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Adverbs, support cover of Y4 on Tuesday.

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Follow @UKEdResources Created by: @UKEdChat Category: UKEdResources: Primary - Literacy - Words, Vocabulary & Spelling We have a small favour to ask. More people are accessing UKEdChat articles, resources, videos, magazines and podcasts than ever. Unlike many organisations, we haven't put up a paywall - we want to keep our content open for all.

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QR Codes, good for differentiation, for active lessons. To allow and promote independence.

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Connecting formal and informal learning.

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Biodiversity. Fantastic with forest schools.

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Observation - Local walk - UK and Ireland. Description: A walk around a local nature reserve.

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Used to support children, used as a lesson starter, used to allow children to create. Can inform lots of literacy work.

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Support with EMA.
- Helpful to be aware of policy.

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Beneficial to know the benefits of tech for children.
- EMA.
- General use.

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Support with twitter use.

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Will support EMA and support computing lessons at school.

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A new approach I've already brought up to school.

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Fun, inclusive and different way of teaching, Different approaches at school.

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Informs and supports programming knowledge.

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Compare and contrast different frameworks.

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Supports subject knowledge of algorithm.
Good idea for lesson plan.

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There is an updated verion of this activity here.

Jam Sandwich Algorithm

Create an algorithm (a precise set of instructions or rules to achieve an outcome or solve a problem) to instruct a pretend robot (teacher) to make a jam sandwich. One of the steps towards writing a good algorithm, that can be converted into code, is precision. Precision doesn't come naturally to most humans. Another computational thinking skill is evaluation in this case is my algorithm fit for purpose. The robot teacher interpretation of their algorithm helps pupils to evaluate its effectiveness and make changes if needed. Is it an algorithm or is it coding though, who cares its lots of fun!

Planning and Word List

Jam Sandwich planning and word list pdf

Resources

SEN Sheet pdf

Outakes Video (don't show to pupils until after the activity)

The Jam Sandwich Algorithm has been mentioned in the Telegraph online, taught at infant, junior and secondary levels translated into Dutch and I have had tweets from teachers in American using it.

Miss Reynolds from
St Francis CofE Primary School in Swindon links it to writing

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There is an updated verion of this activity here. Jam Sandwich Algorithm Create an algorithm (a precise set of instructions or rules to achieve an outcome or solve a problem) to instruct a pretend robot (teacher) to make a jam sandwich. One of the steps towards writing a good algorithm, that can be converted into code, is precision.

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supports national curriculum understanding.
Could use when planning.

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SCIENCE: Improving practical work in science

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SCIENCE: Improving practical work in science

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Allows practical science to be planned for thoroughly during future planning. Supports understanding of practical science.

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Getting Practical - Improving Practical Work in Science

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Home About Getting Practical Getting Practical Toolkit Resources Contact Us Credits This page was last updated: 24/06/11 © The Association for Science Education, 2009. All rights reserved. site by onecubed

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Can be used as a research page when teaching. Children able to access it as a link to support their task. Used to support own subject knowledge when teaching SOM.

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States of matter can be more than just your average solids, liquids and gases! When water turns into snow, is it still water? The answer is yes! Our world is filled with solids, liquids, gases and even other matter that can go from one state of matter to another without changing its chemical substance. In this […]

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Can be used as a research page when teaching. Children able to access it as a link to support their task. Used to support own subject knowledge when teaching SOM. Videos are helpful tools for pre-teach.

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Can be used as a research page when teaching. Children able to access it as a link to support their task. Used to support own subject knowledge when teaching energy.

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Young People's Trust For the Environment

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Types of Energy

Energy is invisible yet it's all around us and throughout the universe. We use it every day, we have it in our bodies and some of it comes from other planets! Energy can never be made or destroyed, but its form can be converted and changed. For example, the chemical energy we get from our food turns into kinetic and thermal energy (see below) when we walk and sound energy when we shout. Here's a great video by scientists showing the many ways that energy can be transferred and converted.

The following chapters describe the various forms energy can take and the story behind humans, energy, fuel and the environment.

Types of energy

First let's take a look at the different forms energy can take and how they can be converted.

Kinetic - Anything that moves has this kind of energy. To run, cycle, climb and move the mouse for a computer we use kinetic energy.

Radiant - Radiant energy means light. Examples of things that have radiant energy are the Sun, lightbulbs and our computer screens. Plants convert light energy into chemical energy (food) which helps them to grown, this is known as photosynthesis.

Sound - The louder we shout the more sound energy we are using. Apart from our voices there are plenty of other examples of sound energies - guitars have sound energy when plucked using kinetic energy. So do the brakes on our bikes when we're traveling fast.

Thermal - If you've ever worn thermal underwear you might guess that thermal energy is about heat! The sun gives off thermal energy, as do radiators and fires. Even lightbulbs when they've been on for a long time - ouch!

Elastic - Stretch a rubber band, or pull back the elastic on a slingshot and you'll have elastic energy. This kind of energy is known as 'potential energy' as it can be stored until it's released - usually giving way to kinetic energy!

Gravitational - Ever fallen out of a tree? Then you were a victim of gravitational energy. Gravitational energy is the force which keeps us on the ground. Gravitational energy is why cycling downhill is faster than cycling up hill and why ski jumpers always come back to earth.

Chemical - Chemical energies come in many different forms. We get chemical energy from foods, which we use to run about, and move and talk (kinetic and sound energy). Chemical energies are stored in fuels which we burn to release thermal energy - this is one way of making electricity, see Electricity for more information.

Nuclear - Nuclear energy is the energy stored inside tiny atoms. Atoms are invisible and make up the elements of the whole universe! There are three parts to these tiny particles which are - protons, electrons and neutrons. Nuclear energy is released when atoms are joined together (fusion) or split apart (fission). Doing this converts energy into thermal and radiant energy. The Sun uses nuclear energy to produce its light and heat.

Converting Energy
When we go for a run we are using chemical energy in our bodies to produce movement (kinetic energy), which in turn converts to warmth (thermal energy). Cycling downhill involves kinetic and gravitational energy. The friction between the tyres and the road will also cause the tyres to warm up a little producing thermal energy. What form will some of this energy take when putting on the brakes?

Read More: Fuel For Humans

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Energy is invisible yet it's all around us and throughout the universe. We use it every day, we have it in our bodies and some of it comes from other planets! Energy can never be made or destroyed, but its form can be converted and changed.

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In class for research project, planning aid for key vocabulary. Supports understanding of topic. Teaching reference.

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Image

Watering holes like this attract a wide variety of creatures and offer a unique glimpse into the diverse ecology of the surrounding region.

Photograph by Stuart Black and Alamy Stock Photo

Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary

Ecology is the study of organisms and how they interact with the environment around them. An ecologist studies the relationship between living things and their habitats. In order to learn about the natural world, ecologists must study multiple aspects of life ranging from the moss that grows on rocks to the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park. In order to research the environment, scientists ask questions, such as: How do organisms interact with the living and nonliving factors around them? What do organisms need to survive and thrive in their current environments? To find the answers to these questions, ecologists must study and observe all forms of life and their ecosystems throughout our world.

In addition to examining how ecosystems function, ecologists study what happens when ecosystems do not function normally. Changes in ecosystems can result from many different factors including diseases among the organisms living in the area, increases in temperature, and increased human activities. Understanding these changes can help ecologists anticipate future ecological challenges and inform other scientists and policymakers about the challenges facing their local ecosystems.

Ecology first began gaining popularity in the 1960s, when environmental issues were rising to the forefront of public awareness. Although scientists have been studying the natural world for centuries, ecology in the modern sense has only been around since the 19 th century. Around this time, European and American scientists began studying how plants functioned and their effects on the habitats around them. Eventually, this lead to the study of how animals interacted with plants, other animals, and shaped the ecosystems in which they lived. Today, modern ecologists build on the data collected by their predecessors and continue to pass on information about the ecosystems around the world. The information they gather continues to affect the future of our planet.

Human activity plays an important role in the health of ecosystems all around the world. Pollution emitted from fossil fuels or factories can contaminate the food supply for a species, potentially changing an entire food web. Introducing a new species from another part of the world into an unfamiliar environment can have unintended and negative impacts on local lifeforms. These kinds of organisms are called invasive species. Invasive species can be any form of living organism that is brought by humans to a new part of the world where they have no natural predators. The addition or subtraction of a single species from an ecosystem can create a domino effect on many others, whether that be from the spread of disease or overhunting.

branch of biology that studies the relationship between living organisms and their environment.

community and interactions of living and nonliving things in an area.

area of tall, mostly evergreen trees and a high amount of rainfall.

Credits

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society
Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society
Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

Specialist, Content Production

Clint Parks

Producer

Andre Gabrielli, National Geographic Society

Last Updated

Aug. 9, 2019

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For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. She or he will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

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Interactives

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Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society
Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society
Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

Specialist, Content Production

Clint Parks

Producer

Andre Gabrielli, National Geographic Society

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Image Watering holes like this attract a wide variety of creatures and offer a unique glimpse into the diverse ecology of the surrounding region. Photograph by Stuart Black and Alamy Stock Photo Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary Ecology is the study of organisms and how they interact with the environment around them.

