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Writing

A male and female student engrossed in a piece of work

Teachers plan stimulating and engaging experiences to encourage the children’s writing, from finding giants’ footprints in the classroom, to investigations of who was to blame for the sinking of the Titanic. These are all designed to give a ‘real’ context and purpose to writing.

Writing lesson objectives are planned for the explicit teaching of spelling, punctuation and grammar to ensure that the technical elements of writing develop as the children progress through the school, whilst always focussing on the quality and content of the children’s writing. Children are encouraged to make links between reading and writing, using techniques and skills employed by authors of texts they have read. They also make links between writing and speaking, working hard to understand the differences in the language used for both. The publishing of work is often linked to performance, whereby our children have the opportunity to perform aspects of their writing and develop their abilities in both speaking and listening.

Writing is taught as a process:

  • First, we think about why we are writing and what the purpose is.
  • Then, we consider who we are writing for.
  • After that, it is time to look at the type of writing we need to achieve our purpose.
  • We collect and share ideas about the language and style of writing.
  • We plan what we want to do at each stage of our piece.
  • We draft and write down all the ideas that bursting from our heads.
  • Next, we go back and look for what we are proud of. We then edit our work to try and make all of it as good as those best parts.
  • When we think it is as good as we can get it, then we publish. This could be a letter in our neatest handwriting or a speech performed to a camera or audience.

Spelling

Spelling is a key part of both reading and writing. It supports the development of new vocabulary and teaches spelling patterns found within the English language and words that do not always follow a rule.

Our teachers use the Read Write Inc spelling programme from year 2 through to year 6. Employing the Read Write Inc. approach provides consistency of teaching from reception to year 6. Teachers and support staff trained in the Read Write Inc. phonics programme use the identification of phoneme-grapheme correspondence to assist the teaching of spelling and can update their training and skills using the online training resources from the Read Write Inc online subscription. Lessons use engaging characters and interactive elements. Clear and well-structured lessons and support materials provide teachers and children with consistent approach to the learning of spelling.

Assessment

In school we use ‘quality marking’ to ensure that children gain a good understanding of the things they are doing well and what they need to improve. This is achieved through our ‘Yippee Yellow and Green For Growth’ highlighting process. The strengths of the writing are highlighted in yellow and the areas for development in green. The children are taught how to edit and improve their writing. Teachers make detailed assessments of children’s writing and, in conjunction with the child, identify individual targets for further improvement and development. Parents are encouraged to help with their child’s writing development by helping their children to write for different purposes at home and by supporting in written homework tasks.