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Entry 2
Stories
Stories are a part of everyday life. Every time someone tells you what happened, they
are telling you a story.
In a story, there is a beginning, a middle and an end.
first
next
in the end
(what happened in the beginning)
(what happened in the middle)
(what happened last)
Stories in everyday life:
You can listen to a story
You can tell a story
what happened at work.
You can read a story in pictures or words
newspaper.
You can write a story
to read.
Examples:
A friend tells you about his holiday.
You talk to your partner about
You follow a story in a magazine or
You write a story for your children
You can tell a story in pictures or in only one sentence. Many stories are longer with
lots of sentences.
Stories become interesting when they tell you not only what happened but also what
the people were feeling.
Jean felt happy as she stepped into the car for the first time.
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Adjectives
Adjectives are describing words. They describe things, people and places.
Words for things, people and places are called nouns.
Adjectives describe nouns.
adjective
big
happy
sad
tall
long
noun
day
man
woman
tree
street
The adjectives sad and happy describe feelings. Some other adjectives for feelings
are:
scared angry mad good excited stressed proud bored joyful wonderful
You can say:
I felt scared.
He was angry.
She felt great.
Adjectives give more detail and make sentences more interesting.
Read the two sentences below.
I work in a hospital.
I work in a busy hospital
The second sentence provides more detail about the hospital. It says that the hospital
is a busy place. The adjective busy gives a mental picture of lots of people and many
things happening.
More than one adjective can be used to give even more detail.
I have a busy, stressful job.
I’ve got an awful, boring job.
Here are some more examples of adjectives.
I work in a
busy
The adjective busy
I look after
sick
The adjective sick
I wanted a
practical
The adjective practical
hospital.
describes the hospital.
people.
describes the people.
job.
describes the job.
The angry motorist in the blue car waved his fist at the calm traffic warden.
The adjective angry describes the motorist’s temper.
The adjective blue describes the colour of the car.
The adjective calm shows the reaction of the traffic warden.
An adjective can come before or after a noun.
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I’ve got a great job.
My job is great.
Nouns
Nouns are names for things:
a single thing, such as:
desk
computer file phone
a group of things, such as:
team crowd
A thing that you can’t see or touch, such as: love sleep
bunch
dream
A noun can also be the name for a person, a place or a day, such as:
Andrea, March, Mohammed, Friday
These nouns always have a capital letter. They are called proper nouns.
Sequence
In explanations, instructions and narratives, there are some words or phrases that help
readers pick up clues to show when events happened.
Here are some of the common words and phrases used:
first
next
then
in the end
The order or sequence is very important when following instructions and directions.
First remove the outer cover, next pierce the film and then microwave for three
minutes.
Words used to show sequence are linking words. Here are more examples:
First,
go right to the end of the road.
Then,
turn right.
After a while, you will come to a roundabout.
Take the second exit.
Finally,
the hospital is on your right.
Here are some more linking words and phrases:
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first of all
while
meanwhile
tomorrow
firstly
at the beginning
finally
last of all
secondly
as
while
thirdly
after a
yesterday
today
Words such as: because, the reason for, so that, help to explain why one point
follows another.
I am late because the train was delayed.
I stayed late at work so that I could finish my phone calls.
The bedroom is a mess. The reason for this is because my sons don’t tidy up.
A sentence
A sentence must contain a subject and a verb and it must make sense. It must start
with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Look at these examples:
looked at the sky the moon (This does not make sense. It does not have all the
words it needs.)
the man looked at the sky the moon was shining (This has the words it
needs but the sense is not clear.)
The man looked at the sky. The moon was shining. (This makes sense.)
The capital letters and full stops show you where the sentences begin and end.
[[Insert red rings around the capital letters and full stops in the following.]]
The man looked at the sky. The moon was shining.
i picked up my bag i walked out of the gate my friends came with me i said goodbye
to my teachers my brother drove me away in his car i went home then I went out with
my friends we had a party i stayed up all night
(This does not make sense.)
I picked up my bag. I walked out of the gate. My friends came with
me. I said goodbye to my teachers. My brother drove me away in his
car. I went home. Then I went out with my friends. We had a party. I
stayed up all night.
(This makes sense.)
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Punctuation
All sentences start with a capital letter. A full stop is used to show that a sentence
has finished and the next sentence is going to start.
There are four main types of sentence:
A statement gives information.
A question asks something.
An exclamation shows that the speaker feels strongly about something.
A command asks or tells someone to do something.
A statement ends with a full stop.
This is your desk.
A question ends with a question mark.
Do you need experience for this job?
An exclamation ends with an exclamation mark. I don’t believe it!
Joining sentences with conjunctions
Conjunctions and and but
Two short sentences can be joined with a conjunction – the joining word.
The word and can be used between two sentences and the full stop taken away from
the end of the first sentence.
For example: I love computers. I spend hours on the Internet.
Use the conjunction and.
The new sentence is: I love computers and I spend hours on the Internet.
The conjunction but can be used to join two sentences and show the difference
between the two sentences.
For example: I’m Mohammed. My friends call me Mo.
Use the conjunction but.
The new sentence is: I’m Mohammed but my friends call me Mo.
A command ends with a full stop.
Turn left for the office.
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Planning a story
Here is a checklist. When you plan and write a story, tick each step as you go.

