English Grammar in St. Rynagh’s Primary School

What we have listed below is the areas of English Grammar that should be covered by all classes from 2^nd to 6^th.

SECOND CLASS

Capital Letters  - Beginning of a sentence, Names of People, The word I, Names of Places, Week days, Months and Special Days.

Punctuation – Full stops, Questions.       Specific or discreet work to introduce and practice capital letters, full stops and questions will be done.  In all other exercises an effort will be made where possible to have children writing in sentences in order to practice using capital letters, full stops and question marks correctly.

Nouns

Nouns will be explained as names of a person, place or thing.  The emphasis in Second Class will be on using naming words primarily followed by identifying these naming words as nouns.   

Nouns will be explored under the following themes:-  nouns for sorting animals, nouns for young and older animals, nouns for animal houses, nouns for people at work, choosing correct names for items or nouns, selecting nouns from other words in a sentence, sorting nouns from verbs and using some collective nouns.

Verbs

Verbs will be explained as doing words.  The emphasis in Second Class will be on using the correct doing word primarily followed by identifying these doing words as verbs.   Verbs will be explored under the following themes:-  Selecting the correct doing word to write a sentence, with pictures to help and without.  Using verbs and nouns correctly to form a sentence.  Working on selecting is or are and was or were.

Plurals

Plurals with just s, plurals with es.   a and an – when to use each

Adjectives

The children would be challenged to use adjectives to identify colours, opposites and the best word to describe some noun.  The children at this stage should focus on using a word to describe a noun rather than knowing they are using an adjective.

THIRD CLASS

Nouns

Proper nouns are identified and given a capital letter, some collective nouns are learnt, children must identify the nouns in a sentence, the children are given pictures, definitions or uses of nouns and must identify the correct noun.  The children must write sentences where they have to select the correct nouns to use.  Days of the week, months of the year and seasons are learnt in the context of proper and common nouns.

Verbs

A verb is defined again as a doing word.  Children are asked to identify verbs in sentences, choose a suitable verb to fill a gap in a sentence either from a list or, from memory or from a picture.  The children use the present and past tenses of verbs.

Capital Letters & Punctuation

Using capital letters at the start of sentences and for proper nouns.  Using full stops and question marks.   Specific exercises will be given on punctuation and good punctuation will be encouraged in their writing.

Alphabetical Order

Children will put words in alphabetical order using the first letter and then the second letter.

Plurals

The children will practice plurals by adding s, es, y – ies, f – ves.

Adjectives

Adjectives are defined as words that tell us more about nouns.   The children learn this definition and practice using adjectives through selecting adjectives to describe nouns from a list, from pictures and from memory.

Prepositions

The children practice using the correct prepositions.

Conjunctions

The conjunctions and or but are practiced.  

Comparatives & Superlatives

The children practice creating and using comparatives and superlatives.  Similar sounding words or homonyms.  The children are taught and practice using (too, to, two), (its, it’s), (of, off), (were, where), (there, their), (here, hear) and various homonyms such as sea and see.                                                                                                           

FOURTH CLASS

Capital Letters/Full Stops

The children do specific exercises once more to practice using capital letters to begin sentences and for proper nouns.   They also practice using full stops and question marks.  Through all their writing this will be practiced.

Apostrophe for Ownership

The apostrophe is taught as a method of showing ownership.  First the apostrophe is used to show one owner, then the apostrophe is used to show more than one owner.

Singular and Plural

Plurals are practiced adding s, es, y - ies and f - ves.

Nouns

A noun is defined again as the name of a person, place or thing.  The children practice identifying and using nouns including collective nouns.

Pronouns

A pronoun is defined as a word used to replace a noun.  The children practice using pronouns.

Adjectives

Adjectives are defined as words that describe nouns.   The children must define, identify, select and use adjectives to clarify and improve sentences.

Verbs

A verb is defined as a doing or action word.  The children define, identify, select and use verbs in sentences.  The children use verbs in the past and the present.

Adverb

An adverb is defined as a word that tells us more about a verb.  The children use adverbs in sentences selecting adverbs from a list and from memory.  The children practice changing adjectives to adverbs.

Alphabetical Order

The children put words in alphabetical order using the firs, second and third letters.

Quotation Marks

The children use quotation marks for direct speech.

Gender

Masculine and Feminine of words is practiced.

Conjunctions

Who, which, so, but and because are used to join two sentences.  Children should be warned that joining more than two sentences can lead to a very unfocused writing style.

Commas

Commas are used in writing lists.

Contractions

The use of an apostrophe in a contraction is explained.  Practice of contractions is given and the use of the apostrophe here is shown to be different to ownership.

