English -Suggested Guidelines (Grade 4)

 

DRAFT

 

ENGLISH (Grade 4) - Suggested Guidelines

 

Competency A: Listening and Speaking Skills

Standard 1: Students will be able to develop competence in listening and spoken language in order to communicate effectively across a variety of contexts and to a range of audiences.

Student Learning Outcomes:

 

  • Show awareness of one or more listeners by developing sensitivity to ways that others express meaning in their talk and non-verbal communication. 

 

  • Listen and understand longer conversations from different contexts, short lectures and talks, radio and TV broadcasts, stories, and descriptions of events and will be able to identify main ideas. 

 

Knowledge:

Students will:

 

  • Ask questions to obtain information and explain ideas clearly, making meaning explicit. 

 

  • Convey ideas about the characters in a drama/play script in different roles and scenarios through deliberate choice of dialogues/speech, gestures, and movements.

 

 

 

 

 

Skills:

Students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate ‘attentive listening’ and engage appropriately with empathy and respect, taking into account opinions and ideas shared by others while developing their own.

 

  • Take turns to speak on a range of topics of their own choices.

 

  • Ask questions to obtain information and explain ideas clearly, making meaning explicit. 

 

  • Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. 

Assessments

Formative Assessment:

Various checklists for listening and speaking can be prepared and students oral communication skills can be assessed on the learning activities given below.

 

Summative Assessment:

Debates, Speech competitions, class tests, annual play etc

Learning Activities:

The following activities can also be used to develop and practise speaking and listening skills: 

 

  • Put students into pairs and ask them to interview each other. Encourage them to use simple questions about, e.g., their family, their likes and dislikes, their free time activities. Tell the students to note down the answers on paper/provided worksheet. Each pair reports back about their partner.

 

  • Put students into groups. Give each group a set of cards showing different story settings or different characters. They lay out the cards face up on the table. One student in the group secretly chooses one card and describes the setting/character to the group. Other students in the group ask questions until they are sure which setting/character is being described.

 

  • To develop learners’ awareness of non-verbal communication carry out a whole-class activity with two sets of cards. One set should show simple verbs, e.g., walking, reading, cooking, eating. The other set should show moods, e.g. happy, sad, excited, scared. Encourage students to enact the first card and show mood from the other card. Class will depict the meaning through non-verbal communication and describe the situation and mood in complete sentences. 

 

  • Choose a type of product that students are familiar with (e.g. a type of drink, or a snack). Divide the class into small groups. Each group makes up their own new example of the product type. They decide on the special features of their product and write/come up with a poster presentation to persuade the rest of the class that their product is the best. Each member of the group should have an active role in the presentation. 

             Once the learners have had time to practise their presentation, they deliver it to the class. Other learners listen carefully and give constructive feedback – two things they liked about the presentation and one thing that could be improved on. Once all groups have given their presentations, the class decide which product they thought was the best.

 

 

Standard 1: Students will be able to develop competence in listening and spoken language in order to communicate effectively across a variety of contexts and to a range of audiences

Student Learning Outcome:  Speak confidently using varied vocabulary and tone to express, persuade, instruct, or offer advice to engage the listener. (e.g. talking about reports, articles, programmes, etc).

Knowledge:

Students will:

  • Talk confidently in extended turns and listen purposefully in a range of contexts

 

  • Recall and discuss important features of a talk, possibly contributing new ideas within a familiar and an unfamiliar group settings 

Skills:

Students will be able to individually or collaboratively

  1. Identify the purpose and audience of speaking and presenting
  2. Give well-structured instructions, descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes,
  3. Engage in simple conversations that require performing everyday tasks and speech acts, such as introducing themselves and others, giving directions, making a call, making requests. 
  1. Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debates.

Learning Activities:

Ask students to share how their first day at school was and how they felt.

 

Share an example of yourself in a clear voice, along with facial expressions (sad face when she expresses sadness, smile when she expresses happiness over the course of the story) starting with:

  1. How was the day for her
  2. What did she feel and why?
  3. How she moved around the day?
  4. And how her day ended?
  5. What were her feelings at the end of the day?

 

Form small groups and ask the students to plan for their spoken presentations. A number of generic and curricular topics can be provided. e.g.,

Why it is important to show tolerance and empathy towards others?

How can we stop wasting water everyday? Etc.

