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Sentence Writing Skills Key Stage 2

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 Key Stage 2

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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 .................................................................................................................................... 7 4. How the lessons are structured ................................................................................................................. 9 5. Lesson progression ................................................................................................................................... 12 6. Activity types ............................................................................................................................................... 29 7. Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................... 36 8. Assessment ................................................................................................................................................ 38 Lesson plans..................................................................................................................................................... 41

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

Year 5

Create a vivid, poetic image

Present participial phrases, for example: Skipping with joy, Sim rushed to tell Gemma the news. Stacked present participial phrases, for example: Pushing through the crowd, dodging between shoulders, searching for a gap, she finally broke free. Present participial phrases, for example: Snow was coming down, covering everything it landed on.

3 Show the impact of an experience on a character

Show how a character is feeling

1 Show how a character is feeling 2 Bring a setting to life

Show the impact of an experience on a character

Bring a setting to life

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Past participial phrases, for example: Exhausted by the journey, she dropped to her knees.

Past participles (single and paired), for example: Defeated and deflated, Jaya sat down on the bench. Present and past participles, for example: Abandoned and decaying, the fairground fell silent.

Crafting tool

Year 5, Sequence 2: Using past participles and past participle phrases

5 Create a vivid, poetic image

Create a sense of movement and energy

Reveal a character’s habits and traits

Show the intensity of a feeling

3 Reveal a character’s habits and traits 4 Create a sense of movement and energy

Present participle + adverb, for example: She sat at the table, trembling slightly.

Show how a character is feeling

1 Show how a character is feeling 2 Show the intensity of a feeling

Crafting tool Present participles, for example: running, shaking

Crafting goal

Lesson number

A description of a character after a challenging sporting activity, using past participles Setting description of an abandoned or derelict place, using single or paired present and past participles A description of a character who has returned from an adventure, using past participle phrases

Outcome

A setting description of a quiet place in nature, using participle phrases

A character description that shows their feelings, using present participles Description of a character who is experiencing strong feelings, using present participles with adverbs Description of a character at a bus stop, using present participle phrases A narrative action sequence of a race, chase or hiding, using stacked present participle phrases

Outcome

Year 5, Sequence 1: Using present participles and present participle phrases

5. Lesson progression

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Can use past participial phrases to show the impact of an experience on a character, punctuating with a comma

Can use single or paired past participles to show how a character is feeling, punctuating with a comma Can use a single or paired past participle to bring a setting to life, punctuating with a comma

Assessment criteria

Can use a present participial phrase to create a vivid, poetic image of a setting

Can use a present participle phrase before or after the main clause to show character habits and traits, punctuating with a comma Can stack present participial phrases to increase the sense of energy in a sentence, using a comma to demarcate each phrase

Can use a present participle before or after the main clause to show how a character is feeling, punctuating with a comma Can use a present participle with a paired adverb to show how a character is feeling, punctuating with a comma

Assessment criteria

Create suspense and tension

Set the mood and tone of a place

Past participial phrases, for example: Filled with excited children, the room buzzed with energy. Stacked past participial phrases, for example: Cornered by a curious llama, blocked from the path ahead, he backed away carefully.

Add descriptive detail to a sentence

1 Add descriptive detail to a sentence 2 Add detail to a sentence

Add detail to a character description

Reveal character

4 Add detail to a character description

5 Reveal character

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Emphasise key information

3 Emphasise key information

Add detail to a sentence

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Embedded prepositional phrases of manner, for example: He announced, without checking, the completely wrong answer.

Embedded subordinate clauses, for example: Marcus, although he was nervous, stepped forwards.

