At Southway Junior School, we set out to inspire and engage children to become eager writers, full of imagination and creativity. We aim to provide a high-quality writing curriculum, which provides the children with the skills and knowledge needed to become confident writers. Their writing skills are developed through quality first teaching in English and the wider curriculum, with an abundance of opportunities for them to write for different audiences and purposes. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and children are able to explore how vocabulary, punctuation and grammar can be used effectively, adopting these skills in their own writing. Our clear progression of grammar and punctuation skills are embedded within our writing units, alongside spelling rules, which are evident within their independent writing.
Our English curriculum is based around key texts, with integrated writing, reading, drama and spoken language opportunities.
When teaching writing, we aim to:
- Make strong links between writing and reading, developing pupils’ understanding of how to ‘read as a writer’.
- Model the full writing process – especially how to draft writing that engages the audience, which then supports pupils with their own independent drafting.
- Make links between the grammar, punctuation and spellings that have been taught and their current writing.
- Develop proof-reading by pupils (especially for spelling and punctuation) which takes place prior to teacher marking, using a red pen. Self and peer feedback focuses on content, structure and impact of writing.
- Build pupils’ stamina to complete extended writing and improve extended work.
- Insure English lessons allow increased choice for pupils in the form of writing they choose and how they publish their work.
- Allow pupils to be reflective and make changes to enhance the effectiveness of their writing.
Writing
Writing skills development - Pupils develop their skills in our stages of writing:
When engaging, exploring and planning writing pupils learn to:
- Explore context, audience & purpose
- Articulate ideas
- Make links
- Draw on reading examples
- Develop detailed characters, settings & plot to impact the audience
- Draw on ideas & research
- Decide on appropriate form of writing to use
- Decide on language to enhance meaning for audience
When drafting writing pupils learn to:
- Develop characters / settings / plots
- Link ideas & paragraphs
- Choose appropriate grammar, punctuation & vocabulary
- Proof read
When editing and improving their writing pupils learn to:
- Re-read & improve own & others’ work
- Reflect on language choices & impact on audience.
- Improve grammar & punctuation.
Finally, we celebrate pupil writing and develop pupils’ skills to:
- confidently perform work to a group and make sure it sounds interesting, controlling the tone & volume so that its meaning is clear
- publish their work for the intended audience
Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPS)
GPS is taught both discretely each week (with a particular grammar or punctuation focus and a particular spelling focus), as well as integrated in reading and writing lessons.
Grammar and Punctuation:
- Pupils understand the role and impact that grammar and punctuation has within their own writing and texts they read.
- Discrete lessons introduce new grammar and punctuation learning.
- Pupils embed their understanding of grammar and punctuation through whole class teaching with planned opportunities to ‘bump into’ grammar and punctuation in texts used. Pupils confidently identify and understand where authors have successfully used grammar and punctuation to contribute to meaning and make an impact on the reader.
- Writing, punctuation and word mats; classroom working walls and displays of current teaching; and other resources support all abilities using progressively challenging and complex vocabulary, conjunctions, sentence openings and punctuation.
Spelling:
- Spelling is taught through one formal input, followed by one or two informal sessions each week.
- Teachers model new learning to pupils and invite them to suggest words which fit the pattern. Teachers, with their pupils, define categories and generalise the rules for their formation.
- Subsequent sessions allow pupils to creatively practise, explore, investigate, apply, assess and reflect on their learning.
- Spelling lists are sent home weekly, which children are tested on the following week.
