Grammar for Writing

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Grammar for Writing
Teaching and applying sentence level objectives
to writing

• 7th March 2007

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Aims

• To update grammatical knowledge
• To show the relationship between grammatical
  skills and effective writing
• To introduce Grammar for Writing
• To illustrate lively, interactive sentence level
  teaching
• To illustrate the effective use of shared writing

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Bell Work
How did you learn to write? What are your most
memorable experiences of writing at school?
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Context

• Grammar for Writing published in 2000
• Renewed literacy framework 2006
• Strand 11 - sentence structure and
  punctuation
• Fewer sentence level objectives for each year
  group
• Objectives there need to be interpreted and
  broken
• down.
• Previous framework can support this.

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Writing for Different Audiences and Purposes
Involves

• Seeing the craft read like a writer, write like
  a reader
• Secretarial skills handwriting, spelling, IT
• Content of writing life experience, reading,
  curriculum
• Writing process planning, composing, revising,
  editing
• Text structure organisation, layout, coherence
• Grammatical knowledge and skills
• Word modification
• Sentence construction and punctuation
• Cohesion

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Progression

• FS/KS1
• General vocabulary development and basic
  sentence
• construction
• KS2 Y3 and Y4
• Use of various word classes, effectiveness of
  the
• words used, different sorts of connectives
  between
• sentences
• KS2 Y5 and Y6
• Complex sentences, range of conjunctions,
  varying
• word order for economy, emphasis or effect,
• organising whole texts and use of connectives
  to
• create cohesion

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The Grammatical Skills for Writing

• Word modification the ability to control, select
  and vary language to create impact in relation to
  the audience and purpose of the writing
• Sentence construction and punctuation the
  ability to construct, control, vary and punctuate
  sentences
• Text cohesion the ability to create cohesive
  chronological and non-chronological texts

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Task
The man went down the road.
In pairs, make a change to this sentence to
improve it.
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Adding adjectives/adverbs The fat, hairy man
went slowly down the long road. Changing
specific vocabulary to be more precise The tramp
shuffled down Piccadilly. Using a subordinate
clause to add further detail While the house was
burning, the man went down the road.
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Deleting information to create suspense The man
went. Re-ordering words within the
sentence Down the road went the man.
Children often start by adding strings of
adjectives!
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Word to Sentence
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Task
Match the word class to the word
to the definition!
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Word Classes
determiner
adjective
noun
pronoun
the a
big
dog Rover
It he
verb
adverb
preposition
conjunction
slowly then
barked
with at in
and when because
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Non-Fiction
How do these sentences need to be adapted?
Henry VIII had two of his wives killed. Camels
are sort of large animals. The tiny, little
pieces of water in the air join together and make
raindrops. Attach the beautiful, blue string to
the stick. Buy this house. It has nice
views. The reason why smoking is harmful is
because it can give you cancer.
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Non-Fiction
Henry VIII ordered two of his wives to be
killed. Camels are large animals. The droplets of
water in the air join together and make
raindrops. Attach the blue string to the
stick. Buy this house. It has superb views of
the countryside. Smoking is harmful is because it
causes cancer.
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Task
How could these fiction sentences be improved?
The man got in the car. The tired, weary, sleepy
cat dozed. The hot flame quivered. Joan said
quietly An enormous shark opened its enormous
mouth and showed its enormous teeth. She was
frightened.
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Improve Writing Through

• Choosing precise nouns and expressive verbs
• Using adjectives and adverbs in moderation
• Avoiding stating the obvious
• Using repetition for effect
• Balancing telling (She was frightened)with
  showing or hinting (Her lip trembled)
• Selecting and limiting words for the intended
  purpose and audience
• Selecting stylistic devices such as alliteration,
  onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor

