1. Year 2 and 3 SPAG Parent’s forum.
Mrs Shah and Mrs Bush

2. In the summer term 2016, children at the end of Key Stage 1 will sit new SATs papers. That means that if your child is currently in Reception or Year 1, they will be among the first pupils to take the new test. At the end of Year 2, children will take SATs in: - Reading -English grammar, punctuation and spelling - Maths It is very likely that in the next few years there will be tests in Year 3 or Year 4 for English grammar, punctuation and spelling just like the SATs.

3. What is Grammar? The structure of a sentence.
Grammatically correct sentences are sentences which make sense.
The boy flew his paper plane over the large house.
The boy flies his paper plane over the large house.
The boy’s paper plane over the large house.

4. What are the role of words? Word classes
The English language has a number of different classes of words which all have different parts to play in a sentence.
It is really important that you and your children have a good understanding of these different word classes and the roles they play in sentences. This is the foundation to the English language and with out a good grasp of these different word classes, your children will be unable to progress in their writing. During Year 1 and 2 children learn about the basic word classes and as they progress through KS2 they will be introduced to more of a variety which will enhance their written language. I am going to go through the main classes of words however I will not be covering all of them and so I really encourage you to learn more about these to enable you to successfully support your children at home.

5. Nouns
Nouns are used to name people, animals, places and things. The goat’s afternoon was ruined when a flock of birds swooped down and snatched the piece of bread from Emily’s hand.
Nouns are divided into two groups- proper nouns ( a given name to a particular person , place and thing and always starts with a capital letter) and common nouns (describes everyday objects, animals, places and ideas.) Plurals refers to the form the noun takes when there is more than one thing. These can have different spellings and different rules. Children begin learning the different types of nouns from Year 2 and continue their understanding throughout Year 3. 5

6. Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of a noun. She gave them a guitar lesson.
Pronouns can not be modified by an adjective or adverb the way that a noun can be. Words such as he, she, me, I, you, him, her, them, it are all pronouns and can take the place of a noun. 6

7. Verbs
Verbs- Describe what a person or thing is doing or being. Josh looked everywhere for his broken skates.
The verb is the most important word in a sentence- without it the sentence does not make sense. 7

8. Adjectives
Adjectives are words or phrases that describes nouns or pronouns. The weary painter painted the walls in his blue, green and white overalls.
A noun by itself doesn’t give much information however with an adjective the writer can describe the noun giving more information and description. 8

9. Determiners
Determiners- placed before a noun and help define it. Several furious members of the coven held a meeting on their broomsticks. “That witch has nine shrieking bats!” they grumbled.
Determiners are very similar to adjectives and belong to the noun however many sentences do not make sense without a determiner whereas in contrast adjectives are optional. Determiners precedes any adjectives. 9

10. Prepositions
Prepositions- describes where something is e.g. under, nearby, next to. They raced down the hill and through a stream and stopped next to a bridge. 10

11. Conjunctions
Conjunctions connects words, phrases and clauses. Flora tried to water her roses and sunflowers, but the hose burst. She cut both the hedge and the tree because they were too tall.
You may have heard of these as connectives as they connect words, phrases and clauses however their official name and the name which we use in school are conjunctions. Children begin to learn about conjunctions from Year 1. In year 2 and 3 the children are asked to use these more often to create more interesting sentences creating complex and compound sentences. 11

12. A noun is an object – a person, place or thing.
True or false?
A noun is an object – a person, place or thing.
True

13. An adjective is an action word.
True or false?
An adjective is an action word.
False

14. An verb is a describing word.
True or false?
An verb is a describing word.
False

15. An adverb describes how the verb is done.
True or false?
An adverb describes how the verb is done.
True

16. A preposition describes where something is.
True or false?
A preposition describes where something is.
True

17. A pronoun takes the place of a verb.
True or false?
A pronoun takes the place of a verb.
False

18. The drummer, very red-faced, strode angrily across the stage.
Phrases
Phrases are a group of words that make up a part of a sentence.
The drummer, very red-faced, strode angrily across the stage.
Phrases add information to a sentence, but they only make sense as part of a sentence. A phrase does not contain a verb and it can perform the function of an adjective, adverb or noun. Children are expected to understand what a phrase is and what it does in a sentence. They need to be able to identify and use phrases in their writing. In Year 2 and 3 we concentrate on the variety of different phrases and their jobs in sentences. 18

19. Clauses
Clauses are a group of words which contains a subject and a verb. There are two different types; main clauses and subordinate clauses. Main clauses are the same as a simple sentence and make sense on their own. The cat slept. Subordinate clauses do not make sense on their own and need the main clause for its meaning. The cat slept because the cat was lazy.
Children in Year 3 especially begin to use the vocabulary of main clause and subordinate clauses. They need to be able to understand and identify these in sentences and use them appropriately. Subordinate clauses often explain or add more detail to the main clause which supports the children in writing in more detail. As with phrases, clauses have a variety of different types which during KS2 they learn about. 19

20. Sentences
All sentences need a subject (a noun or pronoun) an action (a verb) and an object (another noun or pronoun) The raccoon climbed the tree. The children read a book. 20

21. Sentences Simple sentences which has a main clause.
There are different types of sentences which vary in complexity.
Simple sentences which has a main clause.
The chef cooked dinner.
Complex sentences which is made up of one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
The chef cooked dinner because his friends were coming over.
Compound sentences are made up of two main clauses which are joined by a conjunction.
The chef cooks dinner yet he hates chicken.
As children progress through KS1 into KS2, they are expected to know what each of these types of sentences are, be able to identify them and use a variety of them in their writing. 21

22. Look at these lists of nouns and verbs
Look at these lists of nouns and verbs. Pick one from each and make a sentence that makes sense.
e.g. The boy rushed downstairs and ran outside.
Nouns Verbs
engine groaned
pencil stole
tree snapped
window revved
burglar rattled

23. Think of two animals and write a sentence about each using two adjectives and an adverb.
e.g. The old dairy cow moved slowly to the milking shed.

