Primary Grammar and Word Study: Book E - Ages 9-10

RB-6244 4.7/309

Primary grammar and word study (Book E) Published by R.I.C. Publications® 2008 Copyright© by R.I.C. Publications® 2008 ISBN 978-1-74126-768-6 RIC–6244

Copyright Notice

Titles available in this series: Primary grammar and word study (Book A) Primary grammar and word study (Book B) Primary grammar and word study (Book C) Primary grammar and word study (Book D) Primary grammar and word study (Book E) Primary grammar and word study (Book F) Primary grammar and word study (Book G)

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Primary grammar and word study – Book E Foreword

Primary grammar and word study is a series of seven books designed to introduce students to parts of speech, ways to understand and choose words, punctuation and figures of speech.

Titles in this series:

Primary grammar and word study Book A (Ages 5– 6) Primary grammar and word study Book B (Ages 6–7) Primary grammar and word study Book C (Ages 7–8) Primary grammar and word study Book D (Ages 8–9) Primary grammar and word study Book E (Ages 9 –10) Primary grammar and word study Book F (Ages 10–11) Primary grammar and word study Book G (Ages 11–12)

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• • • • • • •

Contents

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Punctuation .................................................. 58–71

Parts of speech .............................................. 2–33

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Nouns............................................................... 2–5 Verbs............................................................... 6–11 Adjectives.................................................... 12–17 Adverbs......................................................... 18–21 Pronouns....................................................... 22–25 Conjunctions................................................. 26–27 Determiners.................................................. 28–31 Prepositions................................................. 32–33

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Full stops, question marks and exclamation marks........................................ 58–59

Capital letters................................................ 60–61 Commas........................................................ 62–65 Apostrophes.................................................. 66–69

Quotation marks............................................ 70–71

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Understanding and choosing words ........... 34–57

Words that are similar................................34–41 Homographs.......................................... 34–35 Homophones......................................... 36–37

Word groups.......................................... 38–41

Words that change......................................42–49 Plurals................................................... 46–45 Prefixes................................................. 46–47 Suffixes................................................. 48–49

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Words and their meanings.........................50–53 Synonyms and antonyms...................... 50–51 Word origins.......................................... 52–53 Confused words..........................................54–57

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Teachers notes............................................... iv – v

Curriculum links.................................................... v

Literacy character explanation ...................... vi – vii Checklists.................................................... viii – xi

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Figures of speech ......................................... 72–83

Alliteration..................................................... 72–73

Anagrams and palindromes........................... 74–75 Idioms........................................................... 76–77 Similes.......................................................... 78–79 Metaphors..................................................... 80–81 Personification............................................... 82–83

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Primary grammar and word study

Teachers notes The Macquarie dictionary defines: • grammar as ‘the features of a language (sounds, words, formation and arrangement of words, etc.) considered systematically as a whole, in particular referring to their mutual contrasts and relations’ and • words as ‘the sounds or combination of sounds, or its written or printed representation, used in any language as the sign of a concept’.

Learning about grammar and studying words helps students to better comprehend and use language when they are reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing. Students can use the ‘rules’ or features of grammar to make their own writing and speaking understood by others and to understand the writing and speaking of others.

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One major reference used during the writing of this series was the work of Professor George Stern who was a member of the Systemic Functional Grammar Association, the Australian Linguistics Society and PEN International.

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Functional grammarians consider the way in which words are used within the context of a sentence; that is, they are more concerned with their FUNCTION in a particular context. In traditional grammar, the focus was more on defining the different parts of speech.

The book has been organised into four main sections covering a variety of aspects of grammar and word study: • Parts of speech

• Understanding and choosing words

• Punctuation

Groups of two pages within each section follow a similar format.

Each student page is accompanied by a corresponding teachers page.

• Figures of speech

R.I.C. Publications® follows guidelines for punctuation and grammar as recommended by the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, sixth edition, 2002.

Note, however, that teachers should use their preferred guidelines if there is a conflict.

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C.Publ i cat i ons Teachers notes pages •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• The focus of each corresponding student page is given.

The title of each section is given.

Parts of speech

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A definition of each focus is given. For younger students, the definitions may be written in a more ‘child-friendly’ manner on the student page. For older students, the definition will be the same as that on the teachers page.

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One or two examples of the focus are also given.

An explanation is given of the focus. This may also include the purpose for learning about the focus.

the unit. So while a collective noun refers to a number of things, it often specifically refers to the single group and so is usually (but not always) singular.

Example: ‘The pack of wolves was running’ not ‘The pack of wolves were running’) • Some words used as nouns can also be verbs or adjectives, depending on the context in which they are used.

Example: ‘John decided to ring (verb) the shop about Suzie’s damaged ring (noun).’

Focus Common, collective and proper nouns

Definitions • Nouns are words used to name people, places, things, feelings or ideas.

• Common nouns name general, rather than particular, people, places and things.

The words in bold in the following sentence are nouns (in this context); Example: The woman reading a book in the park had sunglasses on to protect her eyes from the bright sunlight.

• Proper nouns are used to name specific people, places or things. They begin with capital letters.

Example: Susie Miles sat in Albert Park, wearing her new sunglasses and reading the latest book by Mike Smith.

• Collective nouns are used to name groups of objects, people, animals, inanimate things, or concepts.

Example: family, herd, flock, group, team, class

A literacy character for each focus provides a visual representation and corresponds to the one on the student page.

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Nouns

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• Give each student a copy of the worksheet and discuss common, proper and collective nouns.

Teachers can choose either to explain the worksheet to the students and allow them to complete it on their own, or read through the text first then allow students to reread individually, filling in the spaces.

• After completing the cloze, students write two other collective nouns. They then, on the back of the worksheet (or on a separate sheet of paper if preferred), write a follow-up report using common and proper nouns they identified in the story.

Ideas for further practice

Explanation

• Students can do an online sort of collective nouns (focus on animal groups) at <http://www.crickweb. co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=collective%20 nouns> • Play games where the teacher calls out an animal or object, students try to guess what the collective nouns for a group of those items or animals is.

• The word ‘noun’ comes from the Latin ‘nomen’, which means ‘name’. Nouns are often called ‘naming words’.

• Proper nouns are capitalised. Common and collective nouns are not capitalised unless they begin a sentence or start a title. Some nouns that would appear to need capitalisation, such as the names of seasons (winter, spring, autumn, summer) are no longer capitalised because, through long usage, they have come to be considered common nouns. Cardinal directions, (north, south, east, and west) words for relatives (mum, uncle)—unless used as part of the name, such as Uncle Fred, and names of subject areas (maths, science) are also no longer considered proper nouns.

• Names of games are common nouns; e.g. football • Trade names are capitalised.

• Each collective noun is a single thing made up of more than one person or thing. A committee, team, or family requires at least two people to compose

Answers 1. chain, colony, mob, herd, choir, crowd, panel 2. (a) school, shoal

Ideas for further practice to support or extend the student activity on the worksheet are supplied.

Where possible, the activities will include other key learning areas or other areas of English, such as speaking and listening.

(b) flock, drove, herd, mob

3. Common nouns: pandemonium, morning, zoo, ants, kangaroos, enclosure, walls, stampede, gate, animals, tents, concert, school, directions, director, week Proper nouns: Mr Stan Chuggins, City Zoo, Jemma Win, Channel Eight News Collective nouns: herd, furniture, cutlery, crowd, police 4. Teacher check

Any necessary information about how to use the worksheet with the students is also provided.

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Answers are provided for student pages where necessary. iv

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Teachers notes Student activity pages The focus of each student page is given. For younger students, the focus may be written in a more ‘childfriendly’ manner.

Nouns Nouns are words used to name people, places and things.

Different kinds of nouns can be used to give information.

Example: Jake and Mia went to the oval to watch the football team train.

A common noun is the name for general people, places and things; e.g. oval.

A collective noun is the name of a group of people, places or things; e.g. team.

1. Read the news report. Write the collective nouns in the correct space.

A definition of the focus is given which may be written in a more ‘childfriendly’ manner for younger students. For older students, the definition will be the same as that on the teachers page.

mob

choir

herd

‘A bizarre

panel

chain

colony

crowd

of events led to pandemonium this morning at the zoo. It seems

of ants swarmed over the kangaroos in their enclosure. Two of the

a

somehow jumped over the walls into a herd of zebras. The whole

agitated

of zebras panicked and, in the stampede that followed, charged though a

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A literacy character for each focus provides a visual representation.

Further information about the literacy characters can be found on pages vi and vii.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Proper nouns give us the specific names of people, places and things; e.g. Jake, Mia.

gate. Together, the freed animals bolted straight into the tents set up for the concert by the local , sending furniture, food and cutlery flying.

school

Interesting activities expect the students to use and practise the focus or to create examples of his/her own.

that had gathered to see the concert scattered in all directions.

The

By the time the police arrived, the animals had been recaptured and Mr Stan Chuggins, the director of City Zoo, was attempting to calm the frightened crowd. Luckily, no-one was injured. of experts will meet next week to discuss what needs to be done to prevent

A this happening again.

Clear, concise instructions for completing the student activities are supplied.

This is Jemma Win reporting for Channel Eight News.’

2. Write a suitable collective noun for these animals. (b) sheep

(a) fish

3. Underline 10 common nouns, circle 4 proper nouns and highlight 3 collective nouns in the report.

Activities on the student page require the students to identify the focus in context to see how and why it is used.

The focus is used in context in an appropriate text. A variety of different texts have been used on student pages.

4. Write a follow-up news story on the back of this sheet using nouns from the report, adding some of your own. Present this news report to the class.

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Primary grammar and word study

Note:

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The student page activities give only a brief introduction to some of the concepts of grammar and word study included in this series of books. It is expected that teachers will use other resources and provide other activities to consolidate and extend students’ understanding of these concepts and to introduce other age-appropriate grammar and word study concepts.

NSW RS2.5 RS2.6 RS 2.7 RS2.8 WS2.9 WS2.10 WS2.11 WS2.13 WS2.14 R.I.C. Publications®

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Refer to curriculum documents on <http:// www.qsa.qld.edu.au>

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SA

3.3 3.4 3.7 3.8 3.11 3.12

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Level 4

R 3.1 R 3.2 R 3.3 R 3.4 W 3.1 W 3.2 W 3.3 W 3.4

Primary grammar and word study

Teachers notes Literacy characters appear on each student page throughout the series. The ‘fun’ characters provide a representation which is easily recognisable for visual-spatial learners and teachers to facilitate learning and teaching. Teachers may use the characters to select appropriate student pages throughout the different books in the series for individual student learning.

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Parts of speech

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Understanding and choosing words

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Teachers notes Literacy characters appear on each student page throughout the series. The ‘fun’ characters provide a representation which is easily recognisable for visual-spatial learners and teachers to facilitate learning and teaching. Teachers may use the characters to select appropriate student pages throughout the different books in the series for individual student learning.

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Punctuation

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech checklist Nouns

Verbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Pronouns

Conjunctions Determiners Prepositions

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Name of student

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Understanding and choosing words checklist Homographs

Homophones

Word groups

Plurals

Prefixes

Suffixes

Synonyms/ Antonyms

Word origins

Confused words

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Name of student

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation checklist Full stops

Question marks

Exclamation marks

Capital letters

Commas

Apostrophes

Quotation marks

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Name of student

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Figures of speech checklist Alliteration

Anagrams/ Palindromes

Idiom

Metaphors

Similes

Personification

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Name of student

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Nouns

the unit. So while a collective noun refers to a number of things, it often specifically refers to the single group and so is usually (but not always) singular.

Example: ‘The pack of wolves was running’ not ‘The pack of wolves were running’) • Some words used as nouns can also be verbs or adjectives, depending on the context in which they are used.

Example: ‘John decided to ring (verb) the shop about Suzie’s damaged ring (noun).’

Focus Common, collective and proper nouns

Definitions

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• Nouns are words used to name people, places, things, feelings or ideas.

• Common nouns name general, rather than particular, people, places and things.

The words in bold in the following sentence are nouns (in this context); Example: The woman reading a book in the park had sunglasses on to protect her eyes from the bright sunlight.

• Proper nouns are used to name specific people, places or things. They begin with capital letters.

Example: Susie Miles sat in Albert Park, wearing her new sunglasses and reading the latest book by Mike Smith.

• Collective nouns are used to name groups of objects, people, animals, inanimate things, or concepts.

Example: family, herd, flock, group, team, class

Worksheet information

• Give each student a copy of the worksheet and discuss common, proper and collective nouns.

Teachers can choose either to explain the worksheet to the students and allow them to complete it on their own, or read through the text first then allow students to reread individually, filling in the spaces.

• After completing the cloze, students write two other collective nouns. They then, on the back of the worksheet (or on a separate sheet of paper if preferred), write a follow-up report using common and proper nouns they identified in the story.

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Ideas for further practice

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Explanation

• Students can do an online sort of collective nouns (focus on animal groups) at <http://www.crickweb. co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=collective%20 nouns>.

• Play games where the teacher calls out an animal or object, students try to guess what the collective nouns for a group of those items or animals is.

• The word ‘noun’ comes from the Latin ‘nomen’, which means ‘name’. Nouns are often called ‘naming words’.

• Proper nouns are capitalised. Common and collective nouns are not capitalised unless they begin a sentence or start a title. Some nouns that would appear to need capitalisation, such as the names of seasons (winter, spring, autumn, summer) are no longer capitalised because, through long usage, they have come to be considered common nouns. Cardinal directions, (north, south, east, and west) words for relatives (mum, uncle)—unless used as part of the name, such as Uncle Fred, and names of subject areas (maths, science) are also no longer considered proper nouns.

• Names of games are common nouns; e.g. football.

• Trade names are capitalised.

• Each collective noun is a single thing made up of more than one person or thing. A committee, team, or family requires at least two people to compose

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1. chain, colony, mob, herd, choir, crowd, panel

2. (a) school, shoal

3. Common nouns: pandemonium, morning, zoo, ants, kangaroos, enclosure, walls, stampede, gate, animals, tents, concert, school, directions, director, week

Proper nouns: Mr Stan Chuggins, City Zoo, Jemma Win, Channel Eight News

Collective nouns: herd, furniture, cutlery, crowd, police

Primary grammar and word study

(b) flock, drove, herd, mob

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Nouns Nouns are words used to name people, places and things.

Different kinds of nouns can be used to give information.

Example: Jake and Mia went to the oval to watch the football team train.

Proper nouns give us the specific names of people, places and things; e.g. Jake, Mia.

A common noun is the name for general people, places and things; e.g. oval.

A collective noun is the name of a group of people, places or things; e.g. team.

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1. Read the news report. Write the collective nouns in the correct space.

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‘A bizarre

a

agitated

school

The

of events led to pandemonium this morning at the zoo. It seems of ants swarmed over the kangaroos in their enclosure. Two of the somehow jumped over the walls into a herd of zebras. The whole

, sending furniture, food and cutlery flying. that had gathered to see the concert scattered in all directions.

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chain

colony

crowd

panel

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C .Pu i c at i o n s charged though a of zebras panicked and,b in l the stampede that followed, gate. Together, bolted p straight into tents forn thel concert •f otherfreed r eanimals vi ew ur pthe os esetsupo y •by the local

herd

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mob

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choir

By the time the police arrived, the animals had been recaptured and Mr Stan Chuggins, the director of City Zoo, was attempting to calm the frightened crowd. Luckily, no-one was injured.

of experts will meet next week to discuss what needs to be done to prevent . t o this happeninge again. c . c e hforr r This is Jemma Win reportinge Channel Eight News.’ t o s super A

2. Write a suitable collective noun for these animals.

(a) fish

(b) sheep

3. Underline 10 common nouns, circle 4 proper nouns and highlight 3 collective nouns in the report.

4. Write a follow-up news story on the back of this sheet using nouns from the report, adding some of your own. Present this news report to the class.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Nouns

Focus

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Worksheet information

Gender, neuter and common nouns

Definitions

• Read part of a newspaper or magazine article about a royal family to the students, making sure words such as ‘prince’, ‘queen’ or ‘duke’ are mentioned.

Ask if, for example, the prince is a boy or girl. How do we know? Students may suggest that if it was a girl she would be called a princess. Use this to introduce masculine and feminine nouns. Ask students to suggest other words they know that refer to males or females specifically. Ask ‘What about a teacher? How do we know if a teacher we read about is male or female?’ Use this to discuss common nouns; those that refer to both males and females. Similarly, introduce neuter nouns.

• Read the explanation and newspaper article with the students. Discuss the feminine nouns and how they specifically refer to female jobs, animals, relatives and roles. Also discuss some of the feelings that the people involved in the story may have experienced (such as fear, fright, gratitude, happiness). Students then rewrite the article, substituting the feminine nouns for common or masculine nouns. They will also need to change some possessive determiners; e.g. ‘her’. They complete the rest of the sheet by classifying each noun according to its gender.

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• Nouns are words used to name people, places, things, feelings or ideas.

• Masculine nouns are nouns used to describe something male as opposed to feminine or neuter.

Example: prince, husband, gentleman, boy, stag, gander, ram and uncle • Feminine nouns are nouns used to describe something female, as opposed to masculine or neuter.

Example: lady, aunt, wife, girl, queen, ewe and cow • Common nouns can be used for both males and females.

Example: cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, cook, student, parent, friend, relation, leader • Neuter nouns name things without animal life (inanimate objects), which are neither male nor female.

Example: box, book, chair, joy, broom, table

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Explanation

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Ideas for further practice

• Students could act out a follow up article in small groups; For example: The hero being awarded a medal for bravery.

• Students could create common nouns to replace the separate masculine and feminine nouns; e.g. invent a common noun for both a king and queen, an aunt and uncle.

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• In language, gender is the classification of nouns according to sex. There are four genders in English; feminine (representing females), masculine (representing males), common (for use with either males or females) and neuter (for inanimate objects).

• Unlike most European languages, where the majority of nouns are either masculine or feminine, in English most nouns are either neuter or common. Many gender nouns for people that were traditionally masculine or feminine are now replaced by common nouns, such as ‘flight attendant’ instead of ‘air hostess’, ‘firefighter’ instead of ‘fireman’. Many abstract nouns are neuter.

• With animals, there is usually one common term (such as sheep, horse or pig) for the type of animal and separate names for the male (e.g. ram, stallion, hog) and the female (e.g. ewe, mare, sow).

Primary grammar and word study

Answers

4

1. (a) Answers will vary; teacher check

(b) Six of the following: night, play, role, production, audience, cable, props, company, bravery.

2. bull: M, aunt: F, manager: C, bride: F, duke: M, giant: M, child: C, happiness: N, parent: C, bike: N.

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Nouns with a gender Some nouns name male or female people and animals. These are called gender nouns. The nouns for males are called masculine nouns (e.g. son, king), and those for females are called feminine nouns (e.g. girl, aunt).

Some nouns can be used to name both males and females. These are called common gender nouns (e.g. baby, teacher, cousin, doctor, student, astronaut).

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Local dubbed ‘The Heroine of Harvey.

The nouns that name things that are neither male nor female are called neuter nouns (e.g. chair, pen, sad).

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In the following article, the feminine nouns are in bold.

As the audience watched last night, the cable lifting Kiara Pord, playing the flying Witch of WA, snapped. Chloe quickly pushed some stage props, two fluffy ewes, under the falling mother of four, cushioning her fall. The theatre company praised Chloe’s bravery, calling her ‘The Heroine of Harvey!’

