Progression Guidance in English for Year 4
Grammatical Skills - Knowledge and skills: awareness, sentence construction and punctuation· Use paragraphs as a way to organise ideas around a theme;
· be able to identify the main clause and subordinate clause, and notice their various positions within a sentence; e.g. ‘Although it was cold, Jack took his coat.’ – can be written: ‘Jack took his coat, although it was cold.’ (The main clause moves from the end of the sentence to the beginning);
· build confidence to distinguish between statements, questions and commands;
· begin to use connectives to structure an argument: If; on the other hand;
· learn that strong, specific nouns and powerful verbs make good writing;
· become familiar with using a thesaurus to expand vocabulary; keep a journal of words;
· introduce the term pronoun during shared writing, to show how they help the writer to avoid repetition or ambiguity, e.g. Josh loved sausages. He ate three every day. His mother gave them to him;
· recognise adverbs when reading, particularly those ending with ‘ly’; use a comma after fronted adverbials at the beginnings of sentences; begin to use in writing;
· use a comma to mark a pause within a complex sentence;
· use two commas around extra information, e.g. Jess, the shorter of the two, asked Peter for a ladder. Explore other ways to punctuate extra information (a parenthesis), such as with a pair of brackets or dashes;
· vary sentence order and sentence length, and examine the effect on the reader;
· identify and apply apostrophe for possession e.g. the baby’s dummy; the ladies’ hats; teach basic rules for singular/plural nouns first;
· compare this to the apostrophe for omission used by contractions e.g. won’t;
· introduce the term possessive pronoun e.g. Jack’s football, Miss Wood’s ruler;
· use the term inverted commas when referring to speech marks, and clarify their use in direct speech; identify the difference between direct and reported speech;
· identify the subject in a sentence, e.g. Danny caught a whopping fish;
· emphasise the importance of making the subject and verb agree, both when speaking and writing, e.g. We were fishing; I did my homework; they were blue;
· avoid using a double negative, e.g. I never did nothing; can’t nobody help?
· discuss the idea of formal and informal language
· practise noticing the difference between ‘phrase’ and ‘clause’ when sharing a text; the phrase does not contain a verb;
· develop confidence with contractions such as: you’re, should’ve, would’ve, it’s/its
· introduce the term synonym for words which are similar in meaning, and antonym for words which are opposite in meaning;
· introduce the word determiner for a word which specifies a noun as known or unknown e.g. the, a or an; my, your; this, these, those; some or every;
build dictionary skills to check the meaning of new words;
Handwriting and Presentation
Pupils should be taught to:
· use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined
· increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting [for example, by ensuring that the downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not touch.]
Non statutory: Pupils should be using joined handwriting throughout their independent writing. Handwriting should continue to be taught, with the aim of increasing the fluency with which pupils are able to write down what they want to say. This, in turn, will support their composition and spelling.
Reading – Comprehension
Knowledge, skills and understanding / How comprehension can be supported by adults; routines and resources
Pupils should be taught to:
develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:
· listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks
· reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes
· using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read
· increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally
· identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books
· preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
· discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination
· recognising some different forms of poetry [for example, free verse, narrative poetry]
understand what they read, in books they can read independently, by:
· checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context
· asking questions to improve their understanding of a text
· drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
· predicting what might happen from details stated and implied
· identifying main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarising these
· identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
retrieve and record information from non-fiction
participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say. / · Broaden the ways in which children are introduced to texts e.g. local libraries, bookshops and independent booksellers.
· Build in time for children to browse, discuss and explain their choices.
· Engage in a forum for book talk and discuss books where discussion deepens thinking about texts.
· Introduce book clubs for different groups of children and parents.
· Hold ‘cosy book nights’ or an opportunity for children and their parents to return to school in the early evening to hear stories read aloud.
· Ensure children are given opportunities to become confident in using dictionaries, books of word origins and thesauruses in a variety of situations.
· Explore poems and play scripts through role play and drama, sometimes leading to performance and peer evaluation.
· Collect words that excite and interest. Discuss the nuances of meaning in words that arise from reading.
· Discuss synonyms for words and phrases in context, using thesauruses and word processing.
· Play ‘Call my Bluff’ style games, giving three definitions and deciding which one is correct.
· Use shared/group reading as an opportunity to infer characters feelings and motivations.
· Role play characters by hot seating or conscience corridor, in order to understand their point of view.
· Read aloud class story up to a given point, discuss, predict and write about what might happen next.
· Model how to identify key words and phrases that can summarise a text.
· Work in pairs to locate ideas that can summarise a text.
· During written comprehension activities, allow adequate time for children to fully engage with the text.
· Set up reading buddies with younger children.
· Collect and have visits by favourite authors and poets.
· Consider using tablets or e-books to motivate children to read.
Spelling
Expected / Spelling pattern, rule or tip / Word suggestions
Revision of Year 3 objectives throughout lower KS2. Extend and develop to Year 4 coverage below, as appropriate.
Statutory:
· Adding suffixes beginning with vowels (to words of more than one syllable)
· The short ‘i’ phoneme spelt y in the middle of words.
· Prefixes in-, il-, im-, ir, re- sub-, inter- and auto
· Suffix –ly
· Words with ending –sion (hard sound – e.g. television)
· Suffix –ous
· Words ending with –cian
· Words with the k phoneme, spelt ch
· Words with the sh phoneme, but spelt ch
· Words with the hard g phoneme, spelt gue
· Other words spelt gue
· Words with the k phoneme, spelt que
· Revise possessive apostrophe for singular and plural words.
