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Sentence Writing Skills Reception and Key Stage 1

Collins Crafting Brilliant Writing is a research-informed programme that provides the support and resources you need to implement purposeful, impactful writing lessons and ensure every child sees themselves as a writer. Fully aligned with the DfE Writing Framework, Sentence Writing Skills is a carefully sequenced, lesson-ready resource that focuses entirely on sentence-level understanding: how sentences are constructed, how they can be crafted for effect, and how children can begin to develop fluency and accuracy in using them independently. This research-led progression is designed to transform sentence-level writing outcomes in your school and can be slotted in with your existing provision. This teacher’s handbook includes a complete and inclusive whole-school progression for teaching sentence skills, along with assessment guidance and accompanying downloadable PowerPoints and worksheets. The teaching progression in this handbook aligns directly with the Developing Writing Fluency Teacher’s Handbook, so both can be taught together. Digital content can be accessed for free through the Collins Hub with every purchase of this handbook. Contact your local rep who will be happy to set this up for you: collins.co.uk/findarep.

Sentence Writing Skills Reception and Key Stage 1

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Author Lindsay J Skinner

Contents 1. Welcome to Crafting Brilliant Writing ............................................................................................ 2 2. How to use this book .................................................................................................................... 4 3. Why this book works..................................................................................................................... 6 4. How the lessons are structured .................................................................................................... 8 5. Lesson progression ................................................................................................................................... 11 6. Activity types ............................................................................................................................................... 23 7. Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................... 29 8. Assessment ................................................................................................................................................ 31 Lesson plans..................................................................................................................................................... 34

1. Welcome to Crafting Brilliant Writing

1. Welcome to Crafting Brilliant Writing Collins Crafting Brilliant Writing is a programme that will transform the teaching of writing in your classroom. This approach has been crafted and honed through 20 years of researching, teaching and leading writing – first as an English teacher in middle, all-through and secondary schools, and latterly as a headteacher, Director of Education and KS3 lead for the DfE Ilsham English Hub. Between them, these roles have taken me across the full breadth of a child’s writing journey – from the earliest sentences in Reception to the examination rooms at 16 and beyond. What children learn to do with language at the very beginning shapes everything that follows, and I have seen, on both sides, exactly what is at stake. Teaching children to write is, at its heart, a social justice issue. A child who leaves primary school able to construct sentences with accuracy, intention and flair carries that ability into every classroom, every examination and every opportunity that follows. A child who does not is quietly disadvantaged in ways that compound over time – but that is not inevitable. It is a curriculum and pedagogy problem, which means there is a curriculum and pedagogy solution. That conviction has driven 20 years of solution finding, and it is the reason this book exists. Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills will give you the resources to teach sentence construction in a way that will result in accurate writing and beautifully crafted sentences – even in the earliest stages of a child’s writing journey. We know this approach works. The pedagogy underpinning Crafting Brilliant Writing has been independently evaluated by researchers at the University of Exeter. My secondary writing resource, Crafting Brilliant Sentences, was a Joint 5 Star Winner for Curriculum Impact at the 2019 Teach Secondary Awards. Crafting Brilliant Writing takes the same approach – effect-led, carefully sequenced and grounded in how language actually works – and builds it from the very beginning of a child’s writing journey. This is an approach I have spent a career developing and refining, and I am confident it will make a difference in your classroom. You are in good hands. Primary teachers across the country are faced with the considerable challenge of teaching young children not only to form letters and spell words, but to construct sentences that are both accurate and expressive. Reception and Key Stage 1 are where the foundations are laid. At the heart of everything is the main clause – and specifically, the child’s understanding of the subject and verb as a construct. Once a child grasps this, two things follow: they understand where capital letters and full stops belong, and they understand how everything else – every extension, every addition, every further layer of punctuation – relates to and builds from that central clause. The decisions children make at sentence level will underpin everything they write throughout their school career and beyond. Get this right, and you give children a genuine toolkit for writing – not a set of rules to memorise, but a deep understanding of how language works and what they can do with it. It matters, therefore, that teachers feel genuinely confident in how to teach these concepts, in what order, and why – and that confidence, built in Reception and Key Stage 1, is a gift that every Key Stage 2 teacher and every child will feel the benefit of for years to come. This is precisely what Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills is designed to support. It is not a handwriting programme – your school will have a separate scheme for that – nor is it a phonics or spelling resource. What it is, is a carefully sequenced, lesson-ready resource focused entirely on sentence-level understanding: how sentences are constructed, how they can be crafted for effect, and how children can begin to develop fluency and accuracy in using them independently. Every lesson has been designed with both the teacher and the child in mind – clear to deliver, engaging to experience and purposeful in its progression.

