Writing 25th November 2016

Writing Writing is a complex skill involving a range of cognitive, linguistic, perceptual and motor abilities. The National Curriculum identifies two main dimensions to writing that children need to master in order to become effective writers. Firstly, the skills of transcription, which include the ability to spell confidently and to have a fast, fluent handwriting style. Secondly, the skills of composition, which include being able to think of, organise, articulate clearly and edit ideas. At KGS, we ensure that children are given the opportunity to practice and develop these two areas across the curriculum.

Developmental Progression of a Child’s Writing Children begin their journey towards writing by making marks. Once they can sit with a meal in front of them, babies love to play with spilt food and drinks, touching them with little palms and fingers to create patterns before the spill can be mopped up. They’re not just making a mess, they’re making marks. Even so, the first clear sign that children are interested in mark-making comes when they use thick crayons to make big circular and straight lines. This type of mark- making is often dismissed as scribble, but it is actually an important step in learning to write, because children are trying out new things to see what happens. The marks children make slowly begin to have more meaning for them, and you will be able to see this by listening to what they say when they play with pens, crayons and paper. At first, mark-making is a blend of writing and drawing, as children are keen to use their new skills. But most begin to understand the difference between drawing and writing sometime after their third birthday. They may act out ‘writing’ situations; especially if they have seen other people do them. This means that many children left with a pen and the shopping list may want to add items to that list rather than come up with their own.

Read Write Inc. Children are taught phonics in small groups tailored to children’s ability in reading. Children take part in high quality phonics sessions every day and have reading and writing opportunities daily. During phonics, pupils learn: Name writing Handwriting, letter formation Knowledge of sounds and letters Segmenting and blending Spelling (green and red words) Hold a sentence Proofread a sentence grammar Build a sentence

Talk for Writing Talk for Writing provides pupils with an opportunity to engage with carefully selected core texts integrated into the creative curriculum. We believe that children write best when they are given the chance to read widely. ‘Good readers make good writers’. By reading and analysing high quality texts, children gain a better understanding of how authors construct their writing and can use them as a model for their own writing.

Talk for Writing Process Imitation – familiarisation Retelling a story till it can be told fluently using story language Multi-sensory approach, made memorable (role-play, story maps) Innovation – adapting a well-known tale Substitution, addition, alteration, change a viewpoint and re-use the basic story (change characters, setting, problem or ending, magpie vocabulary) Invention – creating own story Build a story – drawing, drama, images, video, first-hand experience, location, quality reading, etc. The National Curriculum has set out clear guidelines for the teaching of grammar. Each year group is required to learn a different set of grammatical rules and to be able to describe them using the correct terminology. We believe that grammar is learnt best when it is learnt in a real context. For this reason, we teach grammar as part of every writing session so that children can directly apply it in their writing.  

What is shared writing? Shared writing is an instructional approach to teach writing to children by writing with them. The idea is to teach writing through writing. The process of writing is demonstrated by the teacher through a 'write aloud' process. The teacher acts as a scribe while the pupils contribute ideas.

Top Tips The basis for good writing is good talk. Encourage your child to talk at length, in full sentences, about things they have done or places they have visited. Let your child see you as a model writer. Show them how you write shopping lists, postcards, maybe even a poem or short story. Encourage your children to write for a purpose, for example, get them to write a list of things they need to pack for a holiday. Play word games like ‘I Spy’ and Hangman to build their vocabulary and improve their spelling. After making something (for example, a cake), encourage children to write instructions for a friends. Praise your child’s writing! It’s not easy to get everything right as they’re learning so pick out something that they have done well. Try 2 stars and a wish! Little and often is best!

Home Learning

Home Learning Record Initial or sign here What book(s) did you read to your child or did your child read to you? Comments your child made while reading the story. Use the questions to encourage children to talk about the book. Initial or sign here If your child is showing achievement or progress in their learning, share it with the class teacher here. The class teacher will respond to your comments here and write next steps that you may practise with your child. The class teacher initials here Lots of other things in the home learning record book to help you

More Information End of year expectations leaflet for each year group Communication and language leaflet Handwriting leaflet Talk to your child’s teacher Do you have any other questions?

Thank you for coming.