Embedded adjectives, for example: The market, busy and noisy, stretched the length of the square. Embedded present and past participial phrases, for example: The lion, exhausted by the heat, watched from the grass. Commas, dashes and brackets

Crafting tool

Year 5, Sequence 3: Embedding phrases and clauses

4 Set the mood and tone of a place 5 Create suspense and tension

A narrative character description, using embedded subordinate clauses with commas, dashes or brackets A narrative about a character who confidently gets things wrong, using embedded prepositional phrases of manner with commas, dashes or brackets

A narrative where a character arrives somewhere new, using embedded participle phrases

Sentences describing animals, using embedded participle phrases

Setting description of a city, using embedded adjectives

Outcome

A narrative action sequence about a character running from an animal, using stacked participle phrases to create a tension

Description of a fireworks display, using past participle phrases

5. Lesson progression

Can embed prepositional phrases of manner between the verb and object of main clauses, using commas, dashes or brackets

Can embed adjective pairs between the subject and the verb of main clauses, punctuating with two commas Can embed present or past participial phrases between the subject and the verb of main clauses, punctuating with two commas Can embed participial phrases using commas, dashes or brackets, and can explain the effect of each punctuation choice Can embed subordinate clauses between the subject and verb of main clauses using commas, dashes or brackets

Assessment criteria

Can use past participial phrases to set the mood and tone of a place, punctuating with a comma Can stack past and present participial phrases to create suspense and tension, using a comma with each phrase

Add extra information about a person

Add extra information about an event

Add extra information about a place

Add extra information about a person

Build a vivid character description

1 Add extra information about a person

2 Add extra information about an event

3 Add extra information about a place

4 Add extra information about a person

5 Build a vivid character description Embedded relative clauses starting with which, for example: His helmet, which he had polished for three hours, gleamed brightly.

Relative clauses starting with which for example: The ride, which climbs to 90 metres, offers views across the entire park. Embedded relative clauses starting with who, for example: Mary Seacole, who trained as a nurse in Jamaica, travelled to the Crimea alone.

Relative pronoun which (embedded), for example: which lasted three days

Relative pronoun who (embedded), for example: who always arrived early

Crafting tool

Create tension

Add persuasive emphasis

Create atmosphere

1 Create tension

2 Add persuasive emphasis

3 Create atmosphere

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Fragments (noun phrases), for example: The last green space in our city. Fragments (adjective phrases), for example: Perfectly still. Completely silent.

Fragments (one-word sentences), for example: Run. Nothing. Gone.

Crafting tool

Year 5, Sequence 5: Using fragments and omission

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Year 5, Sequence 4: Using relative clauses

5. Lesson progression

A narrative setting description that is unnerving, using fragments

A section of a persuasive speech for a cause, using fragments

A narrative chase sequence, using fragments

Outcome

A newspaper recount about unusual weather, using embedded relative clauses starting with which Sentences describing a fairground attraction, using embedded relative clauses starting with which A non-fiction description of an impressive person, using embedded relative clauses starting with who with commas, dashes or brackets A description of an unexpected character, using embedded relative clauses starting with who with commas, dashes or brackets

Sentences describing a character, using an embedded relative clause starting with who

Outcome

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Can use single-word fragments deliberately to create tension in a narrative action sequence Can use noun phrase fragments deliberately to add emphasis in a persuasive text Can use phrase fragments deliberately to create atmosphere in a narrative, punctuating each fragment with a full stop

Assessment criteria

Can embed relative clauses starting with who between the subject and verb of main clauses to add extra information about a person, punctuating with two commas Can embed relative clauses beginning with which between the subject and verb of main clauses to add extra information about an event, punctuating with two commas Can embed relative clauses between the subject and verb of main clauses to add extra information about a place, punctuating with two commas Can embed relative clauses between the subject and verb of main clauses to add extra information about a person, choosing commas, dashes or brackets and explaining the effect of the choice Can embed relative clauses starting with which between the subject and verb of main clauses to reveal character through what a person owns, uses or does, punctuating with two commas, dashes or brackets

Assessment criteria

Write realistic speech

5 Write realistic speech

Create a formal list

Add detail to a list

Develop an idea

Introduce evidence or an example

Create suspense

1 Create a formal list

2 Add detail to a list

3 Develop an idea

4 Introduce evidence or an example

5 Create suspense

Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

Crafting goal

Lesson number

Year 5, Sequence 6: Using colons

Write realistic speech

4 Write realistic speech

Colons, for example: Then she saw it: a single handprint on the outside of the glass

Colons, for example: The results were conclusive: 85% of participants reported improved energy levels.

