Year 4 English: Writing speech from memory and checking it
Part of the Year 4 English direct speech chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Writing speech from memory and checking it
Writing a line of speech from memory is a good test. Read the sentence, cover it, and write it again. Then check your writing against the sentence.
Check in this order: the spoken words, the inverted commas round them, the end mark inside the closing inverted commas, the reporting clause and its comma or full stop, and the capital letters.
When a different person starts to speak, start a new line. This helps the reader see who is talking.
| Check | Question to ask | Example |
|---|---|---|
| spoken words | Are all the exact words inside the marks? | "Hello," said Mia. |
| end mark | Is the end mark inside the closing inverted commas? | "Hello!" said Mia. |
| reporting clause | Is it outside the marks, with a comma or full stop? | said Mia. |
| capital letter | Does each new sentence in the speech start with a capital? | "Hello," said Mia. |
Key ideas
- Read the sentence, cover it, and write it from memory.
- Check the spoken words first, then the marks round them.
- Check the end mark, and check that it is inside the closing inverted commas.
- Start a new line when a different person speaks.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Time for bed
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.Mum says
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence.Mum says, "Time for bed."
- Write the answer. Mum says, "Time for bed."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Hold the rope / it is slippery
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.said Tom
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Hold the rope," said Tom, "it is slippery."
- Write the answer. "Hold the rope," said Tom, "it is slippery."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Did you enjoy the film / Yes, it was great
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.asked Mia
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Did you enjoy the film?" asked Mia. "Yes, it was great."
- Write the answer. "Did you enjoy the film?" asked Mia. "Yes, it was great."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Watch out
Watch out: do not forget the inverted commas after the second part. "Hold the rope," said Tom, "it is slippery." has two pairs of marks, one for each part of the speech.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. If your child cannot read a sentence yet, read it aloud to them first. Your child then covers the words and writes the sentence from memory. Check the marks together, one at a time.
Exercise 5F Practice: writing speech from memory
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.The bell has rung
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.Mr Lee says
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence.Mr Lee says, "The bell has rung."
- Write the answer. Mr Lee says, "The bell has rung."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Ready or not
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.said Ali
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Ready or not," said Ali.
- Write the answer. "Ready or not," said Ali.
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Pass the ball / and then run to the line
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.said Ms Hall
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Pass the ball," said Ms Hall, "and then run to the line."
- Write the answer. "Pass the ball," said Ms Hall, "and then run to the line."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Have you seen my boots / They are by the door
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.asked Oliver
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Have you seen my boots?" asked Oliver. "They are by the door."
- Write the answer. "Have you seen my boots?" asked Oliver. "They are by the door."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Who wants some juice
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.Kofi asked
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence.Kofi asked, "Who wants some juice?"
- Write the answer. Kofi asked, "Who wants some juice?"
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.We made a card for Grandma
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.said Priya
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."We made a card for Grandma," said Priya.
- Write the answer. "We made a card for Grandma," said Priya.
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.What a tall tree
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.Aisha said
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence.Aisha said, "What a tall tree!"
- Write the answer. Aisha said, "What a tall tree!"
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Fetch the ball
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.called Ben
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Fetch the ball," called Ben.
- Write the answer. "Fetch the ball," called Ben.
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Mind the step / it is a little wobbly
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.said Dad
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Mind the step," said Dad, "it is a little wobbly."
- Write the answer. "Mind the step," said Dad, "it is a little wobbly."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Build the sentence from its parts: spoken words, marks, reporting clause.
- Find the spoken words. Read the words that are said, in order.Are you hungry / We have pasta
- Find the reporting clause. It tells who spoke, and it sits outside the inverted commas.asked Dad
- Add the marks and the capital letters. Inverted commas, the end mark inside them, the comma or full stop, and a capital letter for each new sentence."Are you hungry?" asked Dad. "We have pasta."
- Write the answer. "Are you hungry?" asked Dad. "We have pasta."
Check. Read the sentence you wrote. Does each mark match its place? ✓
Watch out. Check the marks against the spoken words after you have written them.
Method. Use the split pattern for a question.
- Write the question. The question ends with a question mark inside the closing inverted commas."Are you hungry?"
- Add the reporting clause and full stop. The reporting clause is followed by a full stop, and a new sentence starts."Are you hungry?" asked Dad.
- Write the second part. The second part starts with a capital letter."We have pasta."
- Write the answer. "Are you hungry?" asked Dad. "We have pasta."
Check. Check each mark and capital letter. ✓
Watch out. A question in the first part means the reporting clause is followed by a full stop.
Method. Check one part at a time.
- Check the words. Are all the exact spoken words inside the marks?spoken words
- Check the marks. Is the end mark inside the closing inverted commas, and is the reporting clause outside?end mark inside; reporting clause outside
- Check the capitals. Does each new sentence in the speech start with a capital letter?capital letters
- Write the answer. check the spoken words, the marks, the reporting clause and the capital letters
Check. Each check is one step. ✓
Watch out. Check one thing at a time, not everything at once.