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Relative Clauses: All Aboard the Relative Railway

Relative Clauses: All Aboard the Relative Railway

Learn how relative clauses add information with who, which, where, when, whose and that by hooking word carriages onto a sentence train.

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What you'll learn

  • What a relative clause is and which noun it describes
  • When to use who, which or that for people, animals and things
  • How where, when and whose add places, times and belonging
  • When a relative pronoun can be omitted, as in 'the book I read'
  • How to punctuate parenthesis with paired commas, brackets or dashes
  • What cohesion, ambiguity and modal verb mean in writing

Chapter by chapter

  1. Relative clauses and relative pronouns: adding information about a noun

    Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3

  2. Who, which and that: relative pronouns for people, animals and things

    Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2

  3. Where, when and whose: relative pronouns for places, times and belonging

    Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2

  4. Omitted relative pronouns: when who, which or that can be left out

    Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 2 Year 5 english · 3

  5. Relative clauses as parenthesis: commas, brackets and dashes

    Years 5–6 english · 1 Year 5 english · 3

  6. Grammar words: relative pronoun, cohesion, ambiguity and modal verb

    Year 5 english · 3 Years 5–6 english · 1

  7. Relative Railway Challenge: relative clauses quiz (10 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Years 5–6 english: Develop their understanding of the concepts set out in English appendix 2 by: using relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that or with an implied (ie omitted) relative pronoun
  2. Year 5 english: Sentence: relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that, or an omitted relative pronoun
  3. Year 5 english: Terminology: modal verb, relative pronoun, relative clause, parenthesis, bracket, dash, cohesion, ambiguity

About this adventure

Relative Clauses: All Aboard the Relative Railway is an interactive game that teaches children aged 9–11 how to add information to sentences with relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose or that, or with the relative pronoun left out. It follows the Year 5 grammar objectives in England's national curriculum.

Every sentence is a train. Players hook relative clause carriages onto nouns, make hidden relative pronouns vanish, lift extra information out of sentences, sort cards into wagons and type clauses of their own, while Ruby the railway guard explains each step aloud.

Along the way children meet the correct terms. A relative pronoun is the word that starts the clause, a relative clause is the whole group of words, and parenthesis is extra information wrapped in a pair of commas, brackets or dashes. They also find out what cohesion, ambiguity and modal verbs mean.

Questions and answers

What is a relative clause, in simple words?

A relative clause is a group of words that adds extra information about a noun. It usually starts with a relative pronoun such as who, which, where, when, whose or that, as in 'the girl who plays the tuba'.

When do you use who, which or that?

Use who for people and which for animals and things. That works for people, animals and things, so both 'the boy that sings' and 'the cake that Gran made' are correct.

What is an omitted relative pronoun?

An omitted relative pronoun is one that has been left out but is still understood, as in 'the book I read', meaning 'the book that I read'. It can usually go when someone such as I or we comes next, but not when a verb follows.

What age is this relative clauses game for?

The game is designed for children aged 9 to 11. It matches the Year 5 relative clauses objectives in England's national curriculum and also works well as revision for Year 6 grammar.

What does the relative clauses game include and how long does it take?

It has six chapters, each with an animated introduction, guided activities and practice questions, plus a 10-question final challenge. Playing everything takes about 45 minutes, and children can start at any chapter from the railway map.

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