Grammar in the Primary School English Language Curriculum

Analyse and discuss grammar in the Primary School Language Curriculum context.
Integrated Curriculum for Primary School (ICPS) or Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR)

The place of Grammar in KBSR

Grammar items taught and learnt must be applied both to oral work and writing exercises. Grammar should be taught in integration with the language skills (L,S,R,W). Grammar items should not be taught in isolation but rather in the context of a topic. Objective: By the end of Year 6, pupils should be able to: -use correct & appropriate rules of grammar in speech and writing

Language Content
Two sections of the KBSR English Syllables deal with grammar; i) grammar items/sentence patterns that need to be taught and specified under the different grammar categories ii) sentence patterns are given under functions and topics/areas of interest

 In English Language Curriculum Year 5, there are 16 grammar items come under the first section. For each, subcategories are specified.
1) Nouns Countable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns, Common Nouns, Proper Nouns Examples: one chair, two tables countable nouns Number,

2) Articles (with singular nouns) a (used before consonants), an (used before vowels), the , some ( about quantity or number without being precise)

3) Pronouns Personal Pronouns I, you, she Possessive Adjectives my pen, Johns bag Demonstrative Pronouns this, that Interrogative Pronouns wh questions eg. : What is this? / What are these? 4) Conjunctions: and, or, but, because, so 5) Prepositions (of location and direction)
In to against out up among On down Next to under across At the back of at along In front of

behind

through

6) Adjectives (of colour, shape, size) e.g. A fat boy, a red dress Comparative Form tall, taller, tallest Superlative Form est , most 7) Adverbs of manner (-ly) quickly, happily 8) Modals (must, should, have to, could) 9) Subject-Verb Agreement singular verb + singular noun, plural verb + plural noun 10) Simple Present Tense - for factual actions, imperatives, actions (verb + ing) 11) Simple Past Tense was, were, past simple with ed, irregular verbs

12) Positive Statements e.g. I like to eat durians./ My name is Sally. 13) Negative Statements e.g. My name is not Sally./ I dont like it. 14) Questions and Responses e.g. Is it a pencil? No, it isnt. /Yes, it is. It is raining, isnt it? 15) Sentence Types (simple and compound sentences) 16) Punctuation capital letters, question marks, full stop, comma, exclamation mark, apostrophe, indent (for paragraphs)

 For the 2nd section, there are seven different functions of sentence patterns.
1) To request for specific objects and to respond A: Can I have a glass of water? B: Sure. Here you are. 2) To ask for help and to respond accordingly. A: Help me carry this box. B: Yes, of course. 3) To talk about oneself. I like to play football. I play football everyday. I want to play in the school football team. 4) To ask questions and to give information. e.g. What do you like to....? I like to .... . How much is ....? It is RM7.50.

5) To refute statements It is not black. No, it is not black. Is this yours?..... No. 6) To accept and decline an invitation e.g. Can you come to my party? Yes, of course. / I am sorry I cant. I have to complete my homework. 7) To make suggestions and responding to them. e.g. Lets go to the beach. Okay. / No, I cant. No one is at home.

*Additional Information: For Year 6 English Language Curriculum, other than that seven different functions of sentence patterns, there are another five;
8) To volunteer (e.g. Teacher, I can do it.) 9) To show appreciation (e.g. Thank you.) 10) To express pleasure/happiness (e.g. I am happy!) 11) To encourage (e.g. Try again, Ivan. You can do it.) 12) To show concern (e.g. Are you all right, Mike?)

Examples of Integration of Grammar Items with Language Skills in the Syllabus

Learning Outcomes 1.4 Listen to and follow simple instructions and directions accurately. Grammar Items Prepositions Wh-questions Functions: Responding Ask questions Give information Activities Information Gap Activities Role-play

2.5 Talk about the people, places and moral values of the stories heard, read and view ed in simple language.
2.7 Perform a variety of functions in a social context such as exchanging greetings, making introductions, inviting people, etc.

Simple Past Tense Action Verbs Adjectives

Students talk about the people, animals or characters in the story heard/read.

To ask questions and Role-play situation to give information To accept and decline an invitation Make suggestion and responding to them

Learning Outcomes

Grammar Items

Activities

3.3 Read and understand phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and whole texts.

Adjectives Proper/Common Nouns Sentence Types Conjunctions

Students identify the adjectives used in a given text. Students underline the proper and common nouns in a text. Identify the simple and compound sentences from a text. Fill-in-the-blank exercises e.g. Find the simple past tense of the verbs in brackets
Students construct simple and compound sentences using stimulus in the form of pictures and words

4.3 Complete texts with the missing word, phrase or sentence.

4.4 Construct simple and compound sentences with guidance and independently.

Simple Past Tense Pronouns Articles

Simple Sentences Compound Sentences Conjunctions Subject-Verb Agreement

Learning Outcomes 4.6 Punctuate meaningfully.

Grammar Items Capital letters Full-stop Comma Apostrophe Exclamation mark Indents (for paragraphs) Proper Nouns Simple Present Tense Imperatives Modals Positive Statements Negative Statements

Activities Students rewrite a complete paragraph with correct punctuations students identify the proper nouns in a text and correct them by using capital letters

4.7 Give accurate information when writing messages, instructions, simple reports, and when filling out forms.

Information Transfer Students fill in a form to describe a place, using a provided stimulus Writing Instructions With a flow chart, students are asked to construct some instructions using modals and imperative words