Year 3 term 3 (i)

To embed the correct use and spelling of pronouns

Revisit, explain, use

Notes for the teacher
This unit focuses on a group of high-frequency grammatical words pronouns. A pronoun helps a speaker or writer to refer to people or things without naming them, thus avoiding repetition.

There are various sub-groups of pronoun (e.g. possessive, reflexive, demonstrative). The term pronoun is sufficient at this stage; children should know that its function is to replace the name of a person or an object.

Suggestions for whole-class approaches

To introduce the focus and to explain the purpose, read a short piece of text that repeats the nouns, for example: Sophie walked to school. Sophie was late. Mrs Brown, Sophies teacher, would be annoyed. Sophie hung Sophies coat on Sophies peg and rushed to the classroom. Where have you been? asked Mrs Brown. We were worried, Mrs Brown said.

The children will be able to replace some (although not all) of the names with the appropriate pronoun. Explain that the focus of the unit is to learn to use and spell this group of words, which are called pronouns. Oral activity: read out a series of sentences, repeating the noun, and asking the children to provide the correct pronoun. The children got out the childrens reading books and began to read the reading books. Mrs Jones was baking apple pie. Mrs Jones put the ingredients in a bowl and Mrs Jones began to mix the ingredients. The boys took the boys football out onto the field and the boys began kicking the football. Repeat as necessary.

Invite the children, in pairs, to compose a similar sentence for their partner to try. Make a collection of pronouns used instead of peoples names.

Explain that, although these are only small words, they are used all the time and its important that they are used and spelt correctly.

Teach, model, define

Suggestions for whole-class approaches

Write an incomplete matrix, based on the one below, on a flipchart and complete the matrix with the children. Matrix
my mine

You He She It We They

your his her its our their

yours his hers its ours theirs

Practise, explore, investigate

Suggestions for whole-class, group, individual work and homework

Children take a page of any book and list all the pronouns they find. They complete a survey of which are the most common. Pronoun hunt: where in sentences do pronouns tend to arise? How do they work in relation to the named person? Who am I? Who are they? Who are we? Make cards for a guessing game, using possessive pronouns (e.g. Our noses are long, our skin is grey, our memories are long. Who are we? Elephants). Give each group a copy of a text in which all the pronouns have been deleted. Ask the children to discuss which pronoun fits each gap. Partner work: children, in pairs, choose pronouns they need to learn to spell correctly and, with their partner, work out strategies for remembering the correct spelling. They test each other. Pronouns
I you he she It we they Me Your Him Her Its us them mine yours his hers its ours theirs myself yourself himself herself itself my this that these those ourselves themselves

Children research, and learn to use and spell, pronouns to use when they are talking about people or things generally (e.g. anybody, somebody, everybody, nobody, anything). Research older forms of pronouns (e.g. thou, thee, thine).

Apply, assess, reflect

Individual whiteboard activity (Show Me). Read out a sentence, omitting the pronoun, and ask the children to write the correct pronoun, for example: Sophie went for a ride on bike. The children enjoyed at the party. Jake went to play with friends. Whose is book? Its ! shouted Lukas.

Dictate sentences for children to write in their spelling journals, for example: Mr Brown was happy. He was singing to himself as he cut the grass. His children came home from school and they had to do their homework.

What have you learnt? Give the children the opportunity to discuss their learning and to make notes in their spelling journals.

Year 3 term 3 (ii)

To develop knowledge of prefixes to generate new words from root words

Revisit, explain, use

Suggestions for whole-class approaches
This unit revises and extends work from Year 2 term 3 on prefixes.

Revise the term prefix. Use example of known prefixes un- and dis(e.g. well unwell, lucky unlucky, appear disappear, obey disobey). Discuss how a prefix changes the meaning of a word.

Show me activity: give the children the root word for them to write the opposite, using a prefix (e.g. seen unseen, agree disagree, own disown, appear disappear, like dislike or unlike, fair unfair, certain uncertain). Invite the children to work in pairs to give examples (orally) of root words and prefix plus root word in the context of sentences (e.g. It is safe to cross the road after looking to make sure the road is clear. It is unsafe to dash across the road without looking.). Scribe the pairs of words to begin a class collection.

Explain that the children are going to learn to spell different prefixes and to learn how adding a prefix before a word can change the meaning.

Teach, model, define

Suggestions for whole-class approaches

Establish the rule: A prefix is placed before a word. It does not usually change the spelling of a word but it does change its meaning. Introduce new prefixes within a word and invite children to think about the meaning of the prefix (e.g. re-: recycle (again), pre-: precook (before) , de-: defrost (do the opposite of), mis-: mistake (the opposite of)). Use magnetic letters to form prefixes to add to prewritten words on a whiteboard. Slide them into place to show how prefixes change the meaning of a word (e.g. rewrite, preview, defuse, reload, preface, repaid, de-ice, decode, mishear). Use dictionaries to confirm meanings of the words.

Invite the children to work in pairs to provide sentences, using the words in context. Give out prefix cards and root words. The children find a partner to make a new word. Children write the new words in their spelling journals, then look for new partners.

 Compare lists and add new words to the class collection.

Practise, explore, investigate
Suggestions for whole-class, group, individual work and homework

How many words can you generate using the same prefix? (For example, replay, rebound, return). Sentence challenge. Compose a sentence containing two or three words with different prefixes (e.g. I had to defrost the precooked meal before I returned to work.). Select a word with a prefix. How many synonyms can you find? For example: unhappy: miserable, depressed, sad; unseen: invisible, camouflaged. Children investigate real texts, such as newspapers and advertisements, and highlight prefix -ed words. Partner work: children, in pairs, choose at least one word, using each new prefix that they find difficult to learn (e.g. disobeys, mistaken, decrease, prepaid) and write alternative sentences. They highlight the tricky part and support each other in using strategies to learn the words. Practice examples: common prefixes
Dedemist decode decamp defuse defrost deform deflate decrease reuse Rerebuild recycle refill reform return revisit rewrite replace Prepredict prepare precaution prepay prefix preview Mismisbehave misplace miscount mistake misfire mishear precook

Children investigate other prefixes. They establish the meaning and find words (e.g. non-, anti-, ex-). They present their findings to the class. Children invent a prefix, give it a meaning and apply it to base words.

Apply, assess, reflect

Revise all the prefixes covered so far and their meanings. Dictate two sentences containing root words, for the children to convert into sentences with the opposite meaning, for example: The boy was happy as he had obeyed his teacher. He heard what his teacher had said. Using the prefixes pre-, de-, re-, mis-, un- and dis-, make new words from place, packed, mist, play, certain, please, write and take.

Reflect on learning. Children choose five or ten tricky words, with prefixes that they
did not know before. They find out the meanings and write the words in their journals. They practise the Look, say, cover, write, check strategy to learn the new words.