YEAR 3 WORD

OBJECTIVE
Use of the forms a or an
according to whether the next
word begins with a consonant or
a vowel

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What is a consonant?
Most of the letters of the alphabet are consonants.
In speech, a consonant is a sound which is made by blocking the flow of air while speaking.
The sound may be blocked by the lips, tongue or teeth.

B is a consonant letter. Try saying the letter b. Notice how you close your lips to produce
the sound.

F is also a consonant letter. Try saying the letter f. Notice how your bottom lip touches
your top teeth to produce the sound.

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Consonants
• Try saying these consonant letters. Think
about what is happening to your lips, tongue
and teeth as you say them.

•b c d f g h j k l m n p q r s t v w x y z

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What is a vowel?
• In speech, vowels are sounds made with the mouth open and
the airway unobstructed.

• In writing, the five letters below are vowels:

a e i ou

• Y may also be used to represent a vowel.

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Vowels
• Try saying the vowel letters below. Think about what is
happening to your mouth as you say them.

ae iou

• Did you notice how your mouth remained open as you

formed each letter?
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a or an?
• a or an are used to introduce a noun or noun phrase

• For example: a boy, an umbrella, an onion, a house, an enormous giant, a

tiny insect

• a is used if the word following it is a consonant (e.g. a house).

• an is used if the word following it is a vowel (e.g. an onion).

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Here are some examples of the use of a or an.
a before a consonant an before a vowel

• a huge fire • an ant

• a car • an eagle
• a magnificent castle • an interesting story
• a vampire • an unusual house
• a wonderful cake • an ugly witch
• a tiny mouse • an old man
• a brave prince • an evil wizard
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Have a go!

• Write a or an before Reminder:

these words
a goes before consonant letters
• egg
• television
bcdfghjklmnpqrstvwx
• draw yz
• huge monster
• sunny day an goes before vowel letters
• ogre
• apple aeIou
• enormous garden

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How did you do?

Reminder:
• an egg
• a television a goes before consonant letters
• a draw
• a huge monster bcdfghjklmnpqrstvwx
yz
• a sunny day
• an ogre
an goes before vowel letters
• an apple
• an enormous garden aeIou

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Check the use of a and an in this text. Can you spot any mistakes?

In the holidays, I went to a amazing beach with my family. It

was a really hot day so the weather was perfect!
My mum relaxed on a deck chair and read a book. My dad
helped my sister and I to make an sandcastle. Later, we all
went for an swim.
I found a unusual shell with a interesting pattern on it. My
sister found part of an slimy green plant which my mum said
was a piece of seaweed.
Dad bought everyone a ice-cream before we went home.
What an great day!
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How did you do?
In the holidays, I went to an amazing beach with my family. It
was a really hot day so the weather was perfect!
My mum relaxed on a deck chair and read a book. My dad
helped my sister and I to make a sandcastle. Later, we all
went for a swim.
I found an unusual shell with an interesting pattern on it. My
sister found part of a slimy green plant which my mum said
was a piece of seaweed.
Dad bought everyone an ice-cream before we went home.
What a great day!
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Reflection
Can you recall and list:
• Letters which are consonants
• Letters which are vowels

Discuss:
When would you use an?
When would you use a?
Use examples to help you explain.

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 To find more SPAG PPTS for year 3 visit:

https://primarytexts.co.uk/vocabulary-grammar-and-punctuation/

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