Colon, for example: Scientists drew one conclusion: the planet could not support life.

Colon, for example: We collected the following items on the shore: shells and dried seaweed. Semicolons, for example: a sturdy torch with extra batteries; a thick blanket that folded into a small pack

Crafting tool

Omission of subject and verb in direct speech, for example: “Fine.” “No idea.”

Omission of subject in direct speech, for example: “Going to the park.”

A narrative about a rocket crew member discovering a problem, using colons to introduce expansion that creates suspense

Persuasive writing about diet or exercise, using colons to introduce evidence or examples

A non-fiction report after a nature or beach walk, using colons to introduce lists A non-fiction information text about a residential, using semicolons to separate detailed items in a list A non-fiction explanation about space or planets, using colons to introduce expansion

Outcome

A narrative dialogue with friends making plans, using omission of the subject in direct speech A narrative dialogue with one disinterested character, using omission of the subject and verb in direct speech

5. Lesson progression

Can use colons to introduce lists, ensuring the sentence before the colon is complete and no capital letter follows the colon Can use semicolons to separate detailed items in a list introduced by a colon, ensuring each item is a noun phrase with its own modifying detail Can use colons to introduce the expansion of complete sentences, using single words, short phrases or full clauses, with no capital letter after the colon Can use colons to introduce evidence or an example in a persuasive text, ensuring the sentence before the colon is complete and no capital letter follows the colon Can use colons to introduce expansion that creates suspense in a narrative, ensuring the sentence before the colon is complete and no capital letter follows the colon

Assessment criteria

Can omit the subject in direct speech to make dialogue sound natural, punctuating speech correctly Can omit the subject and verb in direct speech to make dialogue sound natural or a character appear disinterested, punctuating speech correctly

Lesson sequencing

Year 5 Sequence 2 Lesson 3

Lesson 3 · Show the impact of an experience on a character Prerequisite Past participles; phrases; commas knowledge

Crafting goal

Show the impact of an experience on a character

Crafting tool

Past participial phrases, for example: Exhausted by the journey, she dropped to her knees.

Resources

PowerPoint Sequence 2, Lesson 3; Worksheet

Outcome

A description of a character who has returned from an adventure, using past participle phrases

Retrieve prior knowledge

Component parts: Slide 1: Ask children to copy each sentence on their whiteboard and ﬁnd and label the present participle phrases. 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 past participle names a state that has resulted from something that already happened. Explain that a past participial phrase is a past participle together with the words that follow it, forming a phrase that modiﬁes the subject of the main clause. Like a present participial phrase, it has no subject of its own and refers to the subject of the main clause. For example, in Thrilled by the breathtaking view, Ava gazed at the clouds below. Thrilled by the breathtaking view has no subject: the subject is Ava from the main clause. The phrase tells the reader not just that she is thrilled but why – the view is the cause. A past participial phrase can be placed before the subject or after the main clause, and both positions need a comma. Use the questions on the slide to check for understanding. Share the crafting goal and crafting tool. Goal unpacking: Slide 4: Using the examples, discuss how the same past participle can be extended in different ways and how each addition changes what the reader understands about the impact on the character. Ask children to consider which type of addition most precisely shows the impact of the experience.

Become effect detectives

Effect detectives: Rank effects: Slide 5: Share the examples and ask children to rank them from most to least effective at showing the impact of the experience on the character. Invite them to turn and talk to share their thinking. Collect responses through hands-up voting and ask selected children to explain their ranking. Clarify that there is no correct answer.

Look at a model text

Model text: Slide 6: Read the whole text through without stopping, using careful pace and expression. Check understanding brieﬂy or restate what has happened in the text. Highlight and label: Slide 7: Reread the model text slowly, pausing at each past participle. Using the slide notes, highlight and label each example, drawing out what follows the participle in each case. For each one, ask children what the participle adds to the sentence and why the writer chose to include it at that point in the narrative.

