The Patchworker - Sentences making sense

Key Skills
National Curriculum: Key Stage 1
En2 Reading
1i) understand how word order affects meaning
1j) decipher new words and confirm or check meaning
1n) draw on their background knowledge and understanding of the content
En3 Writing
7a) how word choice and order are crucial to meaning

Coverage National Curriculum: Key Stage 1
Reading: Grammatical awareness, Contextual understanding level 1
Writing: Language structure level 1

Scotland: English Language 5-14:
Reading for enjoyment level A; Functional writing level A

Northern Ireland:
Reading Expected Outcomes c;
Writing Expected outcomes c

Wales:
Reading Range 3 ICT; Skills 2 Grammatical knowledge
Writing Skills 6

• Introduce the activity by writing some sentences with words in the wrong order on the blackboard, e.g. Floppy is dog a. Ask 'What is wrong? How can we put it right?'
• Explain that The Patchworker needs help to get things in the right order.
• Ask the children to read the list of words on the screen. How might they make sense? Write the suggested order on the board and read it together. Does it sound right?
• Check all the cues that help make sense of words, e.g. a capital letter at the beginning, a full stop at the end, a statement that makes sense.
• Praise children for pointing out that names have capital letters and do not always appear at the beginning of the sentence.
• Show the children how to drag and drop words, then ask them work at their own pace.

• Introduce the activity as above. Read the words on the screen together. Ask a child to put the words in a sentence. Check the sentence together.
• Take turns to sort out the words into sentences.
• As children select words, note whether they have a complete sentence in mind or are trying things out as they go. Praise children for using cues to sort out the sentence.
• Allow a child to complete a whole sentence but involve other children by asking them to read and check what has been done.

• Introduce the activity as above. Let children work through the game at their own pace.
• As a child is working, ask him or her to read the sentence so far and/or to predict what the whole sentence will be.
• Use the activity as an opportunity to assess children's ability to make sense of text and whether they know that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop.

Extension
Ask children to write a sentence, then copy the words in a mixed up order into a list. Remember to use a capital letter for the first word in your sentence. Give the list,(not the sentence) to a partner. Ask your partner to solve your sentence puzzle.

Use to plan offline lessons
You can print each screen with the list of words (File - Print or printer icon or press Ctrl P on the keyboard). There are twelve different sentences to make, so you could print a variety of screens. Ask the children to use the words to write the sentence and draw the picture. You can support less able children by putting the first two or three words in place before you print. The child will then only have to sort out a few words to complete the sentence.
Alternatively, you could print single copies of each screen, enlarge each one to A3 and cut them up into word cards. The children sort out the words into a sentence, then copy it and draw the picture.

Objectives NLS Year 1 Term
1S1 to expect written text to make sense and to check for sense if it does not.
S6 to begin to use the term 'sentence' and to identify sentences in text
T2 to use phonological, contextual, grammatical and graphic knowledge to work out, predict and check the meanings of unfamiliar words and to make sense of what they read.

Resources required
Online activity for The Patchworker. A set of word cards that can make sentences, including words with capital letters and cards with full stops. Paper and pencils for extension activity.

• Select 'The Patchworker' Activity from the menu. Read the instructions together.
• Read the words at the left of the screen. If any words are new, use phonics and spelling patterns to work them out.
• Ask 'Which word will come first in the sentence? How do you know? Is there another word that could come first?'
• Show the children how to use the mouse to drag and drop words into the line. If a word is incorrect it will not stay on the line.
• Praise children for working out what must come first in the sentence.· Before placing each word try saying the sentence so far.
• Go to the next screen. Ask different children to drag and drop words for the next sentence. Show children how to check for sense as they go. Read the complete sentence. Work through more screens in this way.

• Work through the first sentence together, making sure that the children know how to drag and drop words.
• As the children work, notice whether they are trying to form a sentence or simply trying words by trial and error. Ask children to read their sentence so far and to say which word they think comes next. Assess the child's ability to recognise when a sentence makes sense.
• Help children read new words by using phonics, spelling patterns and the context.
• Allow children to work through as many of the twelve sentences as time allows.