 

  Competency B: Reading & Critical Thinking

 

Standard 1: Use knowledge, skills, and strategies related to word identification/decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to construct meaning from informational and literary texts while maintaining a positive disposition towards reading.

Students Learning Outcomes:

  • Apply phonic/spelling, graphic, grammatical and contextual knowledge in reading unfamiliar words and sentences. Read with some expression and clarity.

 

  • Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

 

  • Use pre-reading strategies to predict the type of content/vocabulary/questions about the text from pictures title etc., by using prior knowledge (identify the type of text, purpose and intended audience)

Knowledge:

Students will:

 

  • How to use effective strategies to tackle blending unfamiliar words to read, including sounding out, separating into syllables, using the analogy, identifying known suffixes and prefixes, using context 

 

  • To use knowledge of punctuation and grammar to read age-appropriate texts with fluency, understanding and expression

 

 

 

Skills:

Students will be able to…

 

1. Know and apply grade-level word analysis skills to:

  • Read common high-frequency words by sight at an appropriate grade-level.
  • Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and suffixes
  • Read grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  • Recognise and  match contractions to words (e.g., couldn’t – could not).
  • Recognise silent letters in words and match sounds to their corresponding letter patterns:
  • Initial and final consonants,Initial short and long vowel sounds:  
  • Word families with vowel-consonant patterns 
  • Vowel digraphs Initial consonant blends

 

2. Enjoy reading a range of books, drawing on background information and vocabulary provided

Assessments:

 

Formative Assessment:

Give a series of spelling tests; first focusing on words in their prefix or suffix groups, then as a mixture. Ask students to review, underline and self-check new spellings from across the words.

Summative Assessment:

Class tests, end of unit assessments

Learning Activities:

As students encounter more complex multisyllabic words in their reading, examine multisyllabic words and model how to analyse them, e.g.

  • Do any of the words have a prefix or suffix? If so, what is the root word?
  • Do any of the words have common roots? 
  • Can I use this information to pronounce or spell the word? 
  • What does the prefix/suffix/root tell me about this word?

Model and practise dividing the words into syllables. A syllable must have a vowel sound, and the vowel usually has consonants surrounding it. Explain students how to break down a word into syllabus can help with both pronunciation and spelling.

 

  • Have regular smaller word building and pronunciation sessions with students encouraging them to read words, add prefix, suffix, words that rhyme together.
  • Create mind maps from common root words to display as word family charts. Fill the class wall with words and revisit it time and again for better pronunciation and retention.

 

 

Standard 2: Use a variety of reading strategies appropriate to the reading purpose, meaning and type of text to comprehend and analyse a range of literary (prose, poetry and drama) and informational texts (expository, persuasive, procedural, and functional texts).

Student Learning Outcome: 

 

  • Highlight the main idea/theme of the text with reference to any illustrations given in the text while retelling or paraphrasing events from the text in response to questions.
  • Read and evaluate viewpoint, purpose, themes and ideas in the given text.
  • Read a range of fiction and non-fiction books and begin to make links between them
  • Start reading the story, poetry and information books noting how text is organised into sections or chapters. 

Recognise the Wh-words as keywords in making questions. Understand the meaning of the wh words. Answer questions given in the text.

 

Knowledge:

Students will:

  • identify the various features of an expository text

 

 

 

 

          Skills:

Students will be able to…

•Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

 •Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea. Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

 •Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information relevant to a given topic efficiently.

 •Distinguish their own point of view from that of the author of a text

. •Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

•Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic. Layout

 • identify typographical and visual features (e.g., headings, illustrations, use of logo)

 • identify text features (e.g., titles/ headlines, main and sub-headings, captions/ labels for visuals)

 

Assessments:

Formative Assessment:

Teacher provides students a leaflet and they find key information about it (refer to skills). Students write the relevant details about the leaflet in their notebooks

 

Summative Assessment:

An informational text about the lifecycle of either a butterfly or a frog, water cycle or any text that has information/facts can be provided to students and they complete it by answering questions in detail.

Learning Activities

 

  • Display a text and a question that can be answered from it. Model scanning to find the relevant paragraph and then focusing in on the specific information without reading the whole text. Give learners other questions to answer in a similar way.
  •  
  • Develop students’ skills of finding information/evidence in non-fiction texts. Give each table a small selection of books on a theme and display a few simple questions that they might be able to use the books to answer. For example, you might give students a selection of bird/animal books and ask: 

 

  • Where do you find Emperor penguins?
  • What do they eat?
  • How many eggs do they have?
  • What do you call a baby penguin? 

 

Give students a few minutes to decide which books might be most useful to answer the questions. Encourage them to use the contents page and index to help them. 

Then give them a few minutes to answer the questions. 

 

Once they have answered the questions, give them more time to read the whole text closely to check that they gave the correct answers. Add more questions on the board which might need closer reading and more considered answers. For example:

  • Who raises the chicks?
  • How do the penguins protect themselves from the cold?
  • Why are penguins black and white? 

 

 

Competency C: Vocabulary and Grammar

Standard 1: Use vocabulary accurately and appropriately as well as understand how speakers/writers put words together and use vocabulary to communicate meaning and achieve impact.

Student Learning Outcomes: Demonstrate a rich vocabulary that supports the development of listening, reading, viewing, speaking, and writing skills;

Knowledge:

 

Students will:

?      Recognise how words are formed (suffix, prefix,             compounding, clipping)

?      Use dictionary to look for guide words, definitions to check spelling, and meaning of words

 

Skills:

Students will be able to…

  • Join prefixes with the base words and understand the change in meaning (e.g. love-preloved)
  • Join suffixes with the base words and understand the change of meaning (e.g. act-active, build -builder)
  • Locate and use words similar (synonyms e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) and opposite (antonyms e.g. ancient- modern, current, fresh, new) in different contexts to make their shades of meaning clear.
  •  Use words appropriate to context, culture, texts and situations in speech and writing with moderate accuracy.
  • Identify, differentiate between, and use some simple pairs of words including homophones (e.g. eight-ate, I-eye, two-too-to, their-there)
  • Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their, they’re).
  •   Analyse and use figurative language (metaphor, imagery, analogies, onomatopoeia and similes in speech and writing.)

Assessments:

 

Formative Assessment:

Teacher puts up a vocabulary wall in the class and encourage students to read and use these in their routine work. Wall can be filled up with work on continuous basis.

 

Summative Assessment:

Look for new and unfamiliar words and vocabulary in their end of unit assessments. Vocabulary assessment can be designed.

Learning Activities

A number of Grammar age-appropriate activities can be used here to build on students’ concepts.

 

 

 

 

Standard 2: Understand and use punctuation, syntax, grammatical functions, rules and applications for developing accuracy and meaning in their spoken and written communication.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Use different forms of verbs (regular/irregular - transitive/intransitive) and distinguish verbs according to their meaning (action, linking, feeling, sensing verbs) in texts
  • Develop understanding to expand adverbs into adverb phrases and use adverbs that connect clauses and sentences.

Knowledge:

Students will:

 

  • Learn, recognise, articulate and use forms of common regular verbs, i.e. base, s/es, present participle (-ing), past, and past participle forms.

 

  • Begin to use transitive, intransitive, imperative, infinitive verbs in sentences

 

  • Understand to make simple questions starting with verbs (e.g.,  Are you going to Lahore today)?
  • Identify the difference between main and subordinate clauses (e.g., If I can find my wallet, we can all go for ice cream).

 

 

Skills:

Students will be able to 

  • Demonstrate the use of main and helping verbs in speech and writing.
  • Use and differentiate between regular verbs (walk/walks) and irregular verbs (drink – drank)
  • Illustrate the use of different positive and negative forms of the be, do and have with their corresponding pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they). Recall and use contractions of be, do in sentences.
  • Illustrate the use of modal verbs (should/ should not – could / couldn’t – must / mustn’t) can /cannot and, may/may not.
  • Recognize, articulate and use forms of common regular verbs, i.e. base, s/es, present participle (-ing), past, and past participle forms.
  • Distinguish verbs according to meaning: for example, mental verbs (think, ponder) and feeling verbs (love, hate), saying verbs (babbled, joked, laughed)
  • Use imperative verbs and infinitive verbs in sentence i.e. Stay here, Run fast
  • Apply knowledge of adverbs of manner, time, place, frequency in their writing     

Learning Activities

 

Various grammar exercises based on the skills can be designed to facilitate learning.

