KS2 Reports: English Skills Explained Write a simple sentence using capital letters and full stops. Please note this is a basic skill which all children need to secure before building more sophisticated sentences. A simple sentence is a string of words that make sense on its own and must contain a subject and verb. Simple sentences can be of varying lengths The dog barked. Children were playing. All girls like pink. The man got into a car. The journey to France took three hours. In KS2 we would expect children to start sentences with capital letters and always mark the end of the sentence with appropriate punctuation (full stop,?! ) Write sentences which use words and phrases to extend meaning. These are simple sentences which have extra details added to them. Detail added through adjectives and adverbs e.g. The jolly, fat chef made an enormous chocolate cake. Sarah opened the box slowly. As above plus precise nouns and powerful verbs e.g. Mr Smith leapt into the Ferrari. As above plus use of phrases e.g. In the playground, children scream and shout. The teacher happily marked the children s books at home after midnight. A combination of all these techniques in one sentence At midnight last Wednesday, the devoted Labrador was howling the Hallelujah Chorus, rather wistfully, in the garden behind Buckingham Palace. Write complex sentences which include clauses to add information, give reasons and explain. Beginning to use some subordinators in complex sentences (because, so, if, while, though, since) e.g. The boys went into the playground because they wanted to play football. It was raining so they had to stay inside. As above, plus beginning to write sentences containing relative clauses. e.g. James, who was laughing loudly, was told off by his mum. Use a wide range of subordinating conjunctions and relative clauses e.g. They played happily until it started to rain. The old woman, who lived in a cottage in the forest, had magical powers. While he was paying for his petrol, his car was stolen. Secure control of complex sentences and understand how clauses can be manipulated to achieve different effects. e.g. After sucking a humbug, the zebra s stripes became more prominent. The zebra s stripes became more prominent after sucking a humbug. The zebra s stripes, after sucking a humbug, became more prominent.
(subordinate clauses underlined) Use complex sentences that combine or split a main clause with one or more subordinate clauses. e.g. Rose, who was a greedy girl, ate 5 cakes when she came home from school. When Tom got up, he put on his brown suit which was very smart. (main clauses underlined) Vary opening of sentences to avoid repetition. Children are beginning to use a range of sentence openers including time connectives (First, After, Next) and noun + verb phrases (The little, old man hobbled...). Use connectives (although, also), prepositional phrases (along the road), adverbial phrases (at the end of the day), adverbs (carefully) ing verbs (walking, thinking, wishing) The above, plus drop in clauses (The man, whose name was Jack, reached for the plate), -ed verbs and similes (as quick as a flash, he picked up the knife and ran). Use a complete range of strategies to open sentences (I SPACED) plus starting sentences with subordinate clauses (Although it was raining, the children went out to play). Use a range of punctuation to create effects including direct speech Children can use capital letters to mark the start of sentences and proper nouns, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks at the end of sentences and they are beginning to use commas in lists. Accurate use of the above plus: speech marks to indicate direct speech, developing use of commas to mark clauses, and beginning to use apostrophes to mark possession and contraction. All of the above plus: ellipsis,colon, brackets Increasingly accurate use of the above, plus: semi-colon and dash. Sequence sentences to organise ideas logically. Children can write narrative that has a beginning, middle and end. Developing 5 part story plans, can write an introduction and conclusion in their writing, maintaining pace throughout. Make links between paragraphs (subject, time, place) Children think more carefully about the content of a paragraph and how sentences are ordered within this. Children are using more complex narrative structures e.g. subplot, 2 narrators. Use paragraphs to show change of subject, time and place and organisational features to develop content and pace of writing. Begin to organise stories into paragraphs (at a minimum to indicate beginning, middle and end). Awareness of paragraphing to present dialogue (new speaker start a new line). In non-fiction writing, children group similar information into paragraphs under
simple headings. Children use bullets points and numbering for instruction writing. Children use paragraphs to indicate narrative order (5 part stories) and to build ideas. In non-fiction writing, children consider the significance of word/subject order within paragraphs (e.g. putting similar ideas together). Use paragraphs to show development and structure of texts e.g. high and low points of narrative. In non-fiction, links are made between sections and flow to next paragraph. Paragraphs used to structure all types of writing and children understand how they are structured to influence a reader e.g. comment/sequence to follow the shifting thoughts of a character (narrative)/examples listed to justify a point/reiterate to give it force. Paragraphs used to structure narratives which do not have a simple linear chronology. Children develop the structure within individual paragraphs. Write with generally consistent use of tense and verb forms. Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy in speaking and writing e.g. catch/caught, see/saw, go/went. The above, plus developing awareness of tense and style of writing e.g. recount/narrative in past tense, explanations/instructions in present tense. Developing consistent and appropriate use of tense in own writing. and 6 The above, plus developing understanding of how tenses are formed. Children understand that transforming tense can impact on meaning and they can vary tense accurately in their own writing. Use interesting and descriptive word choices. Interesting words are those which have been carefully selected for effect. They include adjectives, adverbs, powerful verbs and precise nouns. In KS2, we expect children to develop their vocabularies so that they begin to select words carefully e.g. enormous instead of big, incredible instead of good, miniscule instead of small. This point is closely linked the one that follows, please see below for progress of strategies in writing. Use adventurous vocabulary and figurative language to contribute to the effect and impact of writing. Use simple adjectives and adverbs, change simple verbs to impact on meaning. Developing awareness of how alliteration can be used (Slowly, the slimy snake slithered). Use adverbs and adjectives selectively to add interest or create variety. Use precise nouns (Mr Smith)and powerful verbs (leapt) to show character/add impact. Use similes to add detail (The room was as dark as the night sky). Use adverbial and adjectival phrases and shades of meaning for adjectives (hot/warm/ scorching/baking/sweltering). Children explore the impact of the position of adverbs within sentences (start/middle/end) e.g. The man left the building quickly/quickly, the man left the building/the man quickly left the building. Use a range of strategies to contribute to the effect of writing including more sophisticated techniques such as hyperbole (exaggeration) personification (when an object is given human qualities The wind sang her mournful song )and metaphor (comparison Her eyes were glistening jewels ).
