Teaching Strategies, Tactics, and Methods

Adverbs of time change or add meaning to a sentence by telling us when, for how long, and how often a particular action happened. They have a standard position in a sentence, depending on what the adverb tells us.

What are examples of Adverbs of Time?

Adverbs of time tell us when an action has happened, but also for how long and how often. Therefore, adverbs of time are invariable. Read examples of adverbs of time in these sentences.

• Goldilocks went to the Bears’ house yesterday.
• I’m going to tidy my room tomorrow.
• I often eat vegetarian food.
• He never drinks milk.
• You must always fasten your seat belt.

How are Adverbs of Time Used?

Different adverbs of time are used to tell when, for how long, and how often something happened. Adverbs of time are most commonly used to say to us when something happened.

1. When:

Adverbs that tell us when something happened are placed at the end of the sentence. For example, we have highlighted the time adverbials in these sentences in pink to help you and your students identify how they are used :

• I went to the park yesterday.
• I finished all my homework last night.
• I’m going to see my friend tomorrow.

In these examples, the time adverbials are placed at the end of the sentences. When adverbs of time are placed at the end of a sentence, they’re in a neutral position. They can be placed in different parts of the sentence to give a different emphasis. The time element is emphasized when the adverb is placed at the start of the sentence.

• Now, I’m going to walk my dog. (The adverb of time is at the beginning of the sentence, emphasizing that the action is happening now.)
• I’m going to walk my dog now. (The adverb is at the end, in a neutral position).
• I’m now going to walk my dog. (The adverb is in a neutral position in the middle of the sentence. It is because the adverb is usually perceived as more formal).

Read our list of adverbs of time you can use in your writing; here are examples of adverbs that tell us when:

• Today
• Tonight
• Next week
• Next month
• Last week
• Last month
• Last night
• Then.

2. How long – time:

Another way adverbs of time can be used to mark the passing of time or set a time limit to an activity or action. Adverbs that tell us how long something happened are usually placed at the end of the sentence. For example:

• I read my book all afternoon.
• I stayed at my friend’s house for a night.
• I went on holiday to the seaside for two weeks.
• My sister has been doing ballet since she was seven.

These can also be called adverbial phrases since they contain more than one word. The word ‘for’ is always followed by an expression of duration, whereas ‘since’ is always followed by an expression of a point in time. Read our list of examples of how adverbs of time can be used this way.

‘For’ examples

• I have been baking for half an hour.
• My family and I once lived in New Zealand for a few years.
• I was only gone for a few moments.

‘Since’ examples

• I have loved reading since I was five years old.
• I have been part of the tennis club since 2010.
• I haven’t been to my school since the summer holidays started.

3. Frequency:

Adverbs of time can also tell us how often something happens. These types of adverbs of time tell us how often something happened. They determine the frequency of the action being described, which is why they’re also called adverbs of frequency.

There are two types of adverbs of frequency: those of definite frequency and those of indefinite frequency. The position of an adverb in a sentence can tell you whether it’s of definite or indefinite frequency.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency include words such as always, usually, never, often, very often, rarely, sometimes, seldom, occasionally, once in a while, repeatedly, typically, generally, and hardly ever.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency are placed in the middle of the sentence. Where it’s placed depends on the sentence itself. There are three different parts of a sentence where it can be placed. Read these examples of adverbs of time to tell frequency.

Between the subject and the main verb (unless the verb is ‘to be’):

• I always eat five fruit and vegetables a day.
• I often go to my grandparents’ house for dinner.
• My brother never tidies his bedroom.

After the ‘to be form’ when it’s the main verb in the sentence:

• My mum is rarely late.
• My dad is sometimes home early from work.
• My sister is usually out with her friends.

Between a ‘helping’ verb and the main verb. It is always authentic, even when the main verb is a verb form of ‘to be.’

• I have often gone on holiday in the summer.
• She can always wait until we get home.
• My mum will usually pick me up from school.
• They have occasionally been helpful.

Indefinite-frequency adverbs can go at the beginning or end of the sentence; the strength of the adverb differs depending on the position. Using the stronger position puts more emphasis on the adverb.

Strong Position	Weak Position
I go to the cinema frequently.	I frequently go to the cinema.
Usually, I eat cereal for breakfast.	I usually eat cereal for breakfast.
I go for runs regularly.	I regularly go for runs.
Often, I bake cookies with my grandma.	I often bake cookies with my grandma.
My parents treat us to a takeaway occasionally.	My parents occasionally treat us to a takeaway.
Sometimes, I ride my bike into town.	I sometimes ride my bike into town.

 

Other adverbs of time tell us the exact number of times that something happens or has happened. These are adverbs of definite frequency. Most often, these are placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.

The most common adverbs of definite frequency are hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly. But you can also use it once a week, every week, or every other week. In each of these, ‘week’ can be replaced with hour, day, month, year, or even minute and second.

There are also adverbs of definite frequency which give us an exact time for which something happened, e.g., four times a week, once every month, twice a year, etc.

Here are some examples:

• I go to the gym twice a week.
• We go on day trips monthly.
• I’ve been to London three times.
• Once a month, I go on a trip to the museum.

4. Possibility – Yet/ Still:

‘Yet’ is an adverb of time that tells us something hasn’t happened but is expected to happen. It’s used at the end of a sentence, when forming a question, or after ‘not’ in a statement.

• ‘Have you finished your homework yet?’ ‘Not yet.’

‘Still’ shows that something is continuing to happen and hasn’t stopped. So it’s placed before the main verb and after auxiliary verbs. For the main verb ‘to be,’ ‘still’ is set after it rather than before. So ‘Still’ goes before the main verb in question.

• I’m still waiting for that new bookstore to open.
• She still hasn’t called me.
• Are you still going to the party?
• Do you still like cheesecake?
• I’m still learning.

5. Multiple uses: Using more than one adverb of time in a sentence:

It’s possible to use more than one adverb of time in one sentence. For example:

• I still go to the gym twice a week.
• I always read my book before I go to bed.
• I stayed in Norfolk for two months last year.
• They volunteered for a few hours every week a few years ago.Top of Form

Is ‘quickly’ an adverb for time?

‘Quick’ is an adjective, and the adverb form is ‘quickly.’ So you can use it as an adverb of time with phrases such as ‘as quickly as possible.

She ran to the shop as quickly as possible.

An adverb of time that tells us when something happened. In this case, it tells us that it happened immediately.

How do you identify an adverb in a sentence?

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or even a whole sentence. Adverbs often end in -ly, but some look the same as their adjective forms.

Foot and feet are Units of Measurement. They allow us to measure the length of a particular object or person. In addition, they can help us measure the distance from one area to another.

While foot denotes a single unit of measurement, ‘feet’ is its plural alternative. In this sense, the difference between foot and feet in Maths depends on how significant the distance or length you measure is.

For example, you might say;

• “The baguette was one foot long,” as it’s relatively small compared to other lengths and distances.
• “The tree was 20 feet high”.
• “The children were sitting 7 feet away from the teacher”.

In Maths, understanding the difference between foot and feet is essential to know how far something is or its size. In addition, by applying the unit to several different objects or distances, we can also make objective comparisons.

For example, we can understand why one tree looks bigger than another: because it has a greater height! For example, tree A may be 20 feet high, whereas Tree B is only 15 feet tall. Or we could understand why one distance took longer to walk towards than another: it is further away from us.

