Year 6 Setting words worksheet

“Precise words, any setting” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 English unit “Setting words”, for children aged 10 to 11, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 16 to 17 of the year, 8 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Precise words, any setting

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · English · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can choose precise adjectives such as bustling and hectic, and use them beyond cities.

A Look back3 min

1.
Which feeling word belongs at the sunny end of this scale? Circle one: gloomy / cheerful / grumpy
gloomycheerfulgrumpy
2.
In 'The red cube sat on the table', which word is a noun, a naming word for a thing? Circle one: red / cube / sat
redcubesat
3.
In 'The blue ball rolled away', which word describes the ball? Circle one: blue / ball / rolled
blueballrolled

B Watch me, then you4 min

Ella is writing about a Saturday market. The stalls are packed and cheerful voices call out. Which word fits the market: bustling, hectic or affluent?

Watch me

The stalls are packed and the voices overlap.

Bustling means crowded and lively, so it fits the market.

Hectic means rushed and stressful, but this market sounds lively and cheerful, so bustling fits better.

Now you

1.
A castle towers over the town on the hill. Circle the best word: imposing / affluent / polluted
imposingaffluentpolluted
2.
Priya must be at school by 8:55. At 8:25 she is still looking for her shoes. Circle the best word for her morning: hectic / diverse / affluent
hecticdiverseaffluent

C Your turn8 min

Each row changes the thing being described. Circle the word that fits best.

1.
Circle the word: the ___ street had big houses, long drives and expensive cars. affluent / bustling / polluted
affluentbustlingpolluted
2.
Circle the word: the ___ market was packed, and every stall holder was calling out. bustling / affluent / polluted
bustlingaffluentpolluted
3.
Circle the word: the headteacher was so ___ that the whole hall went quiet when she walked in. imposing / diverse / hectic
imposingdiversehectic
4.
Circle the word: the river was ___ with oil and rubbish, and the water looked grey. polluted / diverse / imposing
polluteddiverseimposing

Say it out loud: Which of these words could describe a place, a person or a day? Does the picture help you choose?

D Spot the mistake3 min

A busy kitchen before school with a kettle, school bags and a wall clock

Ravi says: “Hectic only describes a city, so my Tuesday at home can’t be hectic.”

1.
Explain why Ravi is wrong. Write one or two sentences.

E Think deeper4 min

A busy city street at dusk with tall old banks and a crowded market stall

1.
Write a city sentence about this street that opens with a verb phrase, such as 'Weaving between the stalls, ...'. Use one of today's adjectives. Then write a second sentence where a different adjective describes a person, a day or a river.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Precise words, any setting · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. cheerful If they pick gloomy, they may be reading the scale from the stormy end. Ask them to point to the sun and say which word matches a sunny mood.

2. cube If they pick red, that is an adjective, a describing word. Ask them what they could point to in the picture. The thing you can point to is the noun.

3. blue If they pick ball, that is the thing itself. Ask: which word tells you what colour or kind of ball it is?

B

1. imposing If they pick affluent, they are thinking about money. Ask them what the castle looks like and whether it seems to dominate the town.

2. hectic If they pick diverse, they may be thinking about many different things rather than rush. Ask them whether Priya feels calm or under pressure.

C

1. affluent If they pick bustling, ask them whether the street is crowded and noisy or quiet with big gardens. Affluent means rich and wealthy.

2. bustling If they pick polluted, ask what the market smells or looks like. Bustling is about crowds and lively noise, not dirt.

3. imposing If they pick hectic, they are describing a rushed feeling. Ask whether the headteacher seems to take over the room. Imposing describes someone who commands attention.

4. polluted If they pick diverse, remind them that diverse means mixed or varied, like people from many countries. Ask what the dirty water is full of.

D

1. Look for: Says that hectic can describe a day or a feeling, not only a city, so a busy day at home can be hectic. If they agree with Ravi, ask them to name a rushed day they have had at home and say which word fits it. Then ask whether the word has to be about a city.

E

1. Look for: A city sentence that opens with a verb-based phrase and uses one of affluent, diverse, bustling, imposing, hectic or polluted, then a second sentence where one of these adjectives describes a person, day, river or landscape. If the second sentence is still about a city, ask them to think of a person or day they know who could be imposing or hectic.

Words to use

Say“Which word fits the place, person or day in the sentence? Could this word describe something that is not a city?”

Instead of“Tell them the answer or say 'That is not a city word, try again.'”

After the sheet

At tea, pick a busy moment from your week, such as a rushed breakfast or a crowded bus. Say which of today's words fits it and why. Then ask them to say one sentence about it.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

7 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Words beyond the village(with a plan)
Countryside word power(with a plan)
Words for wild places(with a plan)
Mountain words that fit(with a plan)
Words that make water vivid(with a plan)
Words for the night(with a plan)
Describing homes with rich words(with a plan)

Every Year 6 English worksheet

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