Writing

Writing a wide range of texts on paper and on screen

Creating and shaping texts

Children are encouraged to see themselves as writers as soon as they start school and they attach meaning to the marks and strings of letters they are able to produce. At The Orchard we encourage the children to be independent in their writing and to feel confident to try to write the ideas they wish to convey. We use inspirational texts and purposeful activities to encourage children to want to write.

Children learn to

• Independently choose, plan and write for a variety of purposes. The teacher provides activities each day which give them the skills, vocabulary and ideas they need in order to write for a variety of different purposes and audiences.
• Use features of different forms of writing, considering presentation, use of appropriate words and phrases. Written work includes stories, diaries, letters, poems and accounts of past experiences. Factual writing includes descriptions, diagrams, posters, lists, instructions and captions.
• Use their phonic knowledge to segment, spell and write words and sentences.

Text structure and organisation

Children learn to

• Organise ideas into a coherent structure. Children are encouraged to carefully consider their own written work and are taught how to plan, draft, revise and proof-read their own work.
• During literacy sessions and other lessons the children are shown, through the use of a variety of texts, how writers use and organise language to create different types of writing. The teachers organise activities for the children to complete which help them to practice and use the skills taught.

Sentence structure and punctuation

• Children are encouraged to convey meaning through grammatically accurate and correctly punctuated sentences. This is modelled primarily through talk, reading and writing of a wide range of texts.

Presentation: Children learn to

• Develop a clear and fluent handwriting style.
• Use ICT skills to compose and present work.

Children develop a legible style of handwriting by being taught how to hold the pencil correctly, how to sit when writing, how to form letters and how to space words.

This begins in reception where we develop gross and fine motor skills to improve co-ordination and letter orientation. We aim to achieve high standards of presentation and provide purposeful, motivating tasks to encourage clear and neat writing.

Handwriting is taught through a weekly session and 1:1 within the reception classes and is practised through phonics. The school scheme of work provides more detailed guidance on what is taught in each year group.

Click HERE to see our guide on helping your child to write.