teaching direct speech year 4

Find out why teachers and school leaders love PlanBee

• 📚 Cross-Curricular Topics
• ✂️ Design & Technology
• ♻️ Education for Social Responsibility
• 🌍 Geography
• ⛪️ Religious Education
• 🎉 Special Days
• 🦸‍♀️ Special People
• 🏫 Whole School CURRICULUM PACKS
• Vision and Principles
• Our Curriculum Offer
• Whole School Curriculum Packs
• Become a Whole School Member
• FREE Schemes of Work
• Sample Packs
• Learn at Home
• Objective Checker
• How does it work?
• Special Offers
• BECOME A MEMBER 🧡

Direct Speech

What is direct speech.

Direct speech is a sentence where the exact words spoken by somebody are recorded in inverted commas (also known as speech marks). Inverted commas are used to show which written words are spoken by the character and other punctuation is used to help the reader understand when each character starts and stops speaking. Usually, the spoken words are accompanied by a reporting clause which contains a speech verb and reveals the identity of the speaker.

How to punctuate direct speech

To punctuate direct speech, follow these simple rules:

Start a new line for each new speaker. This helps the reader to keep track of who is speaking.

Add a pair of inverted commas around the words spoken by the character. The first pair of inverted commas should go before the first spoken word and the second pair should go after the punctuation which follows the last spoken word.

Begin the spoken words with a capital letter.

Add closing punctuation to follow the last spoken word. This could be a comma, full stop, exclamation mark, question mark or even an ellipsis if the character's thoughts trail off.

Use a comma to separate the direct speech and reporting clause.

Our KS2 English Journey scheme based on the beautifully illustrated book by Aaron Becker, is a fantastic way to introduce children to direct speech punctuation.

Children tend to find rules three and four the most difficult so make sure you explicitly teach the following:

a. If the reporting clause comes before the spoken words , add a comma to separate the clause from the direct speech and a full stop within the inverted commas to indicate the end of the sentence. For example, Isa suggested, "Let's get a closer look."

b. If the reporting clause comes after the direct speech, add a comma (or other appropriate punctuation) within the inverted commas to indicate that the sentence continues and a full stop after the reporting clause to indicate the end of the sentence. For example, "Let's get a closer look," Isa suggested.

c. If the reporting clause comes in the middle of the direct speech, add a comma within the inverted commas for the first piece of speech, a comma after the reporting clause before the second piece of speech and a full stop following the reporting clause to indicate the end of the sentence. For example, "Let's get a closer look," Isa suggested, "I want to know where the tunnel leads."

When do we use direct speech?

Direct speech is used in narratives to reveal more about the thoughts, motivations and personalities of the characters, and to let new characters introduce themselves.

Using dialogue between characters is also a quick and engaging way to move on the plot of a story. For example, an instruction from a character is a useful plot device as it can prompt another character to act or move to another time or location (e.g. "Lock the door.","Go to the tower.", "Recover the diamond.").

Questions can let characters explain where they have been or what they have been doing offstage ("Why are you late?', "Where have you been?, "Why are you doing this?).

Statements can tell you more about a character's surroundings ("It's a beautiful day.", " That door wasn't there before.") or where they stand on a particular issue ("I don't agree.", "This is a risky plan.").

Inspire your children to write effective dialogue for an adventure story with our KS2 One Thousand and One Arabian Nights scheme.

Misconceptions when punctuating direct speech

Understanding and applying the rules for direct speech is no mean feat. Here are the top five misconceptions that children may have as they learn how to punctuate direct speech.

Children do not know to include punctuation inside the inverted commas.

Children do not know when to use a comma instead of a full stop inside the inverted commas.

Children incorrectly position inverted commas around the beginning and end of a full sentence rather than around the spoken words.

Children do not apply the new speaker, new line convention.

Children capitalise the first word in a reporting clause that comes in the middle or at the end of the speech sentence. This often accompanies a misuse of a full stop as closing punctuation inside the inverted commas.