24. Pick the correct word for each sentence below.
We was / were eating cake.
I was / were eating cake.
Jimmy go / goes to school with me.
I go / goes to school with Jimmy.
My dogs takes / take me for a walk.
My dog takes / take me for a walk.
We are /am brilliant at grammar.
I are / am brilliant at grammar.

25. Change all the underlined verbs from the past tense to the present tense.
I ran all the way home.
He hides under the table.
I waved at the queen and shouted.
I was thinking about my maths.
They were running towards the hill.
We were making lots of mess.
Now write a sentence in the past tense and then rewrite it in the present tense.

26. Use the correct verb in each sentence below:
are is
has
have
Use the correct verb in each sentence below:
Benny and James ___________ gone outside.
The dogs ___________ sitting by the fire.
Sammy ____________ remembered his homework.
My football coach __________ teaching me how to dribble.
Elephants ______ wonderful animals.
I love my bags. They _____________ beautiful.
School uniform __________ better than mufty.
He _____ gone away on holiday.
BS 2013 26

27. Use I or me for each sentence below:
Pick the correct word or words from the options for each sentence below:
The window was broke / broken / broked / breaked by the ball.
Mandy writ / wrote / witten / has wrote a letter.
Benjie has eaten / eated / ate / eaten a large cucumber.
Use I or me for each sentence below:
I wanted Dad to watch ________ in the football match.
He walked to school with Danny and ____ .
My teacher told Terry and ____ to collect the books.
Eddie came to school with Jim and _____ .
Ben and ____ are going to the cinema tomorrow.

28. Which of these sentences use the correct plural?
Select the correct plural for each sentence.
The child / children / childs are playing on the field.
Women / woman / womens / womans are welcome to use the upstairs toilet.
Sheeps / sheep look nice and warm with their thick coats.
I like to watch the fishes / fish / fishs at the aquarium.
My foots / feets / feet ache today.
The mouses / mice / mices enjoyed the cheese.
Which of these sentences use the correct plural?
a. The childs are eating lots of cake.
b. Gentleman usually wear trousers or shorts.
c. The children enjoyed watching the play.

29. Tense The tense of a verb indicates when an action has taken place.
Past
We laughed. We cried. We sang. We learnt.
Present
We smile. We cry. We learn. We sing.
Future
We shall laugh. We shall cry. We shall learn. We shall sing.
Tense is one of the areas in which many of the children struggle as they go from KS1 to KS2 and especially if their first language is not English. This is due to the many different rules in which we have when using a different tense. During Year 2 and 3 we look at the grammatical rules such as past, present and future tense and their spellings. 29

30. Punctuation
These are the marks used in writing that help readers understand what they are reading. Full stop Comma Exclamation mark Ellipsis Question mark Semi-colon Apostrophe Brackets Capital letters Colon Inverted commas
There are 12 commonly used punctuation marks. Using these marks correctly and carefully makes it possible for the writer to convey their message clearly. Children learn how to use capital letters and full stops towards the end of reception. As they progress from Year 1 to Year 2 they begin to use more basic punctuation such as question marks and exclamation marks. During Year 2 and 3 the children to continue their learning of punctuation by being introduced to more of a variety such as commas, apostrophes and inverted commas. AS they continue through the school children will be introduced to more complex punctuation.
Children who are unable to use the basic punctuation, such as capital letters and full stops, by the end of KS1 will struggle to keep up as they reach Year 3 and will be unable to progress in their writing. 30

31. Copy the sentence below, adding the correct punctuation.
that piece of cheese has been sitting on the court since last spring it must have dropped out of someones sandwich or something after a couple of days the cheese started getting all mouldy and nasty nobody would play basketball where the cheese was

32. Spellings It is really important that you help your
children to learn their spellings. Confidence in
spelling allows children to write more
freely and imaginatively.
You should practise your spellings for 10
EVERY day and not just the ones that
teachers give. Remember – the more children
read and see words around them, the better
their spelling will be.

33. Pupils should be taught to spell
by:
segmenting words – b/r/oo/m
Knowing homophones and near homophones – sun/son, bury/berry
adding prefixes - untidy
adding suffixes to spell longer words, including –ment, –ness, –ful, –less, –ly
applying spelling rules

34. Can you identify the prefix or suffix in
These spellings focus on prefixes and suffixes.
untied
unhappy
dislike
disagree
comfortable
impossible
kindness
Accidentally
Can you identify the prefix or suffix in
each word and tell us what they mean?

35. Vocabulary BAD Does your child have a Thesaurus? cruel unpleasant mean
dire terrible ghastly
cruel unpleasant
mean
BAD

36. Now make a list of alternative words for said.
Look at the underlined words in the sentences below. Replace them with words that have a similar meaning.
He liked eating cake.
Casey had a nice coat to wear.
“Ouch!” said Mrs Fox.
Which of these is the biggest?
In the dark she felt anxious.
My favourite book is the one with the red cover.
Now make a list of alternative words for said.

37. Sort these words into 3 columns: nouns, verbs and adverbs.
to run
eat
very
monster
casually
slowly
cake be am
cat