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Understanding of food webs and chains. Used in class as a teaching point or to support own understanding.

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What is Ecology?

Ecology is the study of how living ( biotic) and nonliving ( abiotic) parts of the environment interact with and depend each other. Guess you could say it's the study of life on earth!

If you break the word ecology down, ' eco' means house and ' logos' means to study. So, essentially we are studying about our house in the biggest sense, which is Planet Earth!

Everything is Connected!

When scientists study the ecology of certain areas, they call those areas ecosystems. Together, the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) features in an area are called an ecosystem.

The biotic, or living, things in an environment include plants, animals (this includes people), bacteria, fungi and all other living things. The abiotic or nonliving parts of the environment include things like sunlight, the soil, atmosphere, climate, nutrients and water.

An ecosystem can be small, like a puddle in your backyard, with only a few organisms interacting with each other. Or it may be large, like a forest, with lots of organisms interacting. Ecologists are scientists who study the interactions within ecosystems.

The populations (groups) of specific plants and animals that live together in an ecosystem make up a community. Each species occupies a certain role or "niche" in the community. A species niche includes how a plant or animal uses the living and nonliving resources. No two species in a community have exactly the same niche.

Energy and the Food Web

One of the major activities of life in an ecosystem is finding energy. All living things in an ecosystem need energy to survive. The cycle of organisms eating and being eaten is one way that parts of the environment interact with each other. The main source of energy for life on Earth comes from the sun. Plants use light energy from the sun to make food. Organisms that use the sun for producing food are called producers. Algae, grass, trees, and vegetables are all producers.

Organisms that get energy by eating other organisms are called consumers. Consumers must eat producers or other consumers for their energy. This transfer of energy creates a food chain. There are four different kinds of consumers in an ecosystem:

Most consumers and decomposers get energy from more than one kind of food. Overlapping food chains create food webs.

Web of Life

An ecosystem is a complex system with many parts, both living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic). All parts of the system are important! If one part of the system is removed, lots of other parts can be affected.

Just imagine a car - if you didn't fill it with oil, it would still run, but not for long! An ecosystem with a part of it missing may continue for a while but in time would start falling apart. All of the parts of the ecosystem work together.

Natural Cycles and Biomes

All ecosystems depend on natural cycles. The main cycles in an ecosystem include the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle and the carbon cycle.

There are different kinds of ecosystems. Wherever you live, you are part of a large ecosystem called a biome. Biomes cover huge areas and are characterized by their climate and the types of animals and plants that are found there.

The main land-based biome types are deserts, forests, grasslands, and tundra. View a map of the world's biomes.

Constant Change

Ecosystems are constantly changing. Houses, shopping malls, and people often replace grasslands and forests. Earthquakes, lightning, and floods can also change ecosystems. Some changes to an ecosystem - like a species becoming extinct - may be hard to see, while others - like forest fires or volcanoes - are easier to see and understand. The study of ecology helps us understand these processes.

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Ecology is the study of how living ( biotic) and nonliving ( abiotic) parts of the environment interact with and depend each other. Guess you could say it's the study of life on earth! If you break the word ecology down, ' eco' means house and ' logos' means to study.

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Support to own understanding of ecology.

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800 possible mastery points

About this unit

This unit is part of the Biology library. Browse videos, articles, and exercises by topic.

Biology is brought to you with support from the Amgen Foundation

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Ecology | Biology library | Science | Khan Academy

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This unit is part of the Biology library. Browse videos, articles, and exercises by topic.

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SCIENCE: Fossil fuels and reusable energy

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SCIENCE: Fossil fuels and reusable energy

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Can be used as a research page when teaching. Children able to access it as a link to support their task. Used to support own subject knowledge when teaching energy. Videos are helpful tools for pre-teach.

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Renewable energy is a natural source of energy that will never run out. , the and are renewable energy sources that can be used to create electricity .

There are different types of renewable energy:

Hydropower - moving water helps create electricity by turning turbines under the sea as the tide moves in and out, or by using water stored in a dam.

energy - solar panels collect energy from the Sun to create electricity.

energy - wind turns turbines to create electricity.

Geothermal energy - volcanic activity can be used for heating water and the steam produced can be used to power generators and create electricity.

These sources of energy are much cleaner to use than fossil fuels because they do not produce harmful gases that cause pollution and climate change.

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Renewable energy is a natural source of energy that will never run out. , the and are renewable energy sources that can be used to create electricity . There are different types of renewable energy: Hydropower - moving water helps create electricity by turning turbines under the sea as the tide moves in and out, or by using water stored in a dam.

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Use to search for relevant videos and information within lesson, supports subject knowledge on a base level.

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Forces and motion - KS2 Science - BBC Bitesize

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KS2 Science Forces and motion learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Can be used as a research page when teaching. Children able to access it as a link to support their task. Used to support own subject knowledge when teaching SOM. Videos are helpful tools for pre-teach.

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The living world - KS2 Science - BBC Bitesize

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KS2 Science The living world learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Understanding and knowledge for outside the classroom.  Can work cross curricular, making habitats in school. Research task for children.

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The area where a particular organism lives naturally is called its habitat. The five major habitats are - forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains and polar regions, and aquatic habitat. Oceans and freshwater together form the aquatic habitat.

Forests

Forests are large areas covered with plants. Forests cover about one-third of our planet. Different types of plants and animals are found in forests.

There are three major types of forests on Earth: tropical, temperate, and boreal.

Tropical forests Tropical forests, also known as rainforests, are found between the equator and the two tropics (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn).
The temperature of these forests ranges from 20°C to 34°C. These regions receive heavy rainfall throughout the year; the annual rainfall is more than 200 cm. The variety of flora and fauna found in these forests is vast (Fig. 10.1).
Plants: Orchid, vine, moss, and fern.
Animals: Bat, gorilla, monkey, jaguar, sloth, macaw, toucan, and a variety of insects.

Temperate forests Temperate forests are found in eastern North America, northeastern Asia, and western and central Europe. The temperature of these regions ranges from -30°C to 30°C. The annual rainfall is about 150 cm and is even throughout the year. Most trees found here are deciduous, that is, they shed their leaves once a year (mostly in winter).
Temperate forests have well-defined winter and summer seasons.
Plants: Maple, oak, and elm.
Animals: Fox, bald eagle, mountain lion, bobcat, and black bear.

Boreal forests Boreal forests are also called taiga. These forests are found in Canada, Russia, Scandinavia, China, Mongolia, and northern Japan. These forests are characterized by very low temperatures, that is, between -50°C and 30°C. The annual snowfall in these regions ranges from 40 to 100 cm.
Plants: Evergreen trees like pine, fir, and spruce.
Animals: Wolf, lynx, fox, deer, woodpecker, hare, bat, bear, moose, and chipmunk.

Grasslands

Grasslands are regions dominated by grasses. There aren't too many trees and shrubs here. Temperature ranges between -20°C and 30°C. The annual rainfall varies between 50 and 90 cm. Grasslands provide shelter to a large variety of animals including giraffe, zebra, lion, elephant, and gazelle.

Deserts

Deserts are areas that receive very little rainfall. Sahara, Kalahari, and Thar are some deserts. In hot deserts, daytime temperature in summer can reach 45°C. Annual rainfall is less than 25 cm. Though deserts are mostly considered to be hot, some are very cold (e.g., the Gobi desert in China). Organisms like cactus, camel, rattlesnake, gila monster, and kangaroo rat are found in deserts.

Mountains and Polar Regions

Earth's polar regions (the Arctic in the north and the Antarctic in the south) and tall mountains are extremely cold. The lowest temperature recorded ever in the Antarctic is -88°C. Animals like polar bear, penguin, seal, and walrus are found in the polar regions. Mountain goat, sheep, yak, and snow leopard are some of the animals found in the mountains.

Aquatic Habitat

The aquatic habitat comprises all the water bodies on the planet. It is mainly of three kinds: freshwater, marine, and coastal.
Freshwater habitat Rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams are examples of freshwater habitat. Fish, frog, duck, lotus, and water lily are found in freshwater.
Marine habitat Oceans and seas form the largest habitat on the planet.
A large variety of animals live in the marine habitat, from tiny plankton to the largest animal in the world - the blue whale. Fish, whale, shark, jellyfish, crab, starfish, sea turtle, octopus, and seaweed are found in marine habitat.

Coastal habitat Coastal habitat refers to the region where the land meets the sea.

Estuaries are regions where saltwater (from the ocean) rivers or streams). Thus, unique habitats provide shelter to several marine animals and birds. Animals found here include crab, oyster, waterfowl, and worm. Mangroves (Fig. 10.4) seaweed, and marsh grasses are some of the plants found here. The Sundarban delta, spread across West Bengal and Bangladesh, is the largest mangrove forest in the world.
Coral reefs are rock-like structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. They are also called 'rainforests of the sea' as they provide shelter to a large number of marine organisms. Besides corals, sea anemones, starfish, octopus, sea urchins, and a variety of fish are found in coral reefs. Examples of coral reefs are the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and those of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in India.