Addressing these misconceptions needs careful and explicit teaching. Here are five top tips for teaching children how to punctuate direct speech in KS2.

Make sure to provide children with variety of examples which use different sentences structures.

Encourage children to find different speech sentences in their reading books and explore the similarities and differences between them.

Provide examples of incorrectly punctuated speech sentences and ask children to spot and correct the errors (identifying errors in given texts is so much less daunting than jumping straight into applying the rules within your own writing).

Give children focused editing time either as a discrete activity where children to add punctuation to unpunctuated text or where they spot and correct direct speech punctuation during independent writing.

Offer children the opportunity to read and perform their dialogue (as this can really help child get to grips with why punctuation is so important for the reader).

Teaching progression in direct speech - Year 3

Direct speech is introduced in the Year 3 English Curriculum. Here, children should be taught the correct terminology for 'inverted commas' and given opportunities to practise forming these correctly (during your regular handwriting sessions can work well). When children can identify and create inverted commas, they are ready to apply these to speech - adding opening and closing inverted commas around spoken words.

An engaging, hands-on activity to help children understand where to position the inverted commas in a speech sentence is to ask children to write speech sentences on whiteboards and add macaroni around the spoken words to represent the opening and closing inverted commas. This activity can be extended to include speech and a reporting clause to consolidate understanding and to address the misconception that inverted commmas are used at the beginning and end of the sentence, rather than at the beginning and end of the spoken words.

Introduce your children to direct speech with our magical Year 3 The Snowman scheme which provides children with the foundations for punctuating direct speech.

Teaching progression in direct speech - Year 4

In Year 4, the focus should be mastering all of the punctuation required to indicate direct speech. This includes the use of a comma to separate the reporting clause from the piece of speech as well as using punctuation within inverted commas: The conductor shouted, “Sit down!”. Children will need plenty of modelled examples as to when to use the different punctuation marks inside inverted commas to get to grips with when to use a comma, full stop and other punctuation.

By the end of Year 4, children should be able to choose more precise speech verbs for their reporting clause, using verbs such as growled, snarled, whispered, mumbled to let the reader know more about the speaker's personality or mood.

One way to help chidren understand the rules of punctuating direct speech is to use a text message template to show an exchange of dialogue between characters. This helps children understand that the speech for each character starts on a new line. It is also helpful for reinforcing the learning point from Year 3, that only the spoken words should be included within the opening and closing inverted commas. Children can use the speech given in the model as the basis for writing their own dialogue between the two characters, constructing their own reporting clauses using appropriate speech verbs and adverbs.

Why not use the our KS2 English Journey scheme or our Text to Speech FreeBee to give children an opportunity to practise using direct speech in their writing?

Teaching progression in direct speech - Year 5

In Year 5, children should be able to vary the structure of their speech sentences, positioning the reporting clause at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the spoken words. Here, children should consider the impact of these choices on pace and intensity. Children should be taught that the reporting clause can reveal a lot about how the words are spoken and the character of the speaker and start to experiment with adding additional clauses to add further contextual detail.

As children become more proficient with the direct speech punctuation and sentence structure, the focus of teaching should shift to encouraging children to write coherent and effective dialogue which conveys character and/or advances the action of the story.

Teaching progression in direct speech - Year 6

By Year 6, children should be able to vary the structure of their speech sentences and extend these to provide the reader with extra details about the speaker or their environment. Children should continue to write dialogue which conveys character and/or advances the action of the story,. The focus of teaching should shift to ensure that the children can integrate dialogue well into their narratives and that they know how to strike a balance between dialogue and description to produce an enjoyable or gripping experience for the reader.

In additon, children should also be taught how and when to use the structures associated with formal and informal speech to help set the tone of their piece or to contextualise their writing within a certain time period. To do this, use texts which allow you to explore a variety of speech conventions used by different characters such as those by Arthur Conan Doyale (e.g. Sherlock Holmes) or Charles Dickens (e.g. Scrooge, the Artful Dodger).  