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

1. Welcome to Crafting Brilliant Writing This book is designed to ensure that you are ready for the new curriculum: that you are already fluent in the underlying pedagogy, already confident in the sequencing, and already seeing the difference that expert sentence-level teaching makes in your classroom. The DfE’s Writing Framework (2025) is explicit on this point: it is not enough for a literacy lead alone to understand how writing should be taught. All teachers must be trained to teach writing effectively. This is a significant ask – and it is one that this book is uniquely placed to support. It functions both as a practical classroom resource, with lessons that can be dropped into your existing scheme of work without wholesale curriculum change, and as a form of structured professional development. You won’t just deliver these lessons; you will learn from them. Over time, as you and your colleagues engage with the material, a shared language and a shared approach to writing instruction will develop – and that consistency will be transformative for children. Alongside this book sits Crafting Brilliant Writing: Writing Fluency. We know from research that fluency is developed through repeated, incremental practice across a range of contexts, with scaffolding gradually reduced as confidence grows. We also know that children engage most deeply with this kind of practice when it involves genuine creativity – when they have some agency in what and how they write, rather than simply completing exercises. The Fluency product is built on exactly these principles. It mirrors the sentence-level content of this book, giving children the sustained and varied practice they need to move from understanding a concept to using it instinctively, independently and with flair. The two products are designed to work in tandem: this book teaches and models; the Fluency product consolidates and embeds. Together, they offer something genuinely powerful – a coherent, evidenceinformed approach to sentence writing that supports every child to write with both accuracy and confidence. The pages that follow will give you everything you need to use this book with confidence. You will find guidance on how the resource is structured, how to timetable it flexibly within your existing provision, and a clear explanation of the key pedagogical principles that underpin every lesson – including a detailed exploration of sentence-level understanding and why the main clause is the cornerstone of it all. Whether you are a literacy lead looking to sharpen your school’s writing provision, or a class teacher wanting to feel more confident and equipped in your teaching of sentences, this book is for you.

Lindsay J Skinner Series editor and author

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Lesson progression Reception

Describe what is happening

Describe an action

Describe what is happening

Show character

1 Describe what is happening 2 Describe what is happening

3 Describe an action

4 Describe what is happening

5 Show character

Name people and places

Tell the reader who/what is doing something

Interest your reader in the character

3 Tell the reader who/what is doing something

4 Interest your reader in the character

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

People and place nouns, for example: castle, forest

Naming objects clearly

Character noun subjects, for example: The giants roar.

Subjects (the nouns that are doing the verb), for example: The boys run.

Nouns, for example: ball, hat

Crafting goal

1 Name objects clearly 2 Name people and places

Crafting tool

A range of present tense doing verbs in ‘I’ or ‘We’ sentences, for example: I run. We hop. Strong present tense doing verbs, for example: zoom, roar

A range of present tense doing verbs, for example: run, hop

Present tense doing verbs, for example: sit, run A range of present tense doing verbs, for example: tap, pat

Crafting tool

RECEPTION

Lesson number

Reception, Sequence 2: Using nouns

Crafting goal

Lesson

Reception, Sequence 1: Using present tense doing verbs

5. Lesson progression

Present tense subject + verb sentence including character noun subject

Oral present tense subject + verb sentences including people and place nouns Oral present tense subject + verb sentences

Oral use of nouns from pictures

Outcome

Present tense character subject + verb sentences using I/We

Transcribed present tense subject + verb sentences using I/We Present tense subject + verb sentences using I/We

Oral present tense subject + verb sentences using I Oral present tense subject + verb sentences using I

Outcome

Can use a subject + doing verb to write a simple sentence including a story character.