One exception to the rule:

However, the difference between foot and feet can be confusing when certain plurals still use ‘foot’ when spoken aloud. A good example is a person’s height. We still might say, “The policeman was 6 foot tall,” or “I am 5 foot and 7 inches”. However, grammatically, it is correct to use ‘feet’ when writing this word or to abbreviate it to ‘ft.’

The Imperial System of Measurement:

It’s also worth mentioning that foot and feet derive from the Imperial system. It was a form of measurement that the British Parliament first initiated in 1824. Known as the Weights and Measurements Act, this dispersed across the British Empire in 1826 and was used in the United Kingdom to countries like Australia, New Zealand, and India.

Other units of measurement from the Imperial System are:

• Pints (pt) and Gallons (gal) measure capacity. For example, ‘the man drank a pint of larger.
• Pounds (lbs), Stones (st), and Ounces (oz) are used to measure weight. So, for example, you could say, ‘he weighed 9 stone and 7 pounds, or ‘the chef used 4 ounces of butter when making the cake’.
• Along with foot and feet, we often use miles (mi) and inches (in) to describe and measure a distance. For example, ‘the journey was 10 miles long, or ‘my finger is 6 inches.

Alongside the Imperial system of measurement, there is also the Metric system. It is used more commonly than Imperial all over the world. When discussing units of measure, it’s essential to understand that both methods still exist. Sometimes, you might describe how heavy something is, and the person you’re talking to won’t know as they grew up with different measurement systems. Or you might follow a recipe with other unfamiliar measurement methods.

You might have to convert the units into their equivalent when this happens. But, by learning this, you’ll always be able to understand how long or heavy something is, regardless of its units.

Passive Voice

The passive voice is where the subject is the recipient of the actions described by a verb. It is the opposite of the active voice, in which the subject is the one who performs the verb. A sentence written in the passive voice is called a passive sentence.

What is a passive sentence?

A passive sentence is a sentence that is written in the passive voice, which is where the person or object that receives an action is placed after the actual action itself. It makes it different from the active voice, where the person or thing that acts is placed before the verb which describes the action.

We typically use the passive voice to emphasize the action rather than the subject.

What are some passive sentences examples?

If you’re still wondering, “what is a passive sentence?” then don’t worry! The active and passive voices are complex concepts to make sense of at first, and pupils may find it tricky to tell one from the other.

It’s a lot easier to get the hang of passive sentences with examples to help you, which is why we’ve put together this handy chart. In it, you’ll find a few helpful passive sentence examples. You’ll also see the same sentences written using the active voice on the left side so that you can compare the two.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Albert ate six sausages at dinner.	At dinner, six sausages were eaten by Albert.
Mother read my story in a single day.	My story was read to my mother in a single day.
Millions of tourists visit Barcelona each year.	Barcelona is visited by millions of tourists each year.
The music conductor will give you the notes.	The notes will be given to you by the music conductor.

We can tell that the passive sentence examples on the right are written in the passive voice because the noun or subject is placed in a secondary position to the verb. However, when the same sentence is written in the active voice, the subject comes before the verb, and the sentence takes on a firmer, more natural tone.

When do we use the Passive Voice?

Now that you’ve read our definition of the passive voice and looked at a few passive sentence examples, you probably have a pretty good grasp of it. But first, you might wonder how and when we write in the passive voice.

The active voice and passive voice can have vastly different impacts on your reader. For example, people tend to use the active voice rather than the passive voice when writing about a subject acting. An example of this would be ‘the dog loves to fetch.

However, you might be more likely to use passive sentences when formally presenting your work or ideas. Let’s take a look at some of these different uses, along with a few passive sentences examples to help us understand them:

Proper uses of the passive voice:

Here are three widespread uses of the passive voice:

1) To report a crime or incident with an unknown offender:

Jessica’s phone was stolen on the train.

The jewelry shop was ransacked on Monday night.

The man’s computer was hacked.

One of the main reasons these crimes are so severe is that the offender is unknown. In addition, using a passive sentence helps emphasize the actual action of the crimes, i.e., theft, instead of the perpetrator.

2) In a scientific context:

The scientists worked hard in the lab all day.

The subject of the study was placed in an observation room.

The scientist was given an award for his work in the field.

As you can see from these passive sentence examples, the action of the sentences is much more important than the subjects, so passive voice is required.

3) To emphasize action over the person carrying out the action

The band was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame.

The teacher was given a pile of homework to mark over the weekend.

The girl was selected to take part in a considerable swimming competition.

In these passive sentence examples, the person acting can be dismissed as irrelevant, and including them would be a distraction. You must use your best judgment to decide whether the subject of a sentence is more or less important than the action being carried out.

Everyday uses of the passive voice:

Now that we’ve explored how we might use the passive voice in a more formal context let’s explore how it can also be used in informal ways to make writing a bit more interesting.

Using the passive voice as a stylistic choice to shift around the emphasis in your writing is a fun, creative, and sophisticated way to spice up your work.

Here are some examples of creative uses of the passive voice:

1) To avoid blame

One creative use of the passive voice is to avoid getting blamed the blame onto someone else. In this case, the subject will not directly implicate someone else but merely make sure to appear innocent.

For example:

“Mistakes were made.”

2) To direct the reader’s attention to certain things

As we know, the passive voice focuses primarily on the action than on the person or thing carrying it out. It allows us to divert the reader’s attention to what was done rather than who did it, effectively creating a sense of surprise or mystery in a piece of writing.

Misusing the Passive Voice:

Now that we’re no longer in the dark about what a passive sentence is and we’ve looked at a few passive sentences examples, let’s look at some of the ways they can be misused:

1) Misidentifying passive voice:

Sometimes, what may appear to be a passive sentence isn’t passive at all. For example:

The teacher was pleased when she saw the students’ test scores.

While, at first glance, this sentence appears to use the passive voice, it doesn’t. In this sentence, ‘pleased’ is used as an adjective, and ‘was’ is used as a linking verb.

2) When passive voice is misused:

The passive voice can be super effective when we know what it is and how a passive sentence should be used. However, it can be tricky to get right. Passive voice misuse or unnecessary overuse of passive sentences can make your writing look clunky, awkward, and hard to read.

If you spot passive voice misuse in your writing, don’t panic, as it’s pretty simple to fix. For the most part, passive voice misuse can be fixed by changing a passive voice sentence into an active one.

There are three easy steps you must take to make this change:

1. Identify the person or thing that is acting being described by the verb in the sentence. It will then become the subject of your new active voice sentence.
2. Take the ‘be’ verb out of your sentence and turn the past participle into a correctly conjugated verb. This new verb must agree with your unique subject.
3. Identify the subject of the old passive voice sentence and turn it into a direct object.

When will children learn about the passive voice?

Pupils will likely encounter active and passive voices and active and passive verbs when they reach key stage 2. According to the national curriculum, pupils in year six will be able to ‘use the passive to affect the presentation of information in a sentence.

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words made up of a noun and words to describe that noun. Below, we’ll learn more about noun phrases, explore noun phrase examples, look at expanded noun phrases, and discuss how to teach children about them and why we use them.

What is a noun phrase?

A noun phrase is a small group of words containing a noun and modifying words for that noun. The term acts like the subject or object of the sentence.

