Help at home · English
How to help with English at home
Spelling, punctuation, grammar terms, vocabulary, comprehension and writing. Pick a topic for a short note you can read in two minutes and use tonight.
English topics
How to explain spelling
Your child reads a sentence split into four sections and picks the section with a misspelt word, or N if every word is spelt correctly.
How to explain punctuation
Your child reads a sentence split into sections and picks the one with a punctuation mistake (capital letters count), or N if there is none.
How to explain grammar
Your child chooses the word that correctly completes a sentence, or the sentence that is grammatically correct, such as 'we saw' rather than 'we seen'.
How to explain word classes (word types)
Your child reads a sentence and picks the word that belongs to a given word class, such as the adverb, preposition or determiner.
How to explain fill in the blanks (cloze)
Your child reads a sentence or passage with words (or letters) missing and chooses what fits each gap in both meaning and grammar.
How to explain synonyms
Your child reads a sentence with one word in bold and picks the option closest in meaning to that word, as it is used there.
How to explain word meaning in context
Your child works out what a word or phrase means as it is used in a sentence or passage, often a word they haven't met before.
How to explain antonyms
Your child reads a sentence with one word in bold and picks the option most nearly opposite in meaning to it.
How to explain homophones
Your child picks the pair of words, such as there/their or practice/practise, that correctly fills two gaps in a sentence.
How to explain prefixes and suffixes
Your child chooses the prefix that makes a word's opposite (un, dis, im, in, il, ir), or says what a prefix means, like tele- (far).
How to explain shuffled sentences
Your child sees the words of a sentence jumbled up with one extra word added, and picks the word that isn't needed.
How to explain comprehension
Your child reads a passage (story, poem or non-fiction) and answers questions, from finding facts to explaining feelings and word choices.
How to explain creative writing
Some 11+ tests ask your child to write a story, description or persuasive piece from a short prompt or picture, against the clock.
Other subjects
Know which topics to work on
Academy11+ marks every paper by topic and shows the right home-help note next to each topic your child finds hard.