Can you identify what type of sentence this is? What is the adjective, verb, adverb and noun? Warily, I grabbed the rope and swung down, with white knuckles gripping on.

Thank you for attending the

Year 3 and 4 English Workshop Please sign in at the back and then have ago at the following questions!

Are these statements always true, sometimes true, never true: Sentences have verbs Adverbs describe nouns Subordinate clauses make sense on their own Sentences have adjectives Capital letters are used at the start of sentences

Aims of this meeting: • Identify expectations within

the year 3 and 4 English curriculum.

• Share ideas as to how to help at home.

• Identify how grammar, spelling and punctuation are taught.

The overarching aim for English in the national curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written language, and to develop their love of literature through widespread reading for enjoyment. The national curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils: • read easily, fluently and with good understanding • develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure

and information • acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and

knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language

• appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage • write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language

and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences • use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate

and explain clearly their understanding and ideas • are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal

presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate

Reading - word reading Children should be able to: • apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes,

both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet

• read further exception words, noting the unusual correspondences between spelling and sound, and where these occur in the word

Reading - comprehension • develop positive attitudes to reading, and an understanding of what

they read, by: • listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-

fiction and reference books or textbooks • reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a

range of purposes • using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read • increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy

stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally • identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books • preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing

understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action • discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and

imagination • recognising some different forms of poetry [for example, free verse,

narrative poetry]

• understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by: • checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their

understanding, and explaining the meaning of words in context • asking questions to improve their understanding of a text • drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and

motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence • predicting what might happen from details stated and implied • identifying main ideas drawn from more than 1 paragraph and

summarising these • identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to

meaning • retrieve and record information from non-fiction • participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and

those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say

Writing - transcription Spelling • use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them • spell further homophones • spell words that are often misspelt • place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals

[for example, girls’, boys’] and in words with irregular plurals [for example, children’s]

• use the first 2 or 3 letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary • write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include

words and punctuation taught so far

Handwriting Children should: • use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join

letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined

• increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting, [for example, by ensuring that the down strokes of letters are parallel and equidistant, and that lines of writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not touch]

Writing - composition Children should be able to: • plan their writing • draft and write • evaluate and edit • proofread for spelling and punctuation errors • read their own writing aloud to a group or the whole class, using

appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear

Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation • extending the range of sentences with more than one clause by

using a wider range of conjunctions, including: when, if, because, although

• using the present perfect form of verbs in contrast to the past tense

• choosing nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition

• using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause

• using fronted adverbials • using commas after fronted adverbials • indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with

plural nouns • using and punctuating direct speech

The Reading Sequence

• Lesson 1/part one: children read the text. As a class discuss unknown words and the text.

• Lesson 2-4/part two: answer questions about the text with support.

• Lesson 5/ part three: independent task – assessment activity.

Which words would your child not understand? Can you summarise what you have just read? What type of story is this? Can you give me a synonym for …. ?

Retrieval Questions -What is James doing? -Who is wearing glasses? Inference Questions -What does ‘lean’ mean? -Is Aunt sponge attractive? How do you know? (Use the text!) Authors purpose Questions -How does the authors description of the Aunts reflect their personalities?

Genres of texts

• Warning Story • Quests • Traditional Tale • Fantasy • Myths and Legends • Newspaper Article • Instructions • Non-Chronological Report • Explanation Text

Inference

• What is Inference?

• Inference is where we 'read between the lines' to gain a greater understanding of what we are looking at and to reach logical conclusions.

Inference

• Who is in the picture?

• Is it cold or hot in the mountains?

• How does the mountaineer feel?

• Why has the mountaineer chosen to climb to this location?

Photo courtesy of Andrew E. Larsen (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Inference

• What is happening in this picture?

• How does the child feel about it?

• Why isn’t the child wearing a top?

Photo courtesy of thejbird (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Inference

• If you see someone with a cast on their leg, can you infer that:

• ...they will have a cast on their arm too?

• ...they broke their leg?

• ...they injured themselves playing sport?

• ...they must wear the cast for six months?

Inference

• Can you read the sentence below and find the correct inference?

• Can you infer that:

• …the children were bored? • …it was winter time? • …the children loved fireworks? • …it was the first time the children had seen fireworks?

Boom! Fizz! Another one exploded over the children’s heads as they grinned and yelled in

excitement.

Inference

• Can you read the following passage and answer the questions?

• What was Will trying to get to work? How do you know? • How did Will feel when the screen went black? • How long do you think Will had been sitting there? • What might Will have been doing before this happened?

Will sighed and clicked the mouse again. It still wasn’t working. Then suddenly the screen went black. “Oh no!” wailed Will. “It’s all gone! I haven’t got time to

start again!”

Inference

• What can you infer from this picture?

• What makes you think that?

Photo courtesy of Lee J Haywood (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Writing expectations

Year 3 and 4 Writing expectations Noun: A word used to identify people, places, or things. They can be split into two types.

(common nouns: house, table, cat, grass, water)

(proper nouns: Rachel, England, Thursday)

Adjective: A word that describes a noun.

(derelict house, dewy grass, crystal clear water)

Verb: A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence.

(The little boy dashed to the shop. The warm sun shone in the sky.)

Adverb: A word or phrase that modifies the meaning of a verb.

(Quickly, the little boy dashed to the shop. The warm sun shone brightly in the sky.)

Preposition: A word usually used before a noun or pronoun which shows the relation to something else.

(The man on the platform, she arrived after dinner, the cat under the chair.)

Conjunction: A word used to connect clauses or sentences.

(The girl was sad because she had been told off. If you are good, you can go to the party.)

Determiner: A modifying word that is used before a noun.

(an apple, a ball.)

