Primary English: Knowledge and Understanding - Medwell Jane A. 2014
Self-assessment questions
These self-assessment questions are included so you can check how well you have assimilated the knowledge and understanding presented in this book. The answers to these questions are in the following section.
Chapter 2 — Spoken English and Standard English
1. What is Standard English?
2. What three variations affect spoken English?
3. Explain the two main elements of regional variation.
4. What is ’language register’?
5. How can children be helped to recognise and practise the use of Standard English and other dialects?
Chapter 3 — The acquisition of language
1. What are the three main theories of language acquisition?
2. The behaviourist view is based on which psychologist’s work?
3. What is the three-part sequence underpinning the behaviourist approach?
4. The generative/innatist approach was based on whose theory?
5. What was the main criticism of the behaviourist approach?
6. What is ’motherese’?
7. Briefly describe the social/interactive approach.
8. What is the LAD and which theory does it support?
9. What is the LASS and which theory does it support?
10. Why is it important that children have opportunities to experiment with language/be wrong sometimes?
Chapter 4 — Representing sound in writing
1. What is phonological awareness?
2. What are the following:
a) A syllable?
b) Onset?
c) Rime?
d) A phoneme?
3. How many vowel sounds and consonant sounds are there in English?
4. What is the IPA?
5. What is phonics teaching?
6. Name three common consonant digraphs.
7. What is the visual strategy for learning spellings that was suggested by Margaret Peters?
8. Why is it important to teach fluent letter formation early in the teaching of handwriting?
Chapter 5 — Words, vocabulary and morphology
1. Name five languages that have influenced English following invasion and settlement of the British Isles.
2. What was the main reason for the standardisation of written English between 1400 and 1800?
3. What do the following prefixes mean? Give an example of their use.
a) Ad-
b) Ambi-
c) Ante-
d) Ant(i)-
4. What is etymology?
5. Name three of the six processes that have caused new words to enter English.
6. What is morphology and why is it important for children to study it?
7. What is a morpheme?
8. What are the two types of affix?
9. Give an example of an inflexional suffix for each of the following:
a) A noun
b) An adjective
c) The past participle of a regular verb
d) The present participle of a regular verb
Chapter 6 — The grammar of the sentence in Standard English
1. What are three benefits of teaching children about grammar?
2. What is a sentence?
3. Which of the following are sentence fragments and which are run-on sentences?
a) Many of the women running in the fun-run last week.
b) In Yorkshire, the cheese made in Wensleydale.
c) The window catch is broken, it needs mending.
d) Working far too late for his own good.
e) The snow is falling, put on your boots.
f) They shouldn’t need help, it is easy to find.
4. List four different possible functions of a sentence.
5. Define these parts of a sentence:
a) A subject
b) A predicate
c) An object
6. What is the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb?
7. What is a clause?
8. How is a phrase different from a clause?
9. Name four types of phrase.
Chapter 7 — The components of sentences
1. What are the eight main word classes or ’parts of speech’ that are components of a sentence?
2. Name the four types of common noun.
3. Which type of noun should be indicated by the use of initial capital letters?
4. Complete the following table of personal pronouns:
Subject of a sentence |
Object of a sentence |
|
First person singular |
||
First person plural |
5. Which kind of determiner are the following words:
a) the
b) a
c) an
d) every
e) several
f) twenty
g) third
6. Use the general rules for formation of comparative and superlative adjectives to complete the table:
Adjective |
Comparative form |
Superlative form |
broad |
||
sleepy |
||
intelligent |
7. Which form of regular verbs are the following?
a) to start
b) washed
c) laughing
d) wink(s)
8. Which form of this irregular verb are the following?
a) swum
b) swimming
c) swim(s)
d) to swim
e) swam
9. What are the three types of conjunction?
10. Are the following words adverbs or prepositions?
a) slow
b) quickly
c) through
d) tomorrow
e) sudden
f) where
g) across
h) young
i) beside
Chapter 8 — Punctuation
1. Which of the following definitions is more accurate?
a) Punctuation is used to show where speakers should take a breath.
b) Punctuation is used to make clear the grammatical structure of a sentence and to clarify its meaning.