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What Are The Different Types Of Habitat - A Plus Topper

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What Are The Different Types Of Habitat The area where a particular organism lives naturally is called its habitat. The five major habitats are - forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains and polar regions, and aquatic habitat. Oceans and freshwater together form the aquatic habitat. Forests Forests are large areas covered with plants.

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Supports understanding of local dialect, and reasons behind, supports planning well.

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Hi everyone,

Did you have a nice weekend? What did you do? Where did you go?

Did you know that Bristol has its own dialect? It's called Bristolian!

A dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian, "Bristolese" or even, following the publication of Derek Robson's "Krek Waiters peak Bristle", as "Bristle" or "Brizzle". Bristol natives speak with a rhotic accent, in which the post-vocalic r in words like car and card is still pronounced, having been lost from many other dialects of English. The unusual feature of this accent, unique to Bristol, is the so-called Bristol L (or terminal L), in which an L sound appears to be appended to words that end in an 'a' or 'o'. The "-ol" ending of the city's name is a significant example of the occurrence of the so-called "Bristol L". A similar form of this pronunciation quirk has been in existence for centuries, even as far back as the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the Domesday Book, compiled by the Norman-French. In those days before the printing press, the city's name - "Bruggestowe" at the time - was rarely written. Consequently the Domesday Book information gatherers had to rely on oral answers to their questions and the city name was recorded as being "Bristolle". Stanley Ellis, a dialect researcher, found that many of the dialect words in the Filton area were linked to work in the aerospace industry. He described this as "a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I've heard for a long time".

Nowadays the people of Bristol represent a diverse mix of race and cultures however the distinctive local dialect or 'Brizzle' is still very much alive. You may hear for example the addition of the letter 'I' to the end of words ending a vowel - 'a great idea' in Brizzle speak is 'a great ideal'. Here are some examples of words or phrases in common use:

What's on this week at EC Bristol?

On Tuesday we are organising a Multicultural Dinner. It's a great opportunity to show your cooking skills and have fun with your mates.

On Thursday we are organising an Indoor Climbing session. What is it? It is an increasingly popular form of rock climbing performed on artificial structures that attempt to mimic the experience of outdoor rock. The number of indoor climbing gyms has increased the accessibility, and thus the popularity, of the sport of climbing. Since environmental conditions (ranging from the structural integrity of the climbing surfaces, to equipment wear, to proper use of equipment) can be more controlled in such a setting, indoor climbing is perhaps a safer and more friendly introduction to the sport.

On Friday we are organising a Music Afternoon where you will be able to listen to music, talk about different genres, understand the meaning of lyrics, and play your instruments. What's more on that day we are also organising a Football session.

On Saturday the AFT organisation is organising a MANCHESTER & LIVERPOOL trip that we highly recommend. Liverpool is the birthplace of the Beatles and the city that shaped their early music and lives.

EC Bristol offers a wide range of activities and really good English courses. Are you living abroad and thinking of going away from home to study? What better choice than enjoying a new and rewarding experience in Bristol.

Here is an English expression that the EC Bristol Team wants to teach you this week:
As Bold As Brass is applied to anyone with the courage of their conviction and not afraid to be seen either succeeding or failing. It is recorded that the phrase dates back to the late 1770s and refers to a London magistrate called Brass Crosby. At that time it was illegal for the workings of Parliament to be published for public knowledge. However, one London printer produced a pamphlet revealing some of the proceedings and was immediately arrested. He was brought before Brass Crosby's court and the magistrate, in tune with public opinion, let the printer off. Crosby was immediately arrested for treason and himself thrown in jail. But such was the public outcry in support of the magistrate that Brass was released and he became something of a hero. His brave stand against authority was widely reported, leading to the term 'as bold as brass' passing into common parlance.
Thanks from the EC Bristol Team

Comments

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hi everyone, Did you have a nice weekend? What did you do? Where did you go? Did you know that Bristol has its own dialect? It's called Bristolian! A dialect of English is spoken by some Bristol inhabitants, known colloquially as Bristolian, "Bristolese" or even, following the publication of Derek Robson ...

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Huge gaps pre E290 with phonics, supports my understanding through text and video. Videos can be used as a short RWI lesson.

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1 Huge gaps pre E290 with phonics, supports my understanding through text and video. Videos can be used as a short RWI lesson.

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Find out more

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Find out more You are viewing this site in an unsupported browser. See our browser support page for more information. You need to log in to see that! Not registered? Join us to get started for free. Want to know more about Oxford Owl for School before you register?

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ENGLISH: Principles of high quality phonics

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ENGLISH: Principles of high quality phonics

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Huge gaps pre E290 with phonics, supports my understanding through allows me to gain knowledge of key vocab attached to phonics.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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What is a clause?

Clauses are the building blocks of English sentences, groups of words that contain a subject and a verb.

To understand clauses, it is a good idea to review the different components that make up a sentence.

Words are the smallest units of meaning, for example:

Phrases are small groups of words intended to convey meaning, such as:

A clause is a group of words that contain a subject (the noun or pronoun about which something is being said, usually the doer of the action) (a doing word).
An example of a clause is:

The fast, red squirrel darted up a tree.

The subject of this clause is the fast, red squirrel and the verb is 'darted'. This can also be called a simple sentence.

What is a main (or major) clause?

A main clause is a clause that contains a subject and an object. Main clauses make sense on their own.

'I like bananas.' is a simple sentence which is made up of a main clause.

This is a compound sentence: it is made up of two main clauses: 'I like bananas' and 'I like grapes'. The two main clauses are joined by the connective 'and'.

Sometimes a sentence is made up of two clauses: a main clause and a subordinate (or dependent) clause, which relies on the main clause.

What is a subordinate clause?

A subordinate clause contains a subject and a verb, but it needs to be attached to a main clause because it cannot make sense on its own. For example:

This is a complex sentence (also referred to as a multi-clause sentence). It has a main clause ('I first saw her in Paris') and a subordinate clause (' where I lived as a small child'), which relies on the main clause to make sense. The two clauses are joined by the connective 'where'.

Connectives that join clauses can be conjunctions, prepositions and adverbs.

Examples of subordinate clauses include embedded clauses and relative clauses.

Main clauses don't always have to come before subordinate clauses in sentences. For example:

When do children learn about clauses?

In Year 1, children are expected to write sentences with two clauses joined by the word 'and.'

In Year 2, children start learning about subordination and coordination and need to start using a main clause and subordinate clause (a complex sentence), joined by 'when,' 'if,' 'that' or 'because.'

In Years 3 to 6, children are expected to continue to use a range of simple, compound and complex sentences, however their connectives need to become more sophisticated, for example: 'because,' 'although,' 'therefore,' 'meanwhile' and so on.

By Year 6, they need to be able to understand the following terms:

connective

clause

main clause

subordinate clause

simple sentence

compound sentence

complex sentence / multi-clause sentence

They may be tested on these in the KS2 SATs Grammar, punctuation and spelling test at the end of Year 6.

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Clauses are the building blocks of English sentences, groups of words that contain a subject and a verb. To understand clauses, it is a good idea to review the different components that make up a sentence.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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Definition of Object

In grammar, an object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase on which a verb performs an action. It falls at the end of a sentence, and is governed by a verb or a preposition. For example, in the excerpt, "My aunt opened her purse and gave the man a quarter ... It was Valentine's Day and she had baked me a whole box of heart-shaped biscuits" ( The Amnesia, by Sam Taylor), "man" and "me" are indirect objects governed by their respective verbs "gave" and "baked."

Types of Object

There are three types of object:

1. Direct Object
A direct object in a sentence is directly acted upon by a subject such as, "All the actors have played their parts."

2. Indirect Object
An indirect object in a sentence is the recipient of the action performed by the subject such as, "Pauline has passed her mother a parcel."

3. Object of Preposition
The object of preposition is a noun or pronoun managed by a prepositions such as, "The cat gets in their house when they are sleeping."

Examples of Objects in Literature

Example #1: Charlotte's Web (by E.B. White)

"She closed the carton carefully. First she kissed her father, then she kissed her mother. Then she opened the lid again, lifted the pig out, and held it against her cheek."

In this example, "carton" and "lid" are direct objects. "Her father," and her mother" are indirect objects because they are the recipients of actions in these sentences.

Example #2: A Tale of Two Cities (by Charles Dickens)

"All these things, and a thousand like them, came to pass in and close upon the dear old year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Environed by them, while the Woodman and the Farmer worked unheeded, those two of the large jaws, and those other two of the plain and the fair faces, trod with stir enough, and carried their divine rights with a high hand ... With drooping heads and tremulous tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud, floundering and stumbling between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the larger joints."

In this passage, there are three underlined objects: "them," "with high hand," and "through the thick mud." The first one is an indirect object, while the second and third are objects of prepositions.

Example #3: Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen)

"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week... "I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party."

In this excerpt, the first "a young man" is an object of preposition; "house" and "themselves" are direct objects.

Example #4: A Modest Proposal (by Jonathan Swift)

"I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers ... As I have been informed by a principal gentleman in the county of Cavan, who protested to me, that he never knew above one or two instances under the age of six, even in a part of the kingdom so renowned for the quickest proficiency in that art."

In this instance, there are just two objects. Both "all parties" and "principal gentleman" are direct objects, on which an action is performed.

Function of Object

The role of an object is very important in writing as well as speaking. It is a person, a place, or thing, on which the verb performs an action. It completes the meaning of a sentence. Without an object, a sentence does not make sense, in terms of the action it shows. The objective is sometimes a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of preposition. In terms of semantic functions, it shifts the meaning of verb forward to itself, rather than backward to the subject. This makes reading flow well, as most sentences with objects and direct objects are written in active voice.

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In grammar, an object is a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase on which a verb performs an action. It falls at the end of a sentence, and is governed by a verb or a preposition. For example, in the excerpt, "My aunt opened her purse and gave the man a quarter ...

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning. Would be good when delivering a deconstruct lesson.

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Understand the Features of Discussion Texts

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We're your National Curriculum aligned online education content provider helping each child succeed in English, maths and science from year 1 to GCSE. With an EdPlace account you'll be able to track and measure progress, helping each child achieve their best. We build confidence and attainment by personalising each child's learning at a level that suits them.

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ENGLISH: Features of a procedural text.  

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ENGLISH: Features of a procedural text.  

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WHAT IS A PROCEDURAL TEXT?

A procedural text instructs your audience on how to complete a specific task. Generally, this falls into two categories, how to make something and how to do something.

The purpose of a procedural text is to provide sequenced information or directions so that people can successfully perform activities safely, efficiently and appropriately.

In some parts of the world, you may encounter procedural writing called a Process Analysis Essay. This title gives students a greater understanding of their purpose of analyzing a process and writing it up as a simple procedure to be followed by the reader.

Having a good grasp of this type of genre writing has multiple possible real-life applications for our students. Luckily for such an important genre, procedural texts are one of the more accessible genres to teach and successfully produce as a student.

As a straightforward nonfiction genre, procedural texts are often easier to grasp for those students who don't possess a natural affinity for writing than some of the more creative writing genres. In this guide, we will share a series of criteria that will ensure that even struggling students can produce coherent and successful procedural texts with confidence.

TYPES OF PROCEDURAL ESSAY

Directions - How do I get somewhere? Very specific instructions, including location names and titles. Formal language is required, and the addition of a map will make your instructions so much easier to understand.

Instructions - How do I do something? Your language must meet the needs of your audience, and you may need to include a diagram if there are complex elements to complete.

Recipes - How do I cook something? Recipes are universal texts. There is a very clear expectation of the audience, so never stray from the essentials. Ingredients, method and a few visuals are essential.

Rules for games - How do I play this? Be conscious of your audience and write in a style and language they will understand. You are almost guaranteed to require visuals in this style of writing.

Manuals - How do I operate this? Are there any warnings I need to be aware of before proceeding? Be very specific in your explanation.

Agendas - What are we doing? When are we doing it? Who is responsible?

PROCEDURAL AND EXPLANATION TEXTS - WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

An explanation text is similar to a procedural text, which can often be confused. However, an explanation text explains the how and why behind a process, such as

What causes a Tsunami?

Why are our rainforests disappearing?

The process of making aluminium.

A procedure generally instructs the audience on how to make or do something, such as a recipe. Although they have similarities, they are two very distinct writing tasks.

In short, an explanation text is for the THINKER in us as it takes the time to EXPLAIN all the background questions that may arise, whereas a procedure is for the DOER in us, providing a highly efficient set of instructions that exist just to get a PROCESS completed.

STRUCTURE AND FEATURES OF A PROCEDURAL TEXT

LANGUAGE FEATURES OF A PROCEDURAL TEXT

Given the broad range of forms, a procedural text may take, we should not expect that all the structure and features outlined will apply equally to each type of text. However, the following is some valuable general advice for students to bear in mind when they are considering the language registers of their text.

Procedural texts are one of the few writing genres that regularly use the second person pronoun that addresses the reader in a general way.Often too, this 'you' will be implied through the use of imperatives at, or near, the beginning of sentences.

Given the nature of these types of text, the simple present tense is the preferred tense for this type of writing. In this regard, it offers an excellent opportunity to focus on verb work, especially on imperatives. These command words, or bossy words, such as cut, take, and hold, are often used to give orders for readers to follow as they move step by step through the process outlined in the text.

This is a nonfiction genre, which should be reflected in the choice of language. There is little to no place here for flights of imagination or figurative turns of phrase. Students should stick to plain, straightforward sentence structures and word choices. They should include detailed factual descriptions of things that will enhance the reader's understanding; shape, size, color, and the amount should be included where improves understanding.

Sentences should also provide detailed information on how to perform each step in the process outlined. For example, remove carefully rather than simply remove - when care is necessary for satisfactory performance, make sure it is stated explicitly.

Actions should be outlined sequentially, and time connectives can be used to help organize the necessary steps chronologically. For example, the use of adverbial time words, such as: first, second, before, then, and after. Encourage students to focus on answering the questions of where and when of each action they instruct the reader to follow.

HOW TO WRITE A PROCEDURAL TEXT

Now that we have covered the 'why' of procedural texts, it's time to get into the how. Looking at the graphic above, you will see the four pillars of procedural writing to be addressed. Use our free writing template below to help organize your thinking most efficiently and make sure you check out our tutorial video for further clarification if required.

Prewriting Considerations

What is to be done or made? What is the aim or goal? What might your title be?

What is needed to complete this? Materials, ingredients, tools and so on.

In what order should things be done? What are the steps in the process? What is the best way to organize and present them?

What will you add to your written text to help the audience understand better? ( diagrams, illustrations, pictures etc. )

Take a moment to answer these questions, as a little bit of planning will save you a whole lot of confusion and stress when writing your procedural essay.

1. Purpose / Goal / Aim

This component addresses the what of the piece. It will refer to what is to be done or made. Very often, too, this will provide for the title of the text itself. Often this will be stated in the form of a 'how to' sentence or the name of the thing to be made itself. With more technical procedural texts, titles may be more generic and standardized, such as simply Operating Manual or User's Guide or, in its most basic form, Instructions.

To help your students understand the importance of the title and its relationship with the goal of the text, provide them with a set of procedural texts with the titles removed. In groups, have them brainstorm a variety of titles for the text. When they are finished, reveal the original title of the text and compare it with the suggestions made by the group. Soon they will start to see the pattern evolve, which will help them when they come to produce and name their own procedural texts.

2. Materials / Resources

Usually done in the form of a list, this component may also be titled Materials, Equipment, Ingredients, Items Needed etc. and is pretty self-explanatory. This component comprises a list of things required to complete the procedure outlined in the text. For a recipe, this will obviously include things like ingredients but may also include things like the appliances and tools required to follow that recipe to completion. For flat-pack furniture, for example, items like a screwdriver or spanner, the glue will form this section. Science experiment procedural texts will include apparatus such as Bunsen burners, test tubes, litmus paper etc. Regardless of the specific purpose of the text in question, the resources listed in this section will usually be presented in the order they will be used, as far as this is relevant or possible.

3. Steps

This is the heart of the procedural text as it outlines step-by-step the methodology to follow in the procedure itself. Again, the title of this section of the procedural text may vary depending on the specific type of writing it is. Longer user guides and instructional manuals will have a complex and extensive list of steps to follow that will employ subtitles and subsections to explain micro-processes within the wider procedure being described. More straightforward texts, such as recipes, will be much less complex in structure. It is essential to encourage students to think very logically about the process they are attempting to outline in their writing. Too often, students write themselves into corners as they try to describe complicated procedures while struggling with the technical difficulties of constructing grammatically sound sentences. A good rule of thumb for student writers is to use many short and simple sentences when writing about complex ideas. We will talk more about this aspect when we discuss language features in greater detail.

4. Conclusion

The conclusion of a procedural text offers guidance to the reader on how they can evaluate the success of the procedure that has been followed. This may take the form of, for example, a description of the completed meal for a recipe text or a description of the assembled furniture in a flat-pack instruction guide. Depending on the type of text in question, illustrations can often be used to reinforce what a successfully followed procedure will look like.

USE HEADINGS TO KEEP YOUR READERS ON TRACK

THINK LOGICALLY AND ASSUME VERY LITTLE.

The challenge in writing an excellent procedural text is to deliver your instructions logically. Ensure your instructions are straight to the point and that you, as the author understand what you are trying to achieve. You really want to answer three questions to your audience.

What will I need to complete this task?

What do I have to do to complete this task?

How will I know if I completed the task correctly?

