Writing and Communication
Policy
Date:
October 2016
Review Date:
October 2019
Writing and Communication Policy
Contents
1. Rationale
Page 3
2. Spoken Language
Page 4
Talk for Writing
3. Writing
Page 4
Page 7
Composition
Page 7
Stimuli
Page 7
Strategies for teaching writing
Page 8
Teaching and learning of grammar
Page 9
Transcription
Page 10
Spelling/phonics
Page 10
Handwriting
Page 12
4. Layout and Presentation
Page 17
5. Assessment
Page 17
Sparkle Writing
Page 17
6. Professional Development
Page 19
7. Specific Groups
Page 20
Appendix 1: Pie Corbett’s Games
Page 22
Appendix 2: Overcoming Barriers to Writing
Page 36
Appendix 3: Phonics Sound Cards
Page 41
Appendix 4: Handwriting Scripts
Page 43
Appendix 5: Handwriting Licences
Page 47
Appendix 6: Writing Layout Posters
Page 49
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Writing and Communication Policy
This policy needs to be read alongside other school policies including:
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Reading Policy
Effective Learning Feedback (ELF) Policy
Assessment Policy
SEN Policy
Learning and Teaching Policy
