Teach-Reading-and-Writing-Issue-21

• Each child then unfolds their paper and reads the sentence through. The sentences may not make sense, but they will make the class laugh, and it is a great way to recap the parts of a sentence. A final thought... Try not to overthink grammar and get bogged down in the terminology. ‘Adverbials’ is an umbrella term to describe adverbs, prepositions and many subordinate clauses. Ultimately, just ask yourself, “Is this part of the sentence telling me when, where or how the verb in the main clause happened?” If it is, then you are looking at an adverbial phrase or clause. DOWNLOAD RESOURCES AT Download FREE resources to accompany this article at tinyurl.com/ tp-Adverbials copyright 2025 Adverbials Worksheet 1 Charlie was/were howling in a cave a song Dara was/were singing in the undergrowth for home Mothga was/were hunting behind a tree for food Harby was/were meeting on top of the Spirit Stone a solution Cholliemurrum was/were discussing inside the hut for a camp A wolf was/were riding at the camp to sleep Cavemen was/were roaming up the ridge about home The wolves was/were thinking in the forest the forests A bear was/were nestling under the starry sky the problem The woolly mammoths was/were talking under a tree copyright 2025 Adverbials Worksheet 3 Time/When Place/Where Manner/How in the dead of night under the moonlit sky with trepidation as the clock struck 12 inside the cave without warning just before the sun rose somewhere over the mountains as quick as his legs would carry him before long on the still ocean quietly and carefully all of a sudden by the deserted road with a spring in her step on the first day of September in the distance with the stealth of a jaguar copyright 2025 Adverbials Worksheet 2 Grey Wolf was/were howling in North America a wolf pack Blanca was/were singing on the plains of Texas for a bounty Lobo was/were hunting in the community centre for food The pack was/were meeting under the tree a solution Settlers was/were discussing inside the hut the plains Seton was/were riding at Calone’s house to sleep Farmers was/were roaming the Wild West a heavy rock song Tannery was/were thinking at his desk a horse The cows was/were nestling under the starry sky cattle The woolly mammoths was/were talking under a tree copyright 2025 Adverbials Worksheet 4 Card A – Adverbials 1. As quick as a flash, 2. When the clock struck 12, 3. Under the moonlit sky, 4. Behind a large tree, 5. Tiptoeing like a ballerina, 6. Last Wednesday, 7. When all the cows were asleep, 8. With silent tears running down her face, 9. Beside the crashing waterfall, 10. As still as a statue, Card B – Main clauses 1. she hid 2. they told the story 3. he went home 4. they ran a marathon 5. the lions roared 6. I bought some sweets 7. a bird made a nest 8. the wolves hunted for food 9. the farmer switched off the light 10. they waited www.teachwire.net | 31 T E ACH I NG T E CHN I QUE S Laura Dobson worked for many years as a teaching and learning adviser for a large company and local authority. She now provides consultancy and training in all areas of English. @inspireprieng Warm-up games The best grammar teaching is embedded into units of work where children can see the grammar in context, practise using the grammar through discrete skills-based activities, use the grammar when writing in a similar style to the model they saw at the start, and then practise regularly to maintain the newly acquired knowledge. Grammar games are an excellent way of providing repeated practice. A simple game is to put a variety of adverbials into a hat (you can use Worksheet 3 for this). Pull one out and have the children write it on their whiteboards, then complete the sentence. You could also play a good old-fashioned game of Consequences, but with sentence structure: • Each child gets a piece of paper. • They write a time adverbial, fold it over and pass it to the next child. • Next, they write a place adverbial (on the piece of paper which has been handed to them), fold it over and pass it on again. • Then, they write an adjective, fold it over and pass it on. • Next, they write the subject (who), fold it over and pass it on. • Now, they write the verb (what), fold it over and pass it on. • Then, they write an adverb, fold it over and pass it on. • Finally, they write the object (to, what or who). BU I LD I NG ON A S IMPLE SENTENCE The swimmers continued their challenge. How? The swimmers continued their challenge with trepidation. Where? The swimmers continued their challenge with trepidation across the Channel. Where? ... continued... In harsh conditions and stormy waters, the swimmers continued their challenge with trepidation across the Channel. What if I reorder the adverbials to create a stronger effect? With trepidation, in harsh conditions and stormy waters, the swimmers continued their challenge across the Channel. In this example, I want to add in additional adjectives to make it more impactful... With trepidation, in harsh conditions and stormy waters, the brave swimmers continued their gruelling challenge across the Channel. Now I’m starting to think that maybe the sentence would work better without the ‘With trepidation’ at the start.. .