English Adviser Shareen Mayers shares some top tips and ideas to support Year 6 teachers.
Three Top Tips for the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Test
1. Read through the questions carefully and consider the context of the sentence.
For example, the word ‘orange,’ can be an adjective (the orange room) or a noun (Hardeep ate a small orange) depending on the context.
2. Accuracy is extremely important.
Make sure the children put the apostrophe for contraction where the letters have been omitted. For example, ‘can’t.’ Also, ensure they put the full stop (or punctuation mark) inside the inverted commas at the end of a sentence. For example, ‘I am here.’ They will lose marks if these are not accurate.
3. Use the correct terminology for the test.
Quick ‘little and often’ starter activity ideas
Idea no.1
Revise the apostrophe for possession by using pictures so that the children can practise and then apply their knowledge.
Is this correct?
Find more pictures here:
http://www.apostrophe.org.uk/page9.html
http://www.apostrophecatastrophes.com
Idea no. 2
The children can be given a jumbled up complex sentence with the main clause in one colour and the subordinate clause in another colour. They can then hold up their answer at the front of the class. For example:
Remember: subordinate clauses in the middle of a sentence usually have relative pronouns (who, which or that etc).
Idea no. 3
Use the call and response strategy to practise singular and plural form. This can also be carried out as the children line up but it is meant to be a quick activity. For example:
Teach grammar in context – where possible
Grammar can relate to the specific text type being taught. For example, when teaching persuasive writing, the children can learn about connectives (furthermore, in addition etc) through a 10-15 minute starter activity. Connectives can then be analysed in example persuasive texts and explicitly modelled in whole class shared writing so that the children can see how to apply it to their writing.
Key resources/website links:
Collins Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Test Revision and Practice: Teacher Guide
KS2 L3-5 Sample GPaS paper 2013
KS2 L6 Sample GPaS paper 2013
English grammar, punctuation and spelling test framework 2013-2015
English results published separately in 2013
Shareen Mayers MA(Ed)
Primary English Adviser, Year 6 Specialist and Adviser for Collins Literacy.
