airport

6. What was this story about?

Going shopping

Visit from mother-in-law

Going to the airport

Going to Glenelg

Documents

Recount lessons