· Possessive apostrophe for irregular plural words.
· Further homophones or near-homophones / If the last syllable is stressed and ends with one consonant (which has one preceding vowel) the final consonant is doubled e.g. forgetting: however, the consonant is not doubled if the syllable is unstressed, e.g. gardener
in- means both ‘not’ and ‘in/into’.
Before a root starting with l, in- beomes il.
Before a root starting with m or p, in- becomes im-
Before a root starting with r, in- becomes ir-
re- means again or back
sub- means under
auto- means self or own
Revise: the suffix –ly begins with a consonant, so usually it is added straight onto a root word.
New: 3rd exception (see year 3 for others):
If the root ends with –ic, then add –ally rather than just –ly, (except in the word publicly.)
Sometimes the root word is obvious, e.g. poisonous.
Sometimes there is no obvious root word e.g. tremendous.
-our is changed to
-or before adding
-ous
Keep the final e when using a soft g.
If there is a short i sound before the suffix -ous, it is usually spelt with an i, but a few words have e.
-cian is used if the root word ends in c or cs. (Note how many of these words show professions.)
French in origin.
Revise: when the owner is singular, the apostrophe is placed before the s.
Revise: when the owner is plural, the apostrophe is placed after the s.
New: some owners are considered as a collective group, as if they were a single body. In this case, the apostrophe goes before the s, as with singular owners, e.g. children’s.
Singular proper nouns ending in an s use the ‘s suffix, e.g. Cyprus’s
Continue to revise homophones from Year 3 / (Revise: beginning, forgetting)
gardening, gardener, limiting, limited, limitation
myth, gym, Egypt, pyramid, mystery
incorrect, inactive
illegal, illegible
immature, immortal, impossible, impatient, imperfect
irregular, irrelevant, irresponsible
redo, refresh, return, reappear, redecorate
submarine, subheading
autobiography, autograph, automatic
completely, finally
basically, frantically, dramatically
division, invasion, confusion, decision, collision, television
poisonous, dangerous, mountainous, famous, various
tremendous, enormous, jealous
humorous, glamorous, vigorous
courageous, outrageous
serious, obvious, curious
hideous, spontaneous, courteous
musician, electrician, magician, politician, mathematician
scheme, chorus, chemist, echo, character
chef, chalet, machine, brochure
league, colleague, catalogue
tongue
antique, unique, clique
Sarah’s, Mr Black’s
squirrels’ tails;
girls’ toilet
children’s, men’s, women’s, firemen’s, policemen’s, mice’s Cyprus’s, Chris’s, James’s
(Can also be written Chris’ or James’ – not in POS)
accept/except, affect/effect, ball/bawl, medal/meddle, scene/seen,
Spoken Language
Pupils should be taught to:
•listen and respond appropriately to adults and their peers
•ask relevant questions to extend their understanding and knowledge
•use relevant strategies to build their vocabulary
•articulate answers and opinions, beginning to be able to justify their response; understand that arguments depend upon point of view
•give structured and appropriate descriptions, explanations and narratives for different purposes; express feelings appropriately
•maintain attention for longer periods of time, being able to participate actively in group conversations; maintain relevant topic during collaborative talk; respond to the comments of others; raise questions in a group
•use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, imagining and exploring ideas; begin to pose a hypothesis
•speak audibly and fluently, with an increasing command of Standard English
•participate in discussions, presentations and performances; further develop skills in role play and improvisation; begin to understand the process of debate
•gain and maintain the interest of the listener, growing in the ability to monitor the listener’s response and begin to make adjustments
•consider different viewpoints; be able to listen to these and build on the contribution of others
•be aware that people use different kinds of speech in different circumstances; grow increasingly able to select and use appropriate registers
Writing Composition
Knowledge, skills and understanding / Supporting composition: routines and resources
Pupils should be taught to:
Plan their writing by:
· discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
· discussing and recording ideas.
Draft and write by:
· composing and rehearsing sentence orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
· introduce the paragraph as a way to group related material; begin to organise information around a theme
· in narratives, develop understanding of ‘setting’, ‘character’ and ‘plot’ and begin to use in own writing
· in non-narrative writing, understand and use simple organisational device [e.g. heading, sub-headings].
Evaluate and edit by:
· assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing, and suggesting improvements
· suggesting changes to grammar and vocabulary, which improve writing, including the accurate use of pronouns.
Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.
Read aloud their own writing, using appropriate intonation and volume so that the meaning is clear.
Pupils should be taught to:
develop their understanding of the concepts of grammar, punctuation and vocabulary (Appendix 2) by:
· using a wider range of conjunctions, including when, if, because, although
· choosing nouns or pronouns for clarity
· using conjunctions to express time and cause.
Indicate grammatical features by:
· indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with both singular and plural nouns (Year 4. In Year 3, revise singular nouns and teach plural to pupils who are ready.)
· using and punctuating direct speech.
Use and understand the grammatical terminology in English Appendix 2 accurately and appropriately when discussing their writing and reading.
· Use the present perfect form of verbs instead of the simple past [e.g. He has gone out to play rather than He went out to play. / · Share the reading of a range of texts in the chosen genre to gain familiarity with its features and structure.
· Engage in interactive discussion of texts; book talk; reminder of previous examples; cross curricular link texts.