Core Skills Analysis
English: Grammar and writing
Libbie-Mae completed a Halloween-themed worksheet by choosing forms of the verb “to be”—“am,” “is” and “are”—to finish sentences. She matched “am” with “I,” “is” with singular subjects such as “the pumpkin,” and “are” with plural subjects such as “the bats” and “the children.” The sentences gave her practice using these verbs in descriptions and action statements, including “The house is spooky” and “The skeletons are dancing.” She also practised handwriting the answers on the lines and using sentence context to help decide which verb form fitted.
Tips
Tips Turn the grammar practice into a short Halloween sentence-making lesson: invite Libbie-Mae to sort subject cards into “I,” one person or thing, and more than one, then pair each group with “am,” “is” or “are.” Next, take a mini “spooky setting” walk around the home or garden and describe what she notices using complete sentences, such as “The leaves are crunchy.” She could then write a short Halloween scene with at least one example of each verb form, and read it aloud to check that the subject and verb sound right together.
Book Recommendations
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson: A lively rhyming story about a witch and her companions that offers a fun Halloween connection and plenty of sentences to notice and discuss.
- The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams: A playful Halloween story with repeated descriptions and actions that can prompt discussion of who or what each sentence is about.
- There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro: A humorous Halloween read-aloud with repeated sentence patterns that can be used to spot subjects and practise making new sentences.
Learning Standards
- English, Key Stage 2 — Grammar and vocabulary: The worksheet practised selecting appropriate verb forms (“am,” “is” and “are”) to complete sentences.
- English, Key Stage 2 — Grammar and vocabulary: Matching the verb to singular and plural subjects supported understanding of grammatical agreement and standard English verb forms.
- English, Key Stage 2 — Writing: Completing written sentences supported composing clear sentences and applying grammar when writing.
- Code note: The England National Curriculum for English does not assign standard code numbers to these individual statements; the references above identify the relevant subject, key stage and programme-of-study area.
Try This Next
- Make a three-column sorting worksheet: “am,” “is” and “are”; add Halloween subjects and match each one to the correct verb.
- Sentence challenge: write three spooky sentences—one beginning with “I am,” one with a singular subject and one with a plural subject.
- Verb-choice quiz: “The ghosts ___ floating,” “The moon ___ bright,” and “I ___ ready.”