2. Match up the following functions of punctuation with the correct punctuation mark:
3. full stop, comma, colon, semicolon, question mark, exclamation mark, apostrophe, hyphen, dash, brackets, capital letter, inverted commas/speech or quotation marks
a) Indicates omissions by marking the places where letters are missed out
b) Links statements that are closely related
c) Used at the end of a sentence that asks a direct question
d) Mark off additional information in a stronger way than commas or dashes
e) Used to create a new noun from two other words
f) Used to indicate a proper noun
g) Indicates a hesitation or dramatic pause
h) Marks off phrases beginning with participles
i) Used to introduce a list
j) Indicates direct speech
k) Used to indicate certain abbreviations
l) Signifies a sentence where a special note of urgency is required
Chapter 9 — Cohesion: grammar at the level of the text
1. Cohesive references can be made to other parts of the text in two ways. Define these.
2. Name three types of reference tie.
3. What is substitution?
4. What is ellipsis?
5. Explain the four types of conjunction.
6. What is lexical cohesion?
Chapter 10 — The qualities of stories
1. Explain the rationale for the following reasons why stories are so important for children:
a) To satisfy their curiosity
b) To help them make sense of the world
c) To experience the world vicariously
d) To put them in touch with a common culture
e) To improve their literacy
f) To extend their knowledge and experience of language forms
g) To give them pleasure
2. List three different genres of children’s stories.
3. Put the main stages of story structure into the right order:
✵ The inciting moment
✵ The ending
✵ The opening
✵ The development
✵ The denouement
4. List the alternative names for:
a) The story opening
b) The inciting moment
c) The denouement
d) The ending
5. What are the suggested criteria for evaluating and making judgements about stories?
Chapter 11 — The qualities of poetry
1. Which poetic devices are used in John Agard’s poem Poetry Jump Up?
2. In Masefield’s classic poem Cargoes:
a) How is the structure organised?
b) How does Masefield use assonance?
c) What other devices does Masefield use?
3. From the definitions given, decide which poetry forms are listed:
a) A poem where the size and shape of the letters, the fonts used, their boldness and their effects support its meaning
b) Two consecutive lines linked by rhythm and rhyme
c) A poem where the appearance on the page reflects its theme
d) A poem that tells a story, sometimes in ballad form
e) A Japanese verse with 17 syllables distributed over three lines
f) A poem that is written to be acted out
Chapter 12 — The qualities of drama
1. In examining why drama is important, w\hat are the four main functions of drama in primary classrooms?
2. Describe how the following drama activities can make a contribution to children’s language and range of experience.
a) Puppets
b) Hot seating
c) Improvisation
d) Simulation
e) Tableaux/thought tracking
3. In the layout of play scripts, what are the key elements that must be made clear?
4. What is iambic pentameter?
5. Which are the main elements that should be considered when analysing play scripts?
Chapter 13 — Looking at information books
1. Why should stories not be overused as a major experience in the primary years?
2. What are the criteria that can be used to look critically at information books?
3. Match the correct definitions to the following genres/text types and give an example of each:
a) Records feelings/events as they occur
b) Puts forward an argument in favour of a particular point of view
c) Retells in narrative form a sequence of events
d) Guides the carrying out of a set of actions
e) Describes/explains particular phenomena
f) Presents arguments and information from differing viewpoints before reaching a conclusion based on the evidence
g) Presents information in an ordered, easily retrievable way
Chapter 14 — Electronic texts
1. Give three examples of everyday situations in which you may need to read an electronic text.
2. Give three examples of everyday situations in which you may need to write an electronic text.
3. What are the three main characteristics that make electronic texts different from traditional print-media texts?
4. What implications do these differences have for the teaching of literacy?