Write the title My big day.

Plan what happened first, next and in the end.

Show the story in pictures as well as words if you wish.

Use at least six sentences.

Begin each sentence with a capital letter. End each sentence with a full stop.

Write about what you felt. Use at least one adjective to describe your feelings.

Try to spell correctly.

Check that you have done everything in this list. Tick the each item as you check
the list.

Now talk to your teacher about what you have written. Check your spelling. Are
you pleased with your work?

Make your work look good. You can:
Write neatly so that other people can read it.
Rewrite it on new paper or card.
Draw pictures.
Produce it on the computer.
Filling in forms
Ten Top Tips
for
filling in forms
Read the instructions carefully before you complete the form.
Check the spelling of all names and addresses you will need for the form.
Use a pencil first in case you make a mistake.
Write neatly – IN CAPITALS IF ASKED TO USE BLOCK LETTERS.
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Think about how to write the date. There are several ways.
Look for boxes that you need to tick.
Use a dictionary to check new spellings.
Ask someone to read over your form.
Photocopy your completed form.
Keep a copy of the form for your records.
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Questions
Some questions begin with question words. Most question words begin with ‘Wh’.
What? When?’ Why? Where? Which? Who?
Other question words are:
‘How?’ and ‘How much?’
Questions change the order of the words.
Why is Sila worried about her new job?
(Sila is worried about her new job.)
Some questions begin with
Does
Do or Did
Does the landfill site affect Stephen?
Do you like living in Wishton?
Did you move to Wishton before you knew about the landfill site?
Read your questions aloud.
The tone of your voice changes when you ask a question.
Using a dictionary
A dictionary:
- gives the meaning of words
- shows how to say a word
- is set out in alphabetical order: a, b, c, d …
- explains where words came from – origins
- helps you to check the spelling of words
To look up a word in a dictionary, take the first letter of the word you want to look up,
such as the letter j in the word job.
Remember words are organised in a dictionary in alphabetical order a, b, c, d…
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Find the section of the dictionary for j. It will be near to the middle because the letter
j is about half-way through the alphabet.
Search for the word job in the j section of the dictionary.
It would take too long to find words by starting from the beginning of the dictionary,
so you find words by looking at the first letter, e.g. for leisure, you turn to the words
beginning with the letter l.
The four quarters of the dictionary are split like this:
1st quarter
2nd quarter
3rd quarter
4th quarter
A–D
E–L
M–R
S–Z
So the word leisure will be near the end of the second quarter (about half-way
through the dictionary).
Spellings
The long ‘e’ sound in the middle of a word
When you hear a long 'e' sound , particularly in the middle of a word, it is often spelt
ee or ea, like the words here:
ee
ea
green freezing
cheap reason
keep
leaf
between
wheel sweetness
proceed
loudspeaker steal meal revealed
Spelling patterns
Spelling patterns like ee and ea are very common. Learn spelling patterns to improve
your spelling. Some examples are:
ai in train and brain
other spellings of the same sound are:
same
late day
oa in boat and loaf
other spellings of the same sound are:
pole show toe
oo in moon and boot
other words have the same spelling pattern but sound different: good hood
ar in car and far
ow in cow and now
other words have the same spelling pattern but sound different:
show low slow
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ear in fear and near
