Year 6 · SPaG · Summer: After the test: cohesion
Year 6 recognising cohesion: linking ideas worksheet and PowerPoint
To recognise how sentences are linked by adverbials such as however and therefore, and by pronouns that refer back.
Linking sentences
A text is cohesive when its sentences are linked so that it reads smoothly. Writers link sentences with linking adverbials and with pronouns that point back to something already mentioned.
| contrast | however, nevertheless, on the other hand |
|---|---|
| result | therefore, consequently, as a result |
| time | meanwhile, afterwards, later, finally |
| addition | also, furthermore, in addition, moreover |
| referring back | she, it, they, this point back to a noun in an earlier sentence |
Examples
- The day was hot. However, the water was cold.
- Mia lost her key. She searched the garden.
Key words
- cohesion
- the way ideas are linked in a text
- adverbial
- a word or phrase that adds information to a verb or sentence
- linking word
- joins ideas between sentences
- pronoun
- takes the place of a noun
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Take a paragraph from a story you are reading. Underline every linking word and circle every pronoun that refers back. Say what each one does.
Pupil target: I can see how sentences are linked.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the recognising cohesion: linking ideas PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 62 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Summer term, block “After the test: cohesion”. It is taught after the SATs grammar test in May, as a writing skill the test does not ask.
Other lessons in this block
- Paragraphs in fiction
- Paragraphs in non-fiction
- Ordering sentences within a paragraph
- Linking paragraphs in a text
- Avoiding repetition
- Using cohesive devices
- Ellipsis
- Layout and organisation of texts
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