Writing

Vision

As a federation we recognise the important role of writing throughout each child’s every day and future life. Our aim is to develop pupils’ transcriptional writing skills as well as their knowledge and understanding of writing for purpose. Pupils will be given opportunities to interrelate the requirements of English within a broad and balanced curriculum, with opportunities to consolidate and reinforce taught literacy skills.

Our aim is to teach children to become confident and fluent writers who have a passion to write about things that excite and inspire them.

Our Curriculum

Our teachers show us how we can write to interest our audience.

Year 1 Writing units

Year 2 Writing units

Year 3 Writing units

Year 4 Writing units

Year 5 Writing units

Year 6 Writing units

You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write                                                    (Annie Proulx)

Curriculum Intent

At Wilson Primary School, we have adopted the Literacy Tree scheme of work to support with the teaching and learning of writing.

The Literacy Tree is ‘a complete approach to the teaching of Primary English that can be used by teachers to deliver a book-based approach to the teaching of English’. The Literacy tree ‘provide book-based planning sequences (writing roots) which embed complete curriculum coverage and engage children to write with a clear audience and purpose. The teach through a Text pedagogy is the backbone to each sequence’.

The ‘Teach through Text’ approach from the Literacy Tree includes:

• Thematic links – Links are made through themes within significant literature
• Discovery point – Dramatic conventions support immersion and create a hook with a book
• Literary Language – Literary Language is explicitly taught and applied in writing
• Embedded Grammar – Explicit grammar skills for writing taught in context to be applied purposefully
• Vocabulary – Vocabulary is explicitly taught and linked to
• Purpose and audience – Distinct shorter and longer writing opportunities rather than genre led

At Wilson Primary school, we use Nelson handwriting scheme as a guide to teach handwriting. As a school we have adopted the Shakespeare spelling scheme as well  Literacy Tree Spelling Seeds to support our teaching of spelling. For support with teaching spellings to your child, here is a document that gives some ideas on how to teach them. 

We have a toolkit that helps us when we write.

Curriculum Implementation

In our Nursery class, children have a variety of opportunities to develop their communication, language and literacy skills on a daily basis in both adult led and child initiated activities.

In our Reception class, children have daily Read, Write, Inc. sessions which begin with writing sounds and develops onto blending sounds to build words. Children also have opportunities to develop their communication, language and literacy skills on a daily basis in both adult led and child-initiated activities. Opportunities for writing are well designed within the provision to encourage all children to enjoy writing and develop the necessary physical skills to be able to write efficiently later in life.

In Key stage 1, literacy lessons have an emphasis on embedding well-honed transcriptional skills (handwriting and spelling). A range of strategies are used to develop children’s understanding of structure, vocabulary and grammar.

In Key Stage 2, Literacy Lessons focus on developing children’s writing using a range of strategies. Children develop their transcriptional skills further, ensuring that they become automatic. A range of strategies are used to develop children’s understanding of structure, vocabulary and grammar.

In our Alternative Resource Provision (ARP), children receive a personalised writing curriculum based on their needs. Teachers adapt planning from the Literacy Tree to ensure children can access learning and make good progress. Children have access to a wide variety of high-quality texts which are used to develop their writing skills.

Formative assessment is threaded throughout lessons and units of work; and appropriate revisions to planning are made by skilled class teachers to ensure all lessons are tailored to best meet the needs of their children.         

Curriculum Impact

Children will leave our school having gained exposure to a wide variety of high-quality texts. They would have developed the transcriptional skills they require to confidently write in a range of genres for different audiences and purposes. Children will be able to apply their writing skills to become confident and resilient writers.

As a result of our writing teaching at Wilson Primary School you will see:

• Children who demonstrate fluency in their writing.
• High quality writing which links to audience and purpose.
• Children who can write in a variety of styles and from a variety of points of view.
• Engaged children who are all supported and challenged.
• Confident children who can talk about their learning and apply this independently.
• Children who can apply their writing to a range of situations successfully.
• Learning that is tracked and monitored to ensure all children make good or better progress.