Can use a subject + doing verb to write a simple sentence.

Can use people and place nouns to write present tense simple sentences.

Can say and write a noun clearly.

Assessment criteria

Can choose and use a present tense doing verb to compose a written sentence. Can choose and use a present tense doing verb to show character in a written sentence.

Can use a present tense doing verb to orally compose a simple sentence Can use a range of present tense doing verbs to orally compose simple sentences. Can choose the best present tense doing verb to describe an action.

Assessment criteria

5. Lesson progression

Write clearly with sentences that make sense

Matching singular character subjects and verbs so they agree, for example: The giant roars.

Separate simple sentences clearly

Showing your reader where a sentence ends

Show your reader where a sentence ends

Crafting tool

Full stops at the end of each sentence, for example: The cow jumps. Full stops and capital letters, for example: The robot cooks.

Capital letter at the beginning of a sentence, for example: The cat runs. Capital letters at the beginning of sentences even when the subject stays the same, for example: The hen pecks. The hen runs. Full stop at the end of a sentence, for example: The bug sits.

Dictated sequence of present tense subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Present tense subject + verb silly animal sentence with full stops

Present tense animal subject + verb sentences with full stops

Reading present tense subject + verb sentences that begin with a capital letter Present tense subject + verb sentences about a hen, beginning with capital letters

Outcome

Present tense action subject + verb sentence including a subject and a doing verb that match

Simple sentences: subject + present tense verb

Retell a story

Precise present tense doing verbs, for example: scrambles

Show what a character is doing

2 Show what a character is doing 3 Retell a story

Simple sentences: subject + present tense doing verb

1 Retell the beginning of a story

Crafting tool

Crafting goal

Retell the beginning of a story

Lesson number

Can use simple subject + verb sentences, demarcated with full stops and capital letters to retell the beginning of a story. Can choose and use the best present tense doing verb to describe what a character is doing. Can write subject + present tense verb simple sentences and demarcate with a capital letter and full stop.

Assessment criteria

Can finish every sentence with a full stop and demarcate with a capital letter.

Can finish every sentence with a full stop.

Can finish a sentence with a full stop.

Can begin every sentence with a capital letter even when the subject stays the same.

Can begin a sentence with a capital letter.

Assessment criteria

Can write a simple subject + verb sentence, ensuring the subject and verb match (3rd person singular noun + verb ending in -s)

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Present tense narrative subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Oral character subject + verb sentences

Two present tense narrative subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Outcome

Reception, Sequence 4: Crafting narrative simple sentences (SV) – Jack and the Beanstalk

3 Show your reader where a sentence ends 4 Show your reader where each sentence ends 5 Separate simple sentences clearly

Show your reader where a sentence begins

1 Show your reader where a sentence begins 2 Show your reader where each sentence begins

Show your reader where each sentence begins

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Reception, Sequence 3: Crafting simple sentences (SV)

5 Write clearly with sentences that make sense

5. Lesson progression

Retell the end of a story

5 Retell the end of a story

Accurate verbs for subject verb agreement (with/without an s ending), for example: sprint, thunders

Precise verbs, for example: roars

Present tense narrative subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Retell the end of a story

5 Retell the end of a story

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Add drama to a story

Subject + present tense verb simple sentences, for example: The wolf smiles.

Retell a story

4 Add drama to a story

Precise present tense verbs, for example: walks, hurries

Show what a character is doing

2 Show what a character is doing 3 Retell a story

Crafting tool

1 Retell the beginning of a story

Accurate verbs for subject–verb agreement (with/without an s ending), for example: The girls run. The girl runs.

