The Year 3 KSSR textbook

Units 1-7

The first seven units of the new book mostly deal with the Present Simple Tense.

In units 1-7 the present simple tense is used for three main functions:

1. Descriptions of habitual or repeated actions, e.g. I get up at 5 0’clock. He goes to church on Sundays. She visits her grandmother on Saturdays.

2. Descriptions of people, places, things, etc. e.g. My sister is tall. Our village is clean and tidy. Her house has four bedrooms.

3. Facts, generalisations or universal truths, e.g. Kuching is the capital of Sarawak. Lions eat meat. The sun rises in the east.

NOTE that the Present Simple Tense is NOT simple! You need to be very familiar with the form of regular and irregular verbs:

Other grammar items in the first seven units include:

Common and proper nouns Singular and plural nouns Personal pronouns Modal ‘would’ for offers and requests: Would you like some tea? I would like some

cake. Modal ‘should’ for giving advice: You should eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Demonstrative pronouns: this/that, these/those The gerund (sometimes called the ‘ing’ form or the ‘verbal noun’): He likes fishing. Possessive pronouns: mine, his, hers, its, ours, theirs

REGULAR

I walkYou walkHe walksShe walksIt walksWe walkThey walk

Note the ‘s’ for He/She/It

IRREGULAR

I am I haveYou are You haveHe is He hasShe is She hasIt is It hasWe are We haveThey are They have

Interestingly, the book does not seem to specifically cover possessive determiners: my book, your pencil, his cat, her dress, our school, their car.

Possessive determiners are obviously important and should be taught before possessive pronouns.

As well, adverbs of frequency are very useful when describing repeated or habitual actions. Although these are not included in the book, I suggest you teach ‘always’, ‘sometimes’ and ‘never’.

THEMES in the first seven units include:

Daily and weekly activities Friends and family Diet and health Occupations Games and hobbies Pets Sea creatures

Some of the vocabulary in the book is quite difficult and some of the reading passages will be challenging for many children. However, the themes and grammar in these first seven units are interesting and seem appropriate for Year 3 children, so I think we can adapt the material to make it more accessible.

It would be great if we could make some supplementary worksheets/ activities to cover the first seven units, and then share them around the group.