Year 6 · SPaG · Summer: After the test: redrafting
Year 6 redrafting sentences worksheet and PowerPoint
To improve sentences by making them more concise, choosing more precise words, and varying how they begin.
Improving sentences
Good writers redraft: they read their work again and improve it. Look for sentences that are too long, words that are too vague, and sentences that all begin the same way.
| concise | cut words that are not needed: The dog barked loudly. |
|---|---|
| precise | choose exact words: went → crept, sprinted |
| varied openings | begin with different words: Panting, she checked her watch. |
| right style | formal writing needs formal words; stories need vivid ones |
Examples
- The dog made a loud noise by barking. → The dog barked loudly.
- The tiger went through the grass. → The tiger crept through the grass.
Key words
- redraft
- to rewrite to improve
- concise
- short and to the point
- precise
- exact
- vague
- not clear or exact
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 you wrote last week. Redraft it: cut words you do not need, replace three vague words with precise ones, and vary the openings of your sentences.
Pupil target: I can improve a sentence.
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 redrafting sentences PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 71 of 72 in the Year 6 SPaG scheme, in the Summer term, block “After the test: redrafting”. It is taught after the SATs grammar test in May, as a writing skill the test does not ask.
Other lessons in this block
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