Ensure you also clearly understand your audience, as this will have a significant impact on the language you use.

ILLUSTRATIONS: PICTURES PAINT A THOUSAND WORDS

It can often be challenging to describe actions in words - even for accomplished writers. Casting a quick eye over the sports pages of the newspaper will quickly reveal the importance of the visual in relaying information.

You'll find photographs that convey the commitment and sacrifice of the athlete to their sport far better than most of us can convey with our meagre language skills. The old newsman's adage A picture paints a thousand words can be just as accurate for procedural texts. But photographs aren't the only visual means of reinforcing the written word in procedural texts.

Depending on the nature of the text, employ diagrams, schematics, tables, and even cartoons! As with the written text, these images will often be ordered sequentially along with the corresponding text and usually labelled or accompanied by a caption.

HOW TO WRITE A GREAT PROCEDURE VIDEO TUTORIAL (4:30 mins)

TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT PROCEDURAL REPORT

PROCEDURAL TEXT GRAPHIC ORGANIZER TEMPLATE

Procedural text ExampleS (Student Writing Samples)

Below are a collection of student writing samples of procedural texts. Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail. Please take a moment to read the procedures in detail and the teacher and student guides highlighting some of the critical elements of writing a procedure before beginning.

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of procedural text writing.

We would recommend reading the example either a year above or below, as well as the grade you are currently working with, to gain a broader appreciation of this text type.

PROCEDURAL TEXT WRITING PROMPTS

TEACHING IDEAS for PROCEDURAL TEXTS

Be sure to check out our guide to mastering procedural writing in a single week here. And if you are looking for an instant, no prep fantastic teaching resource procedural texts, look no further than this unit on TpT.

One of the things that make procedural texts an accessible writing genre for our students is one of the things that can also make it an uninspiring genre for students to engage in, that is, its factual, straightforward nature. There is a reason why we don't sit up all night reading user manuals! Entertaining the reader is not the priority of a procedural text, and it shows.

So how can we spark the interest of our students strong enough to carry them through the process of producing a completed text? One way is to get creative with the titles of the procedural texts we ask them to produce. For example, if we teach recipe writing, your students may be marginally less than thrilled to be tasked with writing a recipe on 'How to Make Scrambled Eggs'. Why not add a dash of imagination to it? How about 'How to Make the Most Disgusting Sandwich in the World' - now, isn't that a little more interesting? Sure, no one will actually make the end product - who wants a toenail clipping sandwich garnished in boogers anyways? But, the student will still have to organize their text to the same structures outlined above. They will have to consider the same language features and measure the success, or otherwise, of their writing to the same criteria of a more deadpan procedural text topic.

Another way to ensure student engagement in the writing of procedural texts is to set them a topic that appeals to their own interests specifically. It may be a sporting interest - How to Take a Penalty Kick, a musical one - How to Tune a Guitar or an arts and crafts based task - How to Make a Paper Airplane. All that is needed is a topic that interests the student and one that they have competency in.

Even if the student chooses something they do not have competency in, and if it isn't too complicated, they may wish to take the learning opportunity and research something new to write a procedural text about based on what they learn. This can be great for longer-term projects and can also be linked to things they have learned in other subjects at school. Reconstructing their learning in this manner offers a wealth of hidden assessment opportunities for the teacher, providing valuable information to inform future planning and provide data for recording and reporting.

PROCEDURAL TEXT SUCCESS CRITERIA AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Early in this guide, we outlined the four main components of a procedural text, the last of which was the conclusion. The conclusion, we stated, "offers guidance to the reader on how they can evaluate the success of the procedure that has been followed." Likewise, in teaching our students to produce procedural texts, we must offer them a means to assess whether or not they have completed the task successfully themselves. One way they can achieve this is by using a Success Criteria checklist. The features students must include can be listed in a column to the left, and in the right-hand column, students can check if they have the feature or quote an example as evidence from their text. For example:

For students to successfully produce their own pieces of genre writing, they must internalize the features of that writing genre. To do this, they must be exposed to successful and unsuccessful examples of the genre to develop a good critical sense. Peer assessment is a suitable means of achieving this. Have your students exchange their work with each other, and, using a template similar to the example above, they can assess each other's work. This is an excellent method to give your students the practice required to internalize the criteria for successful procedural writing. Varying the number and the complexity of the items on the criteria checklist is a convenient means of catering to different ages and abilities too.

The Proof is in the Pudding

A more practical means of assessing the effectiveness of a procedural text is for students to swap their writing with one another and then carry out the instructions in their classmate's text to the letter. If they can correctly perform the task exclusively in response to these written instructions, then the writing has been, at least on a purely practical level, successful. Of course, this method does not account for many technical elements that the teacher will still need to check for, but it can be a lot of fun and an opportunity for the students to share their knowledge and interests with one another.

If At First, You Don't Succeed...

As I stated in this article, procedural texts are one of the more straightforward writing genres for students to master. That said, however, mastery only comes with focused practice. Though structurally, this genre is relatively easy for students to grasp, there are still a lot of language features to consider and stylistic conventions to adhere to. As well as that, there is considerable variation in the complexity of the various types of procedural texts, from simple recipes all the way to complex user manuals. All this takes considerable practice, so it is essential that students are offered regular opportunities to hone the broad range of skills required to write well. Some of this learning will take place in discrete sessions dedicated to the writing of procedural texts, but many of the skills will be developed while working on general language skills, whether focused on verbs, tenses, punctuation, reading etc., it will be useful to make links to principles in common with the various writing genres as and when they arise.

PROCEDURAL WRITING CHECKLISTS

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO PROCEDURAL TEXTS

The content for this page has been written by Shane Mac Donnchaidh. A former principal of an international school and English university lecturer with 15 years of teaching and administration experience. Shane's latest Book, The Complete Guide to Nonfiction Writing, can be found here. Editing and support for this article have been provided by the literacyideas team.

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How to write excellent Procedural Texts | Literacy Ideas

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A procedural text instructs your audience on how to complete a specific task. Generally, this falls into two categories, how to make something and how to do something. The purpose of a procedural text is to provide sequenced information or directions so that people can successfully perform activities safely, efficiently and appropriately.

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ENGLISH: Features of an explanation text.

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ENGLISH: Features of an explanation text.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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When starting a unit on explanation texts, a teacher will usually give the class a range of explanation texts to read.

They will discuss the above features and highlight them on the text. They may decide which text they prefer and be asked to give reasons for why they think it is better, for example: shorter sentences make it easier to understand, eye-catching pictures, better layout, etc. The point of these exercises it to get children familiar with the kind of language used in explanation texts and also show them how these texts are set out.
The next step may be for children to be given a process to focus on.
Often, a teacher will choose something that is in keeping with the topic being studied that term, or this writing may coincide with a design and technology project or a science experiment. For example: children may be asked to research how William Morris produced his prints, or how a musical instrument is made, or how pollination occurs. It is always helpful if children can have a real-life experience to support their learning, so a school trip to a museum or some kind of outdoor activity ensures that they are more engaged in this task and it is more meaningful to them.

Teachers often ask children to carry out verbal activities before they start writing, so they may ask the children to explain verbally what goes on in the particular process they are focusing on. This could take the form of a pair of children pretending to be television presenters, explaining the process to the whole class.

Children will then be asked to write the first draft of their explanation text, paying attention to the above features. There will then be a process of re-drafting where teachers will either mark the work themselves, adding comments to help improve it, or encourage the children to pair up and provide each other with guidance on how to improve each other's work.

When children come to write up their work in neat, they will also need to concentrate on layout and making their text as eye-catching as possible. They may be given the opportunity to use a computer to print off pictures and words with interesting fonts, or they may produce the whole text using a computer.

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When starting a unit on explanation texts, a teacher will usually give the class a range of explanation texts to read. They will discuss the above features and highlight them on the text. They may decide which text they prefer and be asked to give reasons for why they think it is better, for example: shorter sentences make it easier to understand, eye-catching pictures, better layout, etc.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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Many parents have to search for help when teaching their Year 4 to Year 6 children, and it can be a challenge to find clear information about the curriculum.

Here at Kidadl we have pooled our top resources to help you teach your KS2 children about persuasive writing. It includeskey features of persuasive writing,types of persuasive writing and how to teach this skill in a way that is specific to each year group.

What Is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive texts are non-fiction. They aim to change the opinion of the reader and/or argue that the reader should do something. They can be advertisements, letters, debates, posters and travel brochures.

What Are The Five Elements Of Persuasion?

Source: Is the message from a reliable source? It is important to search for good resources.

Message: What are you trying to say? Facts and emotion convey the message.

Medium: Will this piece be spoken or written?

Public: Who is the audience? The persuasion should be specific to them.

Effect: Has your persuasion worked? Teaching children to reflect about what they have written includes teaching them to think about whether the argument works.

Image © Unsplash

What Are The Features Of Persuasive Writing?

Pieces of persuasive writing can be divided into novice and advanced. Here are some features you can expect to find based on different abilities.

Beginner:

Present tense.