As a reminder, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Therefore, the noun phrase will contain a noun and words that describe or modify the noun.

Simple modifiers, like a number or an article, turn the group of words into a noun phrase.

What is a phrase?

Before getting deeper into noun phrases, we must understand what an expression is, so here’s a quick refresher.

A phrase is a group of words that form a part of a sentence. For example: “in the night” or “within the bustling crowd.”

You can add to phrases to create a complete sentence, but a phrase alone doesn’t constitute a sentence.

There are several common phrases used in the English language. They include verb phrases, adjective phrases, prepositional phrases, absolute phrases, adverb phrases, and noun phrases.

We’ll focus on the last type of phrase in the text below. Keep reading to find out more about noun phrases, including noun phrase examples!

Noun Phrase Examples

Examples of simple noun phrases include:

• the house
• my gray dog
• the teacher
• the clever child

You might have noticed that these aren’t complete sentences. Instead, noun phrases are part of longer sentences, such as:

• The house was brand-new.
• I love my gray dog.
• The teacher cheered on the clever child.

Each sentence includes a noun and words that modify them. Sentences can also have more than one noun phrase, and noun phrases can even be embedded in other noun phrases.

You might also extend the noun phrase. It is prevalent, and children might not even realize that they use this daily. More on this is below.

What are expanded noun phrases?

You may occasionally hear the term expanded noun phrase. An expanded noun phrase tells you more about the noun found in a simple noun phrase.

To spot an expanded noun phrase, look for the following:

• an article
• an adjective or adjectives
• a noun

Let’s explore how to turn a simple noun phrase into an expanded noun phrase using the following example:

I swam in the sea.

In the sentence above, the noun phrase is “the sea.” To turn it into an expanded noun phrase, we can include an adjective to modify the noun “sea.” For example:

I swam in the salty sea.

Now we have an expanded noun phrase, “the salty sea.” The article is “the,” the adjective is “salty,” and the noun is “sea.”

You can also put the expansion after the noun. In addition to adjectives, you can add other pieces of information that are still part of the noun phrase. For example:

The haunted house with big, broken windows was terrifying.

In the example above, the adjective “haunted” describes the house, and the expansion “with big, broken windows” modifies the noun “house.” Therefore, both are included in the expanded noun phrase.

Using Adjectives, Participles, and More to Modify the Noun

We’ve looked at how to extend a noun phrase. Now, look at the example sentences below and consider which part of the sentence is the noun phrase.

That new pink bike is mine.

“that new pink bike” is the noun phrase in this sentence. “Bike” is the noun, and the other words describe the bike.

The bakery on the corner sells lots of pastries.

In this sentence, there are two noun phrases. The first is “the bakery on the corner.” The “bakery” is the main noun in this phrase, and “on the corner”  describes the bakery.

The following noun phrase is “lots of pastries.” The noun of the phrase is “pastries,” and “lots of” describes the noun.

The silly dog that keeps chasing his tail belongs to my friend.

In this sentence, the adjective clause “that keeps chasing his tail” is the noun phrase modifier for “the silly dog.” The modifier follows the noun in this example. Together they make the noun phrase.

The brave man ventured through the dark and cold forest.

The noun phrases in this sentence are “the brave man” and “the dark and cold forest.” The adjectives “dark and cold” describe the noun “forest,” and “brave” describes the “man.”

The kind girl put seeds outside for the birds visiting the backyard.

In this sentence, the adjective “kind” describes the “girl,” and the participle “visiting the backyard” modifies the noun “birds.”

Why is it important to learn about expanded noun phrases?

Learning about expanded noun phrases opens up creative possibilities in children’s writing. Adding extra information to nouns makes writing more attractive and paints vivid pictures in the reader’s mind.

Expanded noun phrases draw on and encourage imagination, placing the reader and writer in the scene. It is a valuable skill that will benefit children throughout their lives. Whether they’re writing essays, stories, or job applications, they’re more likely to make a lasting impression if they capture their reader’s imagination.

Noun Phrase Functions and the Pronoun Test

As mentioned previously, the function of a noun phrase is much like that of a noun. The noun phrase acts as a complement, a subject, or an object in a sentence.

Grammar Reminder:

A complement describes the subject or object of a sentence.

The subject of a sentence is the noun (person, place, thing, or idea) that is doing something or being something in the sentence.

The object of a sentence is the noun on the receiving end of the verb.

Since the noun phrase acts as a noun, one way to quickly test if it is indeed a noun phrase is to replace it with a pronoun.

A pronoun is a word that can be used in place of a noun. Let’s look at a few examples of noun phrases being turned into pronouns:

Noun Phrase	Noun Phrase Replaced with Pronoun
The dog was hungry.	He was hungry.

The sentence’s simple noun phrase or subject is “the dog.” The noun phrase can be replaced with the pronoun “he.”

Let’s look at another example:

Noun Phrase	Noun Phrase Replaced with Pronoun
The haunted house with big broken windows was terrifying.	It was terrifying.

The noun phrase in this sentence is “the haunted house with big, broken windows.” Therefore, we replace the noun phrase with the pronoun “it.”

Here’s yet another example:

Noun Phrase	Noun Phrase Replaced with Pronoun
I ate the delicious chocolate cake.	I ate it.

The object of the sentence, and therefore the noun phrase, is “the delicious chocolate cake.” Replace the word with a pronoun, and we get the following sentence: “I ate it.”

Finally, let’s look at a sentence with two noun phrases turned into pronouns.

Noun Phrase	Noun Phrase Replaced with Pronoun
The tall girl is a good dancer.	She is one.

“The tall girl” is the subject, and “a good dancer” is the subject complement. Both are noun phrases. If we replace the words with pronouns, the new sentence reads: “She is one.

Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes a noun and gives additional detail to the noun being defined, for example, ‘red,’ ‘cold,’ or ‘difficult.’ Read on to learn about adjectives in English, with tons of examples and more!

In this handy guide, you’ll explore what adjectives are, read about the types of adjectives, discover examples of adjectives, and find functional teacher-made materials to teach about the topic.

What is an Adjective? – With Examples for Children

What is an adjective? An adjective is also known as a describing word. An adjective usually comes before a noun to provide more detail or information about the noun it’s describing.

In most cases, an adjective will precede the noun unless particular emphasis on the adjective is needed. Adjectives can also be placed after the noun on rare occasions. When adjectives are placed after the nouns they modify, they are postpositive adjectives.

Adjectives are a necessary form of expression in descriptive writing. They provide vital details that help a reader visualize and comprehend a subject. However, there are also many different types of adjectives – all of which come with their own rules. Read on to find out more about the different types of adjectives and the adjective rules.

Examples of adjectives include:

• Charming.
• Cool.
• Fantastic.
• Gentle.
• Huge.
• Perfect.
• Rough.

More Detailed Adjective Examples for Children

Now that we understand what we mean when talking about adjectives let’s look at some fun examples of adjectives you can share with your students. These adjectives examples for kids can help students get a first-hand experience of how adjectives can be used in a sentence differently.

Adjectives can be used when beginning a story. You could write:

‘I had just returned from a holiday.’

It gives the reader no information about the noun ‘holiday.’ What are they supposed to think about the holiday? Was it good? Bad? Instead, you could write:

‘I had just returned from a disastrous holiday.’