Precise verbs, for example: slinks, creeps

Simple sentences: subject + present tense doing verb

Crafting goal

Retell the beginning of a story

Lesson number

Present tense narrative subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Oral character subject + verb sentences

Two present tense narrative subject + verb sentences with full stops and capital letters

Outcome

Reception, Sequence 5: Crafting narrative simple sentences (SV) – Little Red Riding Hood

Add drama to a story

4 Add drama to a story

5. Lesson progression

Can use subject + present tense verb simple sentences, demarcated with a capital letter and a full stop to retell a story. Can orally use a precise verb in a present tense simple sentence to describe what a character is doing. Can write subject + present tense verb simple sentences, demarcated with a capital letter and a full stop to retell a story. Can write subject + present tense verb simple sentences, with precise verbs, demarcated with a capital letter and a full stop to add drama to a story. Can write subject + present tense verb simple sentences that match the verb ending to the subject (singular or plural), demarcated with a capital letter and a full stop to retell the end of a story.

Assessment criteria

Can write simple subject + present tense verb simple sentences, with precise verbs, demarcated with a capital letter and full stop. Can write simple subject + present tense verb sentences, match the verb ending to the subject (singular or plural), demarcated with a capital letter and full stop to retell the end of a story.

Create patterns in sentences

Extend sentences to entertain your reader

Write full subject, verb and object sentences to entertain your reader

Give information about a character

Use objects to give information about a character

1 Create patterns in sentences

2 Extend sentences to entertain your reader

3 Write full subject, verb and object sentences to entertain your reader

4 Give information about a character

5 Use objects to give information about a character

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Subject + present tense verb + object simple sentences, for example: The rabbit nibbles grass.

Subject + present tense verb + object simple sentences, for example: The boy fears a spider.

Subject + present tense verb + object simple sentences, for example: The slug eats a leaf.

An object, for example: A fox eats a pen.

An object, for example: I kick the ball.

Crafting tool

Reception, Sequence 6: Using objects in simple sentences (SVO)

5. Lesson progression

Can use repeated subject + verb constructs with a range of objects and use capital letters and full stops to demarcate sentences. Can use repeated subject + verb constructs, add an object and demarcate with capital letters and full stops to entertain the reader. Can write full subject + verb + object sentences, creating a repeating pattern by keeping the subject and verb the same, and use capital letters and full stops to demarcate sentences. Can write subject + verb + object sentences, choose objects that create a clear contrast and demarcate sentences using capital letters and full stops to show what a character feels. Can write subject + verb + object sentences, choose objects that create a clear contrast and demarcate sentences using capital letters and full stops to show what a character does.

Assessment criteria

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Present tense subject + verb + object sentences with a range of objects

Outcome

Lesson sequencing Reception

Reception Sequence 1 Lesson 4

Lesson 4 · Describe what is happening Prerequisite Present tense doing knowledge verbs

Crafting goal

Describe what is happening

Resources

PowerPoint Sequence 1, Lesson 4; Worksheets

Crafting tool

A range of present tense doing verbs in 'I' or 'We' sentences, for example: I run. We hop.

Outcome

Present tense subject + verb sentences using I/We

Retrieve prior knowledge

Sort it: Slide 1. Ask children to sort the words into present tense doing verbs and naming words. Read each word aloud. Encourage children to act out the action to help them decide. Collect responses, noticing any common misconceptions, for example, they might be able to act out using a bag, but can they ‘bag’? Slide 2: Talk through the correct answers together, addressing any errors.

Teach crafting goal

Cra ing goal: Slide 3: Explain to children that today they are going to choose a present tense doing verb and use it in a sentence. Remind children that a present tense doing verb shows the reader what is happening now. Explain that the sentence will start with I or We and that they will choose the verb that goes next. Check understanding through concise questioning, using slide notes. Vocabulary explora on: Slide 4: Read the doing verbs from the word bank aloud one at a time. Act each one out together. Ask children to say each verb slowly, sound by sound, like a writer. Then ask children to put each verb into an I or We sentence and say it aloud clearly in the order they will write it.