Chloe Repus, a waitress and the niece of a local landlady, came to the rescue at the opening night of the play, ‘The Witches of WA’. Chloe moved to Harvey three years ago with her two young daughters.

The budding actress played the role of the Fairy Queen in the local production.

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•There are 1. (a) Rewrite ther article, changing the feminine to masculine common some other words you will also need to change.

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(b) Circle six neuter nouns in the text.

2. In the box provided next to those words, write N for neuter, C for common, M for masculine or F for Feminine.

bull

aunt

manager

bride

duke

giant

child

happiness

parent

bike

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Verbs

Focus

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• The verbs ‘was’ and ‘were’ are commonly confused.

The verbs ‘was’ is used when talking about one person or thing (singular) and the verb ‘were’ is usually plural and is used for more than one person or thing.

Note: The second person singular always uses the plural form of the verb.

Example: You were a lucky boy.

Finite verbs, the verbs ‘to be’ and ‘to have’

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Definition

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• Verbs are words which show actions or states of being or having.

Example: The salty breeze filled the sails of the yacht floating on the waves. (action) My brother is the type of person who worries about everything. (being) Our beagle has really sharp teeth which it uses to eat everything. (having)

Ideas for further practice

• As a class, write a list of interesting verbs to be used in writing activities. These may be a list of verbs to replace commonly used words such as ‘said’ and ‘went’ or verbs which give better descriptions of an action, such as ‘campaigned’, ‘meandered’ and ‘grovelled’ etc.

• Write poems such as pattern poems or syllable poems using verbs instead of adjectives to describe what people and things do.

• Play charades using verbs written on cards and ask the class audience to guess the verb.

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• Verbs must have someone or something ‘doing’ the action. This is the subject of the sentence.

In the examples above, the actions are done by ‘The salty breeze’, ‘ My brother’ and ‘Our beagle’.

• Every sentence must contain a verb.

• Some verbs have more than one part.

Example: ‘is harmless’, ‘was looking’ and ‘will nestle’.

• Verbs can be finite or non-finite. Finite verbs change in form to match their subject or to indicate tense.

Example: go ➞ goes ➞ went.

Non-finite verbs do not change. They include: present participles e.g. parking past participles e.g. parked infinitives e.g. to park

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Answers

1. (a) Teacher check

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Explanation

(b) (i) are/is (ii) is/surrounds (iii) pounded (iv) is waiting/to see/will nestle

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2. Teacher check

3. (a) were (b) was (c) were (d) were

Worksheet information • Discuss any unfamiliar words with the students, then allow them to read the text independently.

• Explain the definition of a verb and the words which indicate ‘being’ or ‘having’. The students complete Questions 1 and 2 independently.

Primary grammar and word study

6

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Verbs A verb is a word which shows actions, or states of being or having.

1. (a) Read the poem below then underline all the verbs.

In a grave so wet and dark, a ship is waiting still Pounded by cold and constant currents — just another enemy kill.

Sailors stay forever young in their watery tomb below

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Never to see a sunny sky or feel salty breezes blow.

Mystery surrounds the loss of another wartime vessel.

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Headstones are bare. No flowers among the grass will nestle.

(b) Write one word from the poem for each.

(i) a verb of ‘being’

(ii) a verb ending with ‘s’

(iii) a verb ending with ‘ed’

(iv) a verb with two parts

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C.Publ i cat i ons (a) The torpedo theu warship ands there waso little hope of • • f orr evi ew p r po es n l y

2. Complete each sentence by adding verbs of your own.

(b) The sailors tried to

the ship by

lifeboats.

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the vessel. the

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(c) No graves were

for the lost sailors as there were no survivors

. . tand friends of all the dead sailors

(d) The familye for them but will o c . always che them as young men and women. e r o t r s s‘have’. r pe Verbs of having include ‘had’, ‘has’ andu Verb of being include ‘are’, ‘is’, ‘were’,

to

‘was’ and ‘am’.

3. Write the correct verb of ‘being’.

(a) We

late for school today because of the rain. (was/were)

(b) He

well behaved for Grandma. (was/were)

(c) Keziah forgot that we

(d) You R.I.C. Publications®

going to a party. (was/were) my best friend. (was/were)

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Verbs

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Command verbs (imperatives)

Command verbs are used to order, command or instruct.

Example: Button up your jacket because its cold outside.

Set the table please but use the clean placemats.

Finish doing your homework, then you can watch television!

Answers

Explanation

1. (a) Teacher check

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Definition

• Ask students to select a piece of favourite music and write instructions for a simple dance routine or actions using command verbs.

• Using a book from the class or school library, students find the page with the most command verbs.

• Play games with the students which involve commands or orders. Some suggestions include ‘Simon says’ or ‘Red rover cross over!’

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• Verbs can describe actions (‘doing’ words) and must have someone or something ‘doing’ the action.

• Command verbs are commonly used when writing procedures and are often the first word in the sentence.

• Command verbs do not have a stated subject (anyone or anything doing the action). It is understood that the person doing the action is ‘you’.

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2. Teacher check. Suggestions include: (a) set, tidy/clean (b) Wiggle, clap

(c) Draw/Sketch, highlight/create.

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Worksheet information • This procedure contains command verbs which are within sentences as well as at the beginning of sentences.

• It is not expected that students will actually cook the recipe given.

• Allow the students to read the procedure independently, offering assistance if required.

• Read the definition together and discuss. Give examples of other command verbs and ask students to offer suggestions. Students may like to repeat commands or orders they are given by their parents at home.

• When finding command verbs to write in the box for Question 1, students need to be aware that some are not at the beginning of the sentences.

• Students can write their own suggestions for command verbs to complete Question 2, although some suggestions have been offered in the answers.

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Primary grammar and word study

(b) Collect, Preheat, Spray (3), Place (2) Fold, Cut, Repeat, Cook, Combine, Season, Spoon, Top, serve

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Command verbs 1. (a) Read the recipe.

FETTA AND SPINACH FILO CASES • 8 sheets of filo pastry • cooking spray • drinking glass or round cookie cutter • 250 g frozen spinach, thawed and

drained 1 • /2 cup (120 g) light sour cream • 100 g fetta, crumbled • 2 green onions/shallots, thinly sliced • 1 crushed garlic clove • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 3 drops Tabasco® sauce • sprigs of dill

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Collect ingredients and equipment.

Preheat oven to 200 ºC or 180 ºC (fan-forced oven).

Spray four 12-hole mini muffin pans lightly with cooking spray.

Spray one sheet of filo pastry lightly with cooking spray.

Place another sheet on top. Fold in half. Spray again.

Cut into 6.5 cm rounds using glass or cookie cutter.

Place rounds carefully into muffin pans. Repeat with remaining pastry.

Cook for 5 minutes until brown and crisp.

Combine remaining ingredients, except dill, in a bowl. Season to taste. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour. Spoon mixture into pastry cases.

Top with dill and serve.

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(b) Find 17 command verbs in the recipe and write them in the box.

Write the number of times each occurs if it is repeated.

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Command verbs are verbs used to order, command or give instructions.

They are commonly used at the beginning of sentences in a procedure.

o c . che e r o t r s sup er 2. Complete each sentence using command verbs.

(a) Please

(b) Step, two, three, four!

the table and then you can

your room until tea’s ready.

your hands.

(c)

your hips and

a simple outline in the middle and then use charcoal to

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light and dark sections to give depth.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Verbs

Focus

Worksheet information

Past, present and future tense (including irregular) verbs; auxiliary verbs

Definitions

• Read the explanation with the students and discuss. Give some examples if necessary. Revise verbs and ensure that students realise that some verbs have two or more parts. The students can then complete Question 1. Check the answers before proceeding to ensure that students understand the different tenses.

• Students will need three different coloured pencils—one to circle each verb tense to complete Question 2. Read the text with the students and emphasise the verbs, especially those which have two, three or four parts and also ‘That’s’ which is really ‘That is’ and contains the present tense verb ‘is’.

• Question 3 is an exercise to highlight how many verbs are irregular. They do not need small words to help them change tense or the addition of -s, -es or -ed.

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• Verb tense shows whether the action of the verb occurs in the present, the past or the future.

• Auxiliary verbs are small verbs, often a form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have’, that combine with another verb to form a compound verb.

Example: They are looking around because they will need a place to stay.

Explanation

• There are three basic verb tenses—present, past and future. These tenses are often formed using an auxiliary or helping verb such as, ‘is’, ‘can’, ‘had’ and ‘will’.

Example: Sam’s dad now sells insurance and he is enjoying his job very much. (present tense) The seed pushed its tiny shoots through the soil because we had watered it every day. (past tense) We will be working in groups on a new homework assignment soon. (future tense) • Many verbs in the past tense end in ed. Many present tense verbs end in s or es.

• In the sentences above, is, had and will are auxiliary verbs, with is used as part of a present tense verb, had used as part of the past tense and will and be forming part of a future tense verb.

• Most verb tense forms are regular (they have -ed, -es or add auxiliary verbs such as ‘is’ and ‘will’ to make the correct tense) but many are irregular.

Example: ‘Jamal can usually deal (present tense) cards well but yesterday he dealt the cards (past tense) in a very clumsy way.’

Other irregular verbs include be/was/were; begin/began; do/did; grow/grew; get/got; drink/drank; choose/chose and make/made.

A more detailed list can be found by searching the Internet.

Ideas for further practice

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Primary grammar and word study

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• Ask the students to rewrite the text using only simple verbs to replace those with more than one part, if possible (for example, ‘will have to do’) and read the text to see how it sounds.

• Create a series of tongue twisters by trying to quickly say past, present and future tenses of the same regular or irregular verb.

Example: drove, drive, will drive; chose, choose, will choose; fall, fell, will fall; swam, swim, will swim; patted, pats, will pat etc.

• Hold a competition to see who can find or write the verb with the most parts.

o c . che e r o t r s super Answers

1. (a) present (b) future (c) past (d) present (e) present (f) future (g) past (h) past

2. Present tense – do, is, are doing, are, are saving, is, work, want, is taking, am finishing Past tense – arrived, were excited, was interested, have finished Future tense – will work, will be, will have to do, will look, will post

3. Answers will include: (a) dealt,have/had dealt (b) stole, had/have stolen (c) become/becomes, is/are becoming (d) understand/understands, is/are understanding

(e) froze, have/had frozen (f) hid, had/have hidden (g) sleep/sleeps, is/are sleeping (h) write/writes, is/are writing 10

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Verb tense Verb tense can tell about what happened in the past, what is happening in the present or what will happen in the future.

Many verbs have more than one part; for example, words such as are, is and will can be used to complete the verb.

1. Write the words ‘past’, ‘present’ or ‘future’ to show the tense of each verb.

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(a) are playing

(b) will be visiting

(c) finished

(d) whistles

(e) is singing

will come

(h) hopped

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(g) ran

(f)

2. Read the text below. All the verbs are in bold. Some have more than one part. Choose three different coloured pencils to circle the present, past and future tense verbs.

Dear Mark,

After a long tiring trip, we arrived at the conservation park. We were excited about seeing all the animals and I was interested in the work the zoologists do with endangered native species.

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The park is small, even though they are doing an important job there. And the animals are really cute! We heard about the breeding program and how the efforts of different groups are saving the animals’ native habitat.

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I definitely will work with animals when I have finished school. Maybe I will be a vet or a zoologist. Unfortunately, I will have to do lots of study for that kind of job. That’s okay! Sometimes you must work hard for what you want.

Today, Mum is taking us to the shops. B-o-r-i-n-g! Still, I will look for some cool stuff with animals on it!

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o c . che e r o t r s 3. Write the missing tense of each irregular verb.e sup r I am finishing this letter and we will post it in town.

Present (a)

Past

Present

deal

(b)

(c)

became

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(f) slept

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(h) 11

Past

steal

(d)

(e) freeze

Be careful!

Irregular verbs don’t change tense like other verbs!

understood hide wrote Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Adjectives

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Common adjectives

• An adjective is a describing word. It adds meaning to or changes the meaning of a noun or a pronoun.

Example: I’m wearing leather shoes. (describes the noun, ‘shoes’) That shark is dangerous. (describes the noun, ‘shark’) Note: The adjective does not always come before the noun.

He is helpful. (describes the pronoun, ‘he’)

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Definition

• In pairs, students write a sentence that includes three nouns, leaving a space for each adjective.

On a separate sheet of paper, they write what they consider could be the answers. They give their sentences to another pair and record that pair’s answers on their sheet. Continue with other pairs and then discuss results.

• Identify the adjectives used to describe characters in books. Some of these adjectives may be found in a phrase and not necessarily in front of a noun.

They may also be describing a pronoun. (Refer to the Definition above.)

Answers

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Explanation

1. The words, chocolate, dark, runny and delicious should be underlined.

The use of suitable adjectives not only makes written or spoken language more interesting, it gives the reader or listener a clearer understanding.

3. Teacher check. Answers include: (a) hungry, long, dry (b) warm, cottage, delightful (c) narrow, winding, steep (d) elastic, dangerous, sensitive (e) juicy, large, orange, clean, white

Worksheet information

Primary grammar and word study

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• Discuss adjectives and their purpose with the students.

Use the pattern poem in Activity 1 to help students to identify how several adjectives can describe the same noun. Students then create their own pattern poem in Activity 2. Their noun could be an animal, vehicle, place, mythical character etc. This activity could be done in pairs. Share completed poems.

• In Activity 3, students are required to carefully consider the most appropriate adjective to complete the sentences. They could lightly pencil in some choices before making a final decision. An adjective may first appear to be a suitable one to choose, but students may find by reading the next sentence that it is more suitable in this place.

Example: ‘dangerous’ may seem to be a good choice to use in front of ‘lioness’ in 3 (a), but it is probably better in front of ‘object’ in 3 (d).

Students can only use each adjective once. This activity is intended to reinforce the importance of choosing suitable adjectives to make written and spoken language more interesting and to give the reader/listener a clearer picture.

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2. Teacher check

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Adjectives – 1 Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They help make writing more interesting and clearer.

1. Read the pattern poem below. It uses adjectives to describe the noun ‘sauce’. Underline them.

Sauce Chocolate sauce Dark, chocolate sauce Runny, dark, chocolate sauce Delicious, runny, dark, chocolate sauce

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2. Write your own pattern poem, adding an adjective on each line.

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Illustrate your poem in the space to the right.

(A noun as the title)

,

,

,

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C.P bl i cat ons 3. Choose from the words that can be used as adjectives in the box below to complete the •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• sentences. Use each adjective only once. (Choose the best one, by asking questions such as

‘What kind?’ before the noun.) white

sensitive

narrow

orange

warm

dry

hungry

large

dangerous

elastic

clean

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steep juicy

lioness carefully stalked her prey through the

the

,

track which led to the bottom of

mountain.

(d) An

band can be a

object if it is aimed at or flicked at a

part of the body.

(e) The

,

grass.

(c) We drove slowly along the

cottage

long

o c . c e he r (b) The sunshine caused the rosebuds to bloom and the o t r s supe r garden was filled with a scent. (a) The

delightful

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winding

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mango dripped causing

stains on my

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,

, shirt.

13

Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Adjectives

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Common and proper adjectives

• An adjective is a describing word. It adds meaning to or changes the meaning of a noun or a pronoun.

Example: He’s wearing a cotton shirt. (describes the noun, ‘shirt’) That crocodile is enormous! (describes the noun, ‘crocodile’) Note: The adjective does not always come before the noun.

They are beautiful! (describes the pronoun, ‘they’) • Proper adjectives are those made from proper nouns.

Example: Chinese pottery Proper adjectives are usually spelled with initial capital letters. They are also called ‘adjectives of origin’.

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Definitions

• Write a paragraph about an object using as many adjectives as possible to describe it.

• Brainstorm to list various types of adjectives and display on charts.

Example: Those that describe colours (blue), shapes (round), age (youthful), material (sandy), origin (Greek), size (tiny) or quality (kind).

Answers

1. Adjectives are in bold and nouns and pronouns underlined.

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Explanation

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The use of suitable adjectives can make written or spoken language more interesting. It also gives the reader or listener a clearer understanding.

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Worksheet information

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• Discuss adjectives and the information and examples given at the top of page 15. Ask students for further examples of common and proper adjectives.

• Students individually or as a group identify the adjectives and the nouns/pronouns they describe in the text in Activity 1. Guide them to ask questions such as ‘What kind?’ in front of the noun or pronoun to help identification.

• Compare students’ answers after completing Activity 2 and discuss their choices. Ask ‘Did that adjective give the reader/listener a clearer picture?’. Point out that it is common to use more than one adjective to describe something.

• Compare students’ answers to Activity 3, discussing how clear and interesting they made their paragraph/sentences.

Primary grammar and word study

2. – 3. Teacher check

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You must visit the popular local markets located near the scenic harbour. They are amazing.

Browse through stalls displaying leather handbags; silk scarves; silver trinkets; wooden products; attractive scented candles; and handmade Chinese pottery. All this with buskers playing instruments such the Irish harp. AND, don’t forget the food. Choose from crisp organic vegetables; mouth-watering German sausages with sauerkraut in a freshly-baked roll; spicy Indian samosas or delicious stuffed potatoes.

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Adjectives – 2 Adjectives are words used to describe nouns or pronouns making writing clearer and more interesting; e.g. The old, bent, gnarled tree swayed in the strong breeze.

Proper adjectives are used to describe where a person or object comes from. They are made from proper nouns and have a capital letter; e.g. The Japanese rose is beautiful.

1. Read the extract taken from a tourist brochure describing the local market. Highlight the adjectives and underline the nouns and pronouns they describe.

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r o e t s Bo r e p ok u You must visit the popular local markets located near the scenic harbour. They are amazing!

S Browse through stalls displaying leather handbags; silk scarves; silver trinkets; wooden

products; attractive scented candles; and handmade Chinese pottery. All this with buskers playing instruments such the Irish harp. AND, don’t forget the food. Choose from crisp organic vegetables; mouth-watering German sausages with sauerkraut in a freshly-baked roll; spicy Indian samosas or delicious stuffed potatoes.

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C.Publ i cat i ons (a) a cockroach •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y • (b) a volcano

2. Choose two or three adjectives to describe these nouns. Share your choices with the class.

ice-cream

(d) a

pirate

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(c) a

(e) a

motorcycle

3. Write one paragraph or three to four separate sentences, using as many of these words as you can as adjectives.

. t bright e

fast

o tasty

c . che cheesy spicy r egreen thirsty o r st large su per Indian shiny hungry loud

new

Italian

hot red

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Adjectives

Focus

choices out loud and hear what sounds correct.

Dictionaries could also be used. Remind students they may need to change the ‘y’ to ‘i’ in some words before adding ‘er’ or ‘est’. The last example, (e), provides an irregular form of comparison—good, better, best (not good, gooder, goodest!).

• Activity 3 provides practice in using the correct comparative or superlative form of adjectives in context. Compare answers.

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Comparative and superlative adjectives

Definitions

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• Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things, usually by adding the suffix ‘er’.

Example: wide, wider • Superlative adjectives are used to compare more than two things usually by adding the suffix ‘est’.

Example: high, highest

Ideas for further practice

• In pairs, students prepare short oral or written reports of facts that compare animals or places etc., using the correct comparative and superlative adjectives.

