Cohesive Devices — Year 6 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: English — Writing: use a range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs (Year 5/6)
Overview
Pupils learn to use a range of cohesive devices to link ideas across and within sentences and paragraphs. They explore how conjunctions, adverbials, pronouns, and repetition of key vocabulary all contribute to a text that reads as a unified whole, rather than a list of disconnected sentences.
Learning Objectives
- Identify a range of cohesive devices in a text.
- Explain how each device links ideas within and across paragraphs.
- Use cohesive devices to improve the flow and coherence of their own writing.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of cohesion in a piece of writing.
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Show two versions of the same paragraph: one with cohesive devices, one without (just separate sentences). Ask pupils to identify which reads better and why.
Introduce categories of cohesive device: (1) adverbials of time and place ('meanwhile', 'as a result'), (2) pronoun reference, (3) lexical repetition and synonyms, (4) conjunction-based links, (5) ellipsis. Show each with examples from authentic texts. Discuss how good writers vary their devices.
Pupils annotate a text, identifying and labelling each cohesive device used. Then rewrite a disjointed paragraph using cohesive devices to improve it.
Pupils write two linked paragraphs on a topic of their choice, deliberately using at least four different types of cohesive device. Annotate their choices.
Share annotated examples. Discuss: which devices are most effective for different text types? What happens if a text uses too much repetition?
Common Misconceptions
- Pupils think cohesion means using connectives only — it is a much broader concept involving pronoun reference, repetition, and structural links.
- Overusing the same adverbial ('however... however... however...') — teach variety and the effect of different devices.
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Confident use of conjunctions and adverbials.
- Understanding of pronoun reference.
- Experience writing multi-paragraph texts.
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