BISCUIT PLEASE
Learning to use a variety of sentence structures
at
St. Catherine’s Catholic Primary School
Booklet 2
Dear Parents,
In school, your child has been learning to use a variety of sentence structures that are appropriate to their age and ability. If they practise these sentence structures and use them in their independent writing, they will meet age related expectation.
When learning each new sentence type, the children will be given several examples and then will practise them as single sentences until they are able to use them in their own writing.
The best way that you can help your child to become confident in using these sentence types is by supporting them with regular practice in using the sentence types in this booklet. You can also ask them where they have used these sentence types in their written homework and encourage them to identify them in their homework activities by underlining them.
When they have filled up the booklet, they may bring it into me and they will be able to collect a certificate which they will receive in assembly.
Thank you for your support with this and we look forward to reading the results.
P
Preposition
Prepositions usually describe the position of something, the time when something happens and the way in which something is done. For this purpose, we mostly use prepositions that describe position or direction.
Examples :
Beyond the valley, there was a gloomy mist rising.
In her hair, you could see knots and broken twigs.
TASK 1 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences starting with prepositions.
TIP : (Don’t forget the comma after the prepositional phrase)
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TASK 2 :Find an interesting picture of a place on the internet. Write ten sentences about the picture. They should all start with prepositions. (Don’t forget the comma).
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TASK 3 : write ten sentences describing the appearance of an unpleasant character in a story that you have enjoyed. They should all start with prepositional phrases. (Don’t forget the comma).
______
A
Adverb
An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It describes how something is being done or how something is ‘being’. Many (but not all) adverbs end in ly. These are the easiest adverbs to begin a sentence with.
Examples :
Cautiously, I crept down the corridor.
Clumsily, I took the sleeping baby from my sister’s arms.
TASK 4 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences starting with adverbs.
TIP : (Don’t forget the comma after the adverb)
______
TASK 5 : Describe how you travelled to school this morning in ten sentences, starting each sentence with an adverb such as slowly, quickly, gently, carefully, quietly, noisily, gracefully, strangely…..
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B
Because
When children are younger, they learn to join two clauses with ‘because’. A more mature way of writing these sentences, and a way to write a complex sentence with a comma is to put the ‘because’ at the start of the sentence and then put the main clause second. (Terms such as main clause and subordinate clause are terms that we teach them and they need to understand)
Examples :
Because it was raining, I grabbed my umbrella as I left.
Because I was so angry, I counted to ten before I spoke.
TASK 6 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences starting with because.
TIP : (Don’t forget that you need two clauses – Because it was raining……. This isn’t a sentence.)
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I
..ing
There is no technical term for this kind of sentence. It just starts with a word ending with ing and has two parts. The first describes what the person was doing or feeling and then the second part (after the comma) gives us the main clause.
Examples :
Sighing, I started the piece of work for the third time.
Holding the only remaining chair tightly, she refused to move.
TASK 7 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences starting with words ending in ing.
TIP :Don’t forget the comma. Read these sentences out loud once you have written them. This will help you to check whether your sentence makes sense.
______
S
Simile
A simile makes a comparison between one thing and another.
Examples :
The cave loomed above me like a gaping jaw.
As loud as thunder, the African drummers beat out the rhythm.
TASK 8 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences which include a simile. You can use the simile anywhere in the sentence as long as it still makes sense.
TIP :Don’t forget the comma if you use the simile at the beginning of the sentence. Read these sentences out loud once you have written them. This will help you to check whether your sentence makes sense.
______
L
List
There are two types of list sentence.
Type one includes a sentence followed by a colon, followed by a list.
Type two includes a list of three actions.
Examples :
I needed several things from the shops : flour, eggs, bacon and mushrooms.
I ran upstairs, threw myself on the bed and started to cry.
TASK 9 :To complete this task : Write ten sentences which include a list. You should try and use both types of list sentence.
TIP :Don’t forget that when we write a list, we use commas between all of the items or actions until the last two which are joined by and/or.
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Now you are an expert at using prepositions, adverbs, because, ing words, similes and listsin your sentences, you can aim to use them at least twice in every piece of writing that you do.
Well done! You can have 10 house points for completing the booklet.
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