Topic: Lessons

Jamie's Dream School

Imagine that you are not sure about the following statements, and find ways to make them sound less certain.Write three different versions for each example.

1. Amy has gone home.
2. I will definitely have the essay written by tomorrow.
3. This disease is caused by a virus.
4. The British team will win this match easily.

Rank the given examples in order from most certain to most uncertain, with most certain at the top and most uncertain at the bottom. Identify the words in the examples that help to convey certainty or uncertainty. Are they modal auxiliary verbs? Adverbs? Main verbs? What conclusions can you make about the way that individual word choices affect the certainty of expressions?

This may not be easy, and some examples may be debatable!

Compare your rankings with somebody else. Are there any areas of disagreement?

In this activity, explore how words are built out of a prefix, base form and a suffix. 

What meanings do different prefixes and suffixes have? Can any base form take any prefix or suffix? How can you manipulate language to create new forms? For example, deread is not an English word. What might it mean?

The 10 most common English words are:

Can you answer the following questions without using these 10 words?

Some things I can remember without writing them down. → AnswerI can remember some things without writing them down.

Hardbacks I wouldn’t lend to anyone. → AnswerI wouldn't lend hardbacks to anyone.

Read this extract from a novel and think about the ways in which the writer has chosen specific words to convey his description.

_{From Michael Morpurgo, Warhorse}