• Identify other irregular forms of comparative and superlative adjectives other than 2 (e).

These include many/more/most; bad/worse/worst and little/less/least. Students could use these words in spoken or written sentences they make up in pairs or groups.

Explanation

• If the adjective has two or more syllables, ‘more’ or ‘most’ is usually added before the adjective.

Example: wonderful, more wonderful, most wonderful • But if the adjective of two or more syllables ends in ‘y’, ‘er’ or ‘est’ is usually used.

Example: grumpy, grumpier, grumpiest • Some comparative and superlative objectives are irregular.

Example: bad, worse, worst good, better, best

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o c . che e r o t r s super

Worksheet information

• Use the information at the top of page 17 to discuss with the students how we can add ‘er’ or ‘est’ to adjectives to compare things. Use qualities of common objects or students in the classroom to practise the concept; e.g. identify three students – a student with long hair, a student with longer hair and a student with the longest hair. Note how ‘the’ is often used before the superlative form (e.g. the longest hair).

• Students read the paragraph in Activity 1, highlighting the comparative and superlative adjectives. Discuss those that use ‘er’ and ‘est’ and those that use ‘more’ and ‘most’.

• To complete Activity 2, students need to identify when to add ‘er’ ,‘est’, ‘more’ or ‘most’ to an adjective. Sometimes the best way is to say the Primary grammar and word study

1. Many people believe that lions are bigger than tigers, but tigers, in fact, are the largest cat species in the world. Their colourings and markings are also the most vivid of all cat species. Tigers that live in cold climates are larger than those that live in warmer climates. They are also paler in colour and have longer, thicker fur. Only about 6000 tigers survive in the wild today, making them one of the most endangered species.

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Answers

2. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

16

thirsty, thirstier, thirstiest ferocious, more ferocious, most ferocious itch, itchier, itchiest terrible, more terrible, most terrible good, better, best

3. Antarctica is the fifth largest continent. It is also the coldest and has the lowest temperature ever recorded: –89 ºC. Although it is covered by ice, it hardly rains and is the driest place on Earth.

Many people consider Antarctica to be the most beautiful place on our planet.

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Comparing things When we compare two things we change the adjective, usually by adding er.

Example: ‘This giraffe is tall but that one is taller.’

When we compare three or more things we change the adjective usually by adding est; For example: ‘This giraffe is tall but that giraffe over there is the tallest of all.’

The words more or most are used before some adjectives to compare things.

Example: ‘delightful, more delightful, most delightful’.

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1. Read the paragraph below about tigers. Highlight the adjectives that are used to compare.

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Many people believe that lions are bigger than tigers, but tigers, in fact, are the largest cat species in the world. Their colourings and markings are also the most vivid of all cat species. Tigers that live in cold climates are larger than those that live in warmer climates.

They are also paler in colour and have longer, thicker fur. Only about 6000 tigers survive in the wild today, making them one of the most endangered species.

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C.Publ i cat i ons (a) thirsty • f o r r evi ew pu r posesonl y• (b) more ferocious

2. Finish the table below, changing the adjectives by adding er, est, more or most.

itchiest terrible

(e)

good

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(d)

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(c)

. tefifth most large continent. It is also the colder and has theolowerest temperature Antarctica is the c ever recorded: –89 ºC. Although it is covered by ice, it hardly rains and is the most dry place on Earth. . c e Many people consider Antarctica to be the beautifullest place on our planet. her r o t s super

3. Rewrite this paragraph, with the adjectives in bold print in the correct form.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Adverbs

Focus

• In Question 2 the students will need to locate each adverb, then the verb it modifies. They can then try to think of other suitable verbs.

Example: jump here, look here, stay or move here • The purpose of Question 3 is to demonstrate the function of adverbs.

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Common adverbs of manner, time and place

Definition

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• An adverb is a word that adds information, usually to a verb and can tell how (manner), when (time) or where (place) something happens.

Example: Yesterday (time) we were upset because the beautiful forest was tragically (manner) destroyed by a fire caused by lightning striking nearby (place).

Note: Adverbs can modify (add information to) any words that are not nouns or pronouns. (These are modified by adjectives.)

Ideas for further practice

• Brainstorm to list on the board adverbs to describe how someone could, for example, run, catch or throw. Then consider the more difficult task of finding one word to describe when and where this action could occur.

• Students work in small groups. Each group selects an action to mime and all the members each mime that action in a different way. Other students need to try to identify the action and how each group member is doing it. For example: The action could be digging. One person could be digging fast, another carelessly, another sadly and the other smoothly.

Explanation

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• Adverbs can clarify meaning by telling more about the action, allowing for greater precision and adding interest to writing.

• Students should be reminded that adding adverbs will make their speaking and writing more informative, precise and interesting.

Answers

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• After students have read the text, discuss whether they think it was more likely to have been presented in written or spoken form. Identify it as an exposition seeking to persuade others to a particular point of view and discuss other features of expository text.

• Discuss why some words in the text are in bold.

Remind students that words telling about something someone does or an occurrence are called verbs (see pages 6–11) and that these words are all verbs.

Explain that because adverbs can tell how, when or where something happens, we need to identify the verbs before trying to find the adverbs. Note: Some are compound verbs.

• Model the process of identifying the adverbs by asking how, when and where of the verb.

Example: When will I be speaking?—Tonight.

So ‘tonight’ is the adverb. The second verb identified is ‘believe’. ‘Strongly’ is the adverb because it tells how I believe. Some students will need to have the process modelled numerous times before they are able to complete Question 1 independently.

. te

Primary grammar and word study

1. (a) The following adverbs should be underlined: tonight, strongly, urgently, genuinely, Everywhere, rapidly, dangerously, tragically, dramatically, now, here, sadly

(b) Manner: strongly, urgently, genuinely, rapidly, dangerously, tragically, dramatically, sadly

m . u

Worksheet information

o c . che e r o t r s super

Time: tonight, now

Place: Everywhere, here

2. (a) here–sit (plus teacher check)

(b) dangerously–is affecting (plus teacher check)

(c) sadly–watch (plus teacher check)

(d) now–must act (plus teacher check)

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3. Teacher check

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Adverbs – 1 Words telling how, when or where things occur are called adverbs.

1. (a) Underline the adverbs in the text. There is one for each highlighted verb.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will be speaking tonight about what I strongly believe are some of the environmental issues we all urgently need to consider if we genuinely wish to make a significant difference to the future of our planet.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

Everywhere we look there is evidence of how rapidly change is occurring. Pollution is dangerously affecting the air we breathe, whole species of the world’s fauna and flora are tragically disappearing and our climate is changing dramatically.

But we must act now, we can’t sit here and sadly watch it happen.

(b) Write each adverb in the chart showing if it tells how, when or where something occurred.

Adverbs of manner (how)

Adverbs of manner (how)

Adverbs of time (when)

Adverbs of place (where)

m . u

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w ww

2. Write the verb used in the text with these adverbs and add other suitable verbs that each of the words could also be used to describe. (a) here

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(b) dangerously (c) sadly (d) now

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3. Add only adverbs of manner, time or place to these sentences to make them more informative.

(You may add more than one adverb to each sentence.) (a) We waited for the train.

(b) He dropped the ball.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Adverbs

Focus

Worksheet information

Common adverbs of time, place, manner, frequency and interrogative adverbs

• Introduce the worksheet by discussing the acronym, scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) and encourage students to share information about this popular recreational activity and profession.

• Read the text and identify some of the verbs and adverbs. Remind students of the close link between verbs and adverbs by asking how, when or where questions about the verb and demonstrating how doing this will help to identify adverbs.

• Explain that adverbs give more information about verbs and how their speaking and writing will be more interesting and informative when they use appropriate adverbs.

• Question 1 provides an opportunity for students to locate specific adverbs and identify the verbs they modify. They are then required to identify what the adverb tells about the verb.

• Adverbs of frequency tell how often something occurs and are commonly used. In Question 2, students consider these adverbs and select those they think are most appropriate to use in each sentence.

• Some teachers may choose to introduce the term interrogative adverb to describe the question words used in Question 3 and to explain that these words are themselves special adverbs which ask questions about how, when, where or why something occurs.

Definitions

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

ew i ev Pr

• An adverb is a word that adds information, usually to a verb and can tell how (manner), when (time), where (place) or how often something happens.

Example: Yesterday (time) the diver confidently (manner) tied his boat to a mooring because he usually (frequency) saw many beautiful fish there (place).

• An interrogative adverb asks questions about how, when, where or why something happens. The words, how, when, where and why are interrogative adverbs.

Note: Adverbs can modify (add information to) any words that are not nouns or pronouns. (These are modified by adjectives.)

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Explanation

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Primary grammar and word study

m . u

w ww

• Adverbs can clarify meaning by telling more about the action, allowing for greater precision and adding interest to writing.

• Students should be reminded that adding adverbs will make their writing more informative, precise and interesting.

• Adverbs have been classified on the worksheet as those that add information about manner, time, place and, frequency.

Example: usually and seldom.

Adverbs of extent is another category that could also be discussed with students.

Example: quite and almost.

These adverbs can be used by themselves; Example: he nearly drowned.

They are often used with other adverbs; Example: He swam quite confidently.

We are almost there.

• Although adverbs often answer the questions how, when and where about the verb, the actual words how, when, where and why are themselves adverbs. They are known as interrogative adverbs.

Ideas for further practice

• Students work in small groups to write a how, when, where and why question about something that happens in a game or activity to give to another group to answer.

Example: Taking a mark in football, winning a swimming race.

o c . che e r o t r s super Answers

1. (a) anywhere, swim, where the divers could swim (b) later, developed, when scientists developed air tanks (c) safely, inhale, how divers were able to inhale compressed air (d) powerfully, moving, how divers could move (e) usually, attached, how often they had fins attached to their feet.

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2. Teacher check

3. (a) How

(b) Where

(c) When

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(d) Why

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Adverbs - 2 Words telling how, when, where or how often things happen are called adverbs.

Scuba diving Underwater diving is not new. Thousands of years ago, the first divers were free divers who simply held their breath as they briefly dived below in search of their food.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

Later, scientists developed air tanks connected to air hoses and regulators to control the flow of air.

Divers were then able to safely inhale compressed air and spend more time underwater. Wearing masks and wetsuits, they could swim anywhere, moving powerfully through the water, usually with fins attached to their feet.

Adverb

ew i ev Pr

1. Find each adverb in the text, write the verb it refers to and what it tells about the verb.

Verb

What it tells

(a) anywhere (b) later

(c) safely

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C.Publ i cat i ons (e) usually •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• (d) powerfully

2. Adverbs of frequency tell how often something happens. Choose an adverb from the box to complete each sentence.

often

always

rarely

sometimes

usually

perhaps

likely

regularly

generally

frequently

occasionally

. te (b) It is safer to

o c . chewe shouldn’t dive because the water e r is rough. o t r s sfinsp r e wear u when I dive.

(a) You should check your diving equipment

(c) (d) I

m . u

never

w ww

(e) We

.

dive with a partner.

see a huge shark.

(f)

I feel quite scared.

3. Some adverbs ask questions about verbs. Underline the adverb in each sentence.

(a) How did they move?

(b) Where did they dive?

(c) When did they develop air tanks?

(d) Why can they breathe?

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Pronouns Focus

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Personal, indefinite and interrogative pronouns

Person First singular

• A pronoun is a word substituted for a noun.

• A personal pronoun is used in place of a person or thing.

Example: he, she, it, they • An indefinite pronoun refers to an unspecified person or thing.

Example: Someone took the cakes.

• Interrogative pronouns ask questions that give a noun or pronoun response.

Example: Who stole the cake?

Second

Objective

Emphatic/ reflexive

Possessive

I

me

myself

mine

you

you

yourself

yours

Third (male)

he

him

himself

his

Third (female)

she

her

herself

hers

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Third (neuter)

it

it

itself

its

First plural

we

us

ourselves

ours

Second

you

you

yourselves

yours

Third

they

them

themselves

theirs

• The 12 indefinite pronouns are shown in the table below. Some refer to people and others to things.

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

Definitions

Subjective

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS somebody

Explanation

anybody

nobody

everybody

someone

anyone

no-one

everyone

something

anything

nothing

everything

• These are the five interrogative pronouns which give a noun or pronoun response.

• The use of pronouns prevents constant repetition of a noun.

• It is important for students to know the correct pronouns to use in the context of a particular sentence so that their grammar, in speech and in writing, is accurate.

• The table at the top of the next column shows which personal pronoun to use: – When the person the pronoun refers to is the

subject or object:

Example: I (subject) told her (object) my secret.

We (subject) asked them (object) to visit.

– To emphasise the subject of the verb.

Example: We picked the grapes ourselves (emphatic pronoun).

– To emphasise the object of the verb when it is

the same person as the subject.

Example: – I enjoyed myself (reflexive pronoun).

To indicate possession:

Example: The dog is ours.

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C.Publ i cat i ons Worksheet information •f orr evi ew pu r pose sonl y• which

who

whom

whose

• The questions give students the opportunity to revise and demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of pronouns.

• In Questions 1 and 2, read through the whole of each text before placing the correct pronouns.

• In Question 3, students should read both parts of each question. They will discover that for a who question the answer is a subjective pronoun. For a whose question, the answer is an objective pronoun.

m . u

w ww

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INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

what

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Ideas for further practice

• Students create their own tables of pronouns and write rules for use in their own words with examples.

• Design a bingo type game with cards containing six sentences from which pronouns have been removed.

Each student is given a number of small cards on which a pronoun has been written. The caller calls out a pronoun. If the students have that card, it is placed in position on their bingo card.

Answers

Primary grammar and word study

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1. (a) themselves (b) They (c) They (d) everyone (e) it

2. (a) he (b) hers (c) it (d) she (e) himself (f) who (g) Everyone (h) He (i) himself

3. (a) his (b) We (c) theirs (d) mine (e) She (f) You www.ricpublications.com.au

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Pronouns A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.

There are a number of different pronouns that must be used in the right way to make a sentence correct.

1. Read the text below. The mistakes have been highlighted.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

The students were talking excitedly among ourselves as they climbed into the bus. He had all been chosen to represent the school at the carnival. You knew no-one at school would be hoping that the team would do better this year than us had done last year when it had come last.

Write the correct pronoun to replace each of these. (a) ourselves

(b) He

(c) You

(d) no-one

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C.Publ i cat i ons He • it f himself he w p hers she who or r evi e ur p ose soEveryone nl y• himself

(e) us

2. Choose the correct pronouns to fill the gaps.

James returned the money to Catherine because

(a)

. He said he was sorry for having taken

(b)

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. te only had (e)

(d)

knew it was (c)

and

m . u

accepted his apology. He was very pleased with

for being brave enough to own up, but

(f)

would trust him now?

o c to blame. . che e r o t r spair is done for you.

3. Choose a pronoun to answer the questions.

One ofr each sup e (g)

would know he was a thief.

(h)

was sad, but he knew he

(i)

(a) Who owns the ball?

He does.

(b) Who owns the dog?

do.

Whose is the ball?

It’s

Whose is the dog?

It’s ours.

.

(c) Who owns the cat?

They do.

Whose is the cat?

It’s

.

(d) Who owns the rat?

I do.

Whose is the rat?

It’s

.

(e) Who owns the doll?

does.

Whose is the doll?

It’s hers.

(f) Who owns the cup?

do.

Whose is the cup?

It’s yours.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Pronouns

Focus

Worksheet information

Relative pronouns who, which, that and whose

• It is not necessary to refer to these pronouns as ‘relative’. It is sufficient that the students know their function and learn how to recognise and use them within the context of a sentence.

• Explain that a clause is a part of a sentence that includes a verb and its subject; Example: The painters worked very hard, because they wanted to leave early.

A relative clause relates to the noun or pronoun joined to it by the relative pronoun Example: The cat that sat on the mat.

(The clause in this example is, sat on the mat.)

• Before completing the worksheet, work through a number of simple examples to ensure that the students understand when each relative pronoun should be used.

• In Questions 1 (c) and (d) the preferred answer is that, and in (f) the preferred answer is which.

However, as the students are taught that either can be correct, which is acceptable for (c) and (d) and that for (f).

Definition

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

ew i ev Pr

• A relative pronoun comes before the relative clause that describes the noun or pronoun to which it refers.

Example: The author who wrote adventure stories was very popular.

Who comes before the relative clause, wrote adventure stories which describes the author (the noun to which it refers).

Explanation

• It is important for students to know the correct relative pronouns to use in the context of any sentence so that their grammar, in both speech and writing is accurate.

• The words who, which, that and whose are only relative pronouns within the context of a particular sentence.

Example: The man who cycled to work was very fit. (relative pronoun).

Who is that man? (interrogative pronoun).

• In these activities, who, that, which and whose all refer to the subject of the verb. When referring to the object of the verb, that, which and whose remain the same but who is changed to whom.

• The table shows which relative pronouns to use.

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m . u

w ww

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Ideas for further practice

• In pairs, student take turns to make up sentences, deliberately using the wrong relative pronoun.

For example, The man that drove a sports car always drove slowly.

Partners have to explain why the pronoun is incorrect and say which one should have been used.

• Photocopy and laminate a number of short cloze passages which require students to choose the correct relative pronoun. Set them as regular tasks.

• Students look through a page in a book to find an example of a relative pronoun. Choose students to read out their sentences. Write each one on the board and discuss its different parts relating to the relative pronoun.

o c . che e r o t r s super

Relative pronoun

Refers to ...

who

Person only

that/which

Things only

whose

Possession – person or thing

Example: The man who climbed a hill was very fit.

Dogs that chew things are not very smart.

My flowers, which bloomed today, are lovely.

The house whose roof collapsed will be demolished.

The girl whose ankle was swollen had to rest.

1. (a) who (b) who

(d) that/which (e) who (g) whose (h) whose

(c) that/which (f) which

Note: The choice of that or which is intuitive. The general rule for students at this stage is to try that first but if it doesn’t sound right, use which.

2. (a) who (d) whose

(c) which

Primary grammar and word study

Answers

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(b) that (e) whose

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Who, which, that and whose Who, which, that and whose are words that can connect a noun to a group of words that describe it. This group of words (with a verb) is called a clause.

The boy who sits next to me. – who is always used for people The robot that was on sale. – that or which can be used for things The student whose bag was stolen. – whose is used for people and things.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

1. Choose the correct pronoun to fit into each sentence. (a) The slave

(b) Here are the gladiators

(c) Temples

worked well was trusted by his master.

(d) Roads

were built in honour of the gods were very grand. were built by the Romans were very straight.

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(e) The Romans ago.

(f)

will entertain us today.

(g) The horse

built Hadrian’s wall lived almost two thousand years

leg was hurt in battle now walks with a limp.

(h) The Roman soldiers, battles.

training was very tough, were very successful in

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2. Circle the correct pronoun and finish each sentence.

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m . u

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

The thief who stole the jewels that were stored in the royal palace was captured on Monday. Police were led to the man, whose identity cannot be released, by a tracking device which was hidden inside the jewels.

o c . c e r (b) The river who/that h er o t s super

(a) The vet that/who

(c) The books who/which

(d) The pilot whose/which

(e) The building whose/who

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Conjunctions

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Conjunctions

Definition

Explanation

Teac he r

Conjunctions are joining words which can be used to connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences.

Example: Salt and pepper running fast and breathing rapidly It’s a fast car but difficult to control.

