Mind the GaP Teaching Grammar and Punctuation Gill Matthews & Stephanie Austwick The Professional Literacy Company

Key principles Use games and kinaesthetic approaches Use problem solving and investigative approaches Use correct terminology Teach across the school from YR Teach in context through reading and writing

Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins YR – Y2

Sentences A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark A sentence contains a verb

Verbs tell us about actions The hen walked across the yard. Verbs tell us about actions

Sentence types Statement : The hen walked across the yard. Question Command Exclamation

Verb tenses Past Present (you are here) Future

Progressive past and present tenses Progressive past – The hen was walking across the yard. Progressive present – The hen is walking across the yard.

To be Present tense Past tense I am I You are You He/she/it is We are We You are They are They

Nouns The hen walked across the yard. Top tip If you can put a, an or the in front of a single word – it’s a noun!

Adjectives and expanded noun phrases The little fat hen walked across the yard. Adjectives give us more information about a noun

Adverbs tell us how something happens The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard. Adverbs tell us how something happens

Determiners The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard. Determiners go in front of nouns (and their adjectives) to tell us which person or thing the sentence is about or how much or how many of them there are

Prepositions The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard. Prepositions link nouns to other parts of a sentence. They often tell us about position or direction

Conjunctions link words or groups of words The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard but she didn’t see the fox. Conjunctions link words or groups of words

Pronouns are used in place of a noun. The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard but she didn’t see the fox. Pronouns are used in place of a noun.

A model sentence The little fat hen walked slowly across the yard but she didn’t see the fox. Determiner adjective adjective noun verb adverb preposition determiner noun conjunction pronoun verb verb determiner noun.

Grammar – a whole school approach Oral language, modelling Extensive exposure to written language Shared Reading and Booktalk Shared Writing and Booktalk Drama and Role Play Language Games (sentence level and vocab) Talking about Language (metalanguage) Regular, enjoyable, purposeful practice

Question Time by Michaela Morgan

Who? What? How? Where?

What does a monster look like? Well…hairy and scary, And furry and burly, And pimply and dimply, And warty and naughty, And wrinkled and crinkled ... That’s what a monster looks like! 

How does a monster move? It oozes. It shambles. It crawls and it ambles. It slouches and shuffles and trudges. It lumbers and waddles, It creeps and it toddles… That’s how a monster moves!  

How does a monster eat? It slurps and it burps And gobbles and gulps   It slurps and it burps And gobbles and gulps And sips and swallows and scoffs, It nibbles and munches, It chews and it crunches… That’s how a monster eats.

What does a monster eat? Slugs and bats. And bugs and rats. And stones and mud And bones and blood. And squelchy squids… And NOSEY KIDS!   THAT’S WHAT A MONSTER EATS!

Where does a monster live?   In garden sheds, Under beds, In wardrobes, in plug holes, in ditches. Beneath city streets, Just under your feet… That’s where a monster lives!

– in the context of a Writing for Real Unit Grammar through a picture book – in the context of a Writing for Real Unit Y3 - 4

Teaching Grammar Descriptive, not prescriptive Conventions, not rules Implicit knowledge will always be greater than, and will always precede, explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge helps when we want to talk about language Should enable, not disable

The Storyteller’s Gift Year 5 – Year 6

Teaching grammar through reading and writing Reading aloud Using Booktalk: Likes, Dislikes, Puzzles, Patterns Text marking and highlighting Grammar challenges Cloze procedure Messing about with sentences Create a writer’s toolkit Shadowing the text

Cloze procedure Leave one or more deletion free sentences at the beginning to give reader an idea of what passage is about Deletions can be according to a numerical system Deletions can be particular word class(es) Make sure there are enough cues left in the text

Modal verbs to show degrees of possibility Each of you will give a 5 minute presentation on your project to the rest of the class.

will would can could may might shall should must ought Each of you will give a 5 minute presentation on your project to the rest of the class. will would can could may might shall should must ought

Why use the passive voice? When we don’t know who did it or we want to hide that information To emphasise what happened rather than who did something The window has been broken.

Subject and object A guide led the class into a room. The subject is the person or thing doing the action. It is the noun before the verb. The object is the person or thing that is acted on. It is normally the noun after the verb.

Active and passive voice A guide led the class into a room. (The subject is doing the action) Passive The class was led into a room by the guide. (The subject is having the action done to it) The class was led into a room.

Messing about with sentences Write up a sentence Add adjectives Change the verb Change the final noun Add an adverb Extend the sentence by using ‘because’ Move the end to the beginning Move the adverb

Create a writer’s toolkit Look at the author’s techniques What can we borrow?

Stumbling blocks Less and fewer - Use less with uncountable nouns and fewer with countable nouns e.g. We have had less rain and fewer showers this year.

Stumbling blocks I and me when talking about two people e.g. John and me/I went to school. He gave the sweets to John and me/I. Take out the other person. Which pronoun makes sense? I went to school. John and I went to school. He gave the sweets to me. He gave the sweets to John and me.

Key principles Teach in context Use games and kinaesthetic approaches Use problem solving and investigative approaches Use correct terminology ‘Notice’ when reading ‘Borrow’ when writing

Punctuation

Comma sense Lists – if the comma can be replaced with and or or Parentheses – either side of a phrase or clause that gives extra detail but which can be removed leaving the sentence gramatically correct Introduction to a sentence – adverbs, -ed, -ing words, time, place, condition, frequency, fact

Commas in lists The little fat hen walked across the yard. He has spiky grey hair, piercing blue eyes, a sharp tongue and a dry sense of humour. I went to the shop and bought bread, milk and cheese.

Commas for parenthesis He stood, as if waiting, by the chair.

Suddenly he was falling, and his life went past in small, square pictures, framed in the windows of the cockpit. There were his family; his house; his friends; his wedding; his dog. There were pictures of the Past and pictures of the Future, too – all the things he had meant to do and now never would: bridges, faces, dawns, and sunsets. Smile by Geraldine McCaughrean

Stumbling blocks Its and It’s It’s stands for IT IS or IT HAS and nothing else Words ending in s That is James’ book. Plurals Those are the boys’ bags.

Learning environment

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