• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Choose the best concluding sentence; Choose the best summary of a short text). 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? (Bikes have two wheels. / All in all, cycling is a fun way to stay healthy. / Some people cycle to work. / My bike is green.) → All in all, cycling is a fun way to stay healthy.Prompt: Concluding sentences often begin with words like In conclusion, All in all, Overall, So or That is why.
2. Wind turbines turn moving air into electricity. The wind spins the blades, which turn a generator inside the tower. Wind power does not burn fuel, so it does not release smoke, but turbines only work when the wind blows. Which is the best summary? (Turbines have blades. / Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy. / There is a generator in the tower. / Wind turbines are the best invention ever.) → Wind turbines use spinning blades to make clean electricity, but only when it is windy.Prompt: A summary is short and covers the WHOLE text, not just one part.
3. 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? (What is your favourite animal? / So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike. / Slugs are slimy. / My cousin has a cat called Pepper.) → So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike.Prompt: A concluding sentence wraps up the whole paragraph.

• Show two openings to the same piece of writing and ask which makes them want to read on.
• Share the objective: Choose the strongest conclusion. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Bees pollinate many of the crops we eat. Sadly, in many places their numbers are falling. The good news is that people can help by planting flowers and avoiding pesticides. Which is the strongest conclusion for this article?
• Step 1: Strong conclusions sum up, reflect or call the reader to act; weak ones just stop or add random facts.
• Step 2: So the answer is: Bees feed the world in secret; a few flowers on every balcony could help repay them.
• Answer: Bees feed the world in secret; a few flowers on every balcony could help repay them.
• 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. What kind of ending is this? Please vote for a school garden at Friday's meeting. (sums up the main points / calls the reader to act / reflects on a feeling or lesson) → calls the reader to actPrompt: Does it tell the reader to do something, sum up facts, or show what a character feels or learned?
2. Sam had always been scared of the sea. All summer he took swimming lessons, one nervous length at a time. On the last day of the holiday, he swam out to the rocks beside his sister. Which is the strongest ending for this story? (Then Sam went home and had dinner. / As the waves lifted him, Sam laughed. The sea did not feel like an enemy any more. / The sea is made of salt water. / And that was the story of Sam.) → As the waves lifted him, Sam laughed. The sea did not feel like an enemy any more.Prompt: A good ending links back to the main idea or the beginning.

• 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. What kind of ending is this? Please vote for a school garden at Friday's meeting. (sums up the main points / calls the reader to act / reflects on a feeling or lesson) → calls the reader to actPrompt: Does it tell the reader to do something, sum up facts, or show what a character feels or learned?
2. Bees pollinate many of the crops we eat. Sadly, in many places their numbers are falling. The good news is that people can help by planting flowers and avoiding pesticides. Which is the strongest conclusion for this article? (Bees feed the world in secret; a few flowers on every balcony could help repay them. / The end. / Bees are insects. / That is all I know about bees.) → Bees feed the world in secret; a few flowers on every balcony could help repay them.Prompt: A good ending links back to the main idea or the beginning.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-5.