Note that ea can have different sounds: meat and bread
Prefixes
A prefix is a word part which goes at the beginning of a word.
Two examples are:
happy
un-
and
dis-. Both mean not. For example:
unhappy
like
dislike
A prefix goes before a ‘root’ word:
Prefix
un
un
dis
dis
Root word
+
sure
+
tidy
+
agree
+
miss
New word
=
unsure
=
untidy
=
disagree
=
dismiss
Verbs ending in -ed or -ing
A verb is a word of action, feeling or experience.
To make the past tense of a regular verb, you add the letters –ed.
To form the continuous tense of a regular verb, you add the letters –ing.
For example: pass/passed
rain/raining
It was raining on the day when Sacha passed her driving test.
If the verb already ends with the letter e:
add -d to make the past tense
drop the e and add ing to make the continuous tense
For example:
place/placed
hope
►
hope/hoping
hop (e)
►
hoping
Mary, the traffic warden, was hoping for a bonus, as she placed tickets on six
cars.
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When short words have two vowels in the middle or two consonants at the end, just
add –ed or –ing.
Vowels
a e i o u
look
jump
►
►
looking looked
jumping jumped
Consonants
b c d f ghj k l
mnp q r stv w
xyz
When short words have one consonant at the end,
double the consonant before adding –ed or –ing.
run
►
running
Compound Words
A compound word is a word made up of two words joined together.
The compound word football is made up of the words foot and ball (foot + ball =
football).
Usually you can tell the meaning of the compound word from the meanings of the
words which are joined together.
A waterfall is a place where water falls. A broomstick is a broom with a long
handle like a stick.
Compound words are often long so they can seem difficult to spell, but, if you can
spell the two shorter words which make up the compound word, you can spell the
compound word.
Words like cupboard have changed their meaning so it is not always clear that they
are compound words. If you realise that cupboard is made up of the words cup and
board it becomes much easier to spell.
Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check
Use the Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check method for remembering spellings with
silent letters.
Copy down each word you want to remember.
1. Look at the word carefully. Take note of any silent letters or word parts which
are unusual.
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2. Say the word aloud.
3. Close your eyes and try to picture the word
4. Look at the word again.
5. Cover the word and remind yourself how you will remember it.
6. Write the word. Say it as you write it. If you have learned it in bits, say each
bit as you write it.
7. Check the word letter for letter, to see if you have written it correctly. If you
have, give yourself a tick. √
If you have not written the word correctly, pay attention to your mistake. Rewrite the
whole word until you can remember it. Practise rewriting it to help your hand
remember it the next time.
Half a day to a day later, repeat the process.
Two or three days later, repeat the process.
Remember: You are practising the words, not testing yourself.
Speaking and listening
Remember when speaking to:
Choose the information you need to give and express it clearly.
Make a note of the main points.
Speak clearly and try not to speak too quickly.
Information must be clear for the listener to follow.
Speak loudly enough for the person to hear.
Check that the listener understands.
Be polite.
Remember when listening to:
Ask questions if you need information.
Ask the speaker to repeat it if you don’t understand.
Ask more questions to help you understand.
Be polite.
Take note of key information that you need to remember.
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