Become e ect detectives

E ect detectives: Best e ect: Slide 5: Read the example sentences aloud, emphasising the doing verbs. Explain that the writer wants to show a person with lots of energy. Ask children which sentence shows the character doing something with lots of energy. Encourage children to act out each sentence and notice how their bodies move diƯerently. Invite children to turn and talk before sharing ideas, drawing attention to the more energetic doing word and its eƯect on the reader.

Look at a model text

Model text: Slide 6: Read the whole text through, carefully pausing between each sentence. Reread the text, pausing to narrate your thinking aloud as a reader, drawing attention to what the character is doing in each sentence.

Practise

Sentence jumble: Worksheet: Hand out the worksheet. Read the sentence fragments aloud. Ask children to orally reorder each sentence, then say it together slowly like a writer. Ask children to write the sentence on their worksheet. Encourage careful listening for sounds and letter formation. Use the vocab: Worksheet: Read the sentence starters aloud (I ___. We ___.). Ask children to choose a verb from the word bank and complete each sentence orally first, then to write the completed sentence on their worksheet. Encourage oral rehearsal before writing.

Craft

Prompt writing: Slide 7: Ask children to think of one sentence, using a verb from the word bank. Ask them to rehearse it orally first, then write it independently on mini whiteboards or in their exercise books. Encourage children to say their sentence before and after writing, checking that it makes sense.

Share the text: Draw attention to the crafting goal and then read, or invite children to read, their sentences. Celebrate children who share.

Assessment Can choose and use a present tense doing verb to compose a written sentence. criteria

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Teaching PowerPoints Reception Accessible on the Collins Hub free after purchase

l a

n i f t

o n Show the reader what a f o o character is doing r p e l p m a s 0

Sort it

n i f t

l a

Sort the words into present tense doing verbs and naming words. sit

dog

pat p e

hat

m a s

l p

Doing verbs:

f o ro hop

o nbag

run

mat

Naming words: Slide 1

Sort it — answers Doing verbs: sit hop run pat

m a s

l p

l a

p e

n i f Naming words: t o pot n bag f o hat ro mat

Slide 2

Crafting goal

l a

n i f t

Today we are going to choose a present tense doing verb and use it in a sentence.

o n

The sentence will start with I or We.

f o Our crafting goal is showing the reader what a character o r p is doing now. e l Our crafting tool is present tense doing verbs in p sentences. m a s You choose the verb that goes next.

Slide 3

Vocabulary exploration

sit

run

nod p e

sip

m a s

l p

f o ro hop

l a

n i f t

Present tense doing verbs

o ndig

tap

pat

Slide 4

Effect detectives: Best effect

l a

n i f something with lots of energy? t o I sit. - n f I hop. o o r p e l p m

Which sentence best shows the character doing

a s

Slide 5

Model text

n i f t o n

Read the text. I run.

f o rIotap.

We hop.

m a s

l p

l a

p e We sit.

Slide 6

Prompt writing

sit

run

hop

m a s

l p

f o ro

dig

tap

l a

n i f t

Choose a word. Write a sentence.

o n nod pat

sip

p e

Slide 7

Lesson progression Year 1

Create suspense

5 Create suspense

Describe a place

Describe a character

Describe a person

1 Describe a place

2 Describe a character

3 Describe a character

4 Describe a person

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Year 1, Sequence 2: Using adjectives (SVA)

Avoid repetition

4 Avoid repetition

Is + adjective simple sentences, for example: Bel is kind. Jack is tall. Am/are + adjective sentences, for example: I am brave. You are important.

Adjectives before nouns, for example: dark forest, silent wood Adjectives, for example: fierce, tiny

Crafting tool

Personal pronoun it, for example: It lives in the woods.

