Teacher notes for this lesson. Two sides of A4, not for pupils.Mild sheetMedium sheetSpicy sheetAnswers
Teacher notes · not for pupils Writer's craft sequence

Words That Work

Adjectives, adverbs and noun phrases chosen for effect

Lesson 6 of 12
Year 6 45 min

Objective

Choose adjectives, adverbs and expanded noun phrases that do a precise job, prefer a strong verb to a weak verb and an adverb, and cut describing words that repeat or add nothing.

Board title: Words that work  ·  Say it: “By the end of today you'll be able to choose describing words that do a job, and cut the ones that don't.”

Curriculum

  • Y5/6: composition — selecting vocabulary and grammar that change and enhance meaning
  • Y5/6: using expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely
  • Y2–4: adjectives, adverbs and noun phrases (lessons DESCB, SORTB, CMMAD) (built on)
  • Terminology: adjective · adverb · noun phrase · precise

Success criteria

  • swap a tired word for a precise one
  • build a noun phrase that paints a picture
  • choose an adverb only when it adds something
  • cut words that say the same thing twice

Key vocabulary

adjective · adverb · noun phrase · verb · precise · tired word

Run of the lesson

4 min
Starter on the board: The dog was big and nice. against The muddy spaniel bounded. Which tells you what to expect? One minute of paired talk.
8 min
Model Example 1 and 2. Turn three tired phrases into words that work, out loud: a nice cake, a big house, she walked quickly.
6 min
The trap: The big, huge, enormous giant. Ask what job is each word doing? The same one three times. Swap it for The giant's boots cracked the road.
6 min
Flavour Match on the whiteboard, Spicy band, Level 9 then Level 10. Class votes first; ask what job the chosen word does.
18 min
Worksheet, independent. Circulate on Task 3: ask of every describing word, what job is it doing?
3 min
Plenary: Polpetta's giant, then the class quiz for WRKSF on the board.
On screenSPAGhetti → Flavour Match → Spicy. Play Level 9 (swap the tired word) then Level 10 (match the mood); both are open from the start. ~10 items in 6 minutes with discussion.
SPAGhetti · Writer's craft sequence · Lesson 6 of 12  ·  Teacher notes 1 of 2
Teacher notes · not for pupils Words That Work · side 2

On the day

If the tech failsSkip the game. Write five tired phrases on the board (a nice day, a big dog, she walked, a good meal, a scary house). Each table rewrites one so it does a job, then the class votes on the best. The lesson works with no screen at all.
If they're on devicesLesson code WRKSF (on the worksheet footer) opens Flavour Match on Spicy, with the two word-choice levels open. For writing, set Cook Up a Story and ask them to cut one tired word from their piece and replace it.

Misconceptions to watch for

More adjectives is better. The big, huge, enormous giant. Pupils are often praised for adding adjectives, so they pile them up. Ask what job each one does; if two do the same job, one goes.

Every verb needs an adverb. She walked quickly. A strong verb often does both jobs: she hurried. Keep the adverb when it adds what the verb cannot: he whispered nervously.

Very makes a word stronger. Very big, very nice. Very usually means the word underneath is too weak. Swap the pair for one precise word: enormous, delicious.

Any describing word is a good one. Nice, good, lovely describe nothing the reader can see, hear or feel. The test is whether the reader can picture it.

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: Give a tired phrase and three swaps to choose from (a nice cake: a sticky lemon cake, a good cake, a very nice cake). Choosing comes before inventing.
  • Stretch: Take a paragraph of their own writing, cut every describing word that does no job, and explain each cut.
  • SEN: Gentle mode on. Use real objects or pictures: pass round a lemon and build the noun phrase from what they notice. Keep it to one describing word at a time.
  • EAL: Adjective order in English (a battered red bike) differs from many languages. Model it with a fixed frame: opinion, size, age, colour, noun.

Play it

Lesson code WRKSF 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 · Writer's craft sequence · Lesson 6 of 12  ·  Teacher notes, not for pupils 2 of 2  ·  Ludora