In this case, the adjective ‘disastrous’ provides detail about the noun ‘holiday.’

Equally, you could write:

‘I had just returned from a wonderful holiday.’

You can see from this example that you have the beginning of two very different stories just by using another adjective.

Using adjectives effectively helps to make writing more interesting, although they should be used with care and not with every noun.

Adjective	Example in a sentence
Lovely	We saw a lovely dog on our walk.
Hot	It was a sweltering day in April.
Cold	The cold wind blew the kite across the sky.
Fantastic	He was a very fantastic cat.
Boring	It was an incredibly dull film.
Brown	The brown dog dashed across the field.
Kind	The kind lady made me a cup of tea.
Messy	The messy kitchen needed to be cleaned.
Exciting	It is one of the most exciting books I’ve ever read.

What are the Different Types of Adjectives?

Adjectives can provide further information or detail on various things, including size, shape, color, material, and amount. But it all depends on their type! So knowing these and how you can use them to express yourself and richen your writing can go a long way.

For example:

• It was a large staircase.
• The round table was full.
• The red apple looked delicious.
• The wooden chair was uncomfortable.
• There were few people left.

There are many types of adjectives, and they’re often classified in different ways. Some essential types of adjectives that children will learn to include quantitative adjectives, predicative adjectives, proper adjectives, descriptive adjectives, comparative adjectives, and superlative adjectives. Below are examples of all of these, with some more information about what each type of adjective does.

Quantitative adjectives

These provide the exact or approximate amount of a noun. For example:

• There were six dogs.
• There were several dogs.

Descriptive adjectives

This type of adjective covers the majority of adjectives, and it’s also called a qualitative adjective. They describe nouns and pronouns, giving information about their attributes. For example:

• I fed my hungry dog.

Predicative adjectives

Contrary to most other types of adjectives, these come after the noun. For example:

• The sky was blue.

Proper adjectives

These adjectives are a particular form of proper nouns and usually represent a shorter version of a longer explanation. They’re also capitalized. For example, instead of saying, this coffee is made of coffee beans grown in Brazil, we can say:

• Brazilian coffee.

Comparative adjectives

These can be used to compare or contrast two nouns. For example:

• Summer is hotter than winter.

Superlative adjectives

These can express that a noun is of the highest or best quality and often end in -est. For example:

• She is the best football player on her team.

You can also use adverbs in writing to add more description to the events — an adverb modifies a verb (action word) concerning time, place, manner, degree, etc.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Rules

There are several rules to follow when using comparative and superlative adjectives. Here are some comparative and superlative adjective rules in simple terms:

Comparative adjectives

As mentioned above, comparative adjectives are used to compare or contrast the differences between two objects. The pattern for using comparative adjectives in sentences is:

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (thing).

Comparative adjectives examples:

• Mrs. Johnson’s house is smaller than her sister’s.
• My dog is faster than all of the other dogs at the park.
• This diving board is higher than the others.
• My new car is larger than my previous one.

Sometimes, the second comparison item in a sentence with comparative adjectives can be omitted. It only happens when the context makes it clear what the point of comparison is. For example:

• Mary and her sister both play football, but Mary is better. (‘Than her sister’ is omitted).
• James and Elizabeth are both tall, but Elizabeth is taller. (‘Than James’ is omitted).

Superlative adjectives

As mentioned above, superlative adjectives describe an object at the upper or lower quality limit. Superlative adjectives are used in sentences where a subject is compared to a group of things.

The pattern for using superlative adjectives in sentences is:

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

Superlative adjectives examples:

• George’s house is the biggest one in the whole street.
• Amy was the fastest runner in her age group.
• My essay was the longest one in the class.
• Thomas had the best singing voice in the choir.

Sometimes, the group that acts at the point of comparison can be omitted. It only happens when the point of comparison is clear from the context. For example:

• The girls all ran the same race. Becky ran the fastest. (‘Out of all the girls’ is omitted)
• Mary loves all dogs; however, she likes sausage dogs the best. (‘Out of all dogs’ is omitted)

How to Form Regular Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

There are a few essential comparative and superlative adjective rules when forming regular comparatives and superlatives. First, the formation of comparative and superlative adjectives depends on the number of syllables in the original adjectives.

One-syllable adjectives

To form comparative and superlative adjectives, when the original adjective has just one syllable, add ‘-er’ for the comparative and ‘-est’ for the superlative. Moreover, if the original adjective has a consonant + single vowel + consonant spelling, the final consonant in the word has to be doubled before adding the ending.

Comparative and superlative examples:

Original adjective: big

• Comparative: bigger
• Superlative: biggest.

Original adjective: small

• Comparative: smaller
• Superlative: smallest.

Original adjective: wet

• Comparative: wetter
• Superlative: wettest.

Original adjective: sad

• Comparative: sadder
• Superlative: saddest.

Two-syllable adjectives

The comparative and superlative rules for adjectives with two syllables are pretty simple. To form the comparative, either add ‘-er’ to the adjective or place the word ‘more’ before it. Similarly, to create the superlative, add ‘-est’ to the adjective or put the word ‘most’ before it.

The only irregularity in forming two-syllable comparative and superlative adjectives is when it comes to words ending with ‘y’. Therefore, for these adjectives ending with ‘y’, you must change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding the comparative or superlative ending.

Comparative and superlative examples:

Original adjective: silly

• Comparative: sillier
• Superlative: silliest.

Original adjective: shiny

• Comparative: shinier
• Superlative: shiniest.

Original adjective: slanted

• Comparative: more slanted
• Superlative: most slanted.

Original adjective: joyful

• Comparative: more joyful
• Superlative: most joyful.

Original adjective: narrow

• Comparative: narrower
• Superlative: narrowest.

Three syllables or more

When dealing with adjectives in English with three or more syllables, there are a few simple comparative and superlative adjectives rules to consider. To form the comparative, you must put the word ‘more’ in front of the adjective. Likewise, to create the superlative, you must set the word ‘most’ in front of the adjective.

Original adjective: Confident

• Comparative: more confident
• Superlative: most confident.

Original adjective: Important

• Comparative: more important
• Superlative: most important.

Original adjective: Popular

• Comparative: more popular
• Superlative: most popular.

Original adjective: Interesting

• Comparative: more interesting
• Superlative: most interesting.

Irregular Comparatives and Superlative Adjectives Rules

There are a few adjectives that have irregular comparative and superlative forms. The most common irregular adjectives in English are as follows:

Original adjective: good

• Comparative: better
• Superlative: best.

Original adjective: well (meaning healthy)

• Comparative: better
• Superlative: best.

Original adjective: far

• Comparative: further
• Superlative: furthest.

Original adjective: bad

• Comparative: worse
• Superlative: worst.

Original adjective: old (meaning people in a family)

• Comparative: elder
• Superlative: eldest.

Original adjective: little (meaning value)

• Comparative: less
• Superlative: least.

Order of Adjectives when Using them in Conjunction

When adjectives are used in conjunction, they must be presented in a particular order. While it’s not necessarily wrong to use multiple adjectives out of order, reading or hearing them seems strange. The order of adjectives in English is as follows:

1. Quantity or number
2. Quality or opinion
3. Size
4. Age
5. Shape
6. Colour
7. Proper adjective (usually nationality or material)
8. Purpose or qualifier

For example:

‘The wiggly, pink worm dug through the soil.’

