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SavannahYear 8
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EnglishPoetry: conventions and precise words30 min★★★ difficulty

Stealing better words from what you read

Vocabulary marks are not for long words; they are for exact ones. This lesson builds a habit of collecting words and grammatical patterns from your reading and using them on purpose.

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Draw on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and use these consciously in their writing and speech

Key learning points

  • • Precision beats size
  • • A word bank with three columns
  • • Steal grammar too
  • • The fake-fancy trap

This lesson at a glance

  • 30 minutes
  • 19 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

vocabularygrammaticalconstructionsreadinglistening

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 19 · Discover5%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 19

Watch first

Stealing better words from what you read

An English teaching video on this topic from TED-Ed. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Draw on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and use these consciously in their writing and speech

2

What you already know

Part 2 of 19

Before we start

What you already know

You should be able to look up an unfamiliar word and record what it means.

Recap: Poetic conventions and what they are for
3

Key words

Part 3 of 19

Key words

Words you'll need today

Precision
Choosing the word that means exactly what you mean.
Tier two vocabulary
Useful academic words that appear across many subjects, like consequence or convey.
Collocation
Words that habitually go together, like 'heavy rain' rather than 'strong rain'.
Nominalisation
Turning an action into a noun, as in 'the collapse of the mill'.
Register match
Making sure a new word fits the formality of the piece.
4

Learning cycle

Part 4 of 19

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Collecting words that work

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

5

Explore the idea

Part 5 of 19

Learn

Precision beats size

'The crowd was big' can become 'the crowd was restless', 'the crowd was penned in', 'the crowd was patient'. None of those is a longer word; each says something different and true. Reach for the accurate word, not the impressive one. Examiners can tell the difference instantly.

6

Explore the idea

Part 6 of 19

Learn

A word bank with three columns

Keep three columns: the word, the sentence you met it in, and your own sentence. Copying only a definition rarely sticks. Meeting 'bandaged' in a description of shutters and then writing your own sentence about a taped-up window is what fixes both the meaning and the situation the word suits.

7

Quick check

Part 7 of 19

Quick check

Which is the strongest upgrade of 'the crowd was big'?

8

Quick check

Part 8 of 19

Quick check

Which pairing is the correct collocation?

9

Reset break

Part 9 of 19

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
10

Learning cycle

Part 10 of 19

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Using them without sounding fake

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

11

Explore the idea

Part 11 of 19

Learn

Steal grammar too

Patterns are as useful as words. From 'Terrified, she opened the door' you can take fronting. From 'The lift had been out for a fortnight, so she took the stairs' you can take the consequence structure. Copy the shape and change the content - that is not cheating, it is how writers have always learned.

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 19

Learn

The fake-fancy trap

'The malevolent precipitation descended' is worse than 'the rain came down hard'. New vocabulary fails when it does not collocate ('strong rain'), when it clashes with the register, or when it is used without a clear sense of its meaning. Use a new word first in a low-stakes place, then in an assessment.

13

Quick check

Part 13 of 19

Quick check

'The collapse of the mill' shows...

14

Quick check

Part 14 of 19

Quick check

Why record the sentence you met a new word in?

15

Common mix-ups

Part 15 of 19

Common mix-ups

Things people often get wrong

  • Longer is not stronger - precision is the marked quality.
  • A thesaurus swap can change the meaning; check the word in a real sentence.
  • Vocabulary marks include using ordinary words accurately, not just rare ones.
  • Copying a sentence pattern is legitimate learning; copying someone's whole sentence is not.
16

Challenge round

Part 16 of 19

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

17

Challenge round

Part 17 of 19

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

New ____ fails when it does not collocate ('strong rain'), when it clashes with the register, or when it is used without a clear sense of its meaning.

18

Mastery quiz

Part 18 of 19

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Stealing better words from what you read

6 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Tier two vocabulary is...

  2. 2. 'The malevolent precipitation descended' fails mainly because...

  3. 3. Register match means...

  4. 4. Stealing a sentence pattern from your reading is...

  5. 5. The safest way to try a new word is...

  6. 6. Vocabulary marks reward...

19

Lesson round-up

Part 19 of 19

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

The last bus

The bus shelter smelled of wet coats. Mira pressed her timetable flat against the glass, as though staring at the numbers might make the 9:42 appear. Rain tapped the roof in small, impatient fingers. Somewhere behind her, a shop shutter came down with a sound like a full stop.

She had been brave all day. She had been brave in the corridor, brave at lunch, brave when the register reached her name and nobody looked up. Being brave, she decided, was mostly a matter of keeping your face still.

Headlights swung around the corner and lit the puddles gold. Mira picked up her bag. Tomorrow she would say something. Tonight she would simply go home.

Original extract written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Find two words or phrases that show how Mira is feeling, and explain what each one suggests.
  2. How does the writer use the weather and the sounds to build the mood? Use a short quotation.
  3. Write the next paragraph in the same style, keeping the writer's short sentences at the moments that matter.

  • Reading response

    Reading

    Read the extract again, then write about how the writer makes you feel that way. Use a short quotation and explain your choice of words.

    2 paragraphs (PEE)

  • Extended writing

    Writing

    Write your piece in full, then redraft the opening so it hooks the reader.

    250–350 words

  • Reading log

    Reading

    Note the book, the pages you read and one thing you noticed about the writing.

    20 minutes' reading

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 19 · Watch & discover

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