Writing
Writing at The Pines
“If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot, and write a lot.” Stephen King
Vision and Intent
Our vision is for children to become confident writers who are engaged in their writing. The skills taught and developed during their time at The Pines will improve their opportunities in the future.
We aim to:
- Produce extended pieces of writing for a variety of purposes.
- Consistently expose children to high quality spoken and written language which they are able to apply to their own work.
- Develop oral language skills so children can talk and write in grammatically correct sentences.
- Grow reflective writers who are able to edit and improve their own work.
- Explicitly teach the skills needed to produce great writing, including spelling and handwriting.
Our Curriculum Drivers are reflected through our Writing curriculum as it:
Develops their understanding of THEIR PLACE IN OUR WORLD by exploring stories from other cultures and writing for a range of audience and purposes
Gives children the skills needed in LANGUAGE AND ORACY so they are able to communicate
Encourages children to improve their LEARNING SKILLS with opportunities to edit and improve their writing
Gives children the tools to be creative and encourages self-expression which supports our HEALTHY MIND driver
Implementation
Writing is taught using the Talk for Writing approach in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 at The Pines. Foundation Stage also use elements of this approach when introducing children to writing.
“The Talk for Writing approach enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects. A key feature is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’, as well as close reading. The approach moves from dependence towards independence, with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.”
Children are taught to write for a range of purposes and audiences.
| Autumn | Spring | Summer |
Reception | Key Story 1: Little Red Hen
Key Story 2: Gingerbread Man
Writing Focus: Words with taught graphemes | Key Story 1: Three Little Pigs
Key Story 2: We’re going on a bear hunt Writing Focus: Captions
| Key Story 1: Jack and the beanstalk
Key Story 2: Writing Focus: Sentences |
Year 1 | Belonging
Letter formation and sentences Writing to recount: Letters Response to book | Amazing Human Achievements Writing to narrate Writing to recount: Diaries Response to book
| Planet Earth Writing to narrate Writing to instruct: Instructions Response to book Poetry in H&W Week |
Year 2 | Belonging Writing to narrate Repeating phrase Poetry: Shape Writing to recount: Letters | Amazing Human Achievements Writing to narrate Traditional Tale Writing to recount: Diaries and letters | Planet Earth Writing to narrate Fable (How ___ got his ___ if this fits) Writing to inform: Reports Poetry in H&W Week |
Year 3 | Stone Age to Iron Age Writing to describe and narrate: Portal story/Meeting Writing to recount: Diary Invention: Christmas | Ancient Egyptians Writing to narrate: Traditional Tale with a Twist Writing to Instruct: Instructions Poetry: | United Kingdom Writing to narrate: Warning Tale Writing to inform: Non-Chronological Report Poetry in H&W Week |
Year 4 | Stone Age to Iron Age Writing to describe and narrate: Portal story/Meeting Writing to recount: Diary Invention: Christmas | Greece Writing to narrate: Fantasy Narrative/Losing Tale Writing to Explain: Explanation Texts | United Kingdom Writing to narrate: Warning Tale Writing to inform: Non-Chronological Report Poetry in H&W Week |
Year 5 | Anglo-Saxons Writing to narrate: Mystery Narrative Non-Fiction: Reports (Non-chronological and Newspaper) Invention | Maya Writing to narrate: Adventure Story Writing to explain: Explanation text | Our World and Beyond Writing to inform: Biography Writing to narrate: ‘The Lighthouse’ Writing to argue: Persuasion and discussion Poetry in H&W Week |
Year 6 | Anglo-Saxons Response to novel Writing to inform: Formal letters Writing to narrate: Time travel | A Child’s War Response to novel Writing to inform: Newspaper Recount Writing to recount: Historical recounts | Changes Response to novel Mixed genres: ‘The Three Little Pigs’ Poetry in H&W Week
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Spelling
At The Pines, there is a weekly spelling focus in all Key Stage 2 classes, whilst Key Stage 1 and EYFS predominately follow a phonics programme. The spellings taught follow the National Curriculum guidance, building on from phonics.
Handwriting
It is the aim of The Pines that every child develops a fluent, legible style of handwriting.
- Capital and lower-case letters are taught to be used appropriately and the letter size should be consistent.
- We provide opportunities for children to develop, practise and perfect skills and provide targeted support to any child experiencing difficulty.
- Staff teach and model the Nelson font (see Appendix 3).
- In Foundation Stage, children develop hand eye co-ordination, gross and fine motor skills to support handwriting. Handwriting is implemented in EYFS as follows:
- Children use a range of tools to develop drawing lines and circles using gross motor skills e.g. swirling ribbons, batting balls, painting.
- Children use a range of materials to develop fine motor skills e.g. wax crayons, markers, pencils, sponges, chunky brushes, cotton wool balls, shaving foam, finger paints, etc.
- Children practice manipulative skills e.g. cooking, playing with constructions, threading and playing instruments.
- Children use variety of tools and paper, indoors and outdoors for purposeful writing. e.g. role play, labelling, making cards.
- Children physically develop the movements of letter shapes using gross motor skills (linked to music and sounds) to gain confidence with the basic movements and flow of writing.
- Children are introduced to letters in line with their phonics programme.
Key Documents