Plan and generate suitable words and phrases before writing and apply different planning formats. All children should be developing ability to generate ideas, organise them into a plan, consider key vocabulary, and adapt a plan as necessary. Children should be given access to a range of planning formats during their time in school which get progressively more complex (mind maps, bubble diagrams, 5 part story plans etc) They need to know that they can rework their plan and their plan needs to be used to inform their writing. In, the planning of writing has a greater focus on oral rehearsal and pictorial/simple plans. In and 6, children are developing their ability to plan their writing at speed. Rehearse and re read sentences in order to edit and improve writing. Again, these are skills that need to be developed throughout KS2. All children are encouraged to re-read their writing in small chunks as it is being created, say sentences/chunks of text/whole texts aloud to check for sense and to listen for relevance of language used (i.e. whether it sounds right/fits the genre of writing. Does it sound like a story? Does it sound like a set of instructions?) Apply taught spelling rules in own writing and use a range of appropriate strategies to help spell unfamiliar words. Children begin to spell long vowel sounds correctly (ai/ay/a_e). They can spell simple plurals, add suffixes (-ing for the present tense, -ed for the past tense, ly and ful), correctly use and spell pronouns (I, you, me, he ) split compound words into component parts e.g. milk man, pancake, teaspoon. They discriminate syllables in multisyllabic words in order to spell them e.g. tomorrow/together, and they use simple prefixes to generate new words (un-, dis-, re-, pre-, de-, mis-). The above, plus children spell: homophones correctly e.g to/too/two, more complex plurals (changing y to -ies, plurals of words ending in ss, zz, ch, sh and words ending in o) words with common letter strings (ing, le, tch, str, kn, ough). They use apostrophes for contraction (can t cannot, haven t have not). The above, plus children can spell: unstressed vowels in polysyllabic words e.g. Wednesday, common letter strings with diff pronunciations (ough) spelling patterns of consonants e.g. c sound (k cat, q cue, s city, sh special, x - access), words with less common prefixes and suffixes (anti, non, in, im). They identify word roots. The above, plus children know meaning and spelling of connectives e.g. furthermore, nevertheless. They do further work on unstressed vowels in polysyllabic words and they use prefixes and suffixes to transform words e.g. negation, tense, word class. Children use knowledge of word families and spelling patterns. All spelling work should be underpinned through teaching children different strategies to remember spellings e.g. mnemonics, breaking into syllables, highlighting difficult parts, look/cover/write/check. Strategies should take into account the range of different learning styles that the children have. Join handwriting and maintain consistency in size and spacing. Children can form all letters correctly and write in a legible style but may not always have control over size. Some attempt at joining letters.
Children write in a legible style with accurate and consistent formation. Letters are joined. and Children can write at pace with a fluent and consistent handwriting style. Handwriting is sustained throughout a piece of writing. Children have an awareness of how handwriting can be adapted according to the task e.g. rough work, notes, final draft. Answer a range of comprehension questions about a text. Children can answer simple retrieval questions about a text e.g. what colour is the dog? They can answer questions that require a degree of inference e.g. how a character is feeling. The simple, most obvious points of a text are identified. Children give comments which sometimes include quotations/references to text (may not always be relevant). They develop straight forward inference based on a single point of reference in a text. Responses to texts show meaning established at literal level. Relevant points are identified and supported by generally relevant textual reference or quotation. Children s comments make inference based on different points in a text. Inferences are often correct but comments are not always routed securely in the text or they repeat narrative or content. Relevant points are clearly identified, including those selected from different points in the text. Children s comments are supported by relevant textual reference or quotation. Comments develop explanation of inferred meanings, drawing on evidence across the text. Personal experience is used to support opinions. Explain some effective language choices made by an author. Children identify words that make the writing more interesting. The above, plus children comment on the impact of words/phrases within a text. Children compare and contrast choices made. They consider alternatives and the impact these may have. Children are developing ability to understand messages within texts. They consider points of view, intention and shades of meaning. Listen carefully in discussions, make relevant contributions and ask questions about others ideas and points of view. Children can choose words carefully to provide clear explanations and talk about a subject including appropriate detail for their audience. Children can ask relevant questions related to a talk. The above, plus children can talk confidently to others about their own ideas and are able to listen to other people speak in both class and group situations. They are beginning to distinguish the level of formality needed for different audiences. The above, plus children can clearly express own opinions and describe events. Children can ask questions to show that they understand what someone has said. Developing confidence in using the ABC technique (add, build, contest an idea). Presentations use formal or informal language appropriately and body language/gesture supports
content. The above, plus children can vary expression and words chosen to interest people when talking to them. They make contributions that take into account the views of others. Children respond to each other in discussions rather than through a third person (e.g. a teacher). Language used in presentations reflects the response desired from the audience e.g. to persuade, have empathy, formal notice.