Emotional language.

Rhetorical questions.

Advanced:

Invite disagreement.

Technical language.

Conditional sentences.

How Can You Teach Persuasive Writing?

Whether children are learning in class or at home, it's important to create discussion. Linking topics and resources from other lessons can be very beneficial.

A text about the Olympics could inspire children to write a piece about why people should start doing athletics as a sport, or an advertisement for the Olympics to encourage people to watch it on television.

Or, start a (respectful!) debate, for example, about flavours of ice cream. They can find resources to support their side and persuade you why their flavour is best. This can be done through either writing or speaking.

How Are Features Of Persuasive Texts Usually Taught To Pupils?

Image © Unsplash

Year 3: Teachers provide the resource, usually information text, then teachers explain.

Year 4: They are encouraged to write their own piece with resources provided.

Year 5: Pupils write a letter to persuade you about a topic they are passionate about.

Year 6: A more classical text is their resource and they explore character, setting and more.

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Features Of Persuasive Writing (KS2) Explained by Kidadl

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Many parents have to search for help when teaching their Year 4 to Year 6 children, and it can be a challenge to find clear information about the curriculum. Here at Kidadl we have pooled our top resources to help you teach your KS2 children about persuasive writing.

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ENGLISH: Non fiction text types and their conventions.

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ENGLISH: Non fiction text types and their conventions.

# data[].attributes.body
Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

# data[].attributes.headline
ENGLISH: Features of persuasive writing.

# data[].attributes.subject
ENGLISH: Features of persuasive writing.

# data[].attributes.body
Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many parents have to search for help when teaching their Year 4 to Year 6 children, and it can be a challenge to find clear information about the curriculum.

Here at Kidadl we have pooled our top resources to help you teach your KS2 children about persuasive writing. It includeskey features of persuasive writing,types of persuasive writing and how to teach this skill in a way that is specific to each year group.

What Is Persuasive Writing?

Persuasive texts are non-fiction. They aim to change the opinion of the reader and/or argue that the reader should do something. They can be advertisements, letters, debates, posters and travel brochures.

What Are The Five Elements Of Persuasion?

Source: Is the message from a reliable source? It is important to search for good resources.

Message: What are you trying to say? Facts and emotion convey the message.

Medium: Will this piece be spoken or written?

Public: Who is the audience? The persuasion should be specific to them.

Effect: Has your persuasion worked? Teaching children to reflect about what they have written includes teaching them to think about whether the argument works.

Image © Unsplash

What Are The Features Of Persuasive Writing?

Pieces of persuasive writing can be divided into novice and advanced. Here are some features you can expect to find based on different abilities.

Beginner:

Present tense.

Emotional language.

Rhetorical questions.

Advanced:

Invite disagreement.

Technical language.

Conditional sentences.

How Can You Teach Persuasive Writing?

Whether children are learning in class or at home, it's important to create discussion. Linking topics and resources from other lessons can be very beneficial.

A text about the Olympics could inspire children to write a piece about why people should start doing athletics as a sport, or an advertisement for the Olympics to encourage people to watch it on television.

Or, start a (respectful!) debate, for example, about flavours of ice cream. They can find resources to support their side and persuade you why their flavour is best. This can be done through either writing or speaking.

How Are Features Of Persuasive Texts Usually Taught To Pupils?

Image © Unsplash

Year 3: Teachers provide the resource, usually information text, then teachers explain.

Year 4: They are encouraged to write their own piece with resources provided.

Year 5: Pupils write a letter to persuade you about a topic they are passionate about.

Year 6: A more classical text is their resource and they explore character, setting and more.

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Features Of Persuasive Writing (KS2) Explained by Kidadl

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Many parents have to search for help when teaching their Year 4 to Year 6 children, and it can be a challenge to find clear information about the curriculum. Here at Kidadl we have pooled our top resources to help you teach your KS2 children about persuasive writing.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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What is a recount?

A recount retells an experience or an event that happened in the past. The purpose of a recount can be to inform, entertain or to reflect and evaluate.

A recount can focus on a specific section of an event or retell the entire story. A recount should always be told in the order that things happened.

There are five types of recount to consider.

Personal recount

Retells an activity the writer has been personally involved in and may be used to build the relationship between the writer and the reader e.g. anecdote, diary journal, personal letter. These usually retell an event that the writer was personally involved in.

Factual / Newspaper recount

Reports the particulars of an incident by reconstructing factual information e.g. police reconstruction of an accident, historical recount, biographical and autobiographical recounts. A factual recount is an objective recount of a true event by someone not personally involved in the situation. Its purpose is either to inform, entertain or both.

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How to write an excellent recount - Literacy Ideas

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A recount retells an experience or an event that happened in the past. The purpose of a recount can be to inform, entertain or to reflect and evaluate. A recount can focus on a specific section of an event or retell the entire story. A recount should always be told in the order that things happened.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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Copy and complete these sentences. This time, each sentence with a subordinating conjunction and follow it with a subordinate clause.
Top tip!

Read the main clause first because the rest of your sentence needs to link to it.

You could use some of these subordinating conjunctions.
if, since, as, when, although, while, after, before, until, because

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Copy and complete these sentences. This time, each sentence with a subordinating conjunction and follow it with a subordinate clause. Top tip! Read the main clause first because the rest of your sentence needs to link to it. You could use some of these subordinating conjunctions.

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ENGLISH: The importance of rhyme in early literacy development. 

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ENGLISH: The importance of rhyme in early literacy development. 

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Supports my understanding of working in EYFS, which is somewhere my experience is limited.

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The importance of rhyme in early literacy development and how we can help young children with this at home and in educational settings.

I'm starting a brand new series of educational articles about the development of learning skills and how we can best support young learners through genuine, play-based learning. I hope these will be of interest to parents, child-carers, teachers and home-schoolers of birth to 6 year olds particularly. I hope to be able to answer simple questions and explain concepts clearly and with lots of ideas to inspire you to apply these principles in good practice, too. Please do follow along and let me know anything else you'd like to see covered here. I love hearing back from you in the comments below!

The first articles are to do with some of the basics of literacy development, including storytelling and rhyme, the development of writing and how young children learn to read.

Recent research into the development and acquisition of early literacy skills has conclusively shown that rhythm and rhyme play a hugely important role. This is because children's early literacy skills are about listening and speaking rather than reading and writing. These first two skills are the bedrock foundation for the latter, and create much stronger ability in the latter if ingrained deeply and early on. It's simply not possible to be a good writer if you don't first of all have a good vocabulary. Similarly, it's very hard to learn phonics and sight words if you can't discriminate sounds and rhyming patterns in an audible way.

In days gone by it was second nature for parents to sing rhymes, chants and songs to their babies, dangling them on the knee, bouncing them up and down and inventing actions and silly games to accompany them. But according to this research, many children are no longer hearing these rhymes and songs as often (or if they do, just a very few) and therefore not benefiting in the same way as they once were. During my 10 years of teaching 4-5 year olds, I met many who had never heard or sung a single nursery rhyme/ common childhood song, and even some who had been read to very little (if at all.)

But singing, rhyming and story-telling are oral activities that can be done anytime and any place, in the bath, on a walk, on a car journey, around the dining table. That makes it something easy enough to integrate into our everyday lives, with a little mindfulness, and the benefits are multiple.

What's so great about rhyme? ￼By singing and re-telling familiar rhymes and rhyming stories we teach or children: - auditory discrimination - listening skills - a rich range of language - concentration skills - oral storytelling / poetry skills -phonemic awareness
More specifically they learn:
* to be able to listen for and keep a steady beat

* to learn whole songs and chants off by heart from a very young age

* to be able to retell and sing these independently from a very young age

* to retell stories/ chants without using a book- good oral storytellers become great story writers

* to be able to complete a rhyming sentence or couplet by predicting the word that is missing

* to be able to discriminate rhyming words and identify those that don't rhyme

* to make their own strings of rhymes during word play eg cat/ fat/ mat/ sat/ hat/ bat/ that

* to invent and experiment with making their own "silly" words that rhyme eg clat/ smat/ thrat/ grat/ vlat

They also develop good maths skills at the same time, which makes perfect sense and is very interesting!

The research states that when comparing the literary abilities of school age children, those who had a good understanding of rhyme from an early age, vastly outperformed those who had little exposure to it before they started school. So clearly we want to focus on rhythmic activities as much as we can in the early years and first couple of years at school. [This was something I learned on a development of early literacy course when studying at The Institute of Education- one of the best early years teaching courses in the world!]
How can we instil a love for rhymes?
* Sing and tell rhymes/ chants and songs as part of every day life during normal routines e.g. while getting dressed, eating breakfast, walking to the park, having a bath. The very popular "here we go round the Mulberry Bush" can be applied to everything going on at home and is often sung here! "this is the way we wash our hands....pick up our clothes....eat our food" etc . Start when they're tiny babies and make it fun!

* read anthologies of nursery rhymes and poems, including many that are unfamiliar to you, and add them to the repertoire

*put together a collection of objects that rhyme and find the matching pairs!

