Writing
 

At Ireland Wood, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to become an independent, confident and capable writer.

Children are helped to develop the ability to express their thoughts and ideas and communication skills through the written word. At Ireland Wood, we aim to ensure that children develop a strong command of English through the correct use of punctuation, spelling, grammar and correct letter formation. Opportunities are provided for children to develop the necessary writing skills required for different purposes and audiences. The link between reading and writing is strongly emphasised.

Reception

High quality texts are used as the main stimulus for writing during English lessons in Reception class. Within lessons, children learn to:

• Write the letter/letter groups which represent the 44 sounds.
• Write words by saying the sounds and graphemes (Fred fingers).
• Write simple then more complex sentence.

The Four C's Approach: Connect, Collect, Construct, Create

We aim for our writing curriculum to be an exciting and engaging experience.  The Four C's Approach,  'Connect, Collect, Construct and Create,' is the sequence in which writing follows in years 1-6.  All of our writing is highly immersive and links to the current topic being studied by the children in class. We base our writing approach on 'The Write Stuff' by Jane Considine.

Narrative

When teaching narrative, the teacher chooses an unfamiliar text/stimulus that is broken down into 'Plot Points'. One plot point = one lesson. The children are closely guided through the writing process by the teacher. Each writing lesson is made up of 3 'learning chunks'. Within each learning chunk, the children will connect, collect and construct. Each learning chunk has a specific focus e.g. expanded noun phrases.

Non-Fiction

When teaching non-fiction, the children learn the features and layout of the text they will be writing e.g. instructions. The features of the text are organised into 'shapes' for the children to remember. These 'shapes' form the structure of each lesson (like 'plot points' in narrative). Each writing lesson is made up of 3 'learning chunks'. Within each learning chunk, the children will connect, collect and construct. Each learning chunk has a specific focus e.g. alliteration.


Components of Writing 
 

We use Jane Considine's three essential components to support children in becoming great writers. The FANTASTICs (Ideas), The GRAMMARISTICs (Tools), and The BOOMTASTICs (Techniques) support their learning, precision and writing. We call each individual component a writing 'lens'. 
 

• The FANTASTICs system allows children to identify the nine elements that all text types are comprised of. When pupils are familiar with these nine elements, they are able to ensure that they are incorporated into their writing. The FANTASTICs help children to sharpen their understanding of their own and others’ writing by encouraging them to be observant and reflective.

• The 9 GRAMMARISTICs cover national curriculum requirements, capturing the broad spectrum of key grammar knowledge. Discrete gammar lessons are also taught to ensure specific grammar knowledge is taught and revisited. A grammar routeway is used to ensure consistency and progression through school.

• The BOOMTASTICs capture the ten powerful ways to add drama and poetic devices to writing. They help children structure their work, teaching them to showcase their writing voice, demonstrate originality and to take risks in a bid to capture the truth of a situation.

Connect, Collect, Construct

Connect: Children need ideas to enable them to write. Within the 'Connect' stage, the children engage with the writing stimulus and generate vocabulary/ideas that can be used in their sentences. Throughout the whole process, the children also take part in 'Connect Experience Lessons'. These might include: drama activities, music, trips/visitors, art etc.

Collect: During the ‘Collect’ stage, the teacher shares examples of high-quality words/phrases that are ambitious that the children can 'chot' (chat and jot) down. These words/phrases are linked to one of the writing lenses (from the Components of Writing). The children have an opportunity to 'chot' their own ideas down at this stage. Through 'kind calling out', the teacher collects a range of words/phrases from the children and scribes them on the whiteboard. Children keep their pencils in their hands and jot down any of the words/phrases they want to magpie. 

Construct: Using the scribed list of shared ideas, the teacher now models writing a sentence live with the children. This modelled sentence demonstrates the writing techniques and features being taught. The children then use the teachers model to create their own sentence, choosing from their own word/phrase lists. 


Deepen the Moment

Within each lesson, the children have opportunities to 'Deepen the Moment'. This means that they can add deeper layers to their sentences or add additional sentences within the same plot point (narrative) or shape (non-fiction). They can use the Fantastic, Grammaristic and Boomtastic lenses to add more information/detail to their writing and show off their own creative writing. 


Create - Independent Writing

Create: During the ‘Create’ stage, the children plan, draft, compose and edit their own writing. Throughout the year, time is given for children to publish some of their work, ready for it to be showcased in classrooms or on school writing displays.  We want all of our children to feel proud of their writing, therefore we place strong emphasis on providing opportunity for the children to publish and share their work with others. 

Attached you will find the Long Term Plan for English at Ireland Wood Primary School. Most of our focus areas in English are planned as part of our immersive curriculum but our plan is a working document and is adapted to incorporate national events and celebrations. We aim to provide a broad and balanced curriculum for the children at our school which ensures a wide range of English genres are taught.

• ENGLISH LTP.docx.pdf

Year 4 shared some of their favourite poems on National Poetry Day. Enjoy listening to their recitals.

The children at Ireland Wood love to write because; it allows them to be creative, they can express themselves, they can develop work they are proud of. See what the children have written themselves...

• I like writing because.pdf