Since I have no money, I can’t go to the circus.

Answers

ew i ev Pr

• Write sentences which begin with conjunctions, such as ‘while’, ‘although’, ‘since’, ‘unless’ etc.

• Extend a simple sentence such as ‘The cat sat on the mat’ by following it with a conjunction (such as ‘and’, ‘so’, ‘while’, ‘as’) and then a clause. For example, ‘The cat sat on the mat so his owners wouldn’t forget to feed him.’,‘The cat sat on the mat as it was warm from the sun.’

1. (b) Teacher check. Suggested answer:

Last night, I was snuggled up in bed when I heard a strange noise. At first, I thought it was coming from my wardrobe, but it could have been from the toy box. I was scared because I didn’t know what was making the noise. I crept out of bed, tiptoed over to the wardrobe, then slowly opened the door. First I gasped then I screamed out for Dad, who ran in to my room and turned on the light.

Eventually, we both laughed.

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2. (a) Although it was raining, I didn’t get wet.

m . u

w ww

• Using conjunctions enables a writer to build and combine ideas and avoid needless repetition.

Conjunctions can join: - one adjective with another, such as: ‘The girl was hot and tired.’

- one sentence with another such as: ‘It was raining so I took an umbrella.’

• Conjunctions can be placed between two clauses or at the beginning of a sentence. The position of the conjunction helps the reader to know which part of the sentence is the focus.

Example: ‘If you climb on top of the monkey bars, you will fall.’ (Focus is on the cause) ‘You will fall if you climb on top of the monkey bars.’ (Focus is on the consequence)

(b) Unless I start studying today, I will fail the test. (c) Whereas you are tall, he is short; or

o c . che e r o t r s super

Whereas he is short, you are tall.

Worksheet information

• Students use a red pen to make edits through the text in Question 1 (a). Remind students that words can be deleted to avoid needless repetition. Words can also be rearranged. Students cross off the conjunctions used from the list. Try to use as many different conjunctions as possible. If students use a new conjunction, they can write it on the board for others to see and use.

• Once Question 1 (b) is completed, students can share their improved text with the class. Make comparisons between the conjunctions used and the placement of conjunctions in the shared texts.

Primary grammar and word study

26

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Conjunctions A conjunction is a joining word which can be used to join words, phrases, clauses or sentences.

1. (a) Read the text.

Teac he r

Last night, I was snuggled up in bed. I heard a strange noise. I thought it was coming from my wardrobe. It could have been from the toy box. I was scared. I didn’t know what was making the noise. I tiptoed over to the wardrobe. I slowly opened the door. I gasped. I screamed out for Dad. Dad ran in to my room. He turned on the light. We both laughed.

who since

when

or

next while although

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

until

before and

then

At first

but

for

because eventually

ew i ev Pr

(b) Rewrite the text to make it more interesting by adding conjunctions. Use the list to help you or add your own. You can also delete and rearrange words.

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w ww

m . u

. teturned as the new student walked in to the classroom.o Don’t forget the Example: All heads between the c comma .

As the new student walked in to the classroom, all heads turned.e ch two parts! r er o t s s r u e p 2. Rearrange these sentences so the conjunction is at the beginning.

Conjunctions can be placed in the middle or at the beginning of two joined sentences or clauses.

(a) I didn’t get wet, although it was raining.

(b) I will fail unless I start studying for the test today.

(c) He is short whereas you are tall.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Determiners Focus

• The indefinite article an usually precedes a noun that begins with a vowel sound.

Example: an elephant, an ice-cream, an umbrella, an hour • Possessive determiners are always used before the noun to say who the noun belongs to. They can be used in first, second or third person form as well as in singular or plural. Refer to the table below to see which possessive determiners are used in each situation.

Articles: the (definite), a/an (indefinite) Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their Demonstratives: this, that (singular), these, those (plural)

Definitions

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Person

Determiner

Pronouns

my I, me, mine your you, yours his he, him, his 3rd her she, her, hers its it, its 1st our we, us, ours 2nd your you, yours 3rd their they, them, theirs • Demonstratives generally indicate the proximity of the noun to the writer or speaker. This (singular) and these (plural) suggest the noun/nouns are close by, while that (singular) and those (plural) suggest the noun/nouns are far away or out of reach.

Plural

Singular

1st 2nd

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

• A determiner is a word usually used before a noun that determines how definite it is. For example, Our homework was placed on that table with these books because the teacher wanted us to take a book home each night.

• Articles is a subclass of determiners. An article precedes a noun and identifies how definite (specific) or indefinite (non-specific) that noun is.

Example: a child (meaning any child), the child (meaning a particular child) • A possessive determiner is a word which identifies who something belongs to.

Example: Mary sold her book at the fete.

• A demonstrative determiner signals whether the associated noun is near (this, these) the writer or speaker or far away (that, those) from the writer or speaker.

Note: In traditional grammar, some words used as what are now called determiners in functional grammar, are referred to as adjectives; e.g. first, seven, or as possessive pronouns; e.g. my, your.

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C.PuWorksheet bl i cat i ons information •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

m . u

• Question 1 provides the opportunity to study each word and its function when used in conjunction with a noun.

By exploring the function of particular words, students will be able to more readily use the correct words in their own writing. They are then required to use the words in context. Clues have been given as to the role of the missing word; however, students must deduce from the context which word is required to complete the sentence.

• Question 2 allows students to practise writing sentences using specific determiners as given. Some students may find this challenging. It might be helpful to ask students for example sentences, before they work independently to create their own sentences.

w ww

Explanation

• Determiners are useful for making information more precise for the reader or listener.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a particular thing or things and when referring to specific, one-of-akind things.

Example: the Nile River, the book (meaning a particular book) • Indefinite articles such as a and an are used to refer to any thing. The noun following an indefinite article is nonspecific.

Example: a boat (meaning any boat) or an umbrella (meaning any umbrella) • Articles can indicate a significant difference in meaning.

Example: a house (any house) and the house (a particular house) • The indefinite article a precedes a noun that begins with a consonant sound.

Example: a yacht, a boat, a dog, a unicycle

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Primary grammar and word study

o c . che e r o t r s super

Ideas for further practice • Use newspaper articles to search for examples of sentences which use the determiners dealt with on this page.

Answers 1. (a) who: my, her, its, their, his, our, your close/far away: that, those, these, this general or specific: a, an, the (b) (i) this (iii) a; the

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(ii) a; your; his (iv) those, that

2. Teacher check

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Let’s be more precise – 1 Some words can be used before a noun to give the reader or listener more precise information.

These words are called determiners. The words in the box below are some examples: that his

my these

a our

her an

those this

its the

their your

1. (a) Sort the determiners above into the table below.

These words tell us if the noun(s) is/are close or far away.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

(b) Use the words above to complete these sentences.

(i) ‘Is

(ii) ‘John, I am happy you want to bake

(distance) seat here taken?’ asked Linus.

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C.Publ i cat i ons cake. Just remember it is (who) responsibility to clean up the •f orr evi ew pur p osesonl y•

mess, not mine’, stated

(iii) Suddenly at

w ww

(iv) I am afraid

. te

(who) mum.

(general/specific) strange black and white cat jumped up (general/specific) window and scared the living daylights out of Taj! (distance) boys over there will break

big window on the side of Mr Tan’s house.

that her

(b)

an a

(distance)

o c . che e r o t r s super

2. Use each group of three words in a sentence of your own. (a)

m . u

These words tell us whether the noun is general or specific.

ew i ev Pr

Teac he r

These words tell us who the noun belongs to.

its (c)

this the your those

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Determiners

Focus

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• Verbs used after each, every, either and neither are singular as are any related possessive determiners.

Example: Each of the boys eats his dinner.

Every person has worn his or her hat.

Either sports car appeals to its drivers.

Neither woman wants to drive her car.

• ‘Which’, ‘what’ and ‘whose’ are also known as ‘question words’. These words are placed before the noun they relate to and are used to elicit more precise information about that noun.

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Determiners: Distributives: either, neither, each, every Interrogatives: which, what, whose

Definitions

• A determiner is a word usually used before a noun that determines how definite it is.

Example: Her dog was tied to that pole with a chain each time she went into the shop.

• A distributive is a type of determiner which tells how something is distributed, shared or divided.

Example: I think every person is special.

• An interrogative is a type of determiner used before nouns to form a question.

Example: Whose book is that?

Note: In traditional grammar some words used as what are now called determiners in functional grammar, are referred to as adjectives, e.g. first, seven or possessive pronouns, e.g. my, your.

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• Discuss Question 1 with students and explain that some of these distributives have similar meanings.

• Discuss question type words and point out that in these sentences the interrogatives are used directly before the noun they relate to. After discussing this aspect, students can then use the interrogatives in their own sentences.

Ideas for further practice

• Search newspaper or magazines and highlight the words, each, every, either and neither. Circle the verbs and decide if they are singular or plural.

o c . che e r o t r s super

• Determiners are useful for making information more precise for the reader or listener.

• Distributive determiners are usually used before the noun.

• Each and every have similar meanings and it’s often possible to use either of them.

Each often but not always means everyone separately or one by one and can be used for one of two things.

It can be followed by ‘of’ and can be used in front of a verb.

Every can mean each and sometimes all.

Every cannot be used for two things or after ‘of’.

It can be used to say ‘how often’ • Either and neither refer to one or none of two things.

Primary grammar and word study

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Explanation

Worksheet information

Answers

(c) Neither (d) either

2. (a) Neither: not either; (b) either: one of the two; (c) each: every, of two or more considered individually or one by one; (d) every: each, referring one by one to all members of a group (e) each; referring one by one to each individual in the pair (f) neither: not either

3. (a) Whose (b) Which (c) What

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1. (a) every (b) each

(d) Which

Teacher check student sentences. Ensure the interrogative is before the noun.

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Let’s be more precise – 2 The words each, every, either and neither can tell how a noun is shared or divided.

These words can be used to describe: • All the members of a group (every) • One member of a group (each)

• One member of a group of two (either) • Not one member of a group of two (neither)

1. Read the sentences and underline the determiner in each.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

(a) Every boy in our class played football on Friday. (b) I think each boy played his best game.

(c) Neither team dominated the game.

(d) We knew it would be either a draw or a very close victory.

2. Choose the best word to complete each sentence. (a)

boy swam his fastest time. (Either/Neither)

(b) Mum knew that

of the students a merit certificate.

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C.Publ i cat i ons (d) I think boy in the team should play for at least one •f orr evi ew p u r p os es o nl yquarter.

•

icy drink would be refreshing on such a hot day.

(either/neither)

(c) The principal gave

(every/each)

(every/each)

(e) They both sang well so the judges gave

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girl a prize. (every/each)

(f) It was so cold and windy that

boy wanted to go swimming.

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(either/neither)

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3. Underline the word in each sentence that makes it a question. Then use that word to write a question of your own.

o c (a) ‘Whose schoolbag has been left on the floor?’ asked the teacher. . che e r

o r st super (b) ‘Which piece of fruit would you like for morning tea?’ called Mum.

(c) ‘What day of the week do you practise swimming?’ enquired Jamie.

(d) ‘Which book would you like to read?’ questioned his friend.

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Primary grammar and word study

Parts of speech Prepositions about, above, across, after, against, around, at, before, behind, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, for, from, in, inside, near, off, on, out, over, through, to, toward, under, until, upon and with. Bear in mind that these words are not always prepositions; sometimes they function as conjunctions or adverbs.

Example: in ‘Mia decided to stay inside’, ‘inside’ has no object, and so is an adverb.

Focus Prepositions of time, place and direction

Definition

Explanation

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Worksheet information • Write some simple sentences with prepositions on the board, such as ‘The train came through the tunnel.’ , ‘The papers are in the top drawer.’, ‘Peter will leave at midday.’. Ask students to identify the nouns. Then ask another student to find the word that makes a connection between the two nouns (the preposition). Discuss how prepositions connect the nouns in sentences, and are usually followed by nouns or pronouns.

• Give each student a copy of the worksheet. Students having difficulty identifying prepositions may first wish to highlight the nouns in the sentence, then look at the words before them to help identify prepositions.

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• Prepositions are words used to show the relationship between nouns and/or pronouns in the same sentence.

Example: The player ran across the field with the football tucked tightly under his arm.

• The word ‘preposition’ combines the prefix ‘pre’ (meaning ‘before’ or ‘in front of’) and the word ‘position’. As such, prepositions are words that are ‘positioned in front’ of nouns or other words that functions as nouns (such as pronouns, verbal nouns or noun phrases).

• Prepositions indicate a connection between things mentioned in a sentence, such as between a person and where she/he is going; Example: Jill moved towards the table.

• Prepositions can refer to manner (he came to work by bus), time (school starts at 9 am), place (he left his shoes at the park), position (the cat lay under the table) and direction (it ran between the buildings).

Some prepositions are formed by combining multiple words, such as the phrases in front of, on top of and prior to.

• Prepositions are often used to introduce phrases that add more information to the noun or verb, called prepositional phrases. These phrases start with a preposition and end with a noun or noun equivalent, called the object of the preposition. Words that modify the object are part of the phrase.

Example: The girl (subject), though tall, was still shorter than (preposition) her younger brother’ (object). (The prepositional phrase is underlined.)

• As a rule, prepositions do not come before verbs.

• A former rule was that prepositions should never end a sentence. This rule no longer applies.

For example, it is commonly accepted as correct to say ‘Have you found the shoes you were looking for?’ rather than the old English, ‘Have you found the shoes for which you were looking?’.

• Prepositions add meaning and detail. They also help to distinguish between the object and the subject in a sentence. Commonly used prepositions include

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Primary grammar and word study

• Students could make crosswords or word-sleuths for each other using prepositions.

• There are a number of online quizzes for prepositions. Type ‘preposition quiz online’ into your search engine to find suitable ones for your class.

Answers

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Ideas for further practice

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1. Prepositions: to, on, at, for, in, under, into, with, at, in, near 2. Teacher check 3. (a) Prepositions include: in, on, to, into, onto, opposite.

(b) Other words include: iron, into, inert, iris, inspire, nipper, nose, noose, noise, orient, option, pipe, priest, pronto, pointer, poor, potion, prone, pities, poison, poisoner, prison, pipe, portion, porpoise, protein, person, pier, poise, pine, ports, ponies, rinse, ripen, riot, ripe, rise, sprite, spire, sniper, spirit, spin, soot, spine, sore, strip, soon, snoop, stir, spoon, sooner, senior, site, sport, tenor, torso, tire, tripe.

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Prepositions Prepositions are words that can show the connection between nouns in sentences. They usually come before nouns or pronouns, not before verbs.

Prepositions can show …

• where something happens

Jesse lives in Colby, near the town centre.

• when something happens

I brush my teeth at night just before bed.

• where something is going

Finn went over the river by bus.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u Hi Jenna S

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1. Underline the prepositions in the invitation.

Please come to my house on Sunday at 9.30 am for brunch! We’ll have the brunch in the garden, under the big umbrella. If it looks like it might rain, we’ll go into the games room instead. You can bring a friend with you if you like. I live at 27 Hempley Street in Mirandow. My house is near the church.

I hope you can make it!

From Annabel

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C.Publ i cat i ons 2. Write four new sentences using some of the prepositions you found.

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3. (a) Find words that can be used as prepositions in the word ‘preposition’ (any length) using the letters in any order.

o c . che e r o t r s s uper

preposition

(b) Find any other words of four letters or more.

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Homographs

Ideas for further practice

Focus Homographs

Definition

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Teac he r

• Homographs are words that are spelt the same but have different meanings.

Example: duck – a waterbird with webbed feet duck – a score of zero in cricket (Note: There are more than these two meanings.)

Sometimes homographs are pronounced differently.

Example: lead (rhymes with red) – a heavy metal used to make pipes etc. lead (rhymes with seed) – to guide to a specific place

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• Students compile a class homograph dictionary by brainstorming to list a specific number of words and arrange them in alphabetical order. A word can be written at the top of a page with two or more definitions underneath.

• Students identify homographs that have different pronunciations and compile a class reference chart.

Suggestions include: tear (rhymes with queer)/tear (rhymes with bare); wind (rhymes with pinned)/wind (rhymes with fined); bow (rhymes with flow)/bow (rhymes with cow).

Answers

1. (a) Possible answer: A sentence that explains a device with prongs.

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(b) Possible answer: A sentence that explains to carry or support something.

Explanation

• Recognising and using different homographs develops and enriches students’ vocabulary. They learn to understand the meaning of words and the way they work in print.

1

2. (a)

2

3

G

B

O

M O

L

T

U

R 4

Worksheet information

S X

E

R

5

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C A

6

S

E

A

L F

O

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U

• As an introduction, give two quiz questions to the students to demonstrate two different meanings for the same word. For example; Question 1: What is the name for a young goat? Question 2: What is a word that means to trick or tease someone in a nice way? Ask them to guess the word and discuss the different meanings.

Students may suggest other meanings for ‘kid’ such as a colloquial name for a ‘child’.

• Complete Question 1 on the worksheet and discuss the students’ answers.

• In Question 2, students are given crossword clues for various homographs. They complete the crossword and then write each word (in any order) on the lines below.

Students write another meaning alongside each word provided. Dictionaries could be used. Again, discuss students’ answers as there are more than two meanings for many words.

• The word ‘wound’ in Question 3 is an example of a homograph that has different pronunciations. Discuss this with the students before they complete the activity.

Discuss their answers.

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B

R

N D

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(b)

Possible answers for other meanings than the homophones in the crossword: bolt: to dart off suddenly boxer: a breed of dog corn: a painful lump that can form on the toes or foot seal: to close something so it can only be opened by breaking the ‘seal’

mouse: a device attached to a computer for controlling the curser

ground: the top layer of the surface of the Earth

calf: a part of the lower leg

3. (a) wound (rhymes with tuned): a sore such as a cut or burn

(b) wound (rhymes with found): past tense of the verb ‘to wind’ Primary grammar and word study

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Homographs Homographs are words that have more than one meaning.

1. Each word below has been written in a sentence to show one of its meanings. Write the word in another sentence to show a different meaning. (a) fork: Walk along the path for 50 metres and then take the fork to the left.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

(b) bear: The grizzly bear reared up on its hind legs and roared.

2

2 A thick metal pin used to hold wood or metal together 4 A person who fights using his fists 5 A yellow grain crop 6 A sea mammal

3

4

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C.Publ i cat i ons Down • or r evi ew pur posesonl y• 1 Af small rodent 5

3 Past tense of ‘grind’ 5 A young cow

6

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1

Across

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2. (a) Complete the crossword below. The clues give one meaning for each word.

(b) Write each word from the crossword on a line below and give a definition for a different meaning.

: . te:

:

:

:

:

:

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3. The word ‘wound’ can be pronounced in two ways. Give a definition for each. (a) wound (rhymes with tuned) (b) wound (rhymes with found) R.I.C. Publications®

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Homophones

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Homophones

• Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings.

Example: check – to restrain, hold in restraint or control; to investigate or verify as to correctness; cheque – a written banking order, usually on a standard printed form directing a bank to pay a specified sum of money

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Definition

• Rewrite the complete story with the correct homophones and then use cartoon-style art to illustrate the situation.

• Read and write jokes which use a ‘play on words’ such as homophones or homographs.

• Hold a competition to see which student can use the most homophones in a short text.