Here, two adjectives are used in conjunction. Both come before the noun, which in this sentence is ‘worm.’ We use ‘wiggly’ first in the sentence because it is a quality. We use ‘pink’ second because it is a color.

‘A big, white butterfly flew into my house.’

In this sentence, ‘butterfly’ is the noun. We use ‘big’ first because it’s the size. We use ‘white’ second because it’s a color. Unfortunately, writing ‘the white, big butterfly’ makes less sense grammatically and is not as easy to read.

List of Adjectives in English

Adjectives are an essential part of the English language and play a key role in helping children take their writing to the next level. So, if you want to spice up your writing or make a text more engaging, you can do this by playing around with different adjectives. Here are some of the most popular adjectives in English that you and your students can use:

A

adorable

adventurous

aggressive

alive

angry

annoyed

anxious

arrogant

ashamed

B

bad

beautiful

bewildered

bored

brainy

brave

bright

busy

C

calm

cautious

charming

cheerful

clever

clumsy

comfortable

confused

crazy

creepy

cruel

curious

D

dangerous

dark

defeated

delightful

different

dull

E

eager

easy

elated

embarrassed

enchanting

enthusiastic

F

fair

famous

fierce

filthy

fragile

frightened

funny

G

gentle

good

graceful

grumpy

H

happy

healthy

helpless

horrible

hungry

hurt

I

impossible

inexpensive

innocent

J

jealous

jolly

K

kind

L

lazy

lonely

lovely

lucky

M

magnificent

muddy

mysterious

N

naughty

nervous

nice

O

obedient

odd

old-fashioned

outstanding

P

panicked

perfect

poor

powerful

precious

proud

Q

quaint

R

real

relieved

rich

S

scary

selfish

shy

silly

sleepy

successful

super

T

talented

tasty

tense

terrible

TH

thankful

thoughtful

thoughtless

U

ugly

uninterested

upset

unusual

V

vast

victorious

W

weary

wicked

wild

worried

wrong

Z

zany

Examples of Advanced Adjectives

Some advanced adjectives can help to extend vocabulary and make writing sound interesting. Here are some examples:

• Delicate
• Excruciating
• Gorgeous
• Thrilled
• Fearless
• Cerulean
• Abounding
• Ghastly

What is Weathering?

Weathering is breaking down or dissolving rocks on the Earth’s surface. The process of weathering breaks down and removes material from the coastlines. Weathering wears away exposed surfaces over time.

There are many types of rocks; some are more vulnerable to weathering than others. Weathering is also the first step to producing soils, as rocks’ angular or harsh edges become rounded and more minor. The tiny bits of weathered material sometimes mix with plants, animal remains, bacteria and other organisms to create soil. A single type of weathered rock makes infertile soil, whereas weathered materials from different rocks produce more fertile ground.

5 Facts About Weathering

• Weathering should not be confused with erosion. Erosion describes the moving of rocks via water, wind, or gravity, whereas weathering describes the breaking down of rocks through direct contact.
• There are three types of weathering: biological, chemical, and mechanical.
• Rain is mildly acidic and slowly eats away at rocks – this is an example of chemical weathering.
• Plants and animals also cause rocks to erode – this is an example of biological weathering.
• Water can seep into the cracks of rocks, and as the temperature cools and this water freezes, this causes stones to break away – this is mechanical weathering.

What are the Three Types of Weathering?

The three types of weathering can break down any exposed rocks along the coastline.

The three types of weathering are:

• Mechanical weathering
• Chemical weathering
• Biological weathering

What are Weathering Agents?

There are different weathering agents. Weathering agents are the things that contribute to the process of weathering.

What is Biological Weathering?

Biological weathering is the weakening and removing rock by plants, animals, and microbes. For example, plant roots can enter a small crack in a rock, and then as the root grows larger, the gap in the rock gets larger. It weakens the structure of the stone until it eventually breaks away.

What is Chemical Weathering?

Chemical weathering changes the molecular structure of rocks and soils, becoming weaker and eroding.

Chemical weathering is usually a result of rain or saltwater being slightly acidic. However, sometimes coastlines are made up of rocks such as limestone or chalk, and these types of stones can be affected by the acid in the water, which then dissolves the rock over time.

One example is carbonic acid, which is weak but effective at dissolving limestone. When carbonic acid seeps through a limestone underground, it can create huge cracks or even open up many little caves.

Another type of chemical weathering involves rocks that contain iron. These rocks rust due to a process called oxidation. Rust is created by the interaction of oxygen and iron with water. As the rust expands, it can weaken the rock and break it apart! The image below shows an example of rust.

What is Mechanical Weathering?

Mechanical weathering is sometimes called physical weathering, describing the process of rock crumbling. Water is the critical agent in mechanical weathering. Temperature changes are also the primary agent in mechanical weathering. The main type of mechanical weathering is freeze-thaw weathering.

Freeze-thaw weathering is when rocks have holes (also called porous), and water can pass through the rocks. If water can pass through the rock, it is called a porous rock. Freeze-thawing happens when water goes into a rock crack and freezes when the temperature drops below freezing. The frozen water then expands, widening the rock. The ice then melts when the temperature rises again, and the water makes it’s way further into the cracks in the rock. The process then repeats over and over again until the rock completely breaks apart.

Another type of mechanical weathering is a process called thermal stress. It is when temperature changes cause rocks to expand and contract. For example, stones grow in the head and contract in the cold. The process repeats over and over again and weakens the rock each time. It is common in rocky deserts, where temperatures change drastically day to night.

Another type of mechanical weathering is when materials such as clay that are porous are near rocks. The clay will absorb lots of water and expand, eroding the more complex rock around it. Salt is another agent which can affect weathering. For example, saltwater can sometimes get into the cracks or holes of rocks, and then when the water evaporates, it can leave behind salt crystals. The salt crystals will then grow, which puts pressure on the rock and causes it to break eventually.

Clay in minerals, such as quartz, is some of the most common by-products of weathering, mainly chemical and physical weathering. So it is because clay makes up around 40% of the chemicals in all sedimentary rocks on earth!

Animals also play a part as an agent of weathering. For example, animals that live or roam underground, such as moles, might also break apart rock and soil. Some animals also dig and trample rock above ground, causing the rocks to crumble or break away.

Can Humans Impact Weathering?

Weathering is a natural process, but humans can cause the process to speed up due to certain human activities. The primary example of this is air pollution. Air pollution can speed up the process of weathering because when we burn fossil fuels, natural gas, and coal, it releases chemicals into the atmosphere. These chemicals then change into acids and fall back to earth in the rain. This type of rain is called acid rain.

Acid rain has a significant impact on rocks such as limestone and marble. In addition, acid rain has damaged many buildings and monuments and can affect gravestones.

What are Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition?

Weathering, erosion, and deposition have occurred over billions of years to wear down and build up the Earth’s surface. All these processes act together in a continual cycle.

• Weathering is the breaking down of rocks. Rocks get broken down by agents, including water, ice, wind, animals, and growing plants.
• Erosion is the movement of material from broken-down rocks. This material is called sediment and is made of rocks, minerals, and plant and animal remains. Erosion agents include water, ice, wind, and gravity.
• A deposition is the dropping of sediment in a new place. Some examples of deposits are the formation of an island or dunes.