￼* read a huge range of books from the library which have rhyming text, encouraging your child to retell these by memory or to finish off the rhyming words before you read them. The importance of rhyming text books cannot be underestimated! Julia Donaldson, Dr Suess, Nick Sharrat, This is the Bear series etc, are all excellent places to start. I think this is one of the most important things that we are not always aware of, and by adding more rhyming texts to our everyday reading, it can make the biggest impact. Here are 5 of our favourites that we couldn't live without! And here is a new post with 50 of the absolute best rhyming books out there!

*make storytelling come alive with simple actions, funny voices and dressing up costumes!

* collect story props and make little storytelling baskets or bags to go with popular rhymes or stories e.g. a cow, a dog and a cat toys along with a dish and a spoon from the kitchen to sing "Hey Diddle Diddle", a little cardboard star to wave as you sing "Twinkle Twinkle" etc

*add play dough to the above story props for an added, sensory dimension!

*use them in a sensory tub for even more tactile fun! This water play with the 5 little ducks was so simple to set up but very engaging and encouraged singing as well as storytelling and counting.

* borrow / buy / make simple puppets for oral retelling of songs and stories without using a book or picture

* buy or borrow CDs and DVDs with familiar nursery rhymes and listen in the car, bath or before bedtime, singing along together. Libraries usually have a great collection of these now. Do actions to go along with the songs and if you don't know any, make them up!

* play fun word games as time fillers such as making strings of rhyming words that all sound like "pig". They think it's hilarious when it gets to a silly, nonsense word!

* clap/ pat/ stamp along to music with a steady beat, tapping out the rhythm of a chant or even a book. While teaching we used to stand up and stamp our feet to stories like, The Gruffalo, reciting it from memory like a strong, warrior chant! Go on an actual bear hunt around the house and garden, quoting the book and emphasising the repetitive refrain! There is strong evidence that feeling the beat and rhythm in your body makes it much easier to learn. They say great musicians were like this from an early age and it makes perfect sense.

*as an extension to the above, use chop-sticks or coconut shells to tap out rhythms in words and songs in music, books and chants. Pop them into a music-making basket to use over and again!

*make a more general storytelling basket so you can create mixed up fairytales, rhymes and chants for fun!

Have fun, keep it light hearted and enjoyable and remember that no time spent reading, singing or story re-telling is EVER wasted. You are investing in your child's future literacy skills and equipping them with the ability to become strong readers and writers in the next few years.

In short: solid rhyming skills will lead to greater auditory discrimination, stronger phonemic awareness and a larger vocabulary, all of which are fundamental building blocks on which the rest of literacy development is built. You simply cannot read and write in an authentic way, with true comprehension and independence, until these basics are well developed. Thankfully, its so much fin and so integral to our everyday lives with small kids!
Here are LOTS of fun ideas to save and try out:
Here are all of our STORY-TELLING PLAY ideas.

Here are all of our RHYMING PLAY ideas.

Here are our and our PHONICS (early reading) ideas!

Follow my LITERACY PLAY pin board for loads more inspiration collated from around the web.
Follow Anna @ The Imagination Tree's board Literacy Play Ideas on Pinterest.
Coming soon: the developmental stages of WRITING. Enter your email in the sidebar to get posts sent directly to you!
All contents are copyright and not to be used in articles, printed or online format without express written permission from the author.
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The importance of rhyme in early literacy development - The Imagination Tree

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The importance of rhyme in early literacy development and how we can help young children with this at home and in educational settings. I'm starting a brand new series of educational articles about the development of learning skills and how we can best support young learners through genuine, play-based learning.

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English: How to diversify your bookshelf.

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English: How to diversify your bookshelf.

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Important for children to be represented in literacy, aim to get children of all backgrounds reading. Supports my understanding of the importance of this.

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Our world is more connected than ever, and it's important that our children's bookshelves act as a window to the diverse world around them. Research has shown that when children see their own worldview reflected in books, they gain self-confidence, and that when they see experiences that differ from their own, they develop curiosity and empathy. (Bishop, 1990).

So, is it time to take stock of your bookshelf? We've included a few tips to help you on your journey to create a diverse bookshelf for your child.

Creating a diverse bookshelf: Top Tips for Parents

Remember that diversity doesn't just mean skin colour

A truly diverse bookshelf should be a window to the world around us - so when we say 'diverse books' we of course are talking about race, but we're also talking about books that depict characters of different ages, genders, ethnicities, abilities and sexual orientation. Books that show people practicing different religions, speaking different languages, coming from varied socio-economic circumstances, or having non-traditional family structures e.g., blended families.

Start by completing a self-audit

It's important to first see where you are, to determine where you need to go. A great way to do this is by completing a book self-audit. Inspired by the process @zaras_play_tribe followed on Instagram, start by pulling out all your children's books and separating them into piles based on the type of content - one pile for human characters, one pile for animal characters, and one pile for other (e.g., alphabet, numbers, shapes, non-human non-fiction).

Go through the human character pile and separate again based on whether you believe the content or characters have some kind of diversity represented.

Finally, go through this pile and again separate out any books that just happen to have a diverse character in them, but who is not the protagonist or who is not really relevant to the book...how many books do you have left?

Actively and consciously seek out diverse books

Although many small publishers are making great strides in their depiction of diversity and inclusion in their children's books, it is still far more difficult to find books incorporating a diverse representation of characters - particularly with regards to the main character. When seeking out a diverse book, ask yourself the following questions:

What or whose view of the world, or what kind of behaviour does this book present as normal?

Does this book have any non-white (human) characters? If so, do they just happen to be in the story somewhere, or does a BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People, and People of Colour) character have a central role or story?

When thinking about the lived experience of my child, is this book a mirror or a window?

Normalise diversity

By presenting diverse characters and concepts in your children's books, you are setting them up to be familiar with, and respectful of, all people. Research has shown that even before a child is old enough to verbalise their understanding of physical differences, there are benefits to exposing them to varied representation of people in books and television, and by incorporating diversity into play.

What else can I do?

Remember that you are constantly role-modelling attitudes and behaviour for your children. What you say (and what you don't say) will inform your child's beliefs from a young age.

Diversity doesn't stop at the bookshelf. Make an active commitment to incorporate toys that celebrate different races, cultures, and abilities.

I hope these tips encourage you to #diversifyyourbookshelf! If you are looking for book recommendations or other fun bookish content, head over to my Instagram account @bookieboobox! Also be sure to check out www.bookieboo.com.au if you're on the hunt to purchase some great books.

xx Karly

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How to Diversify Your Bookshelf - Little Lifelong Learners

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Why is diversity in books important? Our world is more connected than ever, and it's important that our children's bookshelves act as a window to the diverse world around them. Research has shown that when children see their own worldview reflected in books, they gain self-confidence, and that when they see experiences that differ from their own, [...]

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ENGLISH: Figurative language, definitions and types.

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ENGLISH: Figurative language, definitions and types.

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Personal subject knowledge when preparing to deliver. Can be printed out for children's
use. Can support planning.

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Figurative language is to a writer what a paintbrush is to an artist. That is, you can use it to take something simple or flat and transform it into something multidimensional. Figurative language has the ability to be more impactful than literal writing; it can expand readers' interpretations and broaden their imaginings. Learn what figurative language is and get definitions of the different types of figurative language.

teenage girl writing figurative language

What Does Figurative Language Mean?

Figurative language adds color, touch, and feelings to your writing. It takes the reader to a place where they can use all their senses to understand the work. In its most basic definition, figurative language is the use of different literary devices to make writing more impactful or effective.

Take similes and metaphors - two of the most popular forms of figurative language. Similes make comparisons using the words "like" or "as." For example:

Metaphors make more indirect comparisons. For example:

You can see how these examples of figurative language give literal meanings a bit of a boost. Instead of using a simile, we could have just said, "He was fierce." Isn't that boring, though? Now, we have an image of a man dominating the room like a lion on the savannah. The same for our zen man. We could've said, "He was very calm." Instead, we're able to conjure up an image of the serene and wise Buddha. Fun, right? Let's get out our paintbrushes and take a closer look.

Common Types of Figurative Language Definitions

While figurative language is common in literature and poetry as it uses exaggerations or alterations to make a particular linguistic point, it's also used in other forms of writing. Let's explore different variations to see what you'd like to use in your next writing piece.

symbolism - Symbolism occurs when something that has one meaning is used to represent something entirely different. For example, using an image of the American flag to represent patriotism.

The man proudly flew his flag on the 4th of July.

Other Figurative Language Definitions

Let's dig a little deeper. Figurative language may also include unusual constructions or word combinations to provide a new perspective. Here are some examples:

metonymy - Metonymy is a figure of speech where one word is replaced with a word that's closely associated with it. For example, you might hear Washington used to refer to the U.S. government.

The political corruption in Washington is just unreal.

synecdoche - A synecdoche is a figure of speech using a word or words to represent a whole. For example, if you refer to credit cards as "plastic," you're using a synecdoche.