Answers

1. (a) piece (b) you’re/yaw/yore (c) won (d) steel (e) toe (f) bury 2. The principal was getting very tired of smelling the same scent each time he went up the stairs.

He decided that the person who wore it to school each day would have to know how badly it affected him and would have to stop wearing it. His poor nose was finding it hard to bear. He sneezed and blew his nose until it was red every time he passed through a cloud of it.

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Explanation

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‘Who’s there?’ he bellowed as a pair of feet approached around the corner. ‘Come out whoever it is! I won’t bite!

‘Good morning Principal Parsons!’ said Superintendent Rowe. ‘I’ll be finished with my inspection today and I can say that I am very pleased with the way things are managed here.’

o c . che e r o t r s super

Worksheet information

• Ask the students to read the first sentence and the definition. Discuss the homophones in Question 1 and work together to complete the question if necessary.

• Discuss any unfamiliar vocabulary in the text such as ‘thyme’ and either read it through with the students, or allow them to read it independently.

Once the text has been read, the students should have enough information to select the correct homophones.

• Oral stories may be constructed first with the students adding ideas before they complete their written story.

Primary grammar and word study

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• The word ‘homophone’ means ‘same sound’.

Homonyms (‘same name’) include both homophones and homographs (‘same writing’).

• Identifying different homophones and recognising how to spell them helps students to communicate more clearly in written form. Investigating homophones also helps to develop and enrich students’ vocabulary. They learn to understand the meaning of words and the way they work in print.

• Correct spelling is essential when using homophones. There are no spelling ‘rules’ to help students remember the spelling of groups of homophones.

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‘Atchoo!’ replied Principal Parsons.

3. Teacher check

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Homophones Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings. For example: ate/eight heard/herd wood/would plain/plane caught/court 1. Write a homophone for each word. (a) peace

(c) one (e) tow

(b) your

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(d) steal

(f)

berry

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2. Circle the correct homophones from each group to complete the sentences in the text.

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The (principle/principal) was getting very (tired/tide/tied) of smelling the

same (sent/scent/cent) each (time/thyme) he went up the (stairs/stares). He decided that the person who (war/wore) it (to/too/two) school each day (would/wood) have to (know/no) how badly it affected (him/hymn) and (would/wood) have to stop wearing it. His (pour/poor/paw/ pore) nose was finding it hard to (bear/bare). He sneezed and (blew/blue) his nose until it was

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f or(their/they’re/there)?’ r evi ew p r po eso l y• ‘(Whose/Who’s) he u bellowed as as (pear/pair) ofn (feet/feat) approached (read/red) every time he (passed/past) (threw/through) a cloud of it.

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‘Good morning (Principal/Principle) Parsons!’ said Superintendent

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around the corner. ‘Come out whoever it is! I won’t (bight/byte/bite)!

Rowe. ‘I’ll be finished with my school inspection today and I can say

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that I am very pleased with the way/weigh things are

o c . c e ‘Atchoo!’ replied (Principal/Principle) her Parsons. st r o super managed (here/hear).’

3. Use the homophones below to write a short, silly story on a separate sheet of paper. Include as many of them as you can. Give choices for the homophones in brackets, as above, then ask a classmate to choose the correct ones. allowed

aloud

break

brake

right

write

bored

board

caught

court

prey

pray

there

their

hole

whole

knew

new

our

hour

one

won

threw

through

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Word groups

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice • Make a list of 20 words that are not in the dictionary used by the students in class. (They do not need to know the meaning of the word.) Provide each student with a dictionary and a sheet of paper and, for each word, ask them to record the two words between which each word would be inserted in their dictionary.

• Students plan a project of their choice, initially on an explosion chart and then organised into sections, determining the number of pages required for each section. Using 20 words from the explosion chart, students create an alphabetical index linked to page numbers.

• At random, pick 20 names, addresses and telephone numbers from a directory. Give the students the list of names and addresses. Challenge the class or group to be the first to find all the telephone numbers.

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Alphabetical order

Definition

• Alphabetical order is a system used to arrange items so they may be easily found.

Explanation

• Alphabetical order is used in many areas with which students are familiar.

Example: class registers, dictionaries, libraries.

• Initially, words are ordered by the first letter, then the second, third and so on.

w ww

• Prior to completing the sheet, show students examples of how alphabetical order is used in daily life; e.g. street names in road books, names in telephone directories, indexes at the back of books.

• Give students short lists of related words to place in alphabetical order, explaining that if there are two or more items beginning with the same letter, the ordering is by the second, third and so on, letters.

• Initially, students group words on the worksheet based on their first letter. They then place the words in each group in alphabetical order. Finally, they place all words in alphabetical order.

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Answers 1. (a)

a – astound, aground b – brought, bought, bough c – could, caught f – found o – ought p – profound s – source, sound, souvenir, should t – thought, trough, taught, though, through w – would

(b)

a – aground, astound b – bough, bought, brought c – caught, could s – should, sound, source, souvenir t – taught, though, thought, through, trough

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4.

7.

10.

13.

16.

19.

Primary grammar and word study

m . u

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astound 3. bough bought 5. brought 6. could 8. found 9. profound 11. should 12. source 14. souvenir 15. though 17. thought 18. trough www.ricpublications.com.au

caught ought sound taught through

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Alphabetical order The alphabet can be used to organise words and make them easier to find.

To begin with, words are arranged alphabetically by their first letter.

If more than one word begins with this letter, the second letter is used.

If this letter is the same, the third letter is used and so on.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

thought

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brought

could

source

sound

aground

astound

souvenir

trough

found

would

taught

bought

bough

profound

caught

should

though

through

1. Arrange the words in the box in alphabetical order.

(a) Begin by placing them in groups based on their first letter. a

b

f

o

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c

p

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a

b

c

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(b) Using the next letter rule, arrange the groups with more than one word in alphabetical order. s

t

o c . cinh (c) Write all the words alphabetical order. The first and last words have been done for you. e r e o t r s su 1. aground 2. p 3. er 4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20. would

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Word groups

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Explanation

• Write more limericks which include countries, nationalities and the languages spoken.

• Make a list of different words relating to nationalities such as abbreviations of country names (Czech, Thai), those which end in ‘-ian’ (Austrian, Indian), those which end in ‘-ish’ (Spanish, Turkish, Scottish), those which end in ‘-ese’ (Japanese, Chinese, Nepalese) and those which have different endings such as ‘-er’, ‘-i’ etc.

• Learn to say some simple words in a different language or listen to another language being spoken.

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The names of different countries, nationalities and languages

• Students need to develop their vocabulary to make their writing more interesting and precise.

Learning about the world around them broadens their knowledge about themselves and others.

Knowing the correct words to use in different writing situations will give students confidence to experiment and be more creative.

• The words used for nationalities can be used as nouns or as adjectives.

Example: The food at the French restaurant where we celebrated my birthday was excellent. (adjective) The French enjoy food and wine. (noun) • Many words for nationalities and languages are the same.

Example: French, Spanish, Irish

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C.PuAnswers bl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

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• Explain the word ‘nationality’ if the students are unsure of it.

• Students may brainstorm as a class or in pairs for lists of different countries for Question 1. Explain that the name of the nationality and language are often the same.

• A limerick is a poem with five lines. Lines 1, 2 and 5 usually have 3 beats and rhyme, with lines 3 and 4 having two beats and rhyming. Limericks are meant to be funny and the last line is usually the punchline.

• Students may use three different coloured pencils to identify the country, nationality and language in Question 2.

Note: For Ireland, the language and the nationality are the same word.

• Students should be able to complete the table in Question 3 using their general knowledge.

Primary grammar and word study

1. Teacher check

2. Dane – N, Denmark – C, Danish – L, Ireland – C, Irish – N, L

3.

Country

Nationality

Language

Australia

Australian

English

China

Chinese

Chinese

Egypt

Egyptian

Arabic

Great Britain

British

English

Greece

Greek

Ireland

Irish

Mexico

Mexican

Spanish

Korea

Korean

Korean

Poland

Polish

Polish

Russia

Russian

Russian

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Worksheet information

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Greek

Irish/English

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Countries, nationalities and languages There are many countries in the world, many people who live in them and many different languages spoken.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

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Teac he r

1. In the box below, list at least ten different countries.

The name of the country, the name we call a person from that country and the language the person speaks may all be different words. For example, a person from Brazil is called a Brazilian and the official language is Portuguese.

2. Read the limericks, then write ‘C’ above the words which tell the country, ‘N’ for the nationality and ‘L’ for the language.

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C.Publ i c at i ons Who loved to relate Irish legends Who loved taking walks in the park.

•f o rr evi ew pur pHis ogran se stoldohim. nl y• had Although he spoke Danish,

There once was an old man from Ireland

His accent would vanish

And though some were grim,

When he growled like a beast in the dark.

His listeners enjoyed being frightened.

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3. Complete the table.

Country

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Australia China

Nationality

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There once was a Dane from Denmark

Language

o c . che e r o t r s super Egyptian

Arabic

Great Britain

Greek Irish/English Mexico

Spanish Korean Polish

Russia R.I.C. Publications®

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Plurals

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

• Create a class list of words related to the human body or medicine.

• Have a giant cut-out of a human and ask students to use the plural forms of words to label the diagram.

Definition

Answers

• Plural is a word used to indicate more than one.

Example: three apples, three brushes

1.

1.

Explanation

6.

• ‘Singular’ means one. ‘Plural’ means more than one.

• There are many ways to form the plural of a word.

• To form the plural of most nouns, we just add an s.

• To form the plural of words ending in –sh, –ch, –s and –x, we add es.

• To form the plural of some words, the word ending changes.

Example: one crisis—many crises • Some words have the same form whether the word is singular or plural.

Example: one pair of glasses—many pairs of glasses • It is important that students realise that there are many exceptions to most spelling rules. They should be encouraged to identify exceptions and to share them with the class.

2.

R

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Plurals: adding s or es Irregular plurals: words ending in es changing to is Words always in the plural form.

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2. diagnosis: diagnoses—the process of identifying a patient’s illness.

hypnosis: hypnoses—a mental state of mind in which the mind is open to suggestion

paralysis: paralyses—when all feeling or movement is lost in part or all of the body.

3. (a) forceps (b) measles

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(c) intestines

Worksheet information

• Students may be unfamiliar with some terms used on this worksheet. Ensure a dictionary is available to all students. They should be encouraged to use the dictionary to further develop these skills.

• Discuss each rule and share further examples with students. Record all shared information.

Primary grammar and word study

42

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Your body Plural is a word used to show more than one.

Most nouns are made plural by adding s. Nouns ending in ch, sh, s or x can be made plural by adding es to make them easier to say.

1. Use the plural form of the answers to complete the crossword puzzle.

Down 1. Responsive actions done without thinking.

2. They carry blood back to the heart.

3. The part of the skeleton which protects your heart.

4. Curved hairs growing on the edge of the eyelids.

7. We have two of these for walking, jumping, running.

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Across 8.

2. The cause of viral diseases.

5. You have over 200 of these in your body.

6. These help you to breathe.

8. Bloodsucking worms once used in medicine.

9. Two oval-shaped organs at the back of your throat.

9.

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Nouns ending in – is can change to – es when plural.

2. Use this rule to write the plural words, then write a definition of each word. plural

Definition

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word

diagnosis

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o c . che e r o t r s s r up eand Some nouns are always written in the plural form do not change. hypnosis

paralysis

3. Use these plural words to complete the sentences. forceps

intestines

(a) The surgeon used

(b) Most babies are immunised against

(c) The R.I.C. Publications®

measles

during the operation. to prevent illness.

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43

Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Plurals

Focus

Worksheet information

Teac he r

words ending with y words ending with a consonant followed by o words ending with f and fe

• Discuss each rule and share similar examples with students. Record all shared information.

• Discuss exceptions to the rule.

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Plurals:

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Ideas for further practice

Definition

• Create a nature mural and use plural terms to label the artwork.

• Plural is a word used to indicate more than one.

Example: three apples, three brushes

Answers

Explanation

1. donkeys, flies, butterflies, stingrays, joeys, canaries, dromedaries, birthdays

Teacher check sentences

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Primary grammar and word study

2. (a) mosquitoes (d) Mangoes

(b) volcanoes (e) dingoes

(c) potatoes

Note: Some dictionaries also accept mosquitos, volcanos, mangos and dingos.

3. (a) knives (d) wives

(b) reefs (e) gulfs

(c) ourselves

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w ww

• ‘Singular’ means one. ‘Plural’ means more than one.

• There are many ways to form the plural of a word.

• To form the plural of words ending in a vowel and y, add s.

Example: monkey—monkeys • To form the plural of words ending in a ‘consonant and y, change y to i and add es.

Example: fly—flies • To form the plural of words ending in a consonant and o, add es.

Example: tomato—tomatoes • To form the plural of some words ending in f or fe change the f or fe to v and add es.

Example: calf, calves wife, wives • To form the plural of some words ending in f, add s.

Example: chief—chiefs.

• It is important that students realise that there are many exceptions to most spelling rules. They should be encouraged to identify exceptions and to share them with the class.

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Plurals Plural is a word used to show more than one.

When a word ends in a vowel followed by y—just add s.

When a word ends in a consonant followed by y—change y to i and add es.

1. Write the plural of each word. Choose two to show each rule and write each in a short sentence. donkey

fly

butterfly

stingray

joey

canary

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birthday

•

• • •

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Teac he r

dromedary

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C.Publ i cat i ons 2. Use the plural form of these words to complete the sentences.

• f orr evi e w pur p oseso nl y•

mosquito dingo potato volcano Usually when a word ends in a consonant followed by o—add es.

(b) I would love to do a tour of active to visit Pompeii.

annoying, especially when they bite.

m . u

(a) Most people find

w ww

mango

around the world and I particularly want

. te are my favourite tropical fruit. o c (e) Did you know that don’t actually bark? . che e r o t r Usually when a word ends in f or fe,s change them vs and add es, but some words just add s. up etor (c) Mum needs six large

to make her yummy potato salad.

(d)

3. Circle the correct plural in each sentence.

(a) Please put the (knives/knifes) and forks on the table.

(b) The coral (reeves/reefs) attract many divers.

(c) We would really like to do it (ourselfs/ourselves)

(d) The men and their (wifes/wives) went on holiday.

(e) The early explorers mapped many (gulfs/gulves) along the coast.

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Prefixes

Focus

• Inter means among, between or in the midst of and often indicates a connection between things.

Example: interschool, interstate, interactive • Sub has a number of meanings; Example: under, beneath, below (submarine, submerge), (subnormal) and nearly (subcentral) • Pre can mean earlier than, before (prehistoric) or in front of (premolar).

• Dis has a number of meanings; when attached to verbs it usually means to reverse or do the opposite (disagree, disbelieve) or to remove (disrobe, disarm); when added to nouns it commonly means opposite (disrespect, distaste), and when added to adjectives or past participles means not (dishonest, disobedient).

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Prefixes: inter, sub, pre and dis.

Definition

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• A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to alter its meaning and form a new word.

Example: The Emperor dislikes those who disobey.

Explanation

• A prefix is a word part that has a meaning of its own, often derived from Greek or Latin. Prefixes usually do not occur as independent words. The prefix is added to the beginning of a base word to change its meaning, without changing the spelling of that word. Sometimes a hyphen is placed between the prefix and the base (or root) word, such as in the following: - when prefixes come before proper nouns Example: un-Australian, anti-American - when prefixes ending in a or i are added to a word that begins with the same letter:

Example:

information © R. I .

C.PuWorksheet bl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

m . u

• Discuss the definition of prefixes with the students.

Describe how each prefix has a meaning of its own, and when added to another word changes the meaning of that word. Write some examples of words with prefixes, and allow the students to draw a line dividing the prefixes from the base words. Discuss how sometimes a word might look like it has a prefix; e.g. predator.

Remind students to check if the following letters form a base word or not, to determine if it is a prefix.

• Read the story with the students. Some may not understand all the words; what is important is that they hear the prefixes in context and understand the general story. Students then complete the worksheet as directed.

• It is important that there is a conclusion to this activity.

Students need to conference in small groups, or discuss their findings as a class. Each small group (or the whole class) should compile a set of meanings for each prefix that the teacher should ensure is correct.

w ww

ultra-ambitious - when the prefix is ex or self, (except for selfish and selfless),

Example: ex-husband, self-centred • Ensure students learn to be aware of letter clusters that look like prefixes, but aren’t, e.g. the letters un in uncle, or in in invented.

Students can practise identifying these ‘trick’ prefixes by looking at the base or root word that is left. The prefixes that cause the most difficulty are re, in and dis.

• Learning the meanings of prefixes can help students decipher, spell and understand words, especially larger words, and increase their vocabulary. Understanding that the spelling of neither the prefix nor the base word changes can help students to spell commonly misspelled words such as unnecessary, misspell and disappointment.

• Trans is a prefix meaning across, over or beyond.

Example: transaction, transmission, transport, transplant

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Primary grammar and word study

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Ideas for further practice • Students could compare the meanings of words with the prefix in and the prefix inter.

• Search for more words with the prefix inter- using books, magazines and newspapers.

Answers

46

1. Teacher check

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Prefixes Prefixes are groups of letters in front of words that change the meaning of the word; for example: unhappy.

1. (a) Read the story and take note of the prefixes in bold.

(b) Choose three of the four different prefixes from the story and write them in the table below. (c) Write two words from the story with that prefix.

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •(c)f o r evi ew u r poofs esonl y• of prefix (b) Prefix r Words (d) p Definition words (e) Meaning (d) Write a definition to explain the meaning of each word.

(e) Work out what each prefix means.

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m . u

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Teac he r

Tariq disliked the feeling he got each time he went down the lift into the secret submarine lab. He felt alone and disconnected from the real world down in this suboceanic building. Still, they needed someone to preview the data from the specially trained spy-dolphins before the international secrets were sent to powerful intercity officials. Tariq had wanted to work with dolphins since he was in preschool. He exited the lift, punched his code into the alarm, then froze as the door to his lab slid open. The lab was in total disarray; papers were on the floor, computers were smashed. Who had broken into his lab, and why? What should he do now?

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Suffixes • Read the introduction and check for student understanding. Allow students to look at the text in their own time and underline words which have a base that changes spelling when the suffix is added. Provide dictionaries for student reference if necessary. Students then complete the wordsearch, locating new words created from the base words by the addition of suffixes.

• In Question 3, students write one rule they observed.

• As a follow-up activity, ask students to share some of the rules they have discovered. Write the correct rules on a chart to put up in the classroom for student reference.

• Teachers could choose to follow this activity with a more in-depth study of the rules pertaining to adding certain suffixes to certain words as listed above.

• It is important that students realise there are exceptions to most of these rules. They should be encouraged to identify exceptions and to share them with the class.

Focus Suffixes ed, er and ing.

Definition • A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a base word to change its meaning and form a new word.

Explanation

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Teac he r

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• Generally, when a suffix is added to a base word, the spelling of both stays the same. There are a number of rules, however, when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, such as ing, ed and er.

• The final consonant must be doubled before adding the suffix to words of one syllable with a short vowel followed by a consonant.

Example: hop – hopped, run – running This rule also applies to words of two or more syllables, provided the accent falls on the last syllable.

Example: forget – forgotten Exceptions are bus, gas and words that end in w.

• Consonants are not doubled after a long or double vowel, Example: clean – cleaning, sleep – soaking • In words ending in a silent e, the e is usually dropped.

