SPAG

Aims of the evening What does SPAG look like in school How do we teach it What is covered Terminology

GRAMMAR

Eg : use the word ‘table’ in as many different ways as you can The Starting Point… Grammar is about making meaning. It is part of the curriculum from FS to KS2 and beyond. Words are the ‘building blocks’ The same word can perform different functions, depending on the sentence in which it is found… Eg : use the word ‘table’ in as many different ways as you can

When does SPAG start? KS1 KS2 In the home All day long! In conversation Talk during play Adult role models Story Time EYFS Vocab displays- linked to areas/topics KS1 Modelling Conversations Shared texts Reading aloud Guided reading R.W.Inc Literacy- ‘mental starter’ word and sentence work ‘Word of the day’ Literacy applied across the topics KS2 Modelling Discussion Shared texts Reading aloud R.W.Inc Guided Reading Literacy Use of S Criteria Extra ‘SPAG’ session Words/phrases of the week Praise good word choices Literacy applied across the topics

Subject knowledge Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Articles The children will need to know 8 main word types. Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Articles Prepositions Pronouns

A noun is the name of a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Nouns Nouns are the biggest word class (everyone and everything needs a name!) A noun is the name of a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Nouns can be singular or plural They can be proper (Alsatian), common (dog), collective (team), or abstract (justice). Abstract nouns (Lv6) are those that you cannot see/touch and can be emotions. Noun phrases- a ‘phrase’ takes its name from the overall job that this group of words is doing… So – ‘the big, blue, shiny bicycle’ – is a noun phrase A pronoun stands instead of a noun eg he she it his her etc

Lets have a go… Lets refresh our own skills with words… starting with nouns… how many can you think of linked to this poster?

Verbs Action words? Find the action word in the following sentences We are all enthusiastic teachers Many animals are endangered The boys played football A verb is a ‘doing’ or a ‘being’ word. It tells us what is happening in the sentence. The most common verb in the english language is the verb ‘to be’ A verb can be a single word or a group of words which together form the ‘verb phrase’ The choir will be singing at the village hall. The choir has been singing at the village hall. The choir might be singing at the village hall. The choir would have been singing at the village hall.

Verbs again Verb hunt Looking at the poster on you table, how many verbs can you find?

Adjectives An adjective describes ( or modifies) the noun. It might nestle close to the noun- or be elsewhere in the sentence.. The silver car stood in the driveway. The car in the driveway was silver.

Articles/Determiners Articles … ‘home’ you in on the noun. The most common articles are ‘the’ and ‘a’ Some more articles: this dog, that dog, all dogs, every dog, some dogs, no dogs, each dog one dog, two dogs his dog, her dog, my dog ( what other category ?)

Adverbs Adverbs modify the verb. The lion was staring. How? The lion was staring menacingly. Adverbs modify the verb. They tell us how (adverb of manner), when (adverb of time), or where (adverb of place). Last Thursday, the lion was staring menacingly. Last Thursday, at the Safari Park, the lion was staring menacingly out towards the keepers. Adverbs can move about the sentence, affecting the emphasis, but not the meaning.

Prepositions Prepositions express a relationship of meaning between 2 parts of a sentence, usually to do with space or time. Simple prepositions may include: about, across, after, at, before, behind, by, down, during, for, from, to, inside, into, of, off, on, onto, out, over, round, since, through, to, towards, under, up, with.

PUNCTUATION

Punctuation Punctuation pyramid

Apostrophe to show omission When an apostrophe is used to show omission, it shows where you have left out one or more letters. The apostrophe goes where the letter or letters would be. In other words they contain a contraction. Example: will not becomes won’t It is becomes it’s Could not becomes couldn’t I would becomes I’d

Apostrophes to show possession When it is used to show possession it goes after the owner’s name to show that it belongs to him or her. This is Max’s phone. That is James’s dog. That is the Jones’ cat When the pronoun : its, hers, ours or yours are used no apostrophe is needed.

Oops

Complex sentences Every sentence contains at least one main (most important) clause. A complex sentence contains one main clause and one more subordinate clause (less important) clause. The king was angry. This is the main clause. It can be used on its own in a sentence. The king was angry when he saw muddy footprints. This is the subordinate clause. It doesn’t make sense on its own.