Individual/paired work
When children know what to do, let them work at their own speed. Assess children's ability to select the correct words by using cues from the sentence.
Extension: Ask children to make a sentence puzzle: write a sentence of four or five words. Cut it up into individual words. Ask a friend to make your sentence puzzle.

Plenary
Ask the children to tell you the names of characters from the activity. Make a list on the board. Ask volunteers to think of a sentence using use two names from the list. Write the child's suggestion on a board. Check that it makes sense.

Suggested Homework: Ask children to make a sentence puzzle by cutting a sentence out of a newspaper, magazine or advertisement and cutting it into words. (Ask an adult at home before cutting anything!) Bring the puzzle to school in an old envelope. Make and display the puzzles.

When to use this worksheet:
The worksheet is aimed at Year 1 children. They need to recognise some high frequency words and the names of the characters. The activity is intended to help children decide when a sentence makes sense. One high frequency word is not needed in the sentence, the children therefore need to be able to read and understand the meanings of these words.

• Practice reading high frequency words that are easily confused, e.g. was, went, were, wanted, will, with. Use flashcards or a list on the board. Ask a child how s/he tells the difference between will and with, or were and went. Look at each word together, noticing how it begins, how it ends.
• Repeat with two letter high frequency words that are easily confused, e.g. on, no; in, on; of, if; it, to.
• Enlarge the sheet to A3 on a photocopier. Identify the characters.
• Read the first sentence together. Does it make sense? What is wrong? Try taking out 'was'. Does it make sense now? Take out 'went'. Read the whole sentence.
• Ask a child to correct the next sentence. Read the corrected sentence. To check, try leaving out 'went' and use 'wanted'. Make sure that the children realise that this does not make sense.
• Give each child a worksheet to complete.

• Explain that an extra word has appeared in each sentence. They need to read each sentence carefully and cross out the extra word.
• Ask them to copy the new sentence on the line.
• As the children work praise them for checking that each sentence makes sense.
• Assess whether children can decide if a sentence makes sense.
• When children have finished, ask them to check the spelling of all the words they have copied. Ask them to check that they have used a capital letter and a full stop in each sentence.

Extension:
Using words on the worksheet to help with spelling, write two or three more sensible sentences about The Patchworker.

Objectives
NLS Year 1 Term 1
S1 to expect written text to make sense and to check for sense if it does not.
S6 to begin to use the term 'sentence' and to identify sentences in text
T2 to use phonological, contextual, grammatical and graphic knowledge to work out, predict and check the meanings of unfamiliar words and to make sense of what they read

Resources required
Copies of worksheet for The Patchworker, one copy enlarged to A3.
Flash cards as for online activity with some other high frequency words.

Teaching activities
Introduction: Give out word cards that can make a sentence and an extra word. Ask the children to hold up the words to make a sentence. Which word is not needed? Why? Repeat with other sentences and extra words.

• Ask children to listen carefully. Read a sentence from a story but put in an extra word. Ask children to put up hands to say what was wrong. Praise them for good listening and for identifying the extra word.
• Write some sentences on the board, adding an extra word. Ask the children what is wrong. Praise them for recognising what makes sense. Correct each sentence and reread it.
• Read the first sentence on the enlarged worksheet together. Decide why it does not make sense. Say the correct sentence together.
• Read and correct the remaining sentences together.

• Cut up the sentences from the enlarged worksheet, keeping each sentence separate.
• Ask the children to put the words in order to make each sentence make sense.
• Ask them to complete the worksheet independently.
• Notice any errors and ask the child to read the sentence to you. Can the child discover the error him/herself?
• Assess each child's ability to recognise a sensible sentence.

Extension: write a sentence with an extra word on the back of the sheet. Ask a partner to find the extra word. Was s/he right?

Plenary
Ask children who have written an extra sentence to read it to the class. Can the class find the extra word?

Suggested Homework:
Find a picture in an old catalogue, newspaper or advertisement. (Ask an adult before cutting anything!) Cut it into 6 pieces. Bring it to school in an old envelope. Make each other's patchwork puzzles.