Today’s focus was on Fronted Adverbials and Expanded Noun Phrases. Now, I don’t know about you but I was scratching my head slightly at this. It’s been a long time since I’ve really had to break down sentence structures and think about how to formulate a more descriptive phrase. I have been told by a few people that I have a way with words, it just sorta comes naturally to me.
For those of you that don’t know, Fronted Adverbials are basically adverbs that start the sentence; “Cautiously, he crept along the corridor”. For me this is just one way in which I would naturally form a descriptive sentence. For the kids, this is new(ish) stuff! Having to revisit this and look at it from a pupils perspective really got me thinking.
Next was Expanded Noun Phrases. Basically you take your Noun, think about it a little and stick a couple of adjectives in front of it. Simple! However, if you have anything that has colour (the sea, for example) be prepared for 101 ways to describe it (e.g. blue, navy, aquamarine, turquoise, etc…). Trying to get the children to come away from this seems to be one of the biggest hurdles, although once it is passed the descriptions become a lot better.
I like writing, so this new (for me, anyway) way of looking at what these parts of a sentence are is refreshing. It’s helping me to broaden my own understanding of what makes good writing.
Stay tuned for more updates, especially on what I am learning from these 9 year olds!
