English K-6 Grammar Scope and Sequence
Common Grammatical Patterns of Text Type / Early Stage 1 / Stage 1 / Stage 2 / Stage 3Description
Descriptions focus our attention on the characteristic features of a particular thing, The subject might be a person or a thing. It might be imaginative/impressionistic, or an objective description. / · use of particular nouns, eg my teacher, the Opera House, our cubby
· use of detailed noun groups to provide information about the subject, eg It was a large open rowboat with a tall front and a tall back (like a Viking boat of old), and it was of such a shining sparkling glistening pink colour;
· use of a variety of types of adjectives, eg opinion, factual, numbering, classifying;
· use of relating verbs to provide information about the subject, eg My mum is really cool;
· use of thinking and feeling verbs to express the writer’s personal view about the subject, eg Police believe the subject is armed, or to give an insight into the subject’s thoughts and feelings, eg My friend Amanda adores chocolate ice-cream;
· use of action verbs to describe the subject’s behavior, eg Our new puppy nips at our heels and wrestles with our slippers.
· Use of adverbials to provide more information about this behavior, eg Our new puppy always nips playfully at our heels.
· Use of similes, metaphors and other types of figurative language, particularly in literacy descriptions, eg But Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight… that two-wheeled outlaw (Mulga Bill’s Bicycle) / · The main emphasis will be on the close observation of a particular person or thing: naming parts and features, outlining attributes and qualities, and describing behaviour. / · The use of adjectives to describe the subject, eg Wonder world is amazing.
· The use of simple noun groups to build up the description, eg I have short, brown, curly hair.
· The use of pronouns to ‘track’ the subject, eg “This is Ginger. He is my dog”.
· The use of action verbs, feeling verbs and thinking verbs to describe the subject’s behaviour and to give insights into the thoughts and feelings of human subjects, eg Papa loved to sit on the verandah in the evening, smoking his smelly old wooden pipe and thinking of the old days back in Hungary.
· The use of adverbials to describe the subject’s behaviour, eg He spoke slowly and in a soft, gentle voice / · The use of a variety of types of adjective — describing adjectives (especially in literary descriptions, eg grumpy, brave, and objective descriptions, eg short, young), classifying adjectives, eg hobnail boots, comparing adjectives, eg her younger brother, the tallest tree, numbering adjectives, eg my first video game, the three brothers.
· The use of adverbs, eg a really terrific person, an extremely tall building.
· The use of multiple noun groups, eg He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down below his waist and immense black boots. [The Hobbit].
· The use of relating verbs, eg She was a very caring person but she had a habit of not showing her feelings.
· The use of synonyms, eg lovely, beautiful, and antonyms, eg She could be so lovable but so infuriating, in describing the subject. / · Using more complex noun groups — noun groups that include adjectival phrases, eg the old man with the droopy eyelids and adjectival clauses, eg this clever backpack has a detachable cooler bag designed to keep food and drinks cold for hours.
· Using figurative language — personification, eg The old grey horse with his honest ways was a mate to me in the droving days; simile, eg he looked like an overfed frog; as full as a hog; metaphor, eg my eyelids are suddenly anchors; alliteration, eg an elf with wispy white hair.
· Playing around with language to create an effect — placing adjectives after nouns, eg there were spiders huge and horrible sitting in the branches [The Hobbit]; repetition, eg he was a tiny man with tiny hands and feet and a tiny round face [Danny the Champion of the World]; made-up words, eg Snackle! and Gunkle! It’s only my uncle — He makes a terrible sound. Griggle! and Snoggle! My ears really boggle. I’d rather he wasn’t around [That Smell is my Brother]; unexpected combinations: a gift-wrapped spider.
· Noticing how a description is developed through a text by tracing the word chains relating to the subject or by drawing up a semantic map, eg My first mini hi-fi system — just like Mum’s and Dad’s — a sure-fire hit — colourful and appealing — ear-pleasing chime — a great gift idea — hours of educational pleasure.
· Students at this stage will be using terms such as:
· name/noun;
· describing word/adjective;
· doing word/verb;
· ‘when’/‘where’/‘how’ words. / · Students at this stage will be using terms such as:
· noun/naming word;
· adjective/describing word;
· noun group;
· pronoun;
· action verb, thinking verb, feeling verb;
· adverb or adverbial group/how, when, where words. / · Students at this stage will be using terms such as:
· describing adjective, classifying adjective, comparing adjective, numbering adjective;
· noun group;
· relating verb;
· synonym/similar word, antonym/opposite word;
· prefix, eg when creating pairs of antonyms, happy/unhappy. / · Students at this stage will be using terms such as:
· adjectival phrase (including prepositions)
· adjectival clause
· personification
· simile
· metaphor
· alliteration
· word chain.