Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Punctuation sequence

The Proofread

Proofreading: capitals, end marks, homophones

Lesson 9 of 14
Year 3 45 min

Objective

Proofread a passage systematically in three passes, capital letters, end punctuation, then common homophones, instead of a single read-through.

Board title: Proofreading in three passes  ·  Say it: “Today we're learning to proofread like checkers, not readers: three slow passes, capitals first, then end marks, then the sound-alike words.”

Curriculum

  • Y3: proofread for spelling and punctuation errors
  • Y3/4: homophones and near-homophones, to/too/two, there/their/they're
  • Y2: capital letters for names, places, days of the week and the pronoun I (secured)
  • Terminology: proofread · capital letter · full stop · question mark · homophone

Success criteria

  • hunt for mistakes instead of reading the story
  • check every capital in pass one
  • check every end mark in pass two
  • check to, too, there and their by meaning

Key vocabulary

proofread · pass · capital letter · full stop · question mark · homophone

Run of the lesson

5 min
Starter: put we open on monday on the board twice. Read it fast, then slowly, and ask why the same eyes missed it the first time. The line did not change; the reader did.
9 min
Model the three passes on a short notice, ruler under the line, one job per pass: capitals (recite the list, starts, names, days, months, I), end marks (a rising voice wants its question mark), then the sound-alikes by meaning, more than enough is too, belonging is their. Refuse, out loud, to fix anything outside the current pass.
7 min
Spot the Spill, Medium band. Class votes before you tap, then names the pass that caught each spill; treat the apostrophe and spelling items as bonus finds.
6 min
Trap and votes: Fresh Bread Sold Here, important is not on the list of five. Four votes, a child names the pass that catches each one (answers: a-right, b-left, c-right, d-left).
15 min
Worksheet, independent, and circulate on Task 2 as well as Task 3 today, the routine is the objective. The tell is one hopeful read instead of three passes: make them tally each find until it matches the number in the heading, and leave the correct there alone.
3 min
Plenary: a child reads Polpetta's notice aloud and the class names the pass that catches each mistake. Then the class quiz on Our Café Opens On monday. There is to much soup.
On screenSPAGhetti → Spot the Spill → Medium. One screen only; no pupil devices needed. The band mixes days and months, homophone slips, missing apostrophes and spelling, before each tap, ask which pass would catch it. Treat the apostrophe and spelling items as bonus finds; the worksheet keeps to capitals, end marks and homophones. ~8 items in 10 minutes with discussion.
SPAGhetti · Punctuation sequence · Lesson 9 of 14  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils The Proofread · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game entirely. Task 1 is the same content on paper, read the pairs aloud and vote with thumbs. Then run the three passes on Task 2 as a whole class before they finish it alone.
If they're on devicesLesson code EDITC (on the worksheet footer) opens the right game, locks the café until 10 items are done, then unlocks it as the reward.

Misconceptions to watch for

Reading for the story, not for the errors. They read for meaning, and meaning politely autocorrects the mistakes, the classic correct-the-sentences sheet fails exactly here, with children fixing the names in a line and sailing straight past its missing full stop. Slow the eye: ruler under the line, one pass, one job.

Capitals as decoration. Fresh Bread Sold Here. The high street teaches them that important words earn capitals. Important is not a rule. Recite the five that are, sentence starts, names, days, months, I, and make them justify every capital against the list.

First fix, then coast. One find feels like the job done, and the rest of the passage gets a victory skim. The error count is printed in the task heading for this reason, make them tally each find and keep hunting until the tally matches the heading.

Trusting the sound of a homophone. to, too and two pass every read-aloud test, because the ear cannot tell them apart. Only the meaning question works: heading somewhere is to, more than enough is too, the number is two, belonging is their, a place is there.

The three sheets

Same four tasks on every sheet, in the same order, with the same look. Only the demand changes. Print the one each child needs; nobody does two.

Mild

Same four tasks as every other sheet, same order, same look, the demand is lower, not the dignity. Shorter passage in Task 2, and in Task 3 a word bank or words to tick, with printed sentence starters. Give it to anyone who needs a way in, and expect them to move up.

Medium

The core sheet. Give this to most of the class. No word bank; in Task 3 pupils choose from a few close options, then use one in a sentence of their own.

Spicy

Same four tasks, more demand, a longer passage with a subtler error, and Task 3 asks for two things at once. Not extra work; harder work. Nobody should be doing Spicy and the Medium sheet.

Adaptive teaching

  • Support: run pass one together, then hand over passes two and three as a paired hunt. Game stays on Medium with a partner.
  • SEN: gentle mode on; ruler under the line, one pass per read, and tick off each pass on the sheet as it finishes.
  • Stretch: Task 3 extension, a four-line notice with five planted errors, swapped with a partner to proofread.
  • EAL: homophones are crueller when spelling is anchored to sound. Pair each word with its meaning question, not its pronunciation.

Play it

Lesson code EDITC at playspaghetti.com. The code is printed on the bottom of every pupil sheet with a QR, and Class Quiz in your dashboard opens the plenary quiz for this lesson pre-picked.

SPAGhetti · Punctuation sequence · Lesson 9 of 14  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora