Grammar in the Primary School English Language Curriculum

Analyse and discuss grammar in the Primary School Language Curriculum context.

•Integrated Curriculum for Primary School (ICPS) or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR)

The place of Grammar in KBSR• Grammar items taught and learnt must be applied

both to oral work and writing exercises.• Grammar should be taught in integration with the

language skills (L,S,R,W). • Grammar items should not be taught in isolation but

rather in the context of a topic.

• Objective: By the end of Year 6, pupils should be able to:-use correct & appropriate rules of grammar in speech and writing

Language Content

• Two sections of the KBSR English Syllables deal with grammar;i) grammar items/sentence patterns that need to be taught and specified under the different grammar categoriesii) sentence patterns are given under functions and topics/areas of interest

• In English Language Curriculum Year 5, there are 16 grammar items come under the first section. For each, subcategories are specified.

1) NounsCountable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns, Number, Common Nouns, Proper NounsExamples: one chair, two tables – countable nouns

2) Articles (with singular nouns)‘a’ (used before consonants), ‘an’ (used before vowels), ‘the’ , ‘some’ ( about quantity or number without being precise)

3) PronounsPersonal Pronouns – I, you, shePossessive Adjectives– my pen, John’s bagDemonstrative Pronouns – this, thatInterrogative Pronouns – ‘wh’ questionseg. : What is this? / What are these?

4) Conjunctions: and, or, but, because, so5) Prepositions (of location and direction)

In out On under at

to up down across along

against among Next to At the back of

In front of

behind through

6) Adjectives (of colour, shape, size)e.g. A fat boy, a red dressComparative Form – tall, taller, tallestSuperlative Form – ‘est’, ‘most’

7) Adverbs of manner (-ly) – quickly, happily8) Modals (must, should, have to, could)9) Subject-Verb Agreement

singular verb + singular noun, plural verb + plural noun10) Simple Present Tense

- for factual actions, imperatives, actions (verb + ing)11) Simple Past Tense

was, were, past simple with –ed, irregular verbs

12) Positive Statementse.g. I like to eat durians./ My name is Sally.

13) Negative Statementse.g. My name is not Sally./ I don’t like it.

14) Questions and Responsese.g. Is it a pencil? No, it isn’t. /Yes, it is. It is raining, isn’t it?

15) Sentence Types (simple and compound sentences)16) Punctuation – capital letters, question marks, full stop,

comma, exclamation mark, apostrophe, indent (for paragraphs)

• For the 2nd section, there are seven different functions of sentence patterns.

1) To request for specific objects and to respondA: Can I have a glass of water?B: Sure. Here you are.

2) To ask for help and to respond accordingly.A: Help me carry this box.B: Yes, of course.

3) To talk about oneself. I like to play football. I play football everyday. I want to play in the school football team.

4) To ask questions and to give information.e.g. What do you like to....? I like to .... .

How much is ....? It is RM7.50.

5) To refute statementsIt is not black.No, it is not black.Is this yours?..... No.

6) To accept and decline an invitatione.g. Can you come to my party?

Yes, of course. / I am sorry I can’t. I have to complete my homework.

7) To make suggestions and responding to them.e.g. Let’s go to the beach.

Okay. / No, I can’t. No one is at home.

*Additional Information:For Year 6 English Language Curriculum, otherthan that seven different functions of sentencepatterns, there are another five;

8) To volunteer (e.g. “Teacher, I can do it.”)

9) To show appreciation (e.g. “Thank you.”)

10) To express pleasure/happiness (e.g. “I am happy!”)

11) To encourage (e.g. “Try again, Ivan. You can do it.”)

12) To show concern (e.g. “Are you all right, Mike?”)

Examples of Integration of Grammar Items with Language Skills in the Syllabus

Learning Outcomes Grammar Items Activities

1.4 Listen to and follow simple instructions and directions accurately.

•Prepositions•Wh-questions

Functions:•Responding•Ask questions•Give information

•Information Gap Activities•Role-play

2.5 Talk about the people, places and moral values of the stories heard, read and view ed in simple language.

•Simple Past Tense•Action Verbs•Adjectives

•Students talk about the people, animals or characters in the story heard/read.

2.7 Perform a variety of functions in a social context such as exchanging greetings, making introductions, inviting people, etc.

•To ask questions and to give information•To accept and decline an invitation• Make suggestion and responding to them

•Role-play situation

Learning Outcomes Grammar Items Activities

3.3 Read and understand phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and whole texts.

•Adjectives•Proper/Common Nouns•Sentence Types•Conjunctions

•Students identify the adjectives used in a given text.•Students underline the proper and common nouns in a text.•Identify the simple and compound sentences from a text.

4.3 Complete texts with the missing word, phrase or sentence.

•Simple Past Tense•Pronouns•Articles

•Fill-in-the-blank exercisese.g. Find the simple past tense of the verbs in brackets

4.4 Construct simple and compound sentences with guidance and independently.

•Simple Sentences•Compound Sentences•Conjunctions•Subject-Verb Agreement

•Students construct simple and compound sentences using stimulus in the form of pictures and words

Learning Outcomes Grammar Items Activities

4.6 Punctuate meaningfully.

•Capital letters•Full-stop•Comma•Apostrophe•Exclamation mark•Indents (for paragraphs)•Proper Nouns

•Students rewrite a complete paragraph with correct punctuations•students identify the proper nouns in a text and correct them by using capital letters

4.7 Give accurate information when writing messages, instructions, simple reports, and when filling out forms.

•Simple Present Tense – Imperatives•Modals •Positive Statements•Negative Statements

•Information Transfer Students fill in a form to describe a place, using a provided stimulus•Writing InstructionsWith a flow chart, students are asked to construct some instructions using modals and imperative words