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Chunks of Meaning

• Words
• Phrases
• Clauses
• Sentences

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Phrases
A group of words that act a one unit eg. the
dog, the big dog, the dog over there Strictly
speaking can also just be one word, eg.
splendid! Can act as a noun, verb or
adjective Noun a big dog, my last
holiday Adverbial (she walks) very slowly, (she
lives) along the lane Adjectival (Im) really
hungry, (hes) in a hurry Prepositional phrases
start with a preposition.
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Clauses
A group of words that express an event or
situation eg. she wanted a drink, a big dog
chased me Differs to a phrase as a phrase doesnt
describe what happened Sentences are made up of
one or more clauses It was raining (one
clause) It was raining and we went for a walk
(two clauses joined by and.) It was raining
when we went out (main clause and a subordinate
clause) Main clauses are complete on their own,
sub clauses cant stand on their own.
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Sentences
Can be simple, compound or complex All consist
of at least one clause It was late. (simple) It
was cold but we went outside. (compound) Although
it was late, I wasnt tired. (complex)
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Punctuation
Punctuation is about awareness of these
grammatical chunks. To split up texts into
sentences, indicating clearly where each major
chunk of meaning begins and ends, we use capital
letters and full stops. Within the sentence, we
use a variety of punctuation marks to show breaks
between phrases, clauses and sometimes, words.
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Coffee
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Sentence to Text Varying Word Order
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Subject, Verb, Object
O children. C wonderful.
V teach V are
S Teachers S Teachers
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Subject, Verb, Object/Complement(At the start of
the sentence)
English has three common clause structures SV
The dog was barking in the garden. (SVA) SVO
The queen was eating a jam sandwich daintily.
(SVOA) SVC Teachers are wonderful, usually.
(SVCA)
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Subject, Verb, Object/Complement(At the end of
the sentence)
SV In the garden the dog was barking.
(ASV) SVO Very daintily, the queen was eating
a jam sandwich (ASVO) SVC Usually, teachers
are wonderful. (ASVC)
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Subject, Verb, Object/Complement(Split by
adverb/adjective)
SV The dog, in the garden, was barking.
(SAV) SVO The queen, very daintily, was eating
a jam sandwich (SAVO) SVC Teachers, usually,
are wonderful. (SAVC)
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Varying Word Order to Improve Sentences
How does altering the position of the adverbial
phrase affect the meaning? The teacher was
talking to the class in a loud voice. In a loud
voice, the teacher was talking to the class. The
teacher, in a loud voice, was talking to the
class. The teacher was talking, in a loud voice,
to the class.
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Improve Writing Through
Varying sentence openings
John hurried down the street carefully, with a
box of eggs in his hands. With a box of eggs in
his hands, John carefully hurried down the
street. Down the street, John hurried carefully
with a box of eggs in his hands. Carefully, with
a box of eggs in his hands, John hurried down the
street.
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Cohesion

• Cohesion within a text is achieved through
  accurate use of
• Connectives
• Pronouns
• Tense

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Connectives
The big dog enjoyed barking, moreover he was very
good at it and very loud. The baby however needed
some sleep, so the dog was despatched to the
garden. He barked and yelped for some time until
he grew sleepy himself. Eventually, he stretched
out under the stars and fell into a deep sleep.
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Pronouns
The big dog enjoyed barking, moreover he was very
good at it and very loud. The baby however needed
some sleep, so the dog was despatched to the
garden. He barked and yelped for some time until
he grew sleepy himself. Eventually, he stretched
out under the stars and fell into a deep sleep.
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Consistency of Tense
The big dog enjoyed barking, moreover he was very
good at it and very loud. The baby however needed
some sleep, so the dog was despatched to the
garden. He barked and yelped for some time until
he grew sleepy himself. Eventually, he stretched
out under the stars and fell into a deep sleep.
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Improve Writing Through

• Linking sentences with appropriate connectives
• Judicious use of pronouns
• Maintaining consistency of tense