LESSON PACK One Thousand and One Arabian Nights

FREE Speech Verbs and Adverbs Word Mat

LESSON PACK Journey

FREE Direct Speech Punctuation Guide

Added to your cart:

What's Your Email?

Let customers speak for us

Really helpful for my year 3/4 mixed class.

That's great to hear, Benjamin! Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review :-)

Colourful graphics, detailed lesson plans

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, Tara! We're so pleased to hear that this resource was useful to you :-)

Easter Acrostics

Thanks, Frances!

Paper Mannequin Templates

Thanks, Anna!

It’s exactly what I needed! Great quality planning and slides- informative and visually pleasing, easy to use and aimed at the age range perfectly. It will save me hours of planning so definitely a great purchase.

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, Aleksa! We're so happy to hear that this resource will save you time :-)

Making great literacy lessons easy. Why join Plazoom?

4.4a Year 4: using and punctuating direct speech KS2 (speech verbs)

Resource Collection Real Grammar

Download your resource

This resource is part of our grammar curriculum.

• Covers every objective for years 1-6
• Five-step sequence ensures deep understanding
• Includes asssessment and revision tools

This Real Grammar Key Stage 2 resources pack provides everything that you need to explore speech verbs, also known as reporting verbs, to pupils in Year 4. Pupils will learn how to use synonyms for the word ‘said’ to widen their vocabulary choices when writing direct speech. Teaching slides, worksheets, games and an opportunity to apply the new learning in a writing task are all included to teach how speech verbs are used in direct speech to pupils in Year 4 or to revisit this area of learning.

Inverted commas are first introduced in Year 3 with other speech punctuation introduced in Year 4. Pupils should have a secure understanding how direct speech is punctuated before completing the activities in this resource pack. A Real Grammar resource pack on inverted commas is available in Year 3 and punctuating direct speech in Year 4.

What are speech verbs (reporting verbs)?

A speech verb shows how words are spoken when writing direct speech. The most common speech verb is ‘said’ but there are many more examples. The speech verbs are used in the reporting clause when writing direct speech to show who is speaking.

Examples of speech verbs include said , explained , asked , told , whispered , shouted etc.

What is direct speech?

Direct speech is when the exact words that someone says is written.

• “We are going on an adventure,” said Travis.
• “The choir performed brilliantly at the church,” said Mrs Smith.

What is the reporting clause?

The reporting clause is the short clause that can come before or after the direct speech that states who was talking. It can also show how the speech was said.

• “We are going on an adventure,” announced Travis.
• “The choir performed brilliantly at the church,” beamed Mrs Smith.

What is included in this resource pack?

This pack is divided into five parts:

This section includes PowerPoint teaching slides and teaching notes with an optional script to introduce speech verbs. It can also be used to revisit this aspect of grammar with pupils.

An independent activity for pupils to practise using what they have been taught, allowing teachers to assess understanding.

A series of short, 10-minute activities that can be used following the TEACH session to revisit and rehearse what has been taught. These may be short writing tasks, grammar games or editing/proofreading activities.

A short writing task where pupils can use the grammar skills taught in context to produce independent writing.

Five SATs style test questions, including cloze activities and multiple choice quiz questions, based on the grammar that has been taught.

Teachers can choose which section of the resource pack to use according to their pupils’ needs and could use the activities over a series of lessons or weeks

Teacher notes are provided to show how these quality resources could be used with pupils.

How is this resource pack differentiated?

The PRACTISE and REVISE sections include three activities differentiated for three levels of ability:

• Worksheet 1 for pupils who may need support. Questions will have a lower cognitive domain (what is being asked of pupils) and/or vocabulary used may be simplified where possible.
• Worksheet 2 for pupils working at age related expectations.
• Worksheet 3 for pupils who may need an additional challenge and may be working at a greater depth in this area. Questions will have a higher cognitive domain with more challenging vocabulary.

SUPPORT and CHALLENGE ideas are also included in the teacher notes of each section where relevant, with ideas of how to support pupils working towards the expected standard or at greater depth in this area.

