fronted adverbials

Fronted adverbials have been in the news:
Quiz: Can you pass a primary school grammar test? - Telegraph
Grammar teaching in primary schools a poor use of time | Schools Week
School Governor: why I took my children out of class to travel the world - Telegraph

Here we have an attempt to explain to parents - but the examples are not very good:

For example:

The fronted adverbials in these sentences are in blue.

Fronted adverbials explained for parents | Fronted adverbials KS2 | TheSchoolRun

Here are a few boo-boos from the heart of government:
Gird your fronted adverbials: 14 grammatical mistakes in the schools White Paper | News

And how good is your grammar?


Could you pass the new SATs test?

By Grimsby Telegraph | Posted: April 20, 2016

By Michelle Hurst




I RECENTLY expressed my concern at the Government bid to curb the extraneous exclamation mark and the fact that the marking guidance was just one point among pages and pages of rules on marking Key Stage 1 tests.

The guidance included finding evidence of the use of fronted adverbials, subordinating conjunctions, co-ordinating conjunctions, articles, interrogative pronouns, subject-verb inversion and so on – and the tests are for Year Two ... ages 6 to 7!

Further to that, the changes to Year Six SATs push the boundaries even further – in fact they are being compared to GCSE English level.

I support raising standards. What I do not support, as an outsider merely commenting, is putting children off learning at the very stage in their lives when you can either grab them for the rest of the school days – or lose them entirely.


As one headteacher wrote in a resignation letter to their school near Darlington last week: "I believe that the standards set for our pupils to achieve this year, in Year Two and in Year Six, have been raised to a point where the pupils are being set up to fail.

"The current expectations will not raise standards. They will turn pupils off from what should be an exciting time in their lives, with pupils being branded as failures.

"The unrealistic expectations of the Year Six SATs will also result in resits for failed SAT tests being carried out in Year Seven.

"Teaching to the test is becoming a normal and there is a move away from the broad and balanced curriculum as teaching focuses on a test – yet no expectation of a pass mark has been given. The teachers are working endlessly towards an unset goal."

And the teachers have to learn it all, each time it changes. You might not think that's an issue – and it is their job – but just see how you get on with these sample SATs questions for Year Six, ages 10 and 11 via sats2016.co.uk, where you can take the test yourself and see how you get on:

1. In this sentence, is the word after being used as a subordinating conjunction or as a preposition? He moved here after the end of the war.
Subordinating conjunction
Preposition

2. Find the adverb in the sentence below.
"Soon," he thought, "I'll be able to see my family."
Soon, he, thought, I'll, be, able, to, see, my or family.

3. What does the word "Others" refer to in the passage below?

Some plants, such as sunflowers, die in winter. Others, such as daffodils, survive as bulbs underground.
Plants, sunflowers, daffodils or bulbs

4. Tick the option that shows how the underlined words are used in the sentence.

My baby brother was born in the hospital where my father works.
as a preposition phrase
as a relative clause
as a main clause
as a noun phrase

5. In this sentence, is the word after being used as a subordinating conjunction or as a preposition?

I went to the cinema after I had eaten my dinner.
Subordinating conjunction
Preposition

6. Which one shows how the modal verb affects the meaning of the sentence?

You could finish your work by the end of the lesson.
Modal verb indicates certainty
Modal verb indicates possibility

7. Which sentences contain a preposition?
Ali locked the door before he left.
The shops are beyond the main road.
My brother is behind me in the race.
Barry is below Andrew in the register.

8. Which sentence is written in the active voice?
The book was returned to the library yesterday.
The assembly was held in the hall.
The bad weather led to the cancellation.
The floods were caused by the heavy rain.

9. Which sentence uses the past progressive?
After Ali finished his homework, he went out to play.
Gemma was doing her science homework.
Jamie learnt his spellings every night.
Anna found her history homework difficult.

10. Tick all the determiners in the sentence below.

Two apple trees screened the open windows on one side.
Two, apple, trees, screened, the, open, windows, on, one or side.

Oh, and by the way, you have ten minutes ...

See how you get on with the test at www.sats2016.co.uk

Could you pass the new SATs test? | Grimsby Telegraph
.
.
.