 

 

Standard 2: Understand and use punctuation, syntax, grammatical functions, rules and applications for developing accuracy and meaning in their spoken and written communication.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Use tenses (present, past and future)effectively to show actions, universal statements, facts in present, past and at unspecified times.
  • Make and practise sentence structure with SVO pattern and identify predicates; make sentences with direct and indirect objects
  • Distinguish between four type sentences i.e. Declarative, Exclamatory, Interrogative, Imperative

Knowledge:

Students will :

 

  • Learn, recognise, articulate and use forms of common regular verbs, i.e. base, s/es, present participle (-ing), past, and past participle forms.

 

  • Begin to use transitive, intransitive, imperative, infinitive verbs in sentences

 

  • To make simple questions starting with verbs (e.g.  Are you going to Lahore today?)

 

 

Skills:

Students will be able to 

  • Demonstrate the use of main and helping verbs in speech and writing.
  • Use and differentiate between regular verbs (walk/walks) and irregular verbs (drink – drank)
  • Illustrate the use of different positive and negative forms of the be, do and have with their corresponding pronouns (I, we, you, he, she, it, they). Recall and use contractions of be, do in sentences.
  • Illustrate the use of modal verbs (should/ should not – could / couldn’t – must / mustn’t) can /cannot and, may/may not.
  • Recognize, articulate and use forms of common regular verbs, i.e. base, s/es, present participle (-ing), past, and past participle forms.
  • Distinguish verbs according to meaning: for example, mental verbs (think, ponder) and feeling verbs (love, hate), saying verbs (babbled, joked, laughed)
  • Use imperative verbs and infinitive verbs in sentence i.e. Stay here, Run fast
  • Apply knowledge of adverbs of manner, time, place, frequency in their writing     

Learning Activities

 

 

 

  Standard 2(Continued)

Standard 2: Understand and use punctuation, syntax, grammatical functions, rules and applications for developing accuracy and meaning in their spoken and written communication.

Student Learning Outcomes:

  • Identify and differentiate between and use some simple pairs of words including homophones for example number eight/ate, I/eye etc.
  • Correctly use frequently confused words e.g. too/two etc
  • Classify words  into different categories, and use more naming, action and describing words, from pictures, signboards, advertisement labels etc. in their immediate and extended environment
  • Recognise and use grade-level words that show feelings and emotions (e.g. terrified, disgruntled, and embarrassed).
  • Recognise alphabetical arrangement of words based on first three letters for glossary or dictionary use.
  • Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, lighthouse, housefly; bookshelf, notebook, bookmark).
  • Analyse and use some analogies and more similes in speech and writing using “like” and “as __ as”. (e.g. she is as graceful as a swan.)

Knowledge:

Students will:

 

  • Learn commonly pronounced confusing words for a better understanding and correct usage

 

  • Learn to put groups of words in alphabetical order and include groups that all begin with the same letter and learn how the order depends on the second letter

 

  • Learn the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of compound words (e.g., birdhouse, housefly etc)

 

  • Locate, provide and use words similar (synonyms e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) and opposite (antonyms e.g. ancient- modern, current, fresh, new) in different contexts to make their meanings clear.

Skills:

Students will be able to…

  • Recall, and use commonly confused words
  •  Distinguish between commonly confused words, spelling and meaning
  • Practise use of compound words in their writing especially sentences
  •      Use appropriate homophones in sentences
  • Distinguish between words similar and opposite meanings in different contexts to make their meanings clear
  • Use guide words, dictionary entries, dictionary definitions to check spelling, and meaning of words.
  • Take dictation of paragraph/text of grade level.
  • Keep a record of words (e.g., word wall, word bank, word journal) on a spelling log and use missing letters in simple multi-syllable two/three-syllable words
  • Effectively use guide words, dictionary entries, dictionary definitions to check spelling, and meaning of words
  • Learn to join prefixes and suffixes with the base words and understand the change of meaning (e.g. act-active, build-builder)
  • Locate, provide and use words similar (synonyms e.g., walk, march, strut, prance) and opposite (antonyms e.g. ancient-modern, current, fresh, new) in different contexts to make their meanings clear
  • Demonstrate an understanding of anagrams from /two /three-syllable words. (e.g. fol/low,ad/vi/ser.)

Assessments:

Formative Assessment:

 

Homophone Hunt:

Teacher provides a worksheet and students identify misused homophones in the story and write the correct spelling which should have been used.

 

Summative Assessment:

Class Test/Oral quiz can be taken to ensure the clarity of the concept.