So, the material is broken down by weathering, moved by erosion, and deposited in a new place by deposition.

Gravity pulls everything towards the Earth’s core, causing rock and other materials to move downhill. Some effects of weathering, erosion, and deposition are changes in the shape and size of landforms and the formation of different landforms. These include mountains, beaches, and riverbeds.

From early primitive drawings to text messages, written communication has seen a lot of changes since its beginning. As a result, writing can come in many styles depending on what the writer is trying to convey. Keep reading through our teaching wiki to discover the leading techniques and genres of writing that broadly cover all types of writing your children will encounter.

Most writing does fall into each of these types, but some writing can borrow aspects of other genres to create a piece of paper. There is no set rule for sticking to a particular genre when writing. For example, a writer might want to adopt some creative writing within their persuasive essay, or maybe they would like to use some expository writing while creating a narrative.

What is the craft of writing?

Writing is a diverse and necessary skill that adults need to function in the world. Whether we are reading books, watching television and films, or checking out social media – everything has been written with a purpose in mind and an audience to read it. By understanding the different forms of writing, you can better understand the world around you. Each type of writing has its rules and structures, and each can be used differently.

Below you’ll find a list of each genre of writing, plus some excellent links to help you and your students understand these types of writing through our range of craft of writing resources.

What are the different types of writing?

Writing has been all around us for centuries. Millions of people worldwide are currently writing books, newspaper articles, academic essays, restaurant menus, and traffic signs; someone wrote even the webpage you’re reading right now!

So, how exactly can we categorize all these different types of writing? While there are many reasons to get the notepad or laptop out. There are only five main kinds of essays: expository, descriptive, persuasive, narrative, and journal or letter writing. Each writing genre has its unique purpose and requires different skills.

Expository writing

Expository writing is a text that aims to describe, explain, or inform the reader about any topic. You might be thinking, hang on, wasn’t descriptive writing a whole other category? Yes, you’re right! While expository and descriptive pieces describe things, they differ in one crucial aspect. A vital feature of this non-fiction writing style is that there is no opinion or agenda; the author only wants to convey information.

Examples of expository writing are news reports (not opinion pieces, though!), scientific journal entries, or events calendars.

The subject of your expository piece will determine what kind of evidence you’ll need to put in. For example, if you’re working on a scientific report, you might want to include graphs, charts, or tables to help visualize all the data you’ve recorded. But, if it’s a book report instead, you’ll want to reference quotes, page numbers, and perhaps even aspects of the author’s beliefs or environment.

A good tip for writing expository pieces is to assume that the reader has little to no knowledge of your topic. That way, you’ll cover everything you need to know about something. Good expository writing is also clear and easy to follow.

Examples of expository writing:

• Textbooks
• Wiki pages
• Presentations
• Essays

Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing involves a detailed description of a place or person intended to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind, giving them a better feel for the story. It’s hoped that if the reader is fully immersed in what’s happening, they’ll enjoy the text more.

This type of writing uses many small details to create a clear picture of what’s happening. Typically, these involve the senses and help the reader to feel like they’re a part of what you’re writing.

In fiction, descriptive writing is often used, but there’s no reason to stop there. You’ll often find elements of descriptive essays in non-fiction genres too. Ensuring the reader is fully immersed in your work can make any writing more enjoyable and effective.

This type of writing will typically feature many adjectives, but what else do we need to consider for an excellent descriptive essay? “Show, don’t tell” is a creative and descriptive writing motto you may have already heard. It is an immersive technique where sensory details are included to transport the reader to the story rather than merely describing a situation or place.

For example, simply telling the reader, “Kay is in a field next to a river, “certainly gets the point across, but it doesn’t bring the scene to life. So instead, focus on what Kay is experiencing with her senses to capture your reader:

“Kay felt the soft green grass under her feet as she stopped to look up at the clear blue sky. The soft, nearby bubbling of water on rocks began to sound in her ears, and the smell of fresh cut daisies surrounded her like a blanket.”

See how we didn’t need to mention the words field or river to set the scene for our story. By describing things in sensory terms, we engage the reader’s imagination. They already know how the grass feels and what running water sounds like, which helps them create a more detailed mental picture. It is a much more engaging and effective technique to use in this type of writing.

Examples of descriptive writing:

• Scripts
• Poetry
• Fiction writing
• Comics

Narrative writing

Furthermore, this type of writing can be told in several forms. For example, narratives can be recounted in the third person by the author or as a character within a story discussed from a first-person perspective. Moreover, narratives can be told in either chronological or non-chronological order and various tenses.

It’s often said that there are seven key elements to a piece of narrative writing:

• Characterization
• Setting (check out the descriptive writing section for more tips!)
• Theme
• Plot
• Atmosphere
• Figurative Language & Literary Devices
• Point of View (first person, second person, or third person)

Ultimately, this type of writing tells a story in the best way possible. It can be a very versatile endeavor and lends itself well to creative writing.

Examples of narrative writing:

• Short stories
• Autobiographies
• Historical texts

Persuasive writing

The purpose of a piece of persuasive writing is, of course, to persuade the reader of something. So, for example, pieces of compelling essay might be a political leaflet, opinion piece, or book review.

This type of writing is usually less about facts and more about opinion. After all, how many times have you convinced somebody of something on facts alone? An excellent persuasive essay will likely appeal to the reader’s beliefs about the world.

Persuasive pieces commonly include personal pronouns (I, we, us, etc.), flattery, the rule of three, and lots of emotive languages. However, they also are very tailored to their audience. After all, different people are persuaded by other things. So, it’s essential to consider who your target audience is and what they’re like.

Persuasive pieces also often make use of rhetorical questions. It helps engage the reader in your topic and makes the subject feel much more personal. Usually, it’s not advised to repeat yourself in writing. However, persuasive pieces welcome repetition (within reason) since this emphasizes your point even more.

PEEL is a helpful pneumonic for this type of writing  (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link).

Examples of persuasive writing:

• Advertisements
• Promotional material
• Political leaflets
• Reviews
• Fundraising letters
• Propaganda

Journals and Letter Writing

Journal and letter writing is one of the oldest writing styles. We have been sharing correspondence for centuries. However, this writing style has dramatically changed since the dawn of computers and phones. This style is usually written in the first person and is usually quite personal, especially in journal writing.

Examples of journal and letter writing:

• Diaries/Journals
• Blogs
• Letters
• Text messaging
• Emails

Why is it important to teach children the different types of writing?

Understanding the different types of writing helps improve children’s writing overall by offering them a clear purpose and techniques for how to get there with their writing. In addition, each genre has its codes and conventions, so your children will know what features to include in their report.

For example, persuasive pieces will include lots of rhetorical questions and emotive language, which would be inappropriate for an informative report.

So, children need to learn all the different types of writing.

A persuasive text is non-fiction writing that aims to convince the reader of a point of view. Adverts and newspaper columns are examples of persuasive text.

Uses of Persuasive Text

Persuasive text can be used and found in a variety of publications, such as:

• newspaper columns;
• advertising campaigns;
• academic essays;
• reviews;
• brochures;
• campaign flyers.

No matter where persuasive text is used, it tends to have one goal: to persuade the reader to take the writer’s side.

Usually, writers using persuasive writing techniques will have an argument, idea, or message that they’re trying to convince the reader to agree with.