Personal pronouns, for example: he, she

Give information about a place

Avoid repetition

Proper nouns (places), for example: Coldwood, the West Sea Personal pronouns, for example: he, she, it, they

Give information about a character

1 Give information about a character 2 Give information about a place 3 Avoid repetition

Crafting tool Proper nouns (names), for example: Pip, Fang, Sunny

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Year 1, Sequence 1: Using proper nouns and pronouns

Descriptive present tense adjective + subject + verb (+ object) sentences about a wood Descriptive present tense adjective + subject + verb (+ object) character sentences Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective character sentences Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective sentences about people

Outcome

Present tense personal pronoun + verb (+object) setting sentences

Present tense personal pronoun + verb (+object) character sentences

Present tense personal pronoun + verb (+ object) narrative sentences

Present tense subject + verb narrative sentences with character names Present tense subject + verb setting sentences with place names

Outcome

Year 1

Can use an adjective before a noun to describe a place. Can demarcate sentences by using capital letters and full stops. Can use an adjective to describe a character. Can demarcate sentences by using capital letters and full stops. Can write a simple sentence with subject + is + adjective to describe a character. Can use capital letters and full stops. Can write a simple sentence with subject + being verb (am/are) + adjective to describe a person. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Assessment criteria

Can use the personal pronouns he, she, it or they correctly in writing to avoid repeating character names. Can use the personal pronouns he or she correctly in writing to avoid repeating character names. Can use the personal pronoun it correctly in writing to create suspense.

Can use proper nouns correctly with capital letters to give information about a place.

Can use proper nouns correctly with capital letters to give information about a character.

Assessment criteria

5. Lesson progression

Describe a character

A series of subject + is + adjective sentences, for example: He is huge. He is funny. Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective character sentences

Can write a series of simple sentences with subject + being verb (is) + adjective to describe a character. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Describe an object

Describe a setting

Include more than one piece of information

1 Describe an object

2 Describe a setting

3 Describe a setting

4 Include more than one piece of information

5 Include more than one piece of information

Simple sentences with compound objects, for example: I need a coat and a hat. Simple sentences with compound subjects, for example: Mia and Sam run.

Subject + is + adjective sentences, for example: It is rough. Subject + is + adjective sentences, for example: The lake is still. Using and to join adjectives, for example: The sea is blue and cold.

Crafting tool

Present tense subject + and + subject + verb sentences about sports day

Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective sentences about a pine cone Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective sentences about a city or the countryside Descriptive present tense subject + being verb + adjective + and + adjective sentences about the seaside Present tense subject + verb + object + and + object sentences about shopping

Outcome

Explain what someone is doing now

Explain what is happening now

1 Explain what someone is doing now

2 Explain what is happening now

Crafting goal

Lesson number Present progressive: using is + participle (-ing verb), for example: She is running. He is cheering. Present progressive: using is + participle (-ing verb), for example: The bus is zooming. The train is rushing.

Crafting tool

Subject + is + -present participle sentences about a busy station

Subject + is + -present participle sentences about an athlete

Outcome

Year 1, Sequence 4: Crafting present progressive simple sentences (SVING)

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Can write a present progressive sentence, using is + a participle (-ing verb) to explain what someone is doing now. Can use capital letters and full stops. Can write a present progressive sentence, using is + a participle (-ing verb) to explain what is happening now. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Assessment criteria

Can write a simple sentence with a compound subject joined by and. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Can write a simple sentence with a compound object joined by and. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Can write a simple sentence with subject + being verb (is) + adjective to describe a thing. Can use capital letters and full stops. Can write a simple sentence with subject + being verb (is) + adjective to describe a place. Can use capital letters and full stops. Can write a simple sentence by using a being verb and two adjectives joined by and. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Assessment criteria

Year 1, Sequence 3: Crafting sentences with adjective (SVA) and the conjunction and (SVAA, SVOO, SSV)

5 Describe a character

5. Lesson progression

Explain what is happening now to more than one of something

Explain what is happening now to more than one thing

4 Explain what is happening now to more than one of something

5 Explain what is happening now to more than one thing

Find out information

Show the reader you are asking a question

Ask the correct question

Find out information about someone

Create suspense

1 Find out information

2 Show the reader you are asking a question

3 Ask the correct question

4 Find out information about someone

5 Create suspense

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Year 1, Sequence 5: Asking questions

Explain what is happening now

3 Explain what is happening now

Questions starting with question words, for example: who, what, where, when, why Questions starting with question words, for example: who, what, where, when, why Questions starting with question words, for example: What is that noise?

