Lesson video

Hello, I'm Miss Corbett.

And welcome to today's lesson, "Writing the end of a letter," as part of our learning around the book "Anna Hibiscus' Song".

For this lesson, as we will be writing, you need something to write with and something to write on.

It would be great if that paper could be lined.

It would also be great if you could have your success criteria nearby.

As well as that, I need your thinking brain, your listening ears, and your looking eyes.

It would also be great if you could have someone to talk to.

Can you pause the video now to make sure you have all of those things? Fantastic.

Are you back? Are we ready to go? Let's get started.

Today's learning outcome is I can write questions to a character using a question mark.

And these key words will help us to get there.

Are you ready to repeat them after me in your loud and proud voices? My turn, your turn.

"Question." "Question mark." "Adverb." First person." Well done.

Thank you so much for joining in with me.

And now we are ready for the first part of our lesson, preparing to write.

You are going to write the end of your letter today.

And when we write we need to remember so many things.

Here are some of those things that we always try to do.

Use capital letters at the start of our sentences and a full stop or a question mark at the end.

We try to write our letters neatly on the line.

We use phonics to sound out and spell words and we remember the spellings of some common exception words, those words that we can't use our phonics for.

Do you think you're up for the challenge today? Well done.

You are now going to try and be writing detectives and try and spot for my mistake.

"I like to powerfully hike up mountains with my family?" What is the mistake in that sentence? Could you pause the video now? I wonder if you spotted it.

This sentence is not a question.

Can you see there is a question mark at the end? It does not require an answer for anything.

It's not asking anything is it? "I like to powerfully hike up mountains with my family." It's just saying what I like to do.

So it should not end with a question mark, but it needs to end with something.

What should it end with? A full stop.

Let's check this one.

"I like to powerfully hike up mountains with my family." Is that better? I think it is.

Thank you for helping me.

We received some questions, didn't we, from Anna that we will answer in a letter and we have already answered the first three questions.

We have answered, "What is it like where you live?" (gasps) Well, I live in sunny, fun Blackpool.

I can see bright blue skies and I can hear noisy, chirping seagulls.

"What do your family do when they are happy?" Well, my kind, caring sister dances excitedly, and my loving, caring auntie reads calmly.

"What do you love to do with your family?" I love to hike bravely with my family.

Here are the questions that we are going to be answering today.

"What do you do when you are happy?" And, "Do you have a question for me?" Two questions.

We know that a letter is a written way to communicate to someone, and the letter often looks just like this.

We have written the introduction and greeting of the letter.

"Dear Anna, my name is," we have started the main part of the letter by answering the first three questions from Anna.

Today, we will answer questions in the first person as we are thinking about ourselves.

"I, me, my," and we will ask Anna a question too.

Finally, we will close the letter with our names.

The final question we need to answer is, "What do you do when you are happy?" So, think about all of the things that Anna's family do when they are happy.

Is this the same for you? I would like you to close your eyes and think of a happy memory, and what were you doing? Hmm.

Pause the video now and close your eyes.

Off you go.

That was such lovely thinking.

Well done.

And isn't it brilliant to think about happy memories? And to make that description even better, we can add adverbs to add detail to how we did something, and to show our emotions and feelings.

So I'm going to explain what I like to do when I am happy.

I like to energetically dance when I am happy.

So, I thought of a time that I was feeling happy, and because I was feeling so happy, it made me want to dance just like uncle Tunde in the story "Anna Hibiscus' Song." I like to energetically dance when I am happy.

My adverb here, to add detail to the verb dance is "energetically." Now in your sentence you could write, "I like to energetically dance when I am happy." Or you could write, "I like to dance energetically when I am happy." It doesn't really matter which way round you have it.

Now, you will explain what you like to do when you are happy.

"I like to," add the verb or adverb, "when I am happy." Pause the video now.

Fantastic.

Here's an example that I saw.

"I like to bravely go on rollercoasters with my family." My verb is "go", go to the rollercoasters.

And definitely brave to go on rollercoasters.

Well done.

So, how well does my sentence meet my success criteria? I'm going to read the success criteria first.

Start sentences with a capital letter and end them with a full stop or a question mark.

Use adverbs to add details to what you like to do with your family.

Ask a question ending in a question mark.

Read back to make sure my sentence makes sense.

So now I'm going to read you my sentence.

"I like to energetically dance when I am happy." Have I got a capital letter? Could you point to it for me? And when I get to the end of my idea, "when I am happy," have I got a full stop? Yes, I have.

There's my capital letter and my full stop.

Have I used an adverb to add detail to what I like to do? So what I like to do is dance and my adverb is "energetically," well done.

Have I asked a question ending in a question mark? No, my sentence isn't a question, so it doesn't need a question mark.

But that's okay because I'm sure we will meet that later.

But we did read it back to make sure it makes sense.

I like to energetically dance when I am happy.

Thank you for helping me.

Finally, Anna has asked, "Do you have any questions for me?" A question is a type of simple sentence that asks someone for an answer and it ends with a question mark.

