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New
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Year 5

Practising handwriting by writing dialogue

I can write correctly punctuated dialogue in legible, cursive handwriting.

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New
New
Year 5

Practising handwriting by writing dialogue

I can write correctly punctuated dialogue in legible, cursive handwriting.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Direct speech is signalled to the reader in text by inverted commas.
  2. Direct speech can be written in a speech first sentence or a speech second sentence.
  3. Direct speech always starts with a capital letter.
  4. After forming a capital letter, you need to lift your pencil to start the next part of the word.
  5. The writing is legible and the letter sizing is consistent.

Keywords

  • Direct speech - the term used for a character speaking out loud in a text

  • Inverted commas - a pair of punctuation marks that signal direct speech to the reader

  • Speech first sentence - a sentence that includes direct speech first before the reporting clause

  • Speech second sentence - a sentence that includes direct speech second after the reporting clause

Common misconception

Some children might forget to add the capital letter for the direct speech within a speech second sentence or might try to join the capital letter to the other letters.

Model the habit of looking and thinking about your sentence before you write it. Where will my punctuation be? Where will my capital letters be? This way children will have the time to think about it before they start writing.

Writing dialogue in cursive can slow down the flow of the children's writing as they are thinking about the punctuation. Remind the children it is not just about speed but balancing accuracy and legibility too.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
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Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - physical activity
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Tall letters are also know as...
descender letters.
Correct answer: ascender letters.
x-height letters.
Q2.
Which cursive letter join is being used in this letter string?
An image in a quiz
first join
Correct answer: second join
third join
fourth join
Q3.
Which cursive letter join is being used in this letter string?
An image in a quiz
first join
second join
Correct answer: third join
fourth join
Q4.
True or false? This letter string uses all four cursive letter joins.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: false, False
Q5.
Finding a balance between writing at speed and accurate letter formation involves...
writing very fast.
writing very slow.
focusing only on the letter formation.
Correct answer: writing quickly while maintaining the correct letter formation.
Q6.
Which join is not being used in this letter string?
An image in a quiz
first join
second join
Correct answer: third join
fourth join
Q2 NA Q3 NA