Example: hope – hoping, please – pleasing, tune – tuning • Words ending in ac or ic, add a k before the suffix, Example: panic – panicked, mimic – mimicking, picnic – picnicker • Words that ends in y, change the y to an i before adding the suffix (e.g. easy–easiest), unless a vowel comes before it (e.g. play–played) or the suffix is ing (e.g. carrying, hurrying).

• There are some exceptions to these rules.

• Knowing the meanings of common suffixes may assist students to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. A sound knowledge of suffixes will also help students spell correctly and develop their vocabulary. An understanding of suffixes can also help students identify which part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) the word belongs to.

Ideas for further practise

• <http://www.firstschoolyears.com/literacy/word/ other/prefixes/interactive/-ing.swf> and <http://www. bigbrownbear.co.uk/demo/suffix.htm> are online interactive activities where students can practise adding these suffixes.

• Send students on a ‘suffix hunt’ around the classroom to try to find words that have changed spelling once a suffix has been added.

• At http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/adventure/ grammar4.htm# students can practise adding ed and ing to words in the fishing game.

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Answers

1. winner (double n), announcer (silent e is dropped), winner (double n), cried (y changed to i), excited (silent e is dropped), confused (silent e is dropped), happier (y changed to i), picnicking (k added before ing), tail-waggers (double g).

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Worksheet information

• By completing this worksheet, students should discover for themselves at least one of the rules regarding adding these suffixes to certain base words.

Primary grammar and word study

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2. cry-cried, marry-married, win-winning, move-moving, play-played, try-tried, wag-wagging, hurry-hurrying, dig-digging q

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3. Teacher check

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Suffixes Suffixes are letters added to the end of base words. Sometimes suffixes, like ed, er and ing change the spelling of the base word they join.

1. (a) Read the story below and notice the spelling of the words with suffixes.

Okay, it’s time folks. Time to choose the winner of our concert ticket contest’, the radio announcer crooned. ‘Hello caller on line three!’

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‘ME? Am I the winner? Oh WOW!! I’ve been trying to get through for hours!’ a female voice cried.

‘Oh, oo, oh, ah, I’m so thrilled!’, squawked the excited voice.

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‘Well, hang on there caller. Could you start by identifying yourself?’

‘Well, Sothrild, that’s an interesting name’, said the confused announcer.

‘Oh, no, my name is Emily, and I’ve never been happier!’ she squealed.

‘Okay, Emily, you are now the lucky owner of two tickets to see The Picnicking Tailwaggers live in concert next week.’

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons (b) Underline the base words thatw changed when a suffix was added.

•f o r r e vi e pu r p os es onl y• ‘Oh! Yes! Awesome! Thank you! Woohooooo!’

w ww

Base words

cry

marry

win

move

play

try

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2. Ed, er or ing has been added to the following base words in the wordsearch. Find the new words and write them next to the base word.

hurry

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3. Write one thing you have noticed about adding some of these suffixes.

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Synonyms and antonyms

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Focus Synonyms and antonyms

• Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meaning.

Example: child – infant • Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning.

Example: sweet – sour – unpleasant

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Teac he r

Definitions

• Complete other crossword puzzles and identify the synonyms used in clues.

• Change the meaning of a sentence by substituting antonyms.

• As a class, list and record synonyms of words ‘over-used’ in writing such as ‘said’ and ‘nice’.

Answers

Explanation

1. (a) powerful (b) rescue (c) durable (d) correct 2. Answers will vary but may include:

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(a) cheap

(c) friend

(d) deep

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Worksheet information

8.

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• Identical twins occur when one fertilised egg (ovum) splits and forms two babies with exactly the same genetic makeup. Fraternal twins occur when two separate eggs (ova) are fertilised by two different sperm and form two children with different genetic information.

• Differentiate between synonyms and antonyms as described on the worksheet and discuss some examples.

• Students should read the text and the clues to complete the crossword. Whether the answer is a synonym or antonym of the word given is indicated in brackets.

Primary grammar and word study

(b) divide

m . u

w ww

• Identifying synonyms and antonyms develops and enriches students’ vocabulary and enhances their written and verbal communication.

• Identifying and using more ‘interesting’ synonyms, such as other words for ‘nice’ or ‘said’ can give more meaning to a sentence or more interest to a description.

• Antonyms and synonyms are often used as clues for crossword puzzles.

• As words can have many meanings, the context in which the word is used must be taken into consideration.

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Synonyms and antonyms Antonyms are words with the opposite meaning.

Synonyms are words with the same or similar meaning.

1. Write synonyms for ...

(a) strong

(b)

save

(c) tough

(d)

right

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2. Write antonyms for ... (a) expensive

(c) enemy

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(b) multiply

(d) shallow

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3. Find words in the text to answer the clues in the crossword puzzle.

Ron and Todd were identical twins but Sarah and Sasha were fraternal twins. They were all in the same class. Their teacher, Mr Scott, found it very easy to tell Sarah and Sasha apart but he was always confusing Ron and Todd.

Of course, the boys really enjoyed confusing Mr Scott. They would often change seats, comb their hair differently or give their brother’s name instead of their own when the roll was called.

The only time Mr Scott had no trouble telling Ron and Todd apart was when Ron fell from the climbing frame at morning tea. He cut his forehead and had a small wound for at least two weeks.

1.

2.

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4.

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Across

4. frequently (synonym)

6. sororal (sisterly) (antonym)

8. disliked (antonym)

9. never (antonym)

11. switch (synonym)

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totally different (antonym) difficulty (synonym) girls (antonym) instructor (synonym) gigantic (antonym) difficult (antonym) alike (synonym) www.ricpublications.com.au

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51

Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Word origins

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Word origins

• Etymology is the name given to the study of historical linguistic change, usually when referring to individual words; the body of knowledge relating to this study; an account of the history of a particular word and the derivation of a word.

Example: astrology comes from the Greek word ‘astro-’ meaning ‘star’

Answers

1. (a) report

(c) scribe

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Teac he r

Definition

• Look at the origins of phrases in well-known nursery rhymes such as ‘Ring a ring a rosy ...’.

• Investigate words such as scuba, radar and laser where the initials are used to make words (an acronym).

• Use a dictionary to find the meanings and origins of words of interest.

(b) temporary (d) alternate

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(e) bibliography

(f)

• Finding out about the origin of words gives a history of the language and the people who use it.

• By understanding word origins, students expand their vocabulary and ability to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

• Included in this section are words using word parts, such as alter- and also words derived from other countries, such as patio.

• The word part can be used as:

– a suffix (phone – telephone)

– a prefix (geo – geography) • In a good dictionary, word origins are usually given after the meaning.

(g) solar

(h) crustaceans

(i) thermal

(j)

Teacher check other words from origin.

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zoology

amphibian

2. (a) garage

(b) chef

(c) yacht

(d) siesta

(e) commando

(f)

(g) kindergarten

(h) patio

(i) pizza

brunette

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Explanation

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Worksheet information

• Read and discuss the introductory paragraph. Give and ask for examples. Familiar prefixes or suffixes such as bio- (life), graph (writing, printing), fac (make), hydro (water), mater (mother), psych (mind), spec (look/see), terr (earth) and vac (empty) may be used.

• Students should read the text and complete the table in Question 1.

• All the words in Question 2 have entered English from another language.

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Word origins Many of the words we use come from other languages.

Knowing where words come from and their meaning can help us to work out the meaning of some unknown words.

1. Read the text below then write words to match each origin.

The temporary teacher asked me to write a bibliography to accompany my report about amphibians for our zoology research. My alternate topic was crustaceans. For my next one I might scribe information from a documentary and draw diagrams about solar power or thermal heating.

Origin

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S Meaning

Another word based on origin

carry

(b) temp

time

(c) scrib

write

(d) alter

other

(e) biblio

book

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(a) port

Word from text

shell

(i) therm

heat

(j) amphi

both ends or all sides

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(h) crusta

. te (b) a cook (French)

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2. Use the clue and the initial letter to write a word derived from the country in brackets.

g o c c . c e y h(Dutch) r (c) a light, fast sailing ship er o t s s r u e p (d) a short nap at noon (Spanish) s

(e) a specially trained soldier (Afrikaans)

c

(f) a woman with brown or black hair (French)

b

(g) a place where young children are educated (German)

k

(h) an open courtyard (Spanish)

p

(i) a pie made with a yeast base (Italian)

p

(a) a place where automobiles are kept (French)

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Confused words

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Related words that look and sound similar

Teac he r

Explanation

• Play with the pairs of words; e.g. count the number of letters in each, draw their outlines on squared paper. How do they differ? Which letters are the same/different?

• Divide the class into five groups and give each one a pair of words. The students research each pair of words giving real examples—e.g. emigrant and immigrant—highlighting on a world map the movement of people to and from different countries, briefly explaining why. For example: As a result of the Irish famine in 1845 many people left Ireland for the United States; After WW II, people emigrated from many European countries and some immigrated to Australia.

• Write each word on a piece of card. Students place the cards face down and take turns to choose a card and give a definition of the word.

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• The words in each pair are related to each other.

Confusion occurs because: – the words have similar sounds and spellings – the difference in meaning and use of each word is not recognised.

Worksheet information • Before presenting the class with the worksheet, write the pairs of words on the board and ask the students to explain the similarities and differences between the words in each pair. Discuss spelling as well as meaning.

• A mnemonic is a verse or something similar which aims to assist the memory.

Example: because: big elephants can always understand small elephants • Discuss ways in which the differences between the words might be remembered Example: Stalactites come down from the ceiling while stalagmites rise up from the ground and a CT scan may be required if you knock your head on a stalactite.

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Primary grammar and word study

54

S

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2. Teacher check

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R.I.C. Publications®

Confused words Some related words sound and look similar but they have different meanings.

1. Answer the clues to complete the puzzle.

1.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S 2.

3.

5.

6.

7.

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Teac he r

4.

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• 8.

9.

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Across 2. To bring (goods) in from another country

. tewho (or company that) provides Down o 6. A person c 1. A person who. works for others. work for others che e r o

2.

A person comes into a new country, t 7. The waste that is removed through pipes r sintendingwho super to make it home.

5. A person who leaves his or her country to live in another

8. A mineral deposit that hangs from the roof of a limestone cave

3. To send (goods) to another country

9. The system by which waste is removed through pipes

4. A mineral deposit that rises from the floor of a limestone cave

2. (a) On a separate page, write a mnemonic for one pair of the confused words.

(b) Share this trick for remembering them with the class.

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Primary grammar and word study

Understanding and choosing words Confused words

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

bad/badly and good/well

Teac he r

Explanation

• Each student offers a sentence containing one of the four words. These are written down and then analysed by the whole group/class to determine if the correct word has been used.

• Groups of students work together to write a piece of text with some deliberate mistakes in the use of the four words. The texts are shuffled and shared among the groups who read and correct them, discussing the errors.

• Students write a brief explanation of the use of each word in the context of several sentences and use them to explain their use to younger students.

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• Bad and badly and good and well are modifiers that are often confused.

– Bad and good are always adjectives and are

used to describe nouns and pronouns.

Example: a bad child, a good dentist He is good but she is bad.

– Badly and well are adverbs but can be adjectives. They can tell how something is done (adverbs) or describe a person’s health (adjective)

Example:

She spoke badly. (adverb)

He sang well. (adverb)

I feel well. (adjective describing I)

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C.PuAnswers bl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

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• Before presenting the class with the worksheet, explain the role of each word as an adjective or an adverb using examples: The equipment is good. The windows have been cleaned well. The books have been treated badly. The state of the carpet is bad.

• Students complete the cloze activity in Question 1. In Question 2, students mark a tick or a cross against each sentence and write the correct word at the end.

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Primary grammar and word study

1. 1. good 5. bad

2. (a) (c) (e) (g)

2. well 6. well

(✘) badly (✔) bad (✘) well (✔) good

3. badly 7. badly

4. well 8. good

(b) (✘) good (d) (✔) well (f) (✘) badly (h) (✔) well

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Worksheet information

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Bad or badly? Good or well?

Bad and good are always adjectives and describe nouns and pronouns.

Example: The bad storm was followed by good rain.

Badly and well can be adverbs or adjectives. They can tell how something is done (adverb) or describe a person’s health (adjective).

Example: Teischa swims well but she runs badly. (adverb)

I fell well. (adjective)

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u The school concert S

1. Read the text and choose the correct word for each gap. bad

badly

good

The popular school concert is always very 2

well

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Teac he r

. Students who perform

1

are chosen to sing, dance and play instruments. I sing very

so I am never chosen for the choir but I do play the flute quite

and I am in the

4

orchestra. My brother’s behaviour at rehearsals is always very

3

, so he won’t be

5

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C.Publ i cat i ons .

He wants to be a rock star and I know he • f o r r e vi ewon stage. pur posesonl y• would be really

in the concert even though he plays the guitar extremely

6

7

8

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2. Mark each sentence with a tick ( ) or a cross ( ).

Write the correct word at the end of the sentence if needed.

. te o (b) The pie tastes well.

c . c e h r (c) The goat was bad for eating my socks. o er t s super (a) I performed bad in the exam.

(d) The dogs gathered the sheep well.

(e) I slept good last night.

(f) Sally is coughing very bad today.

(g) My friend is so good at sport.

(h) The patient is feeling well.

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Full stops, question marks and exclamation marks

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Full stops at the end of a sentence and for abbreviations Question marks Exclamation marks

• Exclamation marks usually indicate strong feeling, such as surprise, misery, excitement, disgust, anger or joy. An exclamation mark can be used at the end of an interjection (Oh no!) or command (Don’t touch!) and to add emphasis.

Definitions

Worksheet information

Teac he r

Focus

• Discuss the information at the top of the worksheet and allow the students to find the correct definitions.

Practise the use of each correct punctuation mark using some sentence examples before students complete Question 2. The choice of exclamation marks can be a personal one and overuse can make them less effective.

• Read the information about abbreviations and allow the students to complete Questions 3 and 4. Discuss any abbreviations the students are unfamiliar with.

• Ask the students to attempt to write the abbreviations for less familiar words such as ‘for example’ (e.g.), ‘versus’ (v., or vs.), ‘et cetera’ (etc.), ‘following’ (f.), ‘lines’ (ll.) and ‘pages’ (pp).

• Discuss abbreviations which the students may be familiar with relating to SMS messages. Discuss why many ‘normal’ punctuation marks such as capital letters, full stops etc. are omitted.

Explanation

Answers

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• Full stops are punctuation marks used to show the end of a sentence.

Example: Our team plays the competition leaders on Saturday.

• An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word. A full stop can be used to show that a word has been abbreviated.

Example: Tuesday—Tu. or Tues.

• Question marks are punctuation marks used to indicate a question.

Example: What difference does it make?

• Exclamation marks are punctuation marks used at the end of a remark to show strong emotion or feeling.

Example: Oh no! Mum is going to be so angry!

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• Full stops, also called periods, usually show the end of an idea or thought in a sentence. They can also indicate that a break is needed when reading.

• In abbreviations, full stops are not used when the last letter is the last letter of the word.* Example: Road – Rd, Doctor – Dr • The necessity for faster communication has contributed to some changes.

• Abbreviations of proper nouns, such as New South Wales (NSW) no longer need full stops. They are now used only to avoid confusion.

Example: R.I.C. Publications.

The full stops are used to indicate pronunciation.

• A question is an interrogative statement, addressed to someone in order to elicit information. Questions often begin with words such as ‘Who’, ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Where’, ‘How’ and ‘Why’.

Primary grammar and word study

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for further practice © R. I .

C.PuIdeas bl i c at i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

1. (a) A full stop is a mark used to show the end of a sentence. (b) A question mark is a mark at the end of a sentence which asks something to find out information. (c) An exclamation mark is a mark used to show strong feelings, surprise, anger or excitement.

2. Punctuation marks (in order)—full stop, question mark, full stop, full stop, full stop, exclamation mark, question mark 3. (a) Wed. (b) cont. (c) Tas. (d) Bill and Co. (e) Yellow R. (f) Aug.

4. (a) maths (b) Rd (c) tel. (d) Sun. (e) ch. (f) Dr

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* R.I.C. Publications® punctuates abbreviations as recommended by the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, sixth edition, 2002.

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Full stops, question marks and exclamation marks 1. Match the correct beginning to the end of the sentence to make the definition.

(a) A full stop is

•

• a mark at the end of a sentence which asks something to find out information.

(b) A question mark is

•

• a mark used to show strong feelings, surprise, anger or excitement.

(c) An exclamation mark is •

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

• a mark used to show the end of a sentence.

(a) My friend is sick

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Teac he r

2. Write the correct punctuation marks to complete the poem.

How can that be

(b) She always looks so well to me (c) Her doctor says she cannot live (d) She has no more love to give

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •can f o rmyr e vi w pur posesonl y• What help heart toe mend

(e) Put the knife down now

(f)

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Full stops can show that a word has been shortened (abbreviated).

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Example: Professor – Prof.

If the last letter of an abbreviation is the same as the last letter of the word, a full stop is not needed.

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3. Write the abbreviations for the words below. ch e r er o (a) Wednesday

(b) continued t s super (c) Tasmania (d) Bill and Company Example: Street – St

(e) Yellow River

(f)

August

4. Write the abbreviation for each word. Some do not need a full stop.

(a) mathematics

(b)

Road

(c) telephone

(d)

Sunday

(e) chapter

(f)

Doctor

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Capital letters

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Focus

Teac he r Definitions

• Capital letters are upper case letters used to begin a sentence, for proper nouns and for titles.

Example:

On the weekend, we are going to visit our nan.

Monday is my favourite day of the week because we have music with Mrs Heather.

The story of Blaze, the lion cub* • Proper nouns are nouns used to name particular people, places, titles or things.

Example:

Doctor Melton, Chivers Close, Caversham House

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• Use handwriting script to correctly write all lower and uppercase letters of the alphabet.

• Make a list of a variety of different titles for people.

For example, Mr, Mrs, Dr, Sir, Ms, Miss and other specific titles such as Governor General.

• Address a postal envelope correctly to send to a parent.

Capital letters at the beginning of a sentence Capital letters for proper nouns

Answers

1. ‘Here is the latest news report. The visit of John Bull, the Prime Minister of Molata, to the independent countries of North Eloni and South Turua commenced today, when his jet touched down in Kepi, the capital of North Eloni.

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President Rata and his well-known Commanderin-Chief, General Sabata, were there to greet Prime Minister Bull and his party. Warm greetings were exchanged and the parties appeared to be on good terms. The Prime Minister and his party enjoyed a light lunch before settling down to talks relating to trade negotiations and military activities in the region. A formal state banquet is scheduled to be held at Maru, the presidential home tonight.

Tours of Kepi Military Base and new industrial areas are to be conducted tomorrow.

Explanation

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• Capital letters are needed for the first word in a sentence.

• Proper nouns can be considered ‘special’ nouns and so are written with capital letters. Proper nouns include people’s names, names of places, days of the week, months, holidays and festivals, countries, nationalities, languages and religions.

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Staff Secretary, Joseph Perez, has stated that the visit by Prime Minister Bull is proceeding as planned with positive results for all parties concerned.

Worksheet information

• Read and discuss the information about capital letters, and some examples.

• The text in Question 1 includes fictitious names for people and places. When the text has been edited, the students should reread the corrected version to check for sense.