Inverted commas: To show direct speech.

(“Come here!” Mother shouted from upstairs.)

Past and present perfect tense •Present perfect tense: Uses the auxiliary verb HAVE before the main verb.

•Use ‘have’ for I / you / we / they.

•Use ‘has’ for he / she / it.

My friend Kashaan has lived in this town for five years.

We have been best friends all that time.

His dad says he has taken on the way I speak.

It’s all about the timing…

Before he came to our town, Kashaan was in Birmingham.

His mum got a new job so the family moved here.

When I met Kashaan, he spoke with a ‘Brummie’ accent.

past future now

Past tense is used for activities or events that

started and finished in the past.

Present perfect tense is used for activities that started in

the past but are still true now, or have an effect on what is

happening now.

Fronted Adverbial

What is an adverbial?

An adverbial is a word, phrase or clause that is used, like an adverb, to modify a verb or a clause. Adverbs can be used as adverbials, but many other types of words, phrases and clauses can be used in this way, including prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses.

What is a fronted adverbial?

When an adverbial is used at the beginning of a sentence, they are often called ‘fronted adverbials’.

Next Steps: Types of Fronted Adverbial

Fronted adverbials are used to describe…

the time something happens, e.g. Before sunrise, Darius crept into the beast’s cave. the frequency (how often) something happens, e.g. Every so often, Darius could hear the beast’s ferocious snore. the place something happens, e.g. At the back of the cave, the terrifying creature began to stir. the manner something happens, e.g. As quick as a flash, Darius bounded behind a nearby rock. the possibility (how likely) something will/has happen(ed), e.g. Almost certainly, the deadly beast was nearing closer.

Did you notice how the fronted adverbials were

punctuated?

Adding Adjectives

Nouns

Nouns are

often known

as ‘naming

words’

because they

can name

people,

places and

things.

Simple noun

phrases

Simple noun phrases

are groups of

words, including a

noun, that make up

part of a sentence. The noun is the main

word in the phrase

and other words give

information about

it.

girl

noun The girl

determin

er

noun

Adding Adjectives

Expanded noun phrases

Expanded noun

phrases give

more detail than

a simple noun

phrase.

Simple noun

phrases

You add

adjectives after

the determiner

to make an

expanded noun

phrase This adds extra

detail about the

noun. The tall, sporty

girl

determin

er

adjectiv

e

noun

Determiners are

placed before

the noun and

help to

describe it.

Adjectives for Effect

The adjectives we choose to expand the noun phrase can

create very different effects.

We could see a bright,

airy house.

Example – the house

We could see a dark,

gloomy house. Photos courtesy of lee and Erich Ferdinand @flickr.com - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

Sentence types

Statement: A sentence that tells you something, they end in a full stop. Rainbows have 7 colours. Command: A sentence that tells you to do something. Please stop doing that. Question: A sentence that asks you something, they end in a question mark. Are you having fun? Exclamation: Start with ‘What’ or ‘How’ ends with an exclamation mark. How wonderful you are!

Simple: A sentence consisting of only one clause. The dad cooked dinner. Compound: A sentence containing two independent clauses, joined by a conjunction. The dad cooked dinner for the family because mum was working. Complex: A sentence containing an independent clause and a subordinate. The dad, who was tired, cooked dinner for the family.

Spelling expectations

Prefix: Added to the beginning of root words to change meaning. (unattractive, misbehave, disorganised) Suffix: Added to the end of root words to change meaning. Can often affect spelling. (sad – saddest, happy – happiness) Homophones: Words that sound the same but have different meanings. (there, their, they’re) Apostrophe – To show possession of something belonging to one person or many. (Jamie’s dog, The boy’s football, The wolves’ teeth.)

Year 3 and 4 spelling list

Immersion

Children look at areas related to the topic they will be learning about.

Imitation

Children learn the text through story mapping and actions.

Invention

Children plan and write their own version of the text with support through shared and guided writing.

Independent

Children plan and write another version independently.

How we teach writing

Reading Comprehension You are going to read a text with your child and answer some of the questions.

Some you will need to retrieve straight from the text, some are inference questions.

You will always need to answer in full sentences:

What did the boy ask his Mum?

The boy asked his Mum to go to the shops.

Short burst writing

We are going to do a short piece of writing to use some of the word types and sentences types we have been talking about.

First you are going to describe the following picture with your child.

This term Year 3 have been learning about warning stories. Together, you are going to plan the warning story for this problem.

Short burst writing An icy lake

What are the nouns you can see in this picture?

What adjectives could you use to describe them?

How to turn words into sentences

Nouns Adjectives

• lake

• mountain

• icy

• slippery

• dangerous

• steep

• jagged

• craggy

Simple sentence The icy has frozen solid.

Compound sentence The icy has frozen over and it is extremely slippery.

Complex sentence In the early hours of the morning, the icy has frozen over because of the decreasing temperatures.

The structure of a warning story is as follows. Decide what would happen when the child goes to play with the rhino.

This is the opening of the first story we learnt. Can you write your own version together? Early one morning, Tom and I made our way up to the dormant volcano. My Mum had told us not to play there but Tom said that it was perfectly safe. After ten minutes, we reached the foot of the volcano and carefully clambered up it. Hesitantly, we peered in. It was dank and murky. The magma was still and red. It looked eerily deep.

Think about your two main characters.

Who were they warned by?

Where do they go to and how do they get there?

What does the setting look like?

How to help your child • Read with them as much as possible. Make sure you are

asking them questions about what they have read, we will give you some examples.

• Practice their spellings and talk about ways to remember tricky words, use them in sentences.

• Encourage them to practice their writing, checking for punctuation and spelling.

• www.pobble365.com is an excellent website which has a daily photograph with writing and inference questions.

How to help your child