• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Choose the best concluding sentence; Topic sentences and paragraphs). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which sentence sounds most like a CONCLUDING sentence? (Some owls are brown. / Owls have big eyes. / In conclusion, owls are amazing night-time hunters. / Owls can turn their heads.) → In conclusion, owls are amazing night-time hunters.Prompt: Concluding sentences often begin with words like In conclusion, All in all, Overall, So or That is why.
2. Hedgehogs are helpful visitors to gardens. They eat slugs and beetles that damage plants. They also need gaps in fences to travel between gardens at night. Which sentence would make the best ending? (My cousin has a cat called Pepper. / Slugs are slimy. / So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike. / What is your favourite animal?) → So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike.Prompt: A concluding sentence wraps up the whole paragraph.
3. Bees are vital to our food supply. They pollinate fruits and vegetables. Without them, many crops would fail. My favourite fruit is the mango. Farmers often keep hives near their fields. Which sentence does NOT belong in this paragraph? (My favourite fruit is the mango. / Without them, many crops would fail. / Farmers often keep hives near their fields. / They pollinate fruits and vegetables.) → My favourite fruit is the mango.Prompt: What is the paragraph mostly about?

• Show two openings to the same piece of writing and ask which makes them want to read on.
• Share the objective: Which sentence does not belong in the paragraph?. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Read the paragraph. Which sentence does not belong? (1) Robots help people in many ways. (2) Some robots build cars in factories. (3) My brother's bike is blue. (4) Others explore places too dangerous for humans, like deep oceans. (5) Doctors even use robots to help with delicate operations.
• Step 1: The paragraph is about: "Robots help people in many ways." One sentence is off the topic.
• Step 2: So the answer is: My brother's bike is blue.
• Answer: My brother's bike is blue.
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Read the paragraph. Which sentence does not belong? (1) Sea otters are clever tool users. (2) They float on their backs and place a flat stone on their chests. (3) Giraffes have very long necks. (4) Then they smash shellfish against the stone to open them. (5) Some otters keep a favourite stone in a pouch of skin under their arm. (Some otters keep a favourite stone in a pouch of skin under their arm. / Giraffes have very long necks. / They float on their backs and place a flat stone on their chests. / Sea otters are clever tool users.) → Giraffes have very long necks.Prompt: Read the first sentence: it tells you what the paragraph is about.
2. Read the start of the paragraph. Which sentence would fit best as the next sentence? Recycling helps protect the planet. When we recycle paper, fewer trees need to be cut down. Recycling metal cans saves energy. (Then they smash shellfish against the stone to open them. / Doctors even use robots to help with delicate operations. / Some penguins can dive more than 500 metres deep. / Recycling plastic keeps it out of rivers and seas.) → Recycling plastic keeps it out of rivers and seas.Prompt: What is the paragraph about? Look at the first sentence.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Read the paragraph. Which sentence does not belong? (1) The Amazon rainforest is home to amazing wildlife. (2) Jaguars hunt along the riverbanks. (3) Penguins live mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. (4) Colourful toucans fly between the trees. (5) Tiny poison dart frogs live on the forest floor. (Jaguars hunt along the riverbanks. / Penguins live mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. / Colourful toucans fly between the trees. / Tiny poison dart frogs live on the forest floor.) → Penguins live mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.Prompt: Read the first sentence: it tells you what the paragraph is about.
2. Read the start of the paragraph. Which sentence would fit best as the next sentence? Getting ready for a sleepover is fun. First, pack your pyjamas and toothbrush. Next, choose a game or a film to share. (Finally, remember your sleeping bag and pillow. / Jaguars hunt along the riverbanks. / Then they smash shellfish against the stone to open them. / Instead, their wings work like flippers for swimming.) → Finally, remember your sleeping bag and pillow.Prompt: What is the paragraph about? Look at the first sentence.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.