• See note below about minimal capitalisation for book titles when correcting answers to Question 2.

Teachers should use the format they are most comfortable with.

Primary grammar and word study

This is Clare Bright of KWB News reporting to you from Kepi.’

2. Teacher check

* R.I.C. Publications® employs minimal capitalisation for titles of books and other publications as recommended by the Style manual for authors, editors and printers, sixth edition, 2002.

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Capital letters Capital letters are used: • to begin a sentence; and • for proper nouns (the names of people, places, days, titles, months and special things).

1. Edit the text below by adding the missing capital letters above each error. Use the position of full stops as a clue for capital letters at the beginning of sentences. (There are 48 missing capital letters!)

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

‘here is the latest news report. the visit of john bull, the prime minister of molata, to the independent

Teac he r

countries of north eloni and south turua commenced today, when his jet touched down in kepi, the

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capital of north eloni.

president rata and his well-known commander-in-chief, general sabata, were there to greet prime minister bull and his party. warm greetings were exchanged and the parties appeared to be on good terms. the prime minister and his party enjoyed a light lunch before settling down to talks relating

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons held at maru, the presidential home tonight. tours of kepi military base and new industrial areas are •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• to be conducted tomorrow. to trade negotiations and military activities in the region. a formal state banquet is scheduled to be

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planned with positive results for all parties concerned.

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staff secretary, joseph perez, has stated that the visit by prime minister bull is proceeding as

. te of each. o 2. Write one example c . chbook (a) the name of a favourite and its author e r e o t r s s Example: ‘The secret garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett up er this is clare bright of kwb news reporting to you from kepi.’

Note: Only the first word in this book title has a capital letter!

(b) the name of a capital city and the country where it can be found

(c) the name of a special religious festival or holiday

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61

Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Commas

Focus

Worksheet information

Commas in a series of words and phrases

• Read the text with the class. Students identify the sentences with lists of words and lists of phrases.

Explain to the class that a phrase is a group of words forming a unit in a sentence. (It does not have a verb with a subject.)

• Read and discuss the comma rule with the class.

• Students determine if the sentences in Question 2 contain a series of words or a series of phrases before they begin the task. Students add commas where they are needed, following the comma rule.

• Introduce the new comma rule to the class, explaining that when a series of words ends with the last item having an ‘and’, an extra comma is required. In Question 3, the students add the commas where needed. They create their own sentence in Question 4.

Definition

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

• Commas are punctuation marks that can be used to separate words or phrases to clarify meaning.

Explanation

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• In a series, the comma stands for an omitted conjunction, such as ‘and’ or ‘or’.

Example: ‘I play the violin, cello and piano’ means ‘I play the violin and cello and piano’.

The comma has replaced the omitted ‘and’.

• Commas can be used for: – a series of nouns.

Example: The meal consisted of steak, peas and potatoes.

– a series of verbs.

Example: Jason ran, tripped, fell and fainted.

– a series of adjectives.

Example: She was young, beautiful, kind and naive.

– a series of phrases.

Example: He doesn’t like washing dishes, ironing clothes, or mopping floors.

• A comma placed before the conjunction is called a serial comma and is usually unnecessary. The serial comma is necessary if omitting it might lead to confusion as to the meaning of the sentence.

Example: Jason spotted a man running, a girl eating an icecream and a fox. (Incorrect) Without a comma after ‘ice-cream’, it may seem the girl is eating an ‘ice-cream’ and a fox!

Example: Jason spotted a man running, a girl eating an ‘ice-cream’, and a fox. (Correct) A serial comma is also needed if the last item in a list already has ‘and’.

Example: I enjoy eating steak, lamb, and fish and chips.

Ideas for further practice

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

Primary grammar and word study

Answers 1.

Teacher check

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• Finish the sentences: ‘Four animals which live in the desert are …’; ‘To make pancakes, we need …’

Create your own sentence starters.

• Find a suitable newspaper article, copy it and distribute to the class. Students identify sentences which contain lists of words and phrases and highlight them.

• Write sentences containing lists of words and ask a friend to punctuate them. Correct the work and give feedback.

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2. (a) Colby enjoyed swimming on Monday, football on Wednesday, karate on Friday and golf on Saturday. (b) We ate pies, hotdogs, nuggets, ice-cream and cake at the party. (c) I think it is important to help the needy by giving spare blankets for winter, small gifts at Christmas, food items throughout the year and small donations to charities like the Salvation Army. (d) I need to buy paint, paintbrushes, pencils, black markers, cartridge paper and a satchel for my art class.

3. (a) In order to be healthy, one must eat dairy, meat, grains, and fruits and vegetables. (b) My mum loves listening to jazz, pop, country, classical, and rock and roll music.

4. Teacher check

The end of the sentence should read:

.............., and black and blue.

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Commas in a series Commas are used to separate a series of words or phrases in a sentence to make the meaning clear.

1. (a) Read the text.

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(i) Circle all the commas used in lists of words and phrases. (ii) Use a coloured pencil to underline words and phrases used in a series.

Comma rule

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Teac he r

Creating a media package to educate students in our school about environmental issues involved designing and creating posters, writing and producing informative DVDs, researching and publishing easy-to-read pamphlets for the students to take home and inviting guest speakers to our school to talk to the students. Our class worked independently, in pairs, in small groups and as a whole class to complete the huge task. We all found the process very educational, interesting, exciting and rewarding. We learnt various ways to help reduce our environmental impact within our school, home and community.

• Put a comma after every word or phrase in the list except the last two.

• Put ‘and’ or ‘or’ between the last two items.

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons (a) Colby enjoyed swimming on Monday football on Wednesday karate on Friday and golf on Saturday.

•f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

(b) We ate pies hotdogs nuggets ice-cream and cake at the party.

(c) I think it is important to help the needy by giving spare blankets for winter small gifts at Christmas food items throughout the year and small donations to charities like the Salvation Army.

(d) I need to buy paint paintbrushes pencils black markers cartridge paper and a satchel for my art class.

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2. Add commas where they are needed in the sentences below.

. t Comma rule e

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If the last item in a listc already has ‘and’ in it, add a comma and ‘and’ before it. e h r Example: The children playede hopscotch, skipping, and hide and seek. o r st su per

3. Add commas where they are needed in these sentences.

(a) In order to be healthy, one must eat dairy meat grains and fruits and vegetables.

(b) My mum loves listening to jazz pop country classical and rock and roll music.

4. Write a sentence which includes a list of words and ends with ‘black and blue’.

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63

Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Commas

Focus

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Definitions

• Find a suitable newspaper article, copy it and distribute to the class. Students identify sentences which contain introductory or non-essential clauses and phrases and highlight them.

• Students work in pairs. One student writes the sentence (missing the phrase or clause) while at the same time the other student (without looking at the first student’s sentence) writes a phrase or clause.

The two are put together to create a silly sentence.

• Commas are punctuation marks used to separate words, phrases or clauses to clarify meaning.

• A phrase is a group of words forming a unit in a sentence. It does not contain a finite verb (i.e. a verb with a subject) • A clause is a group of words, including a verb and its subject. (A clause can be a simple sentence).

Answers

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Teac he r

Commas used to separate phrases and clauses within sentences or used as an introduction.

1. (a) who is running in the middle lane (b) covered with fresh cream and berries

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

Explanation

2. (a) That girl, wearing the pink and yellow bikini, reminds me of my cousin. (b) My favourite book, which happens to be written by C S Lewis, is The lion, the witch and the wardrobe.

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3. Teacher check 4. (a) While I was washing the car, (b) When the weekend finally arrives,

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• A pair of commas can be used in the middle of a sentence to separate a phrase which is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. One comma indicates the beginning of the phrase and the other the end of the phrase.

Example: That girl, wearing blue pyjamas, is my sister.

• A comma is used at the end of a phrase or clause which has been used as an introductory element.

Example: After the holidays were finished, the children wished they had gone to the country to visit their grandparents.

5. (a) Because his mum’s car broke down, he was very late for school. (b) Since it is Friday, you may stay up late to watch the movie.

o c . che e r o t r s super 6. Teacher check

Worksheet information

• Read the first explanation to the class. Explain that a phrase or a clause is a group of words forming a unit in a sentence. (A phrase is a group of words in a sentence which does not have a finite verb. (i.e. a verb with a subject).) Provide some basic examples of phrases and clauses for the students or ask them to share their own ideas.

• Students complete Questions 1, 2 and 3.

• Read the second explanation to the class. This time the groups of words are at the beginning of each sentence.

• Students complete Questions 4, 5 and 6. They will need to add commas in Question 6.

Primary grammar and word study

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Commas Commas are used to identify a clause or phrase in a sentence which provides the reader with extra background information. If this extra information is taken out, the sentence will still make sense.

1. Underline the clause or phrase, which gives extra information, in each of these sentences.

(a) That boy, who is running in the middle lane, may win the race.

(b) My birthday cake, covered with fresh cream and berries, was absolutely delicious.

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

2. Use commas to identify the clause or phrase which adds extra information in each of these sentences.

(b) My favourite book which happens to be written by C S Lewis is The lion, the witch and the wardrobe.

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(a) That girl wearing the pink and yellow bikini reminds me of my cousin.

Teac he r

3. Write a clause or phrase, and add commas, to complete each sentence.

(a) My friend have.

is the best friend I could possibly

(b) I saw the car and crash into the swimming pool.

drive straight through the fence

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons A comma• can be used after ani introductory clause ino a sentence. f o rr ev e w pu r p sesonl y•

Introductory clauses often start with the words: after, although, as, because, if, since, when.

(a) While I was washing the car, the clouds became dark and heavy and threatened to rain.

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4. Underline the introductory clause in each of these sentences.

. te o 5. Use a comma to identify the introductory clause in each of these c . che sentences. e r o t r sfor school. su (a) Because his mum’s car broke down hep wase very late r

(b) When the weekend finally arrives, everyone relaxes and enjoys various fun activities with their family.

(b) Since it is Friday you may stay up late to watch the movie.

6. Write an introductory clause to complete each sentence.

(a)

the people in the local community worked together to clean up the mess.

(b)

we’ll head for the safety of our home in the hills.

(c) R.I.C. Publications®

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Apostrophes

r o e t s Bo r e p ok u S

Ideas for further practice

Focus

Teac he r

Definition

• A contraction is a shorter word made by joining two or more words and taking out one or more letters.

The missing letter or letters is/are replaced by an apostrophe.

Explanation

• When two or more words are joined and contracted, the omitted letter or letters are marked with an apostrophe inserted where the letters were removed.

The spelling of the first word usually remains unchanged.

• The mistake is often made of placing the apostrophe between the two words; e.g. should’nt, do’nt.

Students will need to be reminded that the apostrophe marks the missing letter.

• In English, contractions are commonly used in speech and informal writing, but not often in formal writing.

Answers

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• At <http://rbeaudoin333.homestead.com/files/ contractions/contraction_2.html> students can practise contracting ‘will’ in an online interactive activity.

• In groups of three, students could act out their conversations between Jack and his parents.

Conversely, teachers could ask the students to ‘uncontract’ their dialogues and discuss the way their contractions made speaking much easier and quicker.

Apostrophes in contractions

© R. I .

C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

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Worksheet information • Demonstrate contracting words on the board by physically rubbing out the appropriate letters from words in a sentence and adding apostrophes.

Remind students that an apostrophe goes where a letter was taken out, not where the two words join. Discuss the purpose of contractions and demonstrate how they make speaking quicker and easier.

• Students read the introduction and Jack’s story. They then circle or highlight the contractions in the text.

• Students write a conversation between Jack and his parents upon their return, making sure to include contractions. They may need more space to write; in this case they could continue on the back of the worksheet or on a separate sheet of paper.

• To finish, students write the contracted form of the word pairs provided in Question 2.

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Primary grammar and word study

1. We’ll, You’ll, won’t, I’ll, I’ll, She’ll, She’ll, We’ll, it’ll 2. (a) should have – should’ve (b) he will – he’ll (c) we are – we’re (d) will not – won’t (e) they are – they’re (f) can not – can’t (g) did not – didn’t (h) could not – couldn’t

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Contractions Some words can be joined to make a new word. When one or more letters are removed and replaced by an apostrophe, the new shorter word is called a contraction. Contractions are quicker and easier to say.

When will is contracted, w and i are taken out.

Example: we + will = we’ll 1. (a) Read the conversation and circle or highlight all the contractions.

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‘We’ll be off, then’, said Mrs O’Neil. ‘You’ll be good, won’t you, Jack?’

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‘Absolutely, Mum’, Jack replied. ‘I’ll be fine. You and Dad have a nice weekend. I’ll look after the house and Bessie, too. She’ll get walked and fed every day! She’ll be the happiest dog on the block.’

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‘Okay, thanks darling’, she said. ‘Bye! We’ll see you tomorrow night!’

Jack waved as his mum and dad drove off for their weekend away. Then, with a grin, he called his best friend, Stan.

‘You and the guys can come over now!’, he said. ‘It’ll be the best party ever!’

(b) Write a conversation between Jack and his parents when they arrive home. See how many contractions you can use.

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2. Write the contraction of each word pair.

(a) should have

(b) he will

(c) we are

(d) will not

(e) they are

(f) can not

(g) did not

(h) could not

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Apostrophes

Focus

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• Discuss how sometimes we can mention different people who own things separately. Teachers could ask two students to stand in front of the class and describe them, saying for example ‘Steve’s and Lucy’s hair is short. Steve’s and Lucy’s parents live nearby’. Discuss the difference in using apostrophe and ‘s’ when the things belong to people separately or together.

• Read the explanation then allow students to complete the worksheet.

Apostrophes for possession

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Definition

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• An apostrophe of possession indicates ownership and is placed directly after the owner or owners.

Example: Jade’s new puppy the puppies’ noses the children’s puppy

Ideas for further practice

Explanation

• At <http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/apostrophes_ possess/eng/Introduction/default.htm> there are a number of interactive activities (and information) about apostrophes of possession.

• To show possession of a noun that does not end with an s, an apostrophe and the letter s is usually placed directly after the owners.

Example: the dog’s collar the children’s pet • If a noun ends with s such as ladies and boys, the apostrophe comes after that s and an additional s is usually unnecessary.

Example: The monkeys’ cage • However, if a noun or name ends in s and the possessive is pronounced as a separate syllable, it can take an apostrophe and s.

Example: the princess’s crown the Jones’s house Jesus’s life (Note: Jesus’ life is also accepted.)

• The possessive pronouns such as theirs, his, hers, its, ours and yours require no apostrophe, nor does the determiner its.

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C.PuAnswers bl i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

1. The children’s playground had finally been renovated and they wanted to celebrate with a picnic. Everyone’s food and drinks were laid out but no-one noticed that the table’s legs hadn’t been locked in place. James’ dog had seen his owner’s ball fly through the air. As he gave chase, he nudged the twins’ pram which bumped into the table.

The boys’ football game came to an abrupt end as they watched the table’s contents slide to the ground. The adults’ groans showed their frustration at the waste of food. The birds’ nests were emptied as the birds swooped on the unexpected feast.

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Fearing for their babies’ safety, several mums picked them up from their rugs and put them in their prams.

Worksheet information

The dads were left to clear up the dog’s disaster!

2. (a) many (b) one (c) many (d) many (e) one

• Draw or show a picture to discuss, showing a number of different people and items. Ask students to describe the picture using terms of ownership (or possession). Ask them ‘What if something belonged to two people? How would you describe that thing?’.

Give the students some verbal examples, then write them down showing where the apostrophe and ‘s’ go.

3. (a) (b) (c) (d)

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One owner or many owners?

An apostrophe and the letter s can be used to show that something belongs to someone or something.

Remember: The ‘tail’ of the apostrophe ‘points’ to the owner(s).

Example: the bird’s feathers, the women’s shoes When a word ends in s, we usually only add an apostrophe, not another s.

Example: the dogs’ tails, the ladies’ handbags

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1. Read the text and circle the apostrophes showing ownership.

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The children’s playground had finally been renovated and they wanted to celebrate with a picnic. Everyone’s food and drinks were laid out but no-one noticed that the table’s legs hadn’t been locked in place. James’ dog had seen his owner’s ball fly through the air. As he gave chase, he nudged the twins’ pram which bumped into the table.

The boys’ football game came to an abrupt end as they watched the table’s contents slide to the ground. The adults’ groans showed their frustration at the waste of food. The birds’

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C.Publ i cat i ons Fearing for their babies’ safety, several mums picked them up from their rugs and put •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• them in their prams. nests were emptied as the birds swooped on the unexpected feast.

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The dads were left to clear up the dog’s disaster!

2. How many owners? Read each sentence and write one or many at the end.

(a) The fire damaged the trees’ trunks.

. te o (c) For the special event, the horses’ manes were plaited. c . c e r (d) Where shall we hideh the children’s presents? er o t s super (e) Has anyone seen my brother’s bicycle? (b) The car’s engine was damaged by poor driving.

3. Put the apostrophe in the correct place.

(a) The fairies place was under the willow tree at the bottom of the garden.

(b) Jumping Jasper the gymnast was the childrens favourite act.

(c) I spilt the milk when the jugs handle broke.

(d) As the music played, the cats tails were swaying in time.

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Primary grammar and word study

Punctuation Quotation marks

When a carrier interrupts a quotation between two separate sentences— • the comma following the first sentence lies outside its closing quotation mark • the carrier (underlined) is followed by a full stop • the rest of the quotation is treated as quotation without a carrier.

Example: ‘I’m going away for three weeks’, said Jayden.

‘We’re visiting relatives in the country.’

When a carrier follows the quotation— • the comma following the quotation lies outside its closing quotation mark, • the carrier (underlined) is followed by a full stop: ‘We can keep in touch via email’, offered Libby.

Focus Quotation marks for direct speech

Definitions • Quotation marks are inverted commas used to enclose speech or thoughts.

• The carrier is the part of the sentence indicating who is speaking.

Explanation

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• Quotation marks are used to show the exact words spoken by a person.

Example: ‘That’s mine!’ yelled Jack.

• A quotation always starts with a new sentence so it begins with a capital letter.

• A new paragraph is needed for each speaker.

• Indirect speech tells what was said but not in the exact words so it does not need quotation marks.

Worksheet information

• Ask students to underline the words spoken by each person. These words must be enclosed by the quotation marks.

• As each example has a carrier, the final quotation mark lies inside the final full stop.

• In Question 2, students write an appropriate dialogue for each example, choosing where to place the carrier.

In direct speech, the presence and position of a carrier affects the punctuation of the quotation.

Throughout this series of books, the punctuation guidelines followed are those recommended by the Style manual for authors, editors and printers (sixth edition) 2002, as endorsed by the Federal Government of Australia.

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Ideas for further practice

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Primary grammar and word study

• Choose simple examples of direct speech with all quotation marks removed. Students punctuate the examples, ensuring that all words spoken are enclosed in quotation marks.

• Record simple, short dialogues between small groups of students. Students write punctuated transcripts of the recordings. They then compare their work.

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When a quotation stands without a carrier— • all words and punctuation marks are enclosed by the quotation marks: Example: ‘We all wish you well in your new school.’

When a carrier precedes the quotation— • the carrier (underlined) is followed by a comma • the quotation begins with a capital letter • the final full stop of the quotation lies outside the closing quotation mark: Example: Tania sighed, ‘This is the last day of term. We have six weeks with no school’.

