Being able to use grammatical metalanguage allows for more succinct talk about grammar and discussion
of function and effects. For example, in key stage 1, a focus on verbs might start with a picturebook about
a child walking down the road. In role play children might be asked to think about different ways the
child might be going down the road: running, sprinting, trudging, gliding, scooting, skipping, dawdling…
Children enact these different verbs and discuss how they change the movement as well as suggesting
the mood of the character. These insights can then be used to build vocabulary and offer choices for
them to use in their own writing whilst developing their grammatical understanding of the function of
verbs - that they are more than simply ‘doing words’. Once children have got to grips with verbs they
can think about how adverbials modify verbs - that is, add information about how, when or where the
verb is carried out. For example, the child might trudge slowly, unwillingly, yesterday, or along the
pavement. They may not immediately remember the grammatical terms, but they are likely to remember
the way the language changes to suggest different effects.