Writing
Writing is a curriculum area which we teach particularly well and we are very proud of the quality of the writing outcomes in school – as are our children!
What do we do that is different?
- We focus on a single genre of writing each half term and we model heavily so that all children have a very clear idea of what good writing looks like, and lots of opportunities to practice (and master) a certain style of writing before moving on.
- We scaffold the writing so that all children are confident to write and have the tools that they need to write well. Our very clear grammatical focus each half term guides us in our modelling and our expectations.
- We give children a lot of accurate feedback about their writing to ensure that they pay attention to the detail and write with accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well as perfecting their handwriting over time.
- We celebrate and share our love of writing.
Children in EYFS and KS1 write independently and confidently. They use their phonics to segment words into their individual phonemes and are quickly able to encode the words that they speak in the written form.
As children enter KS2, we begin asking children to draft their writing. These drafts are subject to a high level of marking and feedback which, alongside pupils, identifies all errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar and seeks to perfect the written form. Children go on to publish very high quality, very accurate writing which they are very proud of. This intensive feedback leads to accelerated progress in writing throughout KS2 and we are proud that our Y6 pupils year-on-year are very competent and confident writers as a result.
In addition to daily writing lessons throughout school, we also teach handwriting, spellings and grammar daily. We teach the fundamentals of writing discreetly so that children have the skills, knowledge and experience they need to write well for life.
As children become very proficient in the range of genres which recur throughout their years at school, children are able to utilise their skills in writing at length across the curriculum.
The high quality of writing outcomes throughout school are a great source of pride.
Writing Blocks – Long Term Curriculum Overview
Reception – Drawing Club Writing Approach
Drawing Club is an initiative that integrates drawing activities into the learning curriculum, particularly aimed at young children in Early Years and Key Stage 1 (KS1). It leverages the natural inclination of children to express themselves through art, using this as a bridge to develop their writing skills.
Drawing Club excites children with the magic world of tales and story, whilst enriching their language skills, developing their fine motor skills and into a love of writing. It immerses children into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and it often does. It develops a wide range of skills across the whole curriculum, particularly focusing on making conversations, mark making and mathematics. Children’s creative streaks are enhanced as well as their ability to share ideas and skills. It provides an age-appropriate approach that is highly engaging
Structure of a Drawing Club
Regular Sessions: Scheduled weekly sessions where children come together to draw.
Thematic Focus: Each session can have a theme, such as a story, an event, or a topic they are learning about.
Guided Drawing: Provide guidance through prompts or instructions, but allow creativity and freedom.
Discussion Time: After drawing, have a session where children talk about their drawings.
Drawing to Writing Transition: Encourage children to write a few sentences about their drawings
How we deliver Drawing Club
| Mini moment 1 |
Altogether on the carpet |
Vocabulary – ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ sharing rich vocabulary everyday introduced in a contextual way |
| Mini moment 2 | Story Sharing – a blend of books, tales and animation | |
| Mini moment 3 | Modelling drawing of the character, setting and adventure time ideas through the 3M’s. Modelling writing through a ‘password’. Reading developed by adding keywords. A ‘passcode’ is added linked to Maths.
What number will you do? |
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| Mini moment 4 | Groups rotation | Drawing Club groups of up to six children exploring
story through drawing and writing using the 3M’s and taking stories on an adventure. The role of the teacher is building confidence in pace with each child so that they are emotionally connected to what they’re doing. |
‘Codes’
Alongside drawings, the children are encouraged to write a ‘code word’. These codes make ‘magical’ things happen to their drawings. As the children draw, they chat about what their ideas are and what they want to happen to their drawing. This makes it joyful and motivating for the children. Codes can be anything the children want it to be: single letters or phonemes, words, phrases or sentences. They give meaning to these codes and the magic happens. Magical things may include: ‘it grows wheels and then drives around’, ‘they change size’, ‘transform into a rocket’ etc…