Rather than using cash, she just paid with her plastic.

figurative language infographic
View & Download PDF
Figurative Language Worksheets & Resources

For some, figurative language can be challenging to understand. In some ways, we're dealing with the abstract, so it's important to approach the subject from a few different angles. These additional resources can help you approach figurative language with confidence.

YourDictionary's Figurative Language Examples, Metaphor Examples for Kids and Simile Examples for Kids provide lots of simple examples of these types of figurative language to give children a good grounding in the topic.

Education.com offers lesson plans and worksheets to help language learners practice their newfound form of expression.

KidsKonnect creates interesting worksheets for kids to use either at home or at school.

TLS Books has devised a printable worksheet that challenges students to rewrite sentences, eliminating figurative language and defining the literal meaning.

Read. Write. Think. provides a lesson plan for students in grades 6-8. It uses The Phantom Tollbooth to introduce the concept of figurative language.

PULSE helps high school students understand figurative language using The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot.

Pack a Literary Punch

Figurative language provides endless depth to our writing. There are so many ways to punch our points and invite readers to join us on a literary adventure. When used carefully, figurative language even has a place in professional spheres. It can draw interesting comparisons between two things, promoting consideration for your cause. So, go ahead and dust off your metaphorical paintbrush as you explore personification for kids. Who knows where it will take you!

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Figurative language is to a writer what a paintbrush is to an artist. That is, you can use it to take something simple or flat and transform it into something multidimensional. Figurative language has the ability to be more impactful than literal writing; it can expand readers' interpretations and broaden their imaginings.

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ENGLISH: Benefits of reading with young children.

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ENGLISH: Benefits of reading with young children.

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Don't work with younger children, shows early support of reading. Emphasises importance of reading.

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Reading to kids who are full of energy can sometimes be frustrating. My 2 year old is constantly on the move. I'm always amazed and thrilled when she wants to just sit with me and read a book. But there are plenty of times when a traditional book just can't hold her attention. Thankfully, there are plenty of interactive books available to keep your little ones interested in reading, and there are lots of educational benefits of reading interactive books with your kids!
Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post.
When most people think of reading to kids, they have a set idea in their head about how it looks. They think about curling up in a chair together and reading a story from end to end. Those moments are definitely ones to treasure. Sometimes though, you have two kids on your lap fighting over who gets to turn the page. Or you can't finish a book because your child keeps trying to flip pages, or climb off of your lap. On days like these, it might be worth considering a book that gives your child an active role in the reading process.

A Wide Variety of Interactive Books

There are lots of interactive book styles available. Some books encourage kids to use the illustrations, such as wordless picture books or look & find books like the I Spy series. Lift the flap or pull tab books keep kids engaged by allowing them to activate different parts of the book. Some books include buttons that play a sound or song when activated. There are also interactive stories which "break the fourth wall" and pull kids into the story. These give them some control over the action on the pages. All of these books can be used with a wide range of age and skill levels, making them fun for the whole family.

Benefits of Reading Interactive Books as a Family

Reading interactive books with your kids can provide a lot of educational benefits. One of the greatest things that kids can get from family reading sessions is a positive emotional connection to reading. Starting from the very earliest days, kids who sit and read with their loved ones start to connect reading with love, safety and happiness. The emotional bond that you create through these reading times can happen whether you are reading a book about love or a Where's Waldo? book.

Using Interactive Books to Teach Pre-reading Skills

Introducing interactive books to your read aloud time also helps parents and kids to get used to talking about what they are seeing in the book. Talking to your kids about what you are reading and asking them questions are both great precursors for teaching them to read. Good readers ask questions about what they are reading. Asking questions together gives them a great start on this skill. With a traditional storybook, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out where in the story you want to stop and ask questions. With an interactive book, it is usually easier to find natural places to stop and talk. Ask questions about what kids are seeing on the page. See what they think will happen next. With look and find books, ask them to find other items in the photo than the ones provided in the key.

Lots of baby books have pull tabs or flaps to lift. These books are meant to encourage kids to interact with the story and get them excited for reading. As a parent, these books provide you with an opportunity to work on some pre-reading skills with even your youngest kids. Lift the flap books are a great way to teach kids about making predictions. Before you let your child open the flap, ask them what they think they will find behind it. This guessing game is not only fun, but is an early lesson in making predictions, which is an important skill for many subjects.

Using interactive books to teach kids how to treat their books

Another important lesson that kids learn from reading with adults, is book handling skills. This is especially important with young kids and lift the flap books. We have lots of lift the flap books around our house that no longer include the flaps. Try as you may, these books will almost always suffer some damage from an energetic child who doesn't recognize his or her own strength. Reading these books with your kids allows you to show them how to gently handle their books.

There are so many wonderful benefits to reading interactive stories with your kids. In addition to the entertainment you can get from them, they can make your reading time more productive, create cherished memories, and even help teach your kids to read. Next time everyone is too energized to curl up for reading time, try getting involved with the story instead!

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Benefits of Reading Interactive Books To Your Kids | Babies to Bookworms

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Reading to kids who are full of energy can sometimes be frustrating. My 2 year old is constantly on the move. I'm always amazed and thrilled when she wants to just sit with me and read a book. But there are plenty of times when a traditional book just can't hold her attention.

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Allows understanding of expectation across key stages and supports needs of child working at lower levels in class.

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MATHEMATICS: Information on measurement - needed due to poor subject knowledge.

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MATHEMATICS: Information on measurement - needed due to poor subject knowledge.

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A weakness of mine. Supportive to look back on to support planning or support of a lesson. Information from the website helpful to support children struggling.

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You don't need to be an expert to support your child with maths! Here are three simple but effective ways you can help your child develop their understanding of measurement.

1. Measure everything

There are lots of opportunities to practise measuring at home. Try to measure practically wherever possible. Discuss and identify standard units (like cm, m, kg, g, l, ml) on food packaging, toiletries, or clothes labels.

You could also try using non-standard measures. For example, how many paces long is the kitchen? How many paperclips wide is the book?

Help your child to measure ingredients when you are cooking. Identify the capacity/volume or mass/weight of ingredients, either using scales or less formal methods such as cups. Another great idea is to look at recipes in both metric and imperial units. Older children may be able to convert between them.

For more advice, take a look at our Cooking with kids blog post.

3. Check the time

Look for analogue clocks and digital clocks when out and about. Practise reading times and converting them to 12- or 24-hour times. You could also use timetables to solve problems - for example, finding when the next bus will arrive or how long a train journey will take.

For more advice, take a look at our Learning to tell the time blog post.

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You don't need to be an expert to support your child with maths! Here are three simple but effective ways you can help your child develop their understanding of measurement. There are lots of opportunities to practise measuring at home. Try to measure practically wherever possible.

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MATHEMATICS: Information on the CPA approach. (Concrete, pictorial, abstract).

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MATHEMATICS: Information on the CPA approach. (Concrete, pictorial, abstract).

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This is an approach we use in my setting. Strengthens my ability to use said approach. Supports the children to access the curriculum no matter what level they are at.

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Background to the CPA framework

Children (and adults!) can find maths difficult because it is abstract. The CPA approach builds on children's existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and tangible way. It involves moving from concrete materials, to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols and problems. The CPA framework is so established in Singapore maths teaching that the Ministry of Education will not approve any teaching materials that do not use the approach.

Concrete step of CPA

Concrete is the "doing" stage. During this stage, students use concrete objects to model problems. Unlike traditional maths teaching methods where teachers demonstrate how to solve a problem, the CPA approach brings concepts to life by allowing children to experience and handle physical (concrete) objects. With the CPA framework, every abstract concept is first introduced using physical, interactive concrete materials.

For example, if a problem involves adding pieces of fruit, children can first handle actual fruit. From there, they can progress to handling abstract counters or cubes which represent the fruit.

Pictorial step of CPA

Pictorial is the "seeing" stage. Here, visual representations of concrete objects are used to model problems. This stage encourages children to make a mental connection between the physical object they just handled and the abstract pictures, diagrams or models that represent the objects from the problem.

Building or drawing a model makes it easier for children to grasp difficult abstract concepts (for example, fractions). Simply put, it helps students visualise abstract problems and make them more accessible.

Abstract step of CPA

Abstract is the "symbolic" stage, where children use abstract symbols to model problems. Students will not progress to this stage until they have demonstrated that they have a solid understanding of the concrete and pictorial stages of the problem. The abstract stage involves the teacher introducing abstract concepts (for example, mathematical symbols). Children are introduced to the concept at a symbolic level, using only numbers, notation, and mathematical symbols (for example, +, -, x, /) to indicate addition, multiplication or division.

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CPA Approach Explained | Learn the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract Method

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Everything to get you started with Jerome Bruner's concrete, pictorial, abstract framework. Also referred to as concrete, representational, abstract, this maths mastery strategy progresses students through mathematical concepts in an intuitive way. Here's what CPA is, how to structure a lesson plan, and why it works.