Think about adverts, for example. They use techniques to convince you that their product is the best and that you need to buy it. It is a type of argument. They’re arguing that you should give them custom and buy their product.

Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical questions do not need an answer, but they get the reader or listener thinking. This technique is commonly used in advertisements.

For example, an advert might say, ‘Want to make your life easier?’ Of course! Everyone does. But in the context of an advert, this will pique the audience’s interest: how will this product or service make my life easier? The advert will then explain exactly that.

Emotive Language

Emotive language stirs your imagination. It helps to paint a picture in your mind.

This technique is prevalent in persuasive texts that have a moral message.

For example, a brochure covering the dangers of plastic pollution may use emotive language to call you to action. ‘Our planet is dying, choking on the plastic we feed it…‘

‘Dying’ and ‘choking’ is powerful, dynamic verbs that evoke a clear image in the reader’s mind.

Facts and Statistics

If you want to convince someone that they should listen to you, you will use facts, reasoning, and statistics, right? Yet, 100% of our readers say, ‘yes’!

Evidence is frequently used in persuasive texts to convince the audience that the writer or company advertising to you is trustworthy and reliable. For example, they may say something like, ‘85% of our customers agree!’. Hearing that other people trust this service or product encourages us to try it too.

Statistics can also be used to show the importance of something. For example, a campaign flyer about rainforests may include statements such as that over 200,000 acres of rainforest are burnt daily.

Repetition

The more you hear something, the more likely it is to be accurate. Well, not exactly – but hearing something repeatedly does convince us on a subconscious level. That’s why lots of persuasive texts use repetition throughout.

For example, if a company is having a summer sale, it might repeat the phrase ‘50% off!’ to convince you how great of a deal it is. It can be particularly annoying if it’s part of a jingle that gets stuck in your head!

Modal Verbs and Adverbs

Modal verbs call the reader to action. These are verbs such as ‘must,’ ‘should,’ and ‘will’ – ‘you MUST act now. They make the audience sense the situation’s urgency, persuading them to take action as soon as possible.

Modal adverbs leave no room for question – these are words such as ‘definitely,’ ‘absolutely,’ and ‘certainly.’

Sometimes, modal verbs and adverbs can be used together to create a clear call to action. For example, ‘You absolutely must act now.’

Opinion as Fact

Particularly for opinion pieces such as articles and essays, writers will state their opinion as if it’s a fact to convince the reader of their argument.

For example, if a persuasive text discusses deforestation, the writer might say that ‘deforestation is a cruel way to rid so many species of their homes.’ It is the writer’s opinion written as plain fact.

This technique persuades the reader to trust the writer and their opinion on this topic.

Persuasive Text Examples

Here are some examples of persuasive text. The first includes extracts from ‘Anyone Who Knows Anything About Fashion Has Stopped Wearing Fur,’ an article published by Dan Mathews on the Newsweek website.

‘Celebrities and socialites are also turning their backs on fur. In January, Anjelica Hustondonated her old, unwanted furs to PETA and helped us cut them up to be used as bedding for orphaned wildlife. “These coats were given to me decades ago when I had no idea how animals suffered in the fur trade,” explained the Oscar winner.’

‘It’s now widely accepted that animal fur and faux fur have the same R-value, a measure of the heat retention provided by fabric. Notably, Team Canada’s Winter Olympics uniforms (which members of parliament once proposed should include fur from dead seals) were manufactured this year using all-vegan materials—a tacit admission that using animal skins for performance clothing is obsolete. It’s a sign of the times that the maker of these uniforms, Hudson’s Bay Company, was established nearly 350 years ago as a fur-trading business.’

Analysis

The article includes many writing techniques that are common in persuasive texts. Here are just a few:

• The text includes examples of high-profile celebrities, such as Anjelica Huston and Canada’s Winter Olympics team, who have shown a public stance on the issue of fur. The author does this to demonstrate that several important and well-respected figures agree with him on the topic, adding a greater degree of authority to the text.
• The author comments on the Canadian Winter Olympics team’s use of vegan materials for their uniforms as a tacit admission that using animal skins for performance clothing is obsolete. Although this is the author’s opinion, it’s written as though it’s a statement of fact, encouraging the reader to share and accept his point of view.
• In this sentence, the word ‘obsolete’ and the author’s comment that this is a ‘sign of the times’ portray fur as an outdated and unfashionable material, whereas more animal-friendly options are growing in popularity. As readers will not wish to feel left behind or uninformed, they almost have no choice but to adopt the view that fur is wrong.

Analysis

Again, the author uses definite, factual statements, describing plastic as a ‘huge problem.’ The adjective ‘huge’ helps to create a sense of urgency in the reader, informing them that this is an issue we need to act on as quickly as possible.

Emotive language is also used to elicit a reaction from the reader. For example, the verb ‘pollute’ and the pronoun ‘our’ help the reader think of themselves as part of the Earth, giving them more reason to be upset by the damage being done to it.

Metaphorical language is also common in persuasive texts. Here the author describes how the oceans are being turned into ‘plastic soup’ – an upsetting image that helps illustrate the problem’s scale.

Evidence is also beneficial when trying to persuade your reader. In this case, the writer has used the frightening statistic of UK supermarkets producing ‘800,000 tonnes of plastic yearly. Like metaphorical language, statistics and quantitative evidence can go a long way to help people to understand the scale of an issue

Descriptive writing is one of the essential skills that children will learn in school and progress into life. They will use and expand upon it again and again within creative writing and narrative writing topics, and there are so many ways to get those creative juices flowing. In addition, children will need to prepare a narrative essay for the Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN exams, so it’s good to build their skills early with fun and exciting projects. Describing a person is a fun and easy way to start practicing the descriptive writing process.

Children should try to build a complete picture using descriptive language when describing a person.

So, How Do You Describe a Person in Writing?

They should think about describing the person’s physical appearance and personality.

Describe a Person’s Physical Appearance

Describing a person’s physical appearance is easy, as you must look at them and write down what you see.

Face shapes

• Square
• Oval
• Rectangular
• Symmetrical
• Round
• Triangular
• Heart-shaped

Encourage children to get creative when describing their friends and fellow students in class using similes and metaphors.

“Megan has a round face like a shining sun.”

Eyes – Eyes are the windows to the soul, after all.

• Shape – big, small, round, oval-shaped
• Eye color – blue, brown, hazel, green, gold, black, grey, technicolor

“Ben has blue eyes like the deep blue sea.”

Mouth

• Lips – thin, full, open, closed
• Mouth expressions – laughing, smiling, frowning

Nose

• Long
• Tall
• Small
• Big
• Aqualine

“Evangeline has a small nose like a button.”

Hair

• Colour – black, brunette, brown, ginger, strawberry blonde, blonde, auburn, red, bleach blonde, grey, silver, white
• Texture – straight, curly, frizzy, afro, wavy, bald
• Style – long, short, cropped, braided, pigtails, bun, fringe

“Hannah has long golden hair like a fairytale princess.”

These are just some examples of the face, but children should also have a great time describing things like body, clothing, style, and age.

Describe a Person’s Personality

Children can get super creative with language when describing a person or character in their writing topics. For example, here are some excellent adjectives to describe a person.

