Endon Hall - Year 4 SPaG

Spelling,punctuation andgrammar (SPaG) –A guide forparentsYear 4

IntroductionIn the 2014 National curriculum for English, there is a very significantemphasis placed on SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar).This booklet outlines the expectations for Year 4, including: The statutory word list (100 words) for Years 3 and 4 The spelling rules/patterns covered in Years 3 and 4 The grammar foci for Year 4 The technical vocabulary pupils need to understand in Year 4We appreciate that there is a lot of information in this booklet, and that itmay be a lot to digest! Our rationale is to keep you informed, in order for us towork together to support children in their learning. Therefore, practical ideasfor how you can help are included. If you have any queries, a wealth ofinformation can be found online, and we are always here should you wish to askus for more information.Statutory word listThe word lists for Years 3 and 4 are statutory. The list is a mixture of wordschildren frequently use in their writing and those which they often misspell. Parentscan support their children by ensuring that they are familiar with these words, byapplying them, using the range of games and activities listed in this booklet. They willalso be a focus for homework and tests throughout the year.Spelling rules/patternsAs a school, we have decided to split the Year 3/4 spelling programme to make itmore manageable. Please note that the sections that are highlighted in yellow arespelling patterns/rules that are to be covered in Year 4.How is spelling taught in school?Your child will have a daily, short, focused session of spelling and grammar. Duringthis session, new spelling patterns/rules and grammar content will be introduced andthen reinforced through games and activities that encourage enquiry and patternfinding.Parent/Carer supportParents can support their children by having a good understanding of theexpectations and maintaining a focus on spelling and grammar at home. Once afortnight your child will receive a spelling sheet with a list of spellings to practiseand learn. These will consist of words from the Year 4 spelling or grammarprogramme. Your child will have a spelling test every other week and we will expectto see these words increasingly spelt correctly in their writing.

Statutory word list(Yellow highlighted words to be covered in Year an/women

Spelling rules/patterns(Yellow highlighted words to be covered in Year 4)SpellingPatternRules and GuidanceExample WordsAddingsuffixesbeginning withvowel lettersto words ofmore than onesyllableIf the last syllable of a word isstressed and ends with oneconsonant letter which has just onevowel letter before it, the finalconsonant letter is doubled beforeany ending beginning with a vowelletter is added. The consonantletter is not doubled if the syllableis unstressed.The ‘i’ (hit)sound spelt yelsewhere thanat the end ofwordsThe ‘u’ (cup)These words should be learnt asneeded.myth, gym, Egypt, pyramid,mysteryThese wordsas needed.young, touch, double,trouble, countryMoreprefixesMost prefixes are added to thebeginning of root words without anychanges in spelling, but see in– below.sound spelt oushouldbe learntforgetting, forgotten,beginning, beginner,prefer, preferredgardening, gardener,limiting, limited,limitationLike un–, the prefixes dis– and mis–have negative meanings.dis–: disappoint, disagree, disobeymis–: misbehave, mislead, misspell (mis spell)The prefix in– can mean both ‘not’ and‘in’/‘into’. In the words given here itmeans ‘not’.Before a root word starting with l, in–becomes il.Before a root word starting with m orp, in– becomes im–Before a root word starting with r, in–becomes ir–.in–: inactive, incorrectillegal, illegibleimmature, immortal, impossible,impatient, imperfectirregular, irrelevant, irresponsiblere– means ‘again’ or ‘back’.sub– means ‘under’.inter– means ‘between’ or ‘among’.super– means ‘above’.anti– means ‘against’.auto– means ‘self’ or ‘own’.re–: redo, refresh, return, reappear,redecoratesub–: subdivide, subheading,submarine, submergeinter–: interact, intercity, international,interrelated (inter related)super–: supermarket, superman,superstaranti–: antiseptic, anti-clockwise,antisocialauto–: autobiography, autograph

The suffix –ationThe suffix –ation is added to verbs to information, adoration,form nouns. The rules already learnt sensation, preparation,still apply.admirationThe suffix –lyThe suffix –ly is added to anadjective to form an adverb. The rulesalready learnt still apply.sadly, completely, usually (usual ly), finally (final ly), comically(comical ly)The suffix –ly starts with a consonantletter, so it is added straight on tomost root words.Exceptions:(1) If the root word ends in –y with aconsonant letter before it, the y ishappily, angrilychanged to i, but only if the root wordhas more than one syllable.(2) If the root word ends withgently, simply, humbly, nobly–le, the –le is changed to –ly.(3) If the root word ends with –ic,basically, frantically, dramatically–ally is added rather than just –ly,except in the word publicly.(4) The words truly, duly, wholly.Words withendings soundinglike ‘shure’ ‘chure’The ending sounding like ‘shure’ ismeasure, treasure,always spelt –sure.pleasure, enclosureThe ending sounding like ‘chure’ is oftenspelt –ture, but check that the word isnot a root word ending in (t)ch with aner ending – e.g. teacher, catcher,creature, furniture, picture,nature, adventurericher, stretcher.Endings - sionEndings whichsound like ‘shun’spelt –tion, – sion,–ssion,–ciandivision, invasion,confusion, decision,collision, televisionStrictly speaking, the suffixes are –ion and–ian. Clues about whether to put t, s, ss orc before these suffixes often come fromthe last letter or letters of the root word.–tion is the most common spelling. It isused if the root word ends in t or te.–ssion is used if the root word ends inss or –mit.–sion is used if the root word ends in d orse.Exceptions: attend – attention, intend –intention.–cian is used if the root word ends in c orcs.invention, mpletionexpression, discussion,confession, permission,admissionexpansion, extension,comprehension, tensionmusician, electrician, magician,politician, mathematician