Questions beginning with what, for example: What is your name? Question marks

Crafting tool

Present progressive: using am + participle (-ing verb), for example: I am sitting. I am writing. Present progressive: are + participle (-ing verb) simple sentences, for example: The bees are buzzing. The birds are singing. Present progressive: is or are + participle (-ing verb) simple sentences, for example: The lightning is flashing. The waves are crashing.

Simple questions to Little Red Riding Hood beginning with who and what and ending with a question mark Simple questions about a wood beginning with who, what, where and ending with a question mark

Transcribed questions beginning with where and what and ending with a question mark

Transcribed question ending with a question mark

Oral questions to peers beginning with what

Outcome

Descriptive subject + is/are + present participle sentences about a storm

Descriptive subject + are + -present participle sentences about nature setting

I + am + present participle sentences for a holiday postcard

Can write a question, using the correct question word to create suspense and ending with a question mark.

Can write a question, using the correct question word for the information sought and ending with a question mark.

Can say a question ending with a question mark, using who, what or where. Can transcribe a question that ends in a question mark. Can write a question, using the correct question word for the information sought and ending with a question mark.

Can use what to orally compose a simple sentence with a question.

Assessment criteria

Can write present progressive sentences, using is or are + a participle (-ing verb) to explain what is happening now to more than one thing, selecting the correct being verb for singular and plural subjects. Can use capital letters and full stops.

Can write a first person present progressive sentence, using am + a participle (-ing verb) to explain what is happening now. Can use capital letters and full stops. Can write a present progressive sentence, using are + a participle (-ing verb) with a plural subject to explain what is happening now. Can use capital letters and full stops.

5. Lesson progression

Organise information

Get your reader’s attention

Ask scientific questions

Find out about a character

Make your reader think

1 Organise information

2 Get your reader’s attention

3 Ask scientific questions

4 Find out about a character

5 Make your reader think

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Questions using the auxiliary verb do or did, for example: Did you know that penguins cannot fly? Do you know how fast a cheetah can run? Questions using the verbs does and do, for example: Does it float? Do they mix? Questions using the auxiliary verbs is and can, for example: Is it soft? Can it swim? Simple sentence questions starting with the auxiliary verbs do or what, for example: Do you care about this? What if it was your garden?

Questions as subheadings, for example: Where do penguins live?

Crafting tool

Year 1, Sequence 6: Crafting questions to inform and persuade

5. Lesson progression

Persuasive questions about their environment, starting with do or what

Scientific questions about animals, starting with is and can

Scientific questions about objects, starting with does and do

Question subheading about frogs, beginning with who, what, where, when or why and ending with a question mark Question subheading about octopuses, beginning with who, what, where, when or why and ending with a question mark

Outcome

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Can write a persuasive question using do or what, ending with a question mark.

Can write enquiry questions, using does for a singular subject and do for a plural subject, ending with a question mark. Can write enquiry questions, using is and can as auxiliary verbs, ending with a question mark.

Can write an attention-grabbing question using the auxiliary verb do or did, ending with a question mark.

Can write a question subheading using a question word to organise information, ending with a question mark.

Assessment criteria

Lesson sequencing Year 1

Year 1 Sequence 5 Lesson 2

Lesson 2 · Show the reader you are asking a question Prerequisite knowledge

Full stops; questions beginning with what

Crafting goal

Show the reader you are asking a question

Resources

PowerPoint Sequence 5, Lesson 2; a hand puppet

Crafting tool

Question marks

Outcome

Transcribed question ending with a question mark.

Retrieve prior knowledge

True or false: Slide 1: Ask children to decide whether each sentence is a question or a statement. Collect responses and briefly review them, noticing any common misconceptions. Slide 2: Share the correct answers and talk through these together, addressing any errors.

Teach crafting goal

Crafting goal: Slide 3: Remind children that a question begins with a question word, followed by the verb and then the subject. Explain that today they will learn another way of showing the reader that a sentence is a question. As well as starting with a question word, writers end with a question mark. The question mark comes at the end of every question instead of a full stop. It is not just a rule – it is a signal to the reader. When the reader sees a question mark, they know that a question is being asked and that an answer is expected. Without the question mark, the reader cannot tell whether they are reading a question or a statement. (Note: This lesson includes teaching the punctuation signal for a question mark. Use your school’s signal if it is diƯerent from the one used here.) Check understanding through concise questions. Before and after: Slide 4: Read the two versions aloud – one with a full stop and one with a question mark. Ask children which one signals to the reader that a question is being asked. Show children the shape of the question mark, drawing attention to the curl and the dot beneath it. Ask children to practise making the shape in the air, checking they are forming it the right way round.

Become e ect E ect detectives: Best e ect: Slide 5: Show the examples. Read them and ask children to think detectives about which one signals most clearly to the reader that a question is being asked and that an answer is expected. Invite children to turn and talk. Collect responses through hands-up voting and ask selected children to explain their reasoning. Look at a model text

Thinking like a writer: Slide 6: Read each sentence like a statement. Think aloud that something is wrong. Model realising that these are questions and need a question mark. Correct each sentence explaining what you are doing as you go along. Model text: Slide 7: Read the model questions aloud with natural intonation. Ask children to listen for the question mark at the end of each one. Explain to children that there is a punctuation signal for question marks. You make the top curve with your hand in the air, doing a little creaking sound and then do the full stop open hand and pop. Show this and ask children to copy. Repeat. Reread the model with punctuation signals. (If your school uses a diƯerent signal, use that with children.)

Practise

Use the vocab: Slide 8: Introduce the puppet. Explain that it only responds when asked a question – and only if the question mark is clearly signalled. Model asking the puppet a question, using the punctuation signal for a question mark. Show Slide 8. Read the question words aloud – who, what, where. Using slide notes, support children to practise saying questions through ‘I say, you say’, always signalling the question mark. Ask children to talk in pairs to decide which questions they could ask the puppet. Let them take turns asking the puppet a question. Prompt children to signal the question mark clearly. Only answer as the puppet if children ask a complete question with a question mark. If they do not, encourage peers to support in making the question complete.

Craft

Prompt writing: Slide 9: Ask children to practise forming a question mark on their whiteboards or in their exercise books. Dictate a question aloud slowly and clearly, for example: What is your best day? Ask children to transcribe it, paying careful attention to the question mark at the end.

Share the text: Ask children to think about the best question they heard or asked during the classroom activity. Invite individuals to share it aloud. Ask the class to identify the question word and agree if the puppet would answer (it only will if it’s a question and a question mark).

Assessment criteria

Can say a question ending with a question mark, using who, what or where. Can transcribe a question that ends in a question mark.

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Teaching PowerPoints Year 1 Accessible on the Collins Hub free after purchase

l a n i f Show the reader you are t o n asking a question by using f o o r p a question mark e l p m a s 0

True or false?

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What is your name? is a question. True or false? The dog runs. is a question. True or false?

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Where do you live? is a question. True or false?

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Kit jumps. is a question. True or false?

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Slide 1

True or false? – answers

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What is your name? is a question. TRUE

The dog runs. is a question. FALSE – it is a statement.

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Where do you live? is a question. TRUE

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Kit jumps. is a question. FALSE – it is a statement.

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Slide 2

Crafting goal

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What is your name. What is your name?

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Our crafting goal is showing the reader you are asking a question.

f o Our crafting tool is question marks. o r p e l p m

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Slide 3

Before and after Before

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What is your favourite colour.

n After f o o r What is your favourite colour? p e l p m

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Slide 4

Effect detectives: Best effect What is your best day. What is your best day!

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What is your best day?

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Slide 5

Thinking like a writer Who is your best friend? Where do you like to go?

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What is your favourite season?

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When is your birthday?

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Slide 6

Model text

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Who is your best friend?

Where do you like to go?

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What is your favourite season?

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When is your birthday?

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Slide 7

Use the vocab Who? What?

Where?

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Slide 8

Prompt writing Remember the question mark!

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Slide 9