Passed v Past

Past as a preposition or adverb is shown to be different from passed the verb.

FIFTH CLASS

Capital Letters

The use of capital letters is revised for beginning sentences, proper nouns and the pronoun I.

Verbs

A verb is defined as a doing word.  The children must choose the most suitable verbs for sentences and use either the present, past or future tenses.  The past participle of verbs is introduced as requiring another verb with it.   Practice of using the participle is given.

Adverbs

An adverb is defined as a word that tells us more about a verb.  The children identify and use adverbs in sentences.  The children construct sentences around given adverbs and add adverbs to sentences.  The children learn how toad ly or ily to an adjective to make an adverb.  The children identify adverbs and adjectives simultaneously to avoid confusion.

Nouns

Nouns are defined as naming words.  Nouns are identified, used in sentences and linked to definitions.  Masculine and feminine nouns are categorised.  Proper and common nouns are identified and defined.  Proper nouns being the names of particular people, places, animals, dates, titles & brands.  The singular and plural forms of nouns are practices s, es, y-ies, f-ves.

Pronouns

Pronouns are defined as words used to replace a noun.   The children identify and use pronouns to fill gaps and to replace nouns.

Adjectives

An adjective is defined as a word that tells us more about a noun.  The children identify and use adjectives.  The children form adjectives from nouns.  The children learn how an adjective can be the base word from which an adverb is formed.  The children develop adjectives and adverbs from nouns.

Direct Speech and Quotation Marks

Direct speech is explained as speech where the words used by the person are quoted.  The children practice identifying direct speech and using quotation marks and punctuation, commas, full stops, questions and exclamation marks appropriately.

Punctuation

The children practice, capital letters, commas, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks in a specific task.  They are also expected to use them correctly in other work.

Apostrophe

The use of an apostrophe to show ownership is practiced.  The difference between the boy’s books and the boys’ books is explained and practiced.   Its and it’s are shown to have a different meaning.

Conjunctions

The children define a conjunction as joining two sentences together to make one.  They identify and practice using conjunctions.

Prepositions

Prepositions are defined as showing the relation between two other words.   The children identify and practice using prepositions.

Alphabetical Order

The children put words in alphabetical order using the first, second and third letters.

SIXTH CLASS

Punctuation

The children practice capital letters, full stops, commas, full stops, question marks and exclamation marks correctly.

Apostrophe

The use of an apostrophe to show ownership is practical.  The differences between the boy’s books and the boys’ books is explained and practiced.

Quotation Marks and Direct Speech

Direct speech is defined as speech where the actual words used by the person are quoted.  The class practice converting direct speech to indirect speech and indirect speech to direct speech.

Nouns

The children define nouns as the name of a person, place or thing.  The children learn to define, proper nouns, common nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns.  The plurals of nouns are practiced.  The gender of nouns as masculine, feminine, common or neuter is taught and children sort nouns by gender.   They also change nouns from one gender to another.

Pronouns

The pronouns are defined as words used to replace nouns.   Practice is given of using the correct pronoun.   The children identify and use pronouns to fill gaps.

Adjectives

An adjective is defined as a word that tells us more about a noun.  The children identify and use adjectives.  The children use two adjectives together to describe something i.e.  The tall, thin man left the town.

Verbs

A verb is defined as a doing word.  The children must use suitable verbs from memory.  They must take verbs from one tense to another.  The past participle of verbs is taught as always requiring another verb with it

Prepositions

A preposition is defined as a word placed before a noun or pronoun that shows the relationship between the noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence.  The children identify and use propositions in sentence.

Conjunction

Conjunction is defined as a word used to join two words phrases or sentences together.  The children identify and practice using conjunctions.

Homonyms

Homonyms and similar sounding words that are often confused are explained as being different and practiced.  Particular practice is done on your or you’re, of or off, their or their and whose or who’s.

Comparative and Superlatives.

An explanation of how adjectives change form to become comparatives and superlatives is given.  The children practice forming and using comparatives and superlatives.

Alphabetical Order

The children put words in alphabetical order using the firs, second and third letters.

Suffixes and Prefixes

A suffix is defined as a group of letters added to the end of a word to form a new word.  A prefix is defined as a group of letters added to the end of a word to create a new word.  The children create and use suffixes.  The children create and use prefixes.

Root Words

The children can uncover the meaning of a word through removing a suffix for example to ascertain a root word.

Synonyms

How do we use words with very similar meanings.

Antonyms

How do we use opposite words.

Homographs

How de we identify and use words that are spelled the same but have different meanings and possibly different sounds.