Learning Activities:

 

  • Introduce the term homophone and explain that it means ‘same sound’, i.e. words with the same pronunciation but different spelling.
  • Identify and discuss common grammatical homophones, e.g. here/hear; there/their/they’re; your/you’re; to/too/two; which/witch. Explain that students need to make correct spelling choices when they are writing. Ask them to think of ways they can remember which form is correct in a sentence.

 

  • Ask students to create gap-fill sentences for a partner to complete, using:
  • there, their or they’re
  • your or you’re
  • to, too or two.

 

  • To help students to remember less common homophones, e.g. piece–peace, ate–eight, night–knight, him–hymn: create sets of cards showing 16 pairs of homophones. Students use them to play ‘Homophone snap’.

 

  • Display pairs of sentences using different homophones, e.g. The mouse has a long tail. The mouse has a long tale. Students identify the correct sentence in each pair.
  • Ask students to write humorous sentences using homophones incorrectly. For example: ‘I’m board of this lesson.’, ‘I wish the bell wood go.’, ‘There’s a hare in my soup.’, A doctor says, “I’m losing my patients with you.” They swap with a partner who corrects the homophone.
  • Ask learners to identify pairs of homophones and write definitions of each word.

 

Activity 2: Using Dictionary:

 

  • Write some unfamiliar words on the board. Ask students to look up for the words in a dictionary. To develop students’ confidence and understanding in using dictionaries, begin by asking them to look for words all beginning with the same letter. Reinforce that the order of these words in the dictionary depends on the second letter. 

            For each word ask a student to share the meaning in their own words. Other students check that the meaning given reflects the dictionary    definition. Ask another learner to say the word in a sentence.

 

  • Encourage students to use dictionaries to explore the different meanings of words with the same spelling (e.g., form, wave). Check their understanding by asking them to write sentences containing the words with their different meanings.

 

  • Encourage students to keep a record of new words that they like and their meanings (or sentences demonstrating their meaning), so they can try to use them in their own writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 COMPETENCY D: Writing

Standard 1: Create grade-level pieces of writing which are focused, purposeful and show an insight into the writing process; expressing increased fluency, coherence and cohesion, correct grammar and legibility, grade-level vocabulary, punctuation and spelling, for a variety of purposes.

Student Learning Outcomes:

  • Identify syllabic patterns in multisyllabic words; practise fast, fluent and legible handwriting styles for different purposes and use punctuation marks appropriately;
  • learn to apply strategies to learn and check correct spellings with words that need to be learned
  • Write multi-syllable words at grade level with correct spelling, adjectives, and adverbs (for eg ly words) to show a glimpse of characterisation 
  • begin to learn to use and compare/replace words to make writing impactful

Knowledge:

Students will:

 

  • The importance of using syllabic patterns in multisyllabic words and learn to apply strategies like LASACAWAC (Look and say and cover and write and check) for writing grade level words with correct spelling, adjectives and adverbs.

 

  • The effective ways to learn to use and compare/replace words to make writing impactful

Skills:

Students will be able to…

Spell and write accurately using knowledge of phonic elements, words with:

  • initial short and long vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u
  • word families with vowel-consonant patterns (e.g., -at, -an, -ad, -ap, -et, -en, -ill, -ig, -in, -ot, -op, -og, -ug, -un)
  • consonant digraphs in initial position (e.g., th, sh, ch, wh)
  • vowel digraphs (e.g., oo, ee, ea, oa, aw, ai, ay)
  •  initial consonant blends (e.g., sw, sn, sk, bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, gl, pl, pr, sl, sm, sp, st, tr, tw, qu)
  • final consonant blends (e.g., nd, nk, nt, mp)
  • initial consonant blends (e.g., thr, str, scr) 
  • double consonants (e.g., tt, pp, rr, gg, nn, ss, ll, ck)
  • word endings (e.g., ple, ble, dle, tle , ng, tch)
  • r-controlled vowel (e.g., ar, ir, ur, or)
  • diphthongs (e.g., ou, ow, oi, oy)
  • inflectional suffix (e.g., -s, -es, -ing, -ed)
  • silent letters, e.g., – e (e.g., cake, kite, home)

Apply grade-level word analysis skills to:

  • Spell common high-frequency words by sight (grade-level).
  • Spell words made using the most common prefixes and suffixes (Pre-, re-, mis-, -less, -ful).
  •  Spell grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words.
  •  Spell contractions to words (e.g., couldn’t – could not).
  • Spell words correctly using generalized spelling patterns (e.g., doubling consonants, silent e).
  • Spell homophones.