Later higher order conjunctions should be used Conjunctions can be used to join clauses together. Conjunctions are words such as: and, but, because etc The king was angry because he saw muddy footprints along his beautiful cream carpet Later higher order conjunctions should be used

SPELLING

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. When reading we scan the line – amazing can read – even if it is spelt incorrectly

True or False? Reading will help children with spelling.. Learning to spell will help reading… Handwriting is important when learning to spell… When children are writing they should stop at every word they cannot spell and use a dictionary…

Writing a word helps children to learn how to spell it… Looking for words within words can help spelling… Copying a word over and over again is a good way to learn it…

Struggling spellers….. Children who struggle with spelling usually have no strategies up their sleeve when they get stuck on a word. Ask any weak spellers the question, ‘what do you do when you cannot spell a word’. They will have, at best, one strategy. But it is most likely that they guess. To help them become better spellers they need to acquire a range of different approaches to help them. Pie Corbett Discuss – reflect – feedback What is stopping weak spellers in your class?

The Teaching of Spelling Spellings need to be explicitly taught; Rules, patterns and etymology should be investigated using a multi-sensory approach; The spellings on weekly lists are rarely applied to independent writing unless they have been thoroughly taught and investigated. Explain that children need to be taught how to analyze words, recognise patterns, choose appropriate strategies to be able to spell independently.

Benefits of The Scheme An interesting way to learn Teaching of rules Consolidation It should aid memory It will lead to children applying correct spellings to their work instead of learning lists. It is a well-known fact that to be actively involved has a much greater impact on learning than being passive. (From Accelerated Learning course) I remember: 5% of what I hear 10% of what I read 20% of what I hear and read 30% of what I am shown 50% of what I discuss 75% of what I do 90% of what I teach others

Some Spelling Strategies The scheme uses Roots Mnemonics Handwriting Syllables and Phonemes –dots and dashes Homophones Prefixes and suffixes These are five strategies that teachers will teach their pupils and expect them to be able to apply in independent spelling. Each strategy needs explicit demonstration. The main three are roots, homophones syllables and phonemes. Root – un-fortunate-ly Mnemonics are the last resort and should be photocopied onto a different colour. There are only so many words you could remember a mnemonic for - this strategy should be saved for words that do not lend themselves to any of the other strategies.) Handwriting is appropriate for all words - the fine motor-control movements involved in cursive handwriting reinforce the spelling patterns each time they are written. Syllables – show the beats in words and can be judged by how many times the jaw moves. Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in which words can be decoded. Homophones – pear and pair or bear and bare

Some words are really hard to spell Some words are really hard to spell. The trick is to remember a word that is spelled the same, then use it to help spell others! could One tricky word is could. A good way to remember this spelling is: O U Lucky Duck You can now use this pattern to spell: would and should

Because… Mnemonics Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants = Because

Word within a word We went TO GET HER = Together You wouldn’t want to FRI the END of your friend! = Friend We went TO GET HER = Together

Grapheme Checker Children are taught to dot and dash the word and count the grapheme eg: day = 2 sounds/graphemes weight = 3 sounds/graphemes

Good Spellers Apply: Phonics Words within words Grammatical knowledge Memory and experience Existing knowledge Synonyms

Spelling games

Stamp, stop, stoop, steep, step Spelling activities Finish it Encourages children who struggle with spelling, as it provides them with a scaffold in the form of letters already in place. Give the children a set time to come up with the word e.g. St_p Stamp, stop, stoop, steep, step Speed write Write up a word on the board that is of interest or causing concern. Discuss ways to remember. Ask children to write down as many times in 30 seconds. Speed write – Powerful when using joined up handwriting. Task: Speed write - special Apdapted from Pie Corbett)

Spelling activities AEIOUSFBDRNMLHT Ant Deer Snail Measure Hair Fossil Countdown Give the children a selection of letters and ask them to make as many words as possible. AEIOUSFBDRNMLHT Ant Deer Snail Measure Hair Fossil Banana Lion Bread Fern c Visualisation Charades Act out the word. Partner guesses then spells. Pictionary (Spellmadoodle) Repeatedly write the word and draw a picture to match the word Taboo Describe the word without saying it. Partner guesses then spells. Spellmadoodle game - light Apdapted from Pie Corbett)