The suffix – ousSometimes the root word is obviouspoisonous,and the usual rules apply for addingmountainous,suffixes beginning with vowel letters.variousSometimes there is no obvioustremendous,enormous,root word.jealoushumorous,–our is changed to –orglamorous,before –ous is added.A final ‘e’ of the root word must bekept if the /dʒ/ sound of ‘g’ is to bekept.If there is an /i:/ sound before the–ous ending, it is usually spelt as i, but afew words have e.dangerous,famous,vigorouscourageous, outrageousserious, obvious, curioushideous, spontaneous,courteousWords with the‘k’ sound spelt ch(Greek in origin)scheme, chorus, chemist,echo, characterWords with thechef, chalet, machine, brochure‘sh’ sound speltch (mostlyFrench in origin)league, tongue, antique, uniqueWords endingwith the ‘g’ soundspelt –gue and the‘k’ sound spelt –que (French inorigin)Words with the ‘s’sound spelt sc(Latin in origin)In the Latin words from which thesewords come, the Romans probablypronounced the c and the k as twosounds rather than one – /s/ /k/.science, scene, discipline,fascinate, crescent

vein, weigh, eight, neighbour,they, obeyWords with the‘ay’ sound spelt ei,eigh, or eyPossessiveapostrophe withplural wordsThe apostrophe is placed after theplural form of the word; –s is not addedif the plural already ends in–s, but is added if the plural does notend in –s (i.e. is an irregular plural – e.g.children’s).girls’, boys’, babies’, children’s,men’s, mice’s(Note: singular proper nounsending in an s use the ’s suffixe.g. Cyprus’s population)accept/except, affect/effect,ball/bawl, berry/bury,brake/break, fair/fare,grate/great, groan/grown,here/hear, heel/heal/he’ll,knot/not, mail/male, main/mane,meat/meet, medal/meddle,missed/mist, peace/piece,plain/plane, rain/rein/reign,scene/seen, weather/whether,whose/who’sHomophones andnear- homophonesSpelling ActivitiesTry some of these activities to help your child learn their spellings.Scrambled wordsAir and back spellingAcrosticWrite a storyFold a piece ofpaper into 3columns. Write thewords in the firstcolumn, then writeeach word again in thesecond column withthe letters all jumbledup. Fold the correctanswers behind thepage and see if apartner canunscramble the wordscorrectly.Write the word in theair, really big, thenreally small, saying eachletter as it is written.If the word can besounded out, use thephonemes, if not, usethe letter names.Try writing words oneach other's backsand see if yourpartner can say whatword you're writing.Use your target wordto make an acrosticpoem with each linebeginning with thenext letter to spellout the word- it'seasier to remember ifthe poem makes sense!e.g. what:Write a paragraph/story containing asmany words as possiblethat follow the spellingrule/pattern you arefocusing on.While Sam waswalking down the path,He saw a cat thatstared, then laughed.A cat that laughs isquite a feature,Tell me, have you seensuch a creature?

Letter WritingColourful wordsRainbow writingGraffiti wallWrite a letter to afriend, family member,teacher or super hero.Underline the spellingrules that you havefocused on in yourletter.Use two differentcolours to write yourwords- one for vowelsanother for consonantsthen write them all inone colour.Write your wordsover and over, eachtime on top of thelast but in adifferent colourcreate a rainbow word.Create a graffiti wall,inspired by graffitiartists, draw youtarget words againand again across apage to create theartwork.AmbidextrousWords within wordsWords without vowelsMake Some MusicSwap your pen intothe hand that youdon't usually writewith. Now try writingyour spellings withthat hand.Write down targetwords and then seehow many other wordsyou can make from thesame letters.Write spelling words ina list, replace all thevowels with a line. Canyour partner fill in thegaps? (Also could bedone withoutconsonants instead,which is easiest?)Write a song or rapthat includes yourwords.Share with a friendor family member.Pyramid powerHangmanABC OrderWrite dashes for theletters of the word.Your partner needs tosay letters and guessthe word before youcomplete the stickman.Write a list of yourspellings inalphabetical order. Foreven greaterchallenge, can youwrite them in reversealphabetical orderfirst?Squiggly / Bubblespelling wordsSign your wordsUPPER and lowerAcross and downWrite a list of yourspelling words, firstlyin UPPERCASE andthen in lowercase.Write all of yourspelling words acrossand then downstarting with thefirst letter.Sort a given group ofwords into a list fromeasiest to hardest.Write the easiest oncein the middle at the topof the page, the nexteasiest twiceunderneath, thirdeasiest three timesbelow that etc soforming a pyramid.Consonant circleWrite a list of examples Use sign languageof your spellings. Circle finger spelling to signall the consonants.your fingerspelling-alphabet- charts/Write a list of yourspelling words twice –once in your regularwriting, then insquiggly or bubbleletters.Wh e nhen