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Grammar to WritingApplying the Principles
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Improve Writing Through
Using different sentence types
Questions to draw the reader in Have you ever
flown a kite? Why be the only teacher without a
laptop? What had Darren heard?
Imperatives to add impact Buy now! Take care!
The wiring is dangerous. Stop! they yelled.
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Example
Eventually, feeling exhausted, they decided to
finish for that day, but where was the golden
snake? It was illusive! Wearily, fearing they
would never find it and feeling dejected, they
went to bed. (Guess who fell asleep first?)
Melodine had no idea that Eldero was asleep and
started talking to him. I wonder what tomorrow
will be like? but, of course, there was no
answer. Typical! Melodine was worried, but as
Elderos snoring, which could be heard echoing
through the woods, became regular she felt more
at ease and fell asleep, sensing that she was
safe.
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Improving Writing
Through varying sentence length
Using short sentences for dramatic emphasis She
stopped. He gasped sharply.
Using longer sentences to move the narrative
on. Buy
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Example
My heart is racing, the helpless light from the
moon is wasting itself on the tree tops as the
inconspicuous labyrinth towers over me I am
writing this diary. There is a sudden tug on the
silken string, I call my beloveds name,
Theseus? although I know that he cannot hear
me. Is he still alive? Then, as the pale moons
light shines upon me, a viscous path of blood is
harshly illuminated. I flinch. Move away, not
knowing what to expect. Then there is a roar. I
sit here and wonder if my poor, poor Theseus is
alright. I abide being here. I feel so guilty.
What if it assassinates my brave Theseus?
Gingerly stepping forward, I hear a terrifying
scream as from the corner of my eye I glimpse a
figure in the shadows, just perceptible in the
waning light. My heart stops.
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Example
That had been yesterday. It was now 6.30.
Dibling and Blubow set off on foot to the path
that led to Mountain Serchew. As they
approached the mountain, which cascaded
tauntingly over them, looking as if it would
collapse should a monstrous gush of wind blow
past, Blubow detected an unfamiliar noise.
Wait! I dont think this path is safe!
Something terrible is going to happen. I can
feel it! Dibling however, had already commenced
his journey up the foreboding path, resolute in
his determination to reach the soul of Mountain
Serchew and recover the Sapphire stone.
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Improve Writing Through
Using the passive voice for effect
To hide the source of the action The gun had
been removed from the cabinet.
To create impactThe victim was torn apart by
the cheetah.
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Example
The Greeks fought a considerable number of wars,
one of the most famous of which was the battle
between Athens and Persia, known as the Battle of
Marathon. The Athenians had only 10, 000
soldiers whereas the Persians had twice as many.
The Athenians devised a plan to ensure victory,
unsure as to whether it would work. Their
intention, under Miltiades, their leader, was to
attack the flanks first. The flanks of the
Persian army were relentlessly battered, leaving
the centre unguarded. The Athenians grasped this
opportunity and King Darius, directing from the
centre, was mercilessly killed.
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The Book!
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The Book

• Part 1 Introduction rationale
• Part 2 Teaching units
• Part 3 Teachers notes and glossary

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Teaching Sequence for Writing

• Whole class sentence level teaching focus
• Whole class sentence level activities
• Define principles
• Teacher demonstration and scribing
• Support composition
• Independent writing
• Review

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Teaching Units

• Units are on the ncnet website
• Flipchart files with key resources

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Activities
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Function
For children to investigate the function of a
word class, sentence structure or punctuation
mark.
Bridie called softly. Carefully she picked up the
candle and peered into the darkness. Shadows
flickered. She stood still and listened.
Cautiously she moved down the corridor. Her dress
rustled, and she paused. A gust of wind blew
gently and the candle flickered. Fortunately, it
did not blow out. Her mind raced madly. I will
arrive soon, she muttered anxiously.
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Compare
For children to deduce principles governing a
grammatical feature by comparing texts containing
different facets of the same feature.
I hate you, she whispered. Lets find the
others, he suggested. Thats not fair! he
exclaimed.
She whispered that she hated him. He suggested
that they find the others. He exclaimed that it
was not fair.
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Cloze
For children to consider the effectiveness of a
particular word within a sentence to practice
using language appropriate to audience purpose.
Emma strolled around the supermarket, collecting
the items on mums list, humming her
favourite song. she had collected
everything she made her way to the checkout.
the groceries were packed she reached into her
bag for her purse , it was
nowhere to be found.
whilst
After
Once
however
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Construct
For children to experiment with sentence
structure to reinforce knowledge of word classes
and sentence construction.
although he was scared
he walked on
,
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Improve
For children to practice re-drafting.
I saw the plane and then it flew over and then it
seemed to disappear and then, just when I thought
that it had gone, it came back. I could hardly
believe it and then just when I did not know if I
was awake or dreaming it shot in over the trees
and then it landed on the lake. Then out climbed
a man, he was rowing across to me and then he
spoke to me. I found myself talking to the first
human being that I had seen in months and then I
knew that it was over.
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Quick Make Replace Re-order
Task - Jigsaw
Read through the activity and discuss its
purpose and how it could be used. Share with you
home group
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Plenary

• Read through your learning points from today
• What have you learnt that you didnt know
  before?
• How will this impact upon your classroom
  practice?
• What are your next steps?