• Friendly – My sister is as lovely as a new puppy.
• Jolly – My grandpa is so cheerful he might be Santa Clause in disguise.
• Moody – Taliah is always moody, like a storm brewing in her belly.
• Chatty – Sarah is so talkative you can never get a word in.
• Cowardly – My dog is cowardly; he hates when visitors come to my house to pet him.
• Funny – Evangeline is so funny; she always makes me laugh.
• Tidy – I am not a very clean person; I always forget to remove cups of milk from my bedroom
• Unlucky – My sister is miserable; when she goes on holiday, it always rains
• My dad gets very grumpy if you wake him from his midday nap.
• Kind – My mum is the kindest person I know; she always gives me treats.
• Polite – I am very polite; I always say please and thank you.
• Intelligent – Chiharu is brilliant; I wish she would let me copy her work.
• Serious – My grandma is very serious; she always waits until precisely 6 pm to open her bottle of evening medicine.

Describe a Person’s Emotions/Feelings

The hardest part of describing a person is representing how they feel. Yet, children must do this when studying creative writing and start creating their own short stories, poems, and literature.

Children must think hard about describing a person or a character’s feelings because they’re constantly changing, and people can feel many different things simultaneously. Here are some emotions children might consider when describing people or characters in writing projects.

• Happy
• Cheerful
• Anxious
• Sad
• Calm
• Relaxed
• Enthusiastic
• Bored

When Kids Describe a Person

There are many ways to describe a person. Here are some hilarious examples of kids relating their parents to an illustrator, from their excessive heights to their affinity for catching bad guys.

• My dad is about 43 feet tall.
• My mum is short; my dad says if she were any shorter, she would have to be in a car seat. Her hair is like a box, and she likes catching bad guys.
• My grandma should be smoking a cigarette. She has a medium smile.
• My dad is like a big sleepy bear; he sits around all day.

Teachers can encourage the class to have a little fun and start the process by splitting children into pairs. Then have them sit across from each other and write down a description of each other. The results can be very inspiring. It is a fun and light-hearted activity, but it’s also a great kickstarter in teaching children how to observe a person’s physical and personal attributes and learn to transfer their observations into writing.

Teaching Descriptive Writing: Describe a Person

Structure a Descriptive Paragraph:

Topic Sentence

Introduce the person you are talking about.

Supporting Sentences

• Talk about their physical appearance
• Talk about their personality
• Try to add something special about the person

Concluding Sentence

Write a concluding sentence to end the paragraph. Sum up the topic in your first line.

Teachers could provide children with a ready-made paragraph to start, in which children have to input all the adjectives and describe words to bring the character to life.

For example:

“My best friend has (long, brown, blonde) hair; she is (short and tall) and has (blue, brown, and green) eyes. She wears a (blue, green, and pink) dress and a (straw, felt top) hat. She has always been my best friend.”

You could also assign projects in class where children have to write about a person they admire. Students could use someone they’re learning about at school or their favorite family member. They should describe the person physically and remember to express their personality emotionally. Encourage older children to think outside the box using complex adjectives and strong metaphors.

For example:

Frida Kahlo was like a hurricane in a dress. Her dark brown hair and a single eyebrow made her look permanently fierce. Yet, she thought in colors that didn’t exist, and her sadness could give birth to new worlds.

Andy Warhol wore his face like people wear a hat. His hair was almost as white as snow, but he had eyes of deep black. He thought in all the colors of the rainbow—painting bright reds and blues on paper, walls, and people.

Stephen Hawking could own a room like a cat in a classroom. His glasses mirrored his cheery disposition, and his wheelchair flattened the toes of his enemies. He thought in all the ways of the universe: particles, protons, and parallel universes.

Once children have become adept at describing real people, they’re well on their way to being able to create their characters and dream up all sorts of exciting short stories. Next, they’ll have to think about using descriptive writing in fun ways, not just for people but for enchanting places and compelling plots.

Describing a person in writing is just the tip of the iceberg. But, with lots of practice, children will be well on their way to writing the next bestseller, and it all started at school with a fun little writing project.

The 10 Commandments are a set of Biblical principles that are very important in Christianity and Judaism. They are also known as the Decalogue, which is a word that comes from Ancient Greek and Latin.

The 10 Commandments can be understood as a moral guidebook explaining how people should behave toward each other. Most religions will have similar guidelines that help people make decisions and act in what they believe to be the right way.

We have listed and explained the 10 Commandments below. You can also find information about the story of the 10 Commandments as told in Exodus and Deuteronomy, two books of the Hebrew Bible.

The story of the 10 Commandments of God

The story of the 10 Commandments can be found in Exodus in the Bible. The story begins with a group of people called the Israelites. Moses was one of the Israelites, so he was part of the group. They were traveling through the desert when they came to Mount Sinai.

Moses decided to climb the mountain so that he could talk to God. He was already over 80 years old, so it was quite a challenge!

God spoke to Moses that day. He told Moses about the 10 Commandments engraved on two stone tablets. These were rules that God had made to tell people how they should live. God told Moses that people who disobeyed his Commandments would be punished.

Moses brought the two stone tablets with the 10 Commandments back to the Israelites, which were eventually written in the Bible.

The 10 Commandments of God explained

1. Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me.

This Commandment tells believers that God should be the most crucial thing they believe in. Some people take this to mean that God is the only “real” God, but it can also be understood as meaning that faith is more important than anything else. So, for example, it might mean that people shouldn’t hold things like wealth or possessions above their faith.

2. Thou shalt not make any graven image.

Like the Commandment above, this one tells people not to make any representations (like carvings or paintings) of any God, including the Christian God. Representations of gods are called “idols.”

This commandment ensures that people honor God and adequately worship Him.

3. Thou shall not call the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Like the previous two Commandments, this one is about having faith in God. It tells people not to misuse God’s name as a swear word or drop it into a conversation where it doesn’t belong.

4. Remember to keep the Lord’s Day holy.

This Commandment instructs people to take the Sabbath day as a day of physical and mental rest. It comes from the story of the world’s creation in which God took the seventh day as a day’s rest.

Jewish people honor Shabbat as a day of rest. Therefore, they don’t do any work from sundown on Friday to sunset on Saturday to follow this Commandment. Often, they will have a big meal on a Friday night with their whole family to celebrate.

After the sun has gone down, they are not allowed to do anything considered “work, ” including cooking and cleaning. Of course, different families interpret this differently, but most Jewish people will honor Shabbat by taking a day off to rest and contemplate their relationship with God.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother.

It might be a bit old-fashioned phrasing for today. However, we can interpret it as saying that people should be polite and respectful to their parents, guardians, or adults.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

This one is relatively straightforward! Even though it uses the old-fashioned version of “you,” it still applies to modern life. Several of these Commandments are pretty good rules to follow, whether you are a Christian, have another faith, or have no faith.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Some of the Commandments, like this one, are about faithfulness. The first is about devotion to God, and this is about loyalty to marriage vows. This Commandment says that married people should be loyal to each other and their vows when they marry.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

Another easy one! Whether it’s toys from your siblings or more significant thefts, this Commandment says that people should respect other people’s possessions and not steal from them.

You can see from this Commandment that there is an overlap between Christian, secular (non-religious) values and the law. The Commandments can be seen as a way to help people understand right and wrong.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

This Commandment says that we should be honest and truthful at all times. It means we cannot tell lies about others because that can be very hurtful.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

You should not take things that belong to other people. That could lead to temptation and doing something wrong, like stealing it.