Good morning! Welcome to the While you wait for us to start, please: Find somewhere to sit at one of the tables. Have a look in your pack. Year 1 and 2 ‘Write for All’ Inspire Morning

Year 1 and 2 Writing Aims of the Meeting To find out about the way writing is taught at Drayton Park, and how we support writing development. To find out how you can best support your child at home. To take part in some writing activities with your child. To give you the opportunity to ask your child’s teacher any questions you may have about writing in Year 1 and Year 2.

What knowledge and skills and needed to become a writer? TEXTS AND READING Children need to be supported and nurtured by growing familiarity with a range of high quality texts. COMPOSITION Getting ideas Putting words together Use of language Choice of vocabulary Grammar Sentence structure TRANSCRIPTION Phonics Spelling Punctuation Handwriting Presentation and layout COMMUNICATION Writing for a range of audiences and purposes. WRITING FOR LEARNING Writing in a range of genres across the curriculum.

Writing in Year 1 and 2 at Drayton Park 30 minute daily phonics groups. Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing by developing the ability to hear sounds in words. As children build up their knowledge of sounds and how they look and are written, they can attempt to write and spell words correctly. Daily literacy lessons. Literacy lessons are usually based around a high-quality book and/or the current topic. Children are introduced to a wide range of high- quality texts throughout the year. This helps to build a bank of interesting vocabulary to use in their writing. Reading also helps children gain an awareness of audience and purpose in their own writing. At Drayton Park, we use high-quality books as a stimulus for writing activities.

‘Write for All’ Our new approach to the teaching of Writing at Drayton Park School. We aim to: - Increase % of pupils reaching at or above expected levels in writing. - Improve the consistency of teaching writing throughout the school - Show progress in books in writing across the curriculum

How do we improve writing? More time More practise More skills More understanding

WRITING Phase 1 Phase 3 Phase 2 Familiarisation with text type (immersion) Exploring and capturing ideas Shared Writing Independent writing Shared Reading

Fortnightly Cycle Look in your pack

We write every day 10 minute writing starters (x2 every week). We try to come up with ways to involve writing in lessons through the curriculum. In lessons such as drama or art we ask the children write what they have done (perhaps under a photograph).

Inspiration lessons To promote good writing, we include the following activities in our fortnightly plans: Art – to stimulate ideas about settings, characters etc. Drama – to develop language around characters in role, events, reactions, thoughts/feelings, arguments and debates etc. Speaking and listening – to develop language, orally rehearse sentences prior to writing, improve vocabulary etc. *We think of ways to include a written response or reflection at the end of these lessons.

Exemplary models of writing It is vital that children see good examples of the texts you want them to produce. The best examples are written by teachers – so that we can model specific skills and the text can be based on the class topic. Activities: Edit and improve a piece of writing Mark the text; be the teacher! Mark against a set of success criteria Identify features and good effects used by the writer Continue the text – shared writing

Planning for writing Children need to be taught how to successfully plan their writing. This is modelled by the teacher and practised as a class. Teachers create suitable planning formats that encourage children to develop their ideas and vocabulary more fully. Word Banks A word bank can make a real difference to a child’s writing. A good word bank will: be specific to the topic, be a manageable size, contain words that will extend the child’s vocabulary.

Shared/modelled writing Any writing lesson should have an element of teacher modelling to show the children exactly what you want them to do. Through shared writing we can: Highlight and correct misconceptions Recap the features you expect the children to use Model how to write against the success criteria Introduce or practise skills that are relatively new to the children Model writing strategies, e.g. Say your sentence. Discuss content and composition. Praise and encourage good ideas from children. Encourage magpie-ing!

Guided Writing Children are given teacher directed time at some stage during the writing process – the writing the children produce during these sessions should be a better standard to the writing they would usually produce independently.

Success Criteria This allows the children to know if they have been successful. Provides examples for expectation. Linked to age- related expectations. Peer and self assessment. Success criteria used to edit writing. Differentiated for different ability levels. Teachers use when marking children’s work

Success Criteria

Editing in blue pen Editing session the day after the ‘Write for All’ session. Children are taught how to edit their writing effectively using the success criteria. Teacher models how to improve sentences.

Write For All session Every 2 weeks. Children to be given time to write independently. (KS1 – minutes and KS2 – minutes). Breaks in writing can be given to remind children of the success criteria.; share good extracts and discuss; address any whole class misconceptions. The session should be silent so children can concentrate. Atmospheric music or sound effects may be played in the background. The teacher does a guided writing session with an identified group. They also monitor the whole class, giving verbal and immediate feedback to individuals (mark into books where needed).

Inspiring children to be writers… Fun, engaging and purposeful tasks A strong starting point to get the ideas flowing A clear and detailed plan Good examples of writing provided and discussed, and high-quality texts read aloud to them Clear idea of the features (success criteria) Something nice to write with/on/in Give children opportunity to share, edit, improve and redraft their writing. Encourage children to just HAVE A GO!

Ideas for writing at home Make writing purposeful! Write a letter or an to a relative or friend and await their response Write a letter to your favourite celebrity/ footballer/ local newspaper/ favourite author Write a postcard when on holiday Keep a diary or journal Start a novel or write a short story Write an alternative ending to your favourite book Write a book review or character description for your local library Invent a new dish and write the recipe

To take home… - Information about our fortnightly cycle for the teaching of writing at Drayton Park (‘Write for All’) - Writing ideas to try at home - Letter formation/handwriting information - High Frequency word lists - Book-making instructions - A list of useful websites you can visit at home

THANK YOU for coming along to this meeting. We hope you have found it useful. If you have any other questions- please ask us! Take some time to look at some of the resources that your child uses at school and enjoy some writing activities together. Spelling activities using HFW and magnetic letters ‘Boring sentences’ to edit and improve Creative writing tasks Letter formation practice Describing a setting or a character Some examples of high-quality texts to read to your child, re-tell and have a go at writing about.