Assessments:

Formative Assessment:

  Word building exercises can be used

Summative Assessment:

Class test, end of unit assessments etc.

Learning Activities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMPETENCY D: Writing

Standard 2: Apply skills and strategies for idea generation, selection, development, organisation and revision for a variety of writing purposes and text types.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Write multiple paragraphs on a single topic (on the given text types), using correct capitalisation, punctuation and spelling, by using the process approach - brainstorm, mind mapping, writing a first draft, seeking peer feedback, developing a final draft for a variety of purposes

 

Knowledge:

Students will:

The process of planning with appropriate tools to develop various types of writings:

 

  • Narratives
  • Descriptive
  • Informative
  • Opinions pieces
  • Informal letters and
  • Short texts in speech bubbles (direct speech)
  • Writing a poem

 

Skills:

Students will be able to…

  1. Learn the process of planning a story using planning tools e.g. flow diagrams, mind maps etc.
  2. Learn to put their thoughts in an organised manner
  3. Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
  4. Write simple descriptive paragraphs (giving general description of a person/object), using correct capitalization, punctuation and spelling, by using the process approach
  5. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
  6. Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.
  7. Write short texts in speech bubbles and cartoon strips using vocabulary, tone, style of expression appropriate to the communicative purpose and context.
  8. Write an informal letter to family and friends on personal, familiar topics and replies to a short informal letter from friends and family member for .e.g. apology letter to a friend (*include sender's address, date, greeting, introduction, body, conclusion, signature)
  1. Write a simple cinquain (poem).

Assessments:

Formative Assessment:

After students have finished planning their story, ask them to write the first draft. Give them the success criteria for the story, e.g. ‘Write a story with a historical setting, including details to build the setting. Build your characters by including details about them. Use paragraphs and a good story structure.’

 

Summative Assessment:

Based on the 1st draft and the review from the teacher, students can write the final draft.

Learning Activities

Introduce the students to the process of planning a story using planning tools e.g. flow diagrams, mind maps and storyboards / story maps. 

 

Introduce them to the idea of planning their story from a paragraph plan. This can be like a flow diagram, or linear down a piece of paper, but it will probably include more information than an action flow diagram. Each paragraph on the plan should have:

  • a heading showing which part of the story the paragraph relates to
  • notes about the characters and setting
  • notes about the action in the paragraph.

 

Encourage students to consider two alternative openings and/or endings to their plan.

 

Ask students to share their plan with a response partner and tell their story aloud, using the plan as a guide. The response partner should make suggestions for improvement and about which opening and/or ending to use. Students can alter their plans as necessary.

Standard 2: Apply skills and strategies for idea generation, selection, development, organization and revision for a variety of writing purposes and text types.

Student Learning Outcomes:

 begin to learn to use and compare/replace words to make writing impactful

Knowledge:

Students will:

  • Learn to use new and unfamiliar words to make writing meaningful

 

Skills:

Students will be able to…

  • Learn to use synonyms for high-frequency words to make writing impactful
  • Enhance their vocabulary by using new and unfamiliar words in their writing

Assessments:

Formative Assessments:

Teacher provides a number of high frequency common words and encourage students to replace the words with synonyms.

 

Summative Assessments:

A worksheet with a paragraph can be given. Highlight the commonly used words and ask students to replace with a synonym ensuring that the meaning stays well within context.

Learning Activities

To encourage learners to apply and extend their vocabulary:

  • use more challenging vocabulary when you talk, giving alternative forms for the words you use to help learners understand their meaning when reading to or with the class, identify and discuss effective vocabulary and how it adds to the reading experience when modelling writing with the class, model writing and editing vocabulary to make it more effective, e.g. ‘At the weekend, I saw a good really funny movie.’  

 

  • Ask students to collect words from their reading that might be useful in their writing. Encourage the use of dictionaries to identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. 

 

  • Ask students to use thesauruses to find alternatives for mundane words and phrases. Expect them to use these alternatives in their writing. 

 

  • As a warm up activity at the beginning of the lesson, write a common, mundane word on the board, e.g. ‘walk’. In pairs, students have 2 minutes to list as many synonyms as they can. At the end, each pair gets 1 mark for every correct answer and 3 marks for a correct answer that no other pair has included.