When a carrier interrupts a sentence within a quotation— • the comma following the first part of the sentence lies outside its closing quotation mark • the carrier (underlined) is followed by a comma • the sentence continues with a small letter • the final full stop of the quotation lies outside the closing quotation mark: Example: ‘I’m so glad’, said Isaac, ‘that we are on holiday’.

o c . che e r o t r s super Answers

1. Nick and Heidi are twins but their interests are different.

‘I really want to be an Olympic downhill skier when I’m older’, Nick announced to his sister.

‘My wish’, dreamed Heidi, ‘is to one day be a musician in the national orchestra’.

‘We are very lucky’, said Nick, ‘that Dad and Mum have given us the chance to try different things’.

‘What we should do’, suggested Heidi, ‘is make a special dinner for them’.

‘That’s a great idea, Heidi’, agreed Nick.

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Quotation marks for direct speech Quotation marks are used to show the exact words spoken by a person.

A new paragraph is needed for each speaker.

1. Add quotation marks to the text.

Nick and Heidi are twins but their interests are different.

I really want to be an Olympic downhill skier when I’m older, Nick announced to his sister.

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My wish, dreamed Heidi, is to one day be a musician in the national orchestra.

We are very lucky, said Nick, that Dad and Mum have given us the chance to try different things.

That’s a great idea, Heidi, agreed Nick.

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What we should do, suggested Heidi, is make a special dinner for them.

Indirect speech tells what was said but not in the exact words so it does not need quotation marks.

Indirect: Nick said that skiing is his favourite sport.

Direct: ‘Skiing is my favourite sport’, said Nick.

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C.Publ i cat i ons (a) Nick hisr mother the wasu organising skiing trip.o She said that Nick should try •toldf o r ethat vi eschool wp r poas es n l y • to earn some money to help pay for the trip.

2. Write the direct speech each person could have said.

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o c . c e r (b) Heidi told Mrs Changh thate playing the flute was her favourite pastime. Mrs Chang said that Heidi o t r s s r should audition for the school orchestra. upe

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Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Alliteration

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Ideas for further practice

Focus Alliteration

• Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of words.

Example: My mum makes a ‘mean’ milk shake with melted marshmallows and mangoes.

Answers

Explanation

• Alliteration occurs when the same consonant sound or sound group is repeated at the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group (usually the first sound in a word).

• Alliteration is often used in nursery rhymes and poetry and can make rhymes, poems or songs easier to remember.

• Alliteration is a useful writing tool to create special effects.

1.

‘s’ words

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Definition

• Identify alliterative words in the chorus or verse of popular songs or shared poetry.

• As a class, write and share tongue twisters.

• Write a variety of poetry incorporating alliteration to create special effects or simple poems to read to a class of younger students, focusing on a particular initial sound.

Springy spaghetti (twice) special stuff swallow spices sauce supply Sample

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• 2.–4. Teacher check

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Worksheet information • Read and discuss the explanation of alliteration, give some examples and ask the students to supply some.

• Students read the instructions for Question 1 and the advertising text, and write words beginning with the s sound in the box. Discuss which words ‘work’ best in the text, such as ones closest together—‘Springy spaghetti’, ‘Spices and sauce supply some’.

• Students complete Questions 2, 3 and 4 independently and share their answers with the class.

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Alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of a sound at the beginning of words.

Alliteration is often used in advertising to make slogans memorable.

1. Read the advertising text and write all the ‘s’ words in the box below.

Springy spaghetti is special stuff.

Swallow it down! You’ll never get enough!

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Spices and sauce supply some zest.

Sample it today! Be our guest!

Buy it today! It’s just the best!

2. Write a description of these foods using alliteration.

(a)

(b)

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Springy spaghetti passes the tastebuds test.

fish pizza

3. Write a familiar advertising text which uses alliteration, or make up one of your own for a new product.

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o c . che e r o t r s supe r 4. Chants may also be written using alliteration.

Write a football chant for your favourite team, using alliteration, and chant it to a partner.

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Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Anagrams and palindromes

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Anagrams and palindromes

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Definitions

• Students sort through current and previous spelling lists and find anagrams.

• Anagrams can also be made by rearranging the letters in words and phrases. Some interesting examples for students to investigate include: debit card – bad credit, astronomer – moon starer, schoolmaster – the classroom, the eyes – they see, snooze alarms – Alas! No more z’s!

Note: Each of the above examples relates to the other but this isn’t necessary.

• Students brainstorm to list single word palindromes to add to a reference chart ; e.g. deed, noon, level, sees, kayak, rotor, civic, peep, toot, Hannah, solos, sexes, refer, madam, pup, bub, bib, wow, nun, racecar, radar, rotor. Students could write clues for the palindromes they found to give to other students.

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• An anagram is a word made by rearranging the letters of another word.

Example: groan – organ • A palindrome is a word or series of words that read the same forwards and backwards.

Example: kayak don’t nod

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pu r posesonl y• Answers

Explanation

w ww

1. (a) The lioness’s claws ripped into the antelope’s flesh.

(b) The mare led her young foal further into the forest.

(c) Open the oven to see if the bread has risen.

(d) I put a stapler and a file on my office table.

Worksheet information • To assist students in understanding how to create anagrams, write a word such as ‘scare’ or ‘pest’ on the board. Using scrap paper, students rearrange the letters in various combinations to write a new word or word. (‘scare’ makes ‘cares’ and ‘races’, while ‘pest’ makes ‘step’ and ‘pets’) • In Questions 1 and 2, students may find it helpful to write different combinations on scrap paper. Context clues in the text will also assist.

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• Investigating figures of speech such as anagrams and palindromes develops and enriches students’ vocabulary and fosters an interest in language. Working with anagrams, in particular, will help students’ spelling as they are required to rearrange letters to create new words.

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(e) The plum and peach juice left a stain on my shirt.

(f) I felt my heart jump when the angry wasp buzzed near me.

2. (a) shear, share, hears, hares

(b) peal, pale, plea, leap

3. Was it a car or a cat I saw?

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Anagrams and palindromes An anagram is a word made by rearranging the letters of another word.

For example: finger – fringe

1. Rewrite each sentence so it makes sense by finding a suitable anagram for the words in bold print.

(b) The mare led her young loaf further into the softer.

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(a) The lioness’s claws dipper into the antelope’s shelf.

(c) Open the oven to see if the beard has siren.

(d) I put a plaster and a life on my office bleat.

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(e) The lump and cheap juice left a satin on my shirt.

(f) I left my earth jump when the paws buzzed near me.

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2. Can you make three anagrams for each word?

(a) shear

(b) peal

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3. Write the letter of the alphabet that corresponds to its order in the alphabet.

Example: E = 5 (the fifth letter of the alphabet)

When you have finished you will have made a palindrome sentence!

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Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Idioms

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Idioms

An idiom is a saying peculiar to a language and in which real and literal meanings are different.

Example: It was a piece of cake! (meaning it was easy)

Answers

Explanation

• Idioms are metaphorical phrases that are not meant to be taken literally. The true meaning of an idiom cannot be found from the meaning of its individual words but is learned through its use in context.

• Idioms are an integral part of the English language.

Understanding idioms can help students understand a wide range of texts and create more interesting texts of their own.

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Definition

• In pairs, illustrate and research the meaning and origin of one idiom. Present to the class.

• Enjoy the three books Parts, More parts and Even more parts by Ted Arnold, which illustrate and explain idioms.

1. (a) foaming at the mouth – very angry (b) lend a hand – to help (c) jumped ship – to run off (d) the lion’s share – the greater part (e) a good ticking-off – a severe telling off (f) showed his face – returned to the scene

2. Teacher check

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Worksheet information

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• Before completing the worksheet, discuss idioms and their role in adding to the richness of the English language. What idioms are the students familiar with? Do they know the origins of any idioms?

Why do they think idioms have survived over generations? Do they think idioms are a valuable part of the language? Why?/Why not?

• Ask students to close their eyes as you read a sentence containing an idiom. Ask them how they visualised the idiom. What do they think it means?

How well do they think it conveys its meaning?

• In pairs, students read through the text and discuss the meaning of the highlighted idioms in context.

• In Question 2, students illustrate the idioms from the text.

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Idioms An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is not related to its individual words: For example, to be in hot water is to be in trouble, to come clean is to tell the truth, and to look green around the gills is to look unwell.

The idioms in the text have be been highlighted.

Jamilla was foaming at the mouth. Her brother Achmel had promised to lend a hand with the

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chores but he had jumped ship and left her with the lion’s share of the work. She would make sure he got a good ticking-off when he finally showed his face.

(a) foaming at the mouth

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1. Discuss the text with a partner and write the meaning of each idiom used.

(b) lend a hand (c) jumped ship (d) the lion’s share (e) a good ticking-off

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C.Publ i cat i ons 2. Illustrate each idiom.

•f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• (f) showed his face

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showed his face Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Similes

Focus Similes

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Definition

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• In Question 4, students write a suitable noun to complete the similes. Explain to the class that many similes are cliches (overused, trite or stereotyped expressions, for example, dead as a dodo). Writing is far more interesting when it is original.

Example: Instead of ‘as brave as a lion’ suggest ‘as brave as a bungee jumper’.

• Students complete the similes in Question 5 and write their own similes in Question 6. Ask for volunteers to share their writing with the class.

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• A simile compares one thing with another. Similes are usually introduced by the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.

Example: He was as cunning as a fox.

She slept like a log.

Explanation

Ideas for further practice

• Similes are figures of speech. They are examples of figurative language, as opposed to literal language (stating a fact). In figurative language words are used to create mental images and impressions by comparing ideas. These comparisons help the reader to more clearly imagine the person, place or thing being described.

• Writers use similes to emphasise a certain characteristic. They make writing more interesting, entertaining and colourful, as they often find a link between two unlike subjects.

Example: The children ran around the playground like a pack of wild animals.

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Answers

1. Note: Similes are in bold text.

News: City falls like a house of cards!

At 8 am yesterday, three tornados moved through the city like bulldozers, leaving it as flat as a felled forest. Everywhere, frantic people dug like dogs to free the trapped. The lucky survivors were pulled from piles of rubble as big as houses. Their faces, as white as sheets, displayed the terror of their ordeal.

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Worksheet information

• Read the explanation of a simile with the class and discuss the examples. Ask the students if they can think of any other similes.

• Read the article with the class. Discuss which words introduce a simile—‘as’ and ‘like’. In Question 1, students underline the six similes in the text.

• Explain to the class that similes are the comparison of two things. Students determine which two things are being compared in the phrase from the text.

Discuss the difference between literal language and figurative language (see ‘Explanation’ above).

Students consider and write the literal meaning of the phrase in Question 2(b).

• Students decide which adjective best matches the similes in Question 3.

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• Students draw a picture of the ocean and write words to describe it. Use these words to write sentences containing similes about the ocean using ‘as’ and ‘like’. Link the sentences to create a simile poem about the ocean.

• Look through familiar texts to identify ten similes.

Order them from 1 to 10.

• Work in pairs to create a ‘common similes’ matching game for students in a younger class.

2. (a) people; dogs (b) Answers will vary. Suggested answer: That the people were digging frantically, as though they were dogs digging up a bone.

3. (a) flat (d) cool

(b) red (e) gentle

(c) smooth (f) blind

4.–6. Answers will vary

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Similes A simile compares one thing with another using the words as or like.

Example: ‘as busy as a bee’ or ‘crazy like a fox’ 1. Read the article and underline the six similes.

News:

City falls like a house of cards!

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At 8 am yesterday, three tornados moved through the city like bulldozers, leaving it as flat as a felled forest.

Everywhere, frantic people dug like dogs to free the trapped. The lucky survivors were pulled from piles of rubble as big as houses. Their faces, as white as sheets, displayed the terror of their ordeal.

2. ‘Everywhere, frantic people dug like dogs …’ (a) Which two things are being compared? and

(b) Explain what you think the author is trying to say.

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C.Publ i cat i ons 3. Choose thef best adjective toi complete each simile.

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blind

red

cool

as a pancake

(b)

as

(c) as

as silk

(d)

as

(e) as

as a dove

(f)

as

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gentle

flat as beetroot

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smooth

as a cucumber as a bat

o c . c e her (d) st r (c) as rich as aso straight as super 5. Write your own similes to complete these sentences.

4. Choose a suitable noun to complete each simile. Try to be original.

(b)

as brave as

(a) The truck roared past like

.

(b) The fairy floss tasted like

.

(c) When Mr Brown gets angry, he is like

.

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a camel Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Metaphors

Focus Metaphors

Definition

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• Students choose a metaphor to describe people with particular attributes in Question 4 and write sentences containing the metaphors in Question 5.

• Students give a literal meaning of the metaphor in Question 6.

Ideas for further practice

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Teac he r

• A metaphor is a comparison between two things without the use of ‘as’ or ‘like’. Metaphors say something is something else.

Example: ‘The sunset was a rainbow of colours.’

‘A blanket of snow covered the street.’

• Read the poem ‘Dreams’ by Langston Hughes, found at: <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/dreams-2/>.

Identify the similes in the poem and discuss them.

• Choose an animal which symbolises you. Inside an outline of the animal, write metaphors comparing yourself to the animal.

• Work in groups to think of metaphors containing body parts, such as head, heart, eye, face and hands.

Example: ‘had her hands full’, ‘keep an eye on’, ‘give someone a hand’ etc.

Explanation

• Metaphors are figures of speech. They are an example of figurative language, as opposed to literal language. In figurative language words are used to create mental images and impressions by comparing ideas. These comparisons help the reader to more clearly imagine the person, place or thing being described.

• Metaphors make writing more interesting, entertaining and colourful. Writers use metaphors to emphasise a certain characteristic of something.

A metaphor states that two subjects are the same, which gives one subject the attributes of the other.

Example: ‘In the playground, the children were a pack of wild animals.’

• The children have been given the attributes of a ‘pack of wild animals’, being loud and untamed.

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Worksheet information

• Read the explanation of a metaphor at the top of the page and give examples. Ask students if they can think of any other examples of metaphors.

• Read the text with the class. Students work in pairs or small groups to identify the metaphors in the text.

• Work through Question 2 with the class. Explain that a metaphor is a comparison between two subjects which are not normally linked. Students decipher the literal meaning of the metaphor.

• In Question 3, students draw lines to match the metaphors with their literal meanings.

Primary grammar and word study

1. Ms Baker was a volcano ready to erupt when she entered the classroom. The students were instantly transformed from a pack of wild animals to a group of angels. The test they had thought would be a piece of cake had been a nightmare. Ms Baker said they would all have to pull their socks up because only one student, Anna who was a walking encyclopedia, had done well.

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2. (a) Anna, encyclopedia (b) Anna ia able to recall many facts with ease.

3. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

4. Teacher check. Possible answers include: (a) rake (b) snail/tortoise (c) giant (d) mule

5. Teacher check 6. The sport’s car travelled away very fast.

a rough diamond—valuable a little ray of sunshine—happy raining cats and dogs—heavily a bolt of lightning—fast sandpaper—rough

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Metaphors A metaphor says one thing is something else.

Example: ‘Her teeth are sharp thorns’, ‘a blanket of snow’ 1. Read the text and underline the six metaphors.

Ms Baker was a volcano ready to erupt when she entered the classroom. The students were instantly transformed from a pack of wild animals to a group of angels. The

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test they had thought would be a piece of cake had been a nightmare. Ms Baker said they would all have to pull their socks up because only one student, Anna who was a

2. ‘ … Anna, who was a walking encyclopedia …’

(a) Which two things are being compared in this metaphor?

and

(b) Explain what the metaphor really means.

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Teac he r

walking encyclopedia, had done well.

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C.Publ i cat i ons 3. Match the metaphors in bold to their meaning.

•f orr evi ew pur po sesonl y• (a) Travis is a rough diamond.

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• happy

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• rough

(c) It is raining cats and dogs.

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• heavily

(d) Cory, who is a bolt of lightning, won every race. •

(e) Grandpa’s hands are sandpaper.

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(a) thin

(c) tall

• valuable • fast

o c . che (b) slow r e o

(d) s t r sup rstubborn e

4. Use a metaphor to describe a person who is:

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(b) The baby is a little ray of sunshine.

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5. Choose two metaphors from Question 4 and write a sentence for each.

•

•

6. Explain this metaphor: ‘The sports car was a rocket that flew off into the distance’.

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Primary grammar and word study

Figures of speech Personification

Focus

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Ideas for further practice

Personification

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Definition

• On small cards, write a number of ‘human’ verbs (about half as many as there are students in the class) and a matching number of nouns (including abstract nouns such as feelings and ideas). Give one card to each student. Those with nouns find a verb partner that matches and together they create a short poem including the noun and the verb. For example, ‘invited’ and ‘the stars’ might pair up the create a poem about the stars inviting the moon to join them in a celestial celebration.

• Students could take note of personification on television commercials. Often animals, foods and ideas are personified to make the commercials more interesting to the target audience.

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• Personification is a way of describing non-human things (such as animals and inanimate objects) using human terms, traits and abilities, such as speaking.

Example: The trees danced as the wind galloped through the forest.

Explanation

• Personifying an object can help readers understand, empathise, connect or react emotionally to non-human characters. Personification can inspire imagery and emotion and provide a different perspective.

• Personification is often used in poetry, fables and fairytales.

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C.Publ i cat i ons Answers •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y•

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• Riddles often contain personification and provide an interesting means for students to practise personifying abstract nouns.

• If possible, read a number of riddles to the students.

Students may need to hear more than two riddles before they are able to create their own. Then read those on the worksheet with them and discuss how something nonhuman can be described with human traits and abilities.

Practise creating one about a familiar classroom item, event or idea (such as recess or a pencil).

• Students complete the worksheet by linking nouns to a fitting description, writing two personified descriptions of their own, then finally writing a riddle.

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Primary grammar and word study

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Worksheet information

1. (a) red – dangerous and hot, stay away from me! (b) camera – watching, waiting for just the right moment (c) night – in a thick, dark coat, he sweeps across the land (d) rock – stubborn and lazy, tripping people up (e) morning – fresh, happy and full of hope (f) wisdom – ancient and weary, sitting by his books 2–3. Teacher check, answers will vary.

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What am I? Give me food, and I will live; give me water, and I will die.

I am at the start of everything and at the end of time.

You’ll find me in your dinner and also in slime.

You won’t find me in a park, nor in a city zoo, but I love being in water and at the beach, too.

What am I?

What am I?

Fire

The letter ‘e’.

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A letter of the alphabet can’t really speak, nor can a fire be alive, but we can write about them in this way. When we give an idea, animal or thing human emotions, thoughts and actions, we ‘personify’ it.

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1. Link the nouns on the left with a matching personified description.

(a) red

•

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Personification allows us to be creative in writing and helps readers to understand and connect with non-human characters.

• stubborn and lazy, tripping people up

(b) camera •

• fresh, happy and full of hope

(c) night

•

• dangerous and hot, stay away from me!

(d) rock

•

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C.Publ c t i on she sweeps across the land •i in aa thick, dark coat, (e) morning • • ancient ands weary, sitting his books •f orr evi ew pur p ose on l yby•

(f) wisdom •

• watching, waiting for just the right moment

(a) nature

(b) wind

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2. Write your own description for:

3. Write a riddle using personification. Use a noun from the box or one of your own.

Give it to a friend to solve.

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shoes a light globe a newspaper

a cheetah

happiness

fear

night

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