Year 6 · SPaG · Spring: Parenthesis, dashes and hyphens
Year 6 using hyphens worksheet and PowerPoint
To use hyphens in compound adjectives, numbers, and words with prefixes such as co- and ex-.
Where hyphens go
Use a hyphen to join two or more words that work together as one description before a noun, to write compound numbers, and after some prefixes. Do not use a hyphen after an -ly adverb.
| compound adjective | a well-known author, a second-hand bike, a five-year-old boy |
|---|---|
| numbers | twenty-five, thirty-two (from 21 to 99) |
| prefixes | co-operate, ex-headteacher, re-enter |
| no hyphen | a happily married couple, a brightly lit room |
Examples
- She is a well-known author.
- There were thirty-two children.
Key words
- hyphen
- a short line that joins words
- compound
- made from two or more words
- prefix
- letters added to the start of a word
- adverb
- tells us how, when or where; -ly adverbs take no hyphen
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: Write a short description of a person using at least four hyphenated words (for example 'a tall, dark-haired, soft-spoken man').
Pupil target: I can use hyphens correctly.
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 using hyphens PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 30 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Spring term, block “Parenthesis, dashes and hyphens”. It is taught before the SATs grammar test in May.
Other lessons in this block
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