Practise

Sentence jumble: Worksheet: Hand out the lesson worksheet. Read the sentence fragments aloud, inviting children to echo read if helpful. Ask children to orally reorder the words and phrases to form complete sentences with past participle phrases. They may number the parts if this helps. Then ask them to write their sentences on the worksheet, checking for accuracy and effect. Sentence combining: Worksheet: Restate the crafting tool, drawing attention to the comma rule. Using the example on the worksheet, model combining two sentences into one using a past participial phrase while keeping all key information. Ask children to discuss in pairs how the next two sentences could be joined. Take feedback and model again. Ask children to combine the remaining sentences on the worksheet, remembering to orally rehearse before writing.

Craft

Slow writing: Slide 8: Explain the writing task: children will write a short passage about a character who has just returned from an adventure (which can be flying), using past participial phrases to show the impact. Tell them they will write one sentence at a time, following your prompts (see slide notes). Read the first prompt. Give children a fixed amount of time to write their sentence, followed by deliberate time to check that it makes sense, is accurate and achieves the intended effect. Repeat this process, building in longer pauses to reread the whole text.

Share the text: Set clear expectations that listening children respond as readers rather than editors. Draw attention to the crafting goal and then read, or invite children to read, their work, using punctuation signals. Invite brief reﬂections on what the writing made children think, feel, imagine and notice about the character.

Assessment Can use past participial phrases to show the impact of an experience on a character, punctuating with a criteria comma. Crafting Brilliant Writing: Sentence Writing Skills

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Teaching PowerPoints Accessible on the Collins Hub free after purchase

l a if n

t o Show the impact of an n y experience on a character p o c f o o r p 0

Component parts Copy each sentence. Underline the present participial phrase.

t o n -

l a if n

1. Running along the seafront, she reached the pier before the tide turned.

o c

y p

2. He sat at the back of the bus, staring out of the window.

o r p

f o

3. Carrying her bag, Zara walked to school.

Slide 1

l a if n

Component parts – answers

t o

1. Running along the seafront, she reached the pier before the tide turned.

y p

n -

2. He sat at the back of the bus, staring out of the window.

f o

o c

3. Carrying her bag, Zara walked to school.

o r p

Slide 2

Crafting goal

l a if n

A past participial phrase = past participle + the words that follow it.

t o n -

It refers to the subject of the main clause. It always needs a comma. Thrilled by the breathtaking view, Ava gazed at the clouds below.

y p

The phrase tells the reader not just what the character is like,

o c

but why – the view is the cause.

f o

Our crafting goal is to show the impact of an experience on a character.

o r p

Our crafting tool is past participial phrases.

Slide 3

Goal unpacking

l a if n

What you add after the participle changes what the reader understands about the impact. Adverb + participle: completely amazed

y p

t o n -

Participle + prepositional phrase: amazed by the view

o c

Participle + clause starting with that:

f o

amazed that I was finally in the air

o r p

Which version most precisely shows the impact of the experience? Slide 4

l a if n

Effect detectives: Rank effects

Rank from best to worst (in your opinion) for showing the impact of the experience.

t o n -

1. Energised by the journey, Selin stepped off the plane.

o c

y p

2. Thrilled by the experience, Selin stepped off the plane.

o r p

f o

3. Inspired by what she had seen, Selin stepped off the plane. 4. Delighted by her adventure, Selin stepped off the plane. Slide 5

Model text

l a if n

Amelia Earhart stepped off the plane and gazed up at the sky, amazed. Thrilled by her first flight, she could hardly believe where she had been. The fields, roads and houses had looked so different from above. Utterly captivated, Amelia replayed every moment in her mind. She remembered the clouds drifting beside her and the tiny world far below. Inspired by the breathtaking view beneath the plane, she felt eager to learn more about flying. A smile spread across her face. Amelia looked towards the runway, amazed that it had seemed so small. She knew this was only the beginning of a great adventure.

o r p

f o

o c

y p

t o n -

Slide 6

Highlight and label

l a if n

o r p

f o

o c

y p

t o n -

Slide 7

Slow writing

l a if n

Write a short passage about a character who has just returned from an adventure.

t o n -

Use past participial phrases to show the impact.

y p

Write one sentence at a time.

f o

o c

Past participles: amazed thrilled inspired energised

o r p

delighted captivated astonished overwhelmed stunned overjoyed Slide 8