There is my question mark.

Could you make one in the air for me? Question mark.

Well done.

Our questions often start with question words.

"Where." "Why." "What." "When." "Who." "How." "Do you." "Did you." "Can you." So they start with a question word and end with a question mark and they need to ask something that we want to find out.

Can you think of a question that you would like to ask Anna using one of these? Where do you most like to visit? Why did you decide to sing? Can you cartwheel on your own? Do you like being in the hot weather? Could you think of a sentence, pause the video now, a question sentence? Off you go.

Keep that question in your head because it might be the one that you choose to write.

First, because we're going to be writing a question, can you get your pointing finger and can you point to the question mark? Hmm, I'm going to give you five seconds to point to it.

Five, four, three, two, and one.

Did you find it? Well done.

At the top we've got a comma that might separate my adjectives.

Then I've got my question mark, which comes at the end of my question.

And then I've got my full stop, which comes at the end of my simple sentences that aren't questions.

Practise writing a question mark in the air.

Get your hands ready.

Get your magic pencils ready.

Are you ready? Question mark.

Your turn.

Well done.

Which of these, then, are questions? Remember, a question is something that needs an answer and it ends in a question mark and often starts with one of those question words.

Are you listening? A: What is your favourite thing about where you live? (gasps) That's a good question to ask to Anna.

I like going to school.

Do you enjoy visiting the beach? Stop right now! Which of those are questions? Can you pause the video now and explain how you know? Off you go.

Well done.

I gave you a clue with the first one.

What is your favourite thing about where you live? Because I said that's a good question to ask to Anna.

"I like going to school," is just a statement, a simple sentence.

It doesn't require an answer.

Do you enjoy visiting the beach? If it requires an answer, it's a question, and you can see the question mark at the end.

And stop right now! It's not a question.

And that sentence ends with an exclamation mark to show that strong emotion of shock.

Well done.

We are going to think of questions that we could ask Anna.

Let's look at some examples and you might want to pinch some of these examples or think of your own.

What is your favourite thing about living in a hot country? How did you feel when you were learning to do gymnastics? Where is your favourite place to visit? Who makes you the happiest? I would like you to get your cameras out and I would like you to take a photo of your favourite question there.

Ready? Three, two, one.

(Miss Corbett imitates camera clicking) Did you take a photo of your favourite? And don't forget that question word at the start with a capital letter and then ending in a question mark.

Well done.

So, I am going to say my question to Anna and I will also say my capital letter and my question mark.

Why do you like to sing? I'm going to say my question again.

Why do you like to sing? I have asked a question using a question mark.

There's my question word "why" and my question mark at the end.

Now you will say your question and you will also say your capital letter and your question mark.

Question mark.

Pause the video and say your question.

Well done.

Here's an example that I saw.

How did it feel to pound yams with your aunties? My question word is "how", then I have my question mark.

I'm going to say it again with my capital letter and my question mark.

How did it feel to pound yams with your aunties? Fantastic.

So how does this sentence meet my success criteria? Why do you like to sing? I've started with a capital letter and I've ended with a, not a full stop, but a question mark.

Have I used an adverb? I don't need an adverb in my question.

Have I asked a question ending in a question mark? Yes.

And have I read my sentence back to make sure it makes sense? Why do you like to sing? Yes, I have.

Fantastic, thank you for helping me.

To show a letter is finished, we're almost there, you close it by saying who it's from.

As we know who we are writing to, we can end it with "From" and then followed by your name on a new line.

So, Andeep is ready to write and end his letter.

There he is and he's going to write "From Andeep." I can see a capital F for "From" and I can see a capital A for his name "Andeep." That is how you will end your letter, but with your name.

So, we are almost ready to write.

You are going to say your sentences, then you are going to say your sentences in a low voice.

Then you are going to say them again, including your capital letters and a full stop or a question mark.

Then you are going to whisper them to your pencil.

Okay, my turn first.

I'm going to say my sentence, my first sentence.

I like to energetically play when I am happy.

I'm going to ask my question in a lower voice.

Why do you like to sing? Then I'm going to say them again, including my capital letters and full stops or question marks.

"I like to energetically play when I am happy." "Why do you like to sing?" New line.

"From Miss Corbett." And I'm finished.

Finally, before you're ready to write, I want you to whisper those to your pencil.

Can you pause the video and follow those steps now? Pause the video and off you go.

Thank you so much for rehearsing your sentences so brilliantly.

I heard you saying them clearly.

I heard you saying them in a low voice.

I heard you including your capital letters, your full stops, and your question marks, and to show your new line to say who your letter is from.

I think I'm ready to write.

Do you think you are ready to write? Fantastic 'Cause the next part of our lesson, the final part of the lesson, is writing the end of a letter.

Let's remind ourselves of our success criteria for today's writing.

Then we will read some sentences to check if they meet it.

We are going to try and start our sentences with a capital letter and end them with a full stop or a question mark.

We will use adverbs to add detail to explain what you like to do with your family.

And we will ask a question and end it with a question mark.

Then we will read back our sentences to make sure they make sense.

Let's have a look at this sentence.

"I like to play board games happily with my family." I can see a capital letter "I", can you see it? When you get to the end of your idea, is there a full stop? "I like to play board games happily with my family." Yes, there is.

I can also see an adverb.

My verb is "play" and how do we play the games? Happily.

Have I used a question mark? No, because this is not a question, but that's okay.

But we have read our writing back to make sure it makes sense.

Let's have a look at one more.

(gasps) I think it's a question.

"Who makes you the happiest?" My sentences start with a capital letter and this time it ends with a question mark.

I don't need to use an adverb, but I have asked a question using a question mark, and I read it back to make sure it makes sense.

I think you are ready to help me with my writing.

Thank you so much.

I can't wait.

I am ready to write the end of my letter.

I have got my success criteria underneath my beginning and middle of my letter so far.

So it'd be great if you could do that too, but don't worry if not.

I've also got lined paper to write on.

So my first sentence is going to be "I like to energetically play when I am happy." Because I'm explaining what I like to do when I'm happy.

"I like to energetically play when I am happy." So I'm going to start in my margin with my capital letter, "I".

"Like," sound it out with me.

"I" is a split digraph, "like." "I like to," ooh a common exception word.

T with an O spells "to." "I like to energetically," (gasps) It's a good job I've seen that word before 'cause that would be tricky to write but we could also break it down.

"Energetic." E-N-E-R-getic.

Now in "energy," the J sound is being made by my letter "G".

That's strange.

"Energetic, energetic." Now some adverbs need "energetically." "Energetically." "Energetically." "I like to energetically play." Sound that out with me.

"Play, play." I know it's A-Y because that likes to be at the end.

"I like to energetically play," I've just got space for "when".

"When." Hmm, "wen." That doesn't look quite right.

I think I need a letter between my W and my E.

I know! Question words quite often like "when," quite often like a letter "H" in between, making a woo.

I'm going to cross that out and try again.

That's why it's so important to read back our writing.

So now I've run out of space, so I'm going to start a new line.

"W-H" that's better, E-N, "when." "I like to energetically play when I am happy." Which letter is it that makes the E sound at the end of adjectives? The letter "Y".

"When I am happy." "I like to energetically play when I am happy." I've finished my idea, so I need a full stop.

Now I need to ask my question to Anna.

My question is, "Why do you like to sing?" So we need a capital letter "Y".

Now, we just talked about that.

Our questions like the letter "H".

"Why do," another common exception section word.

Same pattern, though.

"D" with an "O" spells "do." "Why do you," Y-O-U.

"Why do you," I've run out of space, "like." My split diagraph again, "to," we've already written that.

"Sing," sound out sing with me.

S-I-N-G, "sing" "Why do you like to sing?" Do I need a full stop or a question mark? I need a question mark because I've asked a question.

"Why do you like to sing?" I finished my letter, so all I need to do is sign it off "From, " and then my name, "Miss Corbett." "From," I've got a capital letter.

"Miss," capital letter for my name, "Corbett".

I'm so pleased that I finished my letter.

Let's check.

Have I started my sentences with a capital letter and either ended them with a full stop or a question mark? "I," I've got my finger on my capital letter, "like to energetically play when I am happy." "Why do you like to sing?" "From Miss Corbett," it doesn't need a full stop, 'cause it isn't a sentence.

Use adverbs.

I have used "energetically," that long one.

Have I asked a question with a question mark? Yes, I have.

And we have read back our writing together to make sure it makes sense.

Thank you so much for helping me finish my letter and I can't wait to see yours.

Now, it's your turn to write the end of your letter.

You helped me so brilliant with mine that I think you are ready to go.

Don't forget to check your success criteria.

Pause the video now.

Fantastic.

You have got to the end of your letter! I hope you are very proud.

Give yourselves a pat on the back.

Well done.

Now, let's just check that I met my success criteria before you check yours.

Have I started my sentences with a capital letter, and have I ended them with a full stop or a question mark? "I like to energetically dance when I am happy." "Why do you like to sing?" Have I used adverbs to add details what I like to do with my family? Well, I like to dance with them.

This is what Andeep has said, and he does it "energetically." His question is, "Why do you like to sing?" I can see a capital letter and a question mark.

And we have read it back and it has an excellent closing, "From Andeep".

Can you now double-check your success criteria and make sure that you have met it? And don't forget to make sure that you have a closing "From" with your name.

Remember, we're all learning, so don't worry if you have some corrections to make before you fully meet your success criteria.

Can you check for me now? Pause the video.

Fantastic.

What an amazing lesson of learning.

You have written an entire letter and we have learned that a letter might include a question that you can reply to.

And a further question might be asked at the end of a letter so someone can reply back because we've asked someone a question, so they might want to reply back to us.

A question is a type of simple sentence that asks someone for an answer and ends with a question mark.

Letters need to end with a closing and the writer's name, so the reader knows who it's from.

Thank you so much for learning with me today and I hope you're really proud of everything you've achieved.

Bye!.