know the spelling rule ‘put i before e except after c’ for words such as piece, receive, deceit.
Now we are going to give you the rest of that spelling rule: ‘put i before e except after c or when it sounds like a’ as in neighbour or neigh.
In the next activity, we are going to check your understanding of this rule. Can you spell words correctly using the following combinations of letters?
1. Put ‘ie’, ‘ei’ or ‘ai’ into the following words:
(a) r..n – Strip of leather around horse’s head to control it
(b) r..n – Water that falls in small drops from clouds in the sky
(c) rec..pt – Paper showing that you have paid for something
(d) dec..ve – Make someone believe something that is not true
(e) conc..t – Attitude showing too high an opinion of oneself
(f) bel..ve – Regard as true
(g) f..rce – Doing something with energy and strong feelings, sometimes negative and violent
(h) repr..ve – A delay before something bad happens
(i) s..ve – Used in the kitchen to sift flour or other things
(j) t..r – Layer on top of another layer
2. Check your words against your partner’s. If there is a difference, decide who is right and why.
3. Change yours if necessary.
4. Look up the meanings of any words you do not know and write them into your own vocabulary and spelling book.
Punctuation revision
You already know a lot about punctuation. In the next activity we are going to make sure that you remember it all. It is very important to be able to punctuate your writing correctly if you want to be understood. Look at the example in the box below:
Can you see the difference in meaning between the two, even though the words are the same? They mean the exact opposite of each other. Look carefully at the punctuation and the difference in meanings it creates in the sentences. If you remove all the punctuation except the full stop at the end, you cannot tell which meaning is intended. It is the punctuation that gives the meanings.
1. Rewrite the following sentences, punctuating them correctly.
(a) Do you know who this is in the photo
(b) I think it is my Dads brother
(c) Look at this photo of my mom when she was 10 years old
(d) She said I don’t remember looking like that
(e) This photo is clear colourful and pretty
2. Write a sentence using each of the following punctuation marks:
(a) a full stop
(b) a question mark
(c) a comma
(d) an exclamation mark
(e) inverted commas
3. Punctuate the following paragraph. Also put in the capital letters where necessary:
4. Below are five sentences. Rewrite them in the correct order as a paragraph. Also punctuate them so that the paragraph makes sense.
(a) we usually go to a different place in south africa every year
(b) one day I hope to go overseas on my own with my own camera
(c) when we go on holiday my father always brings his camera
(d) my parents say we should get to know our own country before we explore other countries
(e) one of his favourite things is to take photographs of us all his family and of the places we go to
Read a comic strip
Look at the comic strip below:
This comic strip has three frames, each showing a different picture. What the characters say in each frame is written in a speech bubble pointing to their mouths. The artist draws expressions and marks to show feelings and movements.
In the activity below you will be asked what you understand in this comic strip.
1. Look at the comic strip above and discuss the answers with a partner.
(a) The boy’s first answer to his mother’s question seems positive. What does it suggest is the reason why the boy is home early?
(b) Why is the boy really home early? How do you know?
(c) Describe the mother’s feelings in each of the three frames.
(d) How does the artist show these feelings?
(e) What makes this comic strip funny?
(f) What type of sentences are the five in the comic strip?
2. Write the sentences in the comic strip in reported speech, past tense.
3. You are going to draw your own cartoon or comic strip. Think of a funny situation and use speech bubbles and expressions to illustrate the words spoken. You can have one, two or three frames. Try not to copy a cartoon or comic strip you have read or seen somewhere else.
4. Swap your cartoon with your partner’s. Discuss and comment on each other’s cartoon.
5. Put all cartoons or comic strips up in the classroom for everyone to see.
More visual literacy
We have looked at and discussed photos, drawings and cartoons. Another kind of drawing we often see is a poster. Look at the examples below:
There are several things to notice about posters:
• Their purpose
