• 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? (Worms live in soil. / Carrots are orange. / Overall, our class garden was a big success. / We planted beans.) → Overall, our class garden was a big success.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? (Slugs are slimy. / What is your favourite animal? / So, a hedgehog-friendly garden is good for plants and hedgehogs alike. / 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.
3. ___ First, gather your ingredients. Next, mix them in a large bowl. Finally, bake for twenty minutes. Which is the best topic sentence? (Making muffins is simple if you follow three steps. / Muffins are delicious. / Bowls can be large or small. / My aunt has an oven.) → Making muffins is simple if you follow three steps.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) Penguins are birds that cannot fly. (2) Instead, their wings work like flippers for swimming. (3) Some penguins can dive more than 500 metres deep. (4) On land, they waddle or slide on their bellies. (5) Eagles build huge nests on cliffs. (Eagles build huge nests on cliffs. / Some penguins can dive more than 500 metres deep. / Instead, their wings work like flippers for swimming. / On land, they waddle or slide on their bellies.) → Eagles build huge nests on cliffs.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? Sea otters are clever tool users. They float on their backs and place a flat stone on their chests. Then they smash shellfish against the stone to open them. (Next, choose a game or a film to share. / We even found a family of ladybirds on the beans. / Instead, their wings work like flippers for swimming. / 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.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 start of the paragraph. Which sentence would fit best as the next sentence? Penguins are birds that cannot fly. Instead, their wings work like flippers for swimming. Some penguins can dive more than 500 metres deep. (It makes your heart and muscles stronger. / Tiny poison dart frogs live on the forest floor. / On land, they waddle or slide on their bellies. / Finally, remember your sleeping bag and pillow.) → On land, they waddle or slide on their bellies.Prompt: What is the paragraph about? Look at the first sentence.
2. Read the paragraph. Which sentence does not belong? (1) Exercise is good for your body and your mind. (2) It makes your heart and muscles stronger. (3) It helps you sleep better at night. (4) It can also make you feel happier and calmer. (5) The Moon goes round the Earth. (It helps you sleep better at night. / It can also make you feel happier and calmer. / The Moon goes round the Earth. / Exercise is good for your body and your mind.) → The Moon goes round the Earth.Prompt: Read the first sentence: it tells you what the paragraph is about.

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