Writing
At Wentworth we believe that all children can be successful and develop into confident writers, able to speak and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions to others. Our aim is to inspire a love of writing through exposure to exciting, stimulating texts, resources and visual literacy that ensure progressive development of knowledge and skills and an appreciation of our rich and varied language heritage.
From Reception to Year 6, we ensure that the children practise the key skills of phonics, spellings and grammar through purposeful and engaging writing opportunities.
In order to achieve this:
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Children will have the chance to write in a variety of forms including notes, personal and formal letters, chronological accounts, book reviews, advertisements, comic strips and story boards, poems, stories, reports etc.
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Planning, drafting and redrafting is encouraged, in discussion with a partner or the teacher as well as independently
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Children have the opportunity to produce extended pieces of writing such as a class newspaper, books and individual stories.
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Children are encouraged to proof read their own and each other’s work and consider presentation and layout.
During EYFS children are provided with a wide range of fine motor activities e.g. tweezers, paintbrushes, chalks to allow them to develop their muscles which will support them to write with confidence. Throughout the Early Years Provision, the children have access to a wide range of writing materials. Children begin to write by mark making – giving meaning to the marks they make. The children begin learning their sounds after the first few weeks of settling into school. Once they begin to learn their sounds they are then encouraged to segment to hear the sounds as they write. Adults model writing and children make links between the spoken and written word.
During Key Stage 1 pupils start to enjoy writing and see the value of it. They learn to communicate meaning in narrative and non-fiction texts and spell and punctuate correctly.
During Key Stage 2 pupils develop an understanding that writing is both essential to thinking and learning and enjoyable in its own right. They learn the main rules and conventions of written English and start to explore how the English language can be used to express meaning in different ways. They use planning, drafting and editing processes to improve their work and to sustain their fiction and non-fiction writing.
Spelling, Vocabulary, Grammar & Punctuation
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Whenever possible, punctuation and spelling is taught within the control of the child’s own writing.
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During Early Years Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1 children move through the phonics programme learning strategies to blend and segment words for reading and spelling and where necessary, some children continue with phonics work into Key Stage 2.
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Children in Key Stage 1 & 2 follow English Appendix 1: Spelling, of the National Programme of Study for English
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Children are taught to self-check spellings, using the appropriate tools for their age group.
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Children may also make use of ICT spelling programmes.
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Children in Key Stage 1 & 2 follow English Appendix 2: Vocabulary, Grammar & Punctuation.
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Correct terminology is encouraged.
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In each year group grammatical skills are taught, continuously building on knowledge and skills already attained.
The development of English skills is not linear. Some children will grasp skills and concepts easily, others will need constant revision and reinforcement.
Handwriting
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Children are taught how to hold a pencil or pen correctly.
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Once children can write legibly they are encouraged to develop a comfortable clear style of fluent joined handwriting
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Children are encouraged to use pen at the appropriate stage in their development
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Children are taught to use different forms of handwriting for different purposes.
Useful links:
End of EYFS 50 High Frequency Words to read/spell
100 High Frequency Words to read/spell
200 High Frequency Words to read/spell
Year 3 & 4 Statutory Spellings
Year 5 & 6 Statutory Spellings