What pupil-facing resources are included?

PPT slides; model text ‘A new home for Pepper’; ‘synonyms for ‘said’’ word mat

Practise 1, Practise 2 and Practise 3 worksheets

Game 1, game 2, game 3

Planning sheet, images

PPT slides; Revise 1, Revise 2 and Revise 3 worksheets

Answer sheets for all worksheets are provided, where appropriate.

This resource is part of the Real Grammar collection. View more from this collection

Trending Today

Ks2 comprehension – classic literature…, ks1 and ks2 writing templates for…, year 1 home learning pack (1), year 6 spelling revision – ks2…, look inside.

Click through to see what this resource has to offer

More from this collection

4.7b year 4: s - noun phrases expanded by the addition of modifying adjectives, nouns..., 4.7a year 4: s - noun phrases expanded by the addition of modifying adjectives, nouns..., 4.6 year 4: w - standard english forms for verb inflections instead of local spoken..., 4.5 year 4: w - the grammatical difference between plural and possessive -s, 4.4b year 4: using and punctuating direct speech ks2 (other punctuation and moving the..., 4.2 using fronted adverbials ks2, 4.1c year 4: choosing nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to..., browse by year group, upgrade now.

Click 'Upgrade now' to activate your subscription. An invoice will appear on your accounts page and be sent by email. Once paid, the benefits of your full account will be unlocked within five days.

• Sign in or Register

• EYFS / KS1 English Teaching Resources
• KS2 English Teaching Resources
• KS3 English Teaching Resources
• GCSE English Teaching Resources
• Join Membership
• Contact Get in touch
• Member Login Access your account

Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4 - teaching resource

* Watermarks do not appear on purchased resources

Click on images to enlarge

Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4  

Year 3 and 4 English programme of study - Writing - vocabulary, grammar and punctuation 

(Pupils should be taught to indicate grammatical and other features by using and punctuating direct speech)

In 'Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4' pupils are taught how to recognise and punctuate direct speech and is an ideal teaching aid when covering the curriculum objectives of the Year 3 and 4 English programme of study listed above.

'Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4' is an engaging, animated teaching PowerPoint lesson containing:

An explanation of direct speech and speech marks / inverted commas.

Identify the reporting clause and speech activity with an accompanying worksheet.

An explanation of indirect speech.

A direct and indirect speech activity with an accompanying worksheet.

How to punctuate direct speech explanation.

A punctuating speech activity with an accompanying worksheet.

Complete the sentences activity with an accompanying worksheet.

3 further differentiated worksheets with answers.

This English punctuation teaching resource is fully editable so that teachers have the freedom to adapt the resource, if needed, to suit each class they teach.

Click on the images below to preview 'Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4' in full.

Get access to thousands of pages of resources. Find out more about membership here.

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. You can change this and find out more by following this link

Accept Cookies

• International
• Schools directory
• Resources Jobs Schools directory News Search

Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

13 March 2024

• Share through email
• Share through twitter
• Share through linkedin
• Share through facebook
• Share through pinterest

Lower KS2 English Teaching Resource

In this English punctuation teaching resource, pupils practise recognising, writing and punctuating direct speech as per the curriculum objectives of the Year 3 and 4 programme of study (Writing - vocabulary, grammar and punctuation). This engaging and animated PowerPoint lesson includes:

• An explanation of direct speech
• Identify the reporting clause and speech activity with an accompanying worksheet
• An explanation of indirect speech
• A direct and indirect speech activity with an accompanying worksheet
• How to punctuate direct speech explanation
• A punctuating speech activity with an accompanying worksheet
• Complete the sentences activity with an accompanying worksheet
• 3 further differentiated worksheets with answers

As with all our PowerPoint teaching resources, ‘Direct Speech - Year 3 and 4’ is completely editable so that teachers can adapt, alter and revise it as much or as little as required.

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

Your rating is required to reflect your happiness.

It's good to leave some feedback.

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it

Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource: