Teaching of Writing
Statement of Intent
We want all children to be able to confidently communicate their knowledge, ideas and emotions through their writing and acquire a wide vocabulary to write for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
Our children enjoy writing because unlike other subjects, where there is only one true answer, writing has no single answer! The process of writing is challenging and exciting, but when we are finished, we have the reward of a story or a report that has been brought to life.
Writing is a great form of escape and allows our imagination to flow. Our children are very proud of their writing and love to share it with friends, family and real published authors via #Twitter.
Twitter Writing 'Wall of Fame'
Twitter Writing 'Wall of Fame'
How we teach writing
At Kells Lane Primary School, we have adopted ‘The Write Stuff’ by Jane Considine . ‘The Write Stuff’ follows a method called Sentence Stacking where there is an emphasis on vocabulary, sentence structure and developing ‘chunks of sense’.
Lesson structure
An individual lesson is based on a sentence model, broken into 3 learning chunks. Each learning chunk has three sections:
- Initiate section – a stimulus to capture the children’s imagination and set up a sentence.
- Model section – the teacher close models a sentence that outlines clear writing features and techniques.
- Enable section – the children write their sentence, following the model.
Thinking side & Writing side<br />
Children develop their writing by building vocabulary and phrases using a technique called ‘chotting‘ with a partner (chatting and jotting). This allows children to work on their writing ideas and we emphasise the importance of thinking about their writing ideas and vocabulary.
Celebrating the craft & construction of sentences
A class sentence stack is created to celebrate children’s sentences. This helps children to clearly see how a piece of writing is crafted and built before independently writing.
Children are challenged to ‘Deepen the Moment’ which requires them to independently draw upon previously learnt skills and apply them to their writing during that chunk.
Independent writing: the published piece
Children take great care when writing their ‘published piece’. They are very proud to share their writing with many audiences including their peers and Twitter. They enjoy using the writing rainbow to create their own unique piece often as a double-page spread. This enables the children to show their unique style when writing as when as their illustrative skills.
Poetry
Each year group is allocated three types of poetry to study, explore, comment on, create and perform throughout the year. These will be either free verse, visual and/or structured poems.
Handwriting
At Kells Lane we are very proud of our pupils’ handwriting and take particular care in our cursive/joined-up handwriting style.
Handwriting is a basic skill that influences the quality of work throughout the curriculum. At the end of Key Stage 2 all pupils should have the ability to produce fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy joined-up handwriting, and to understand the different forms of handwriting used for different purposes.
Free Writing Friday
On Fridays, the children have the opportunity to write about their interest and choice. They can choose to write a story, poem, report, song or one of many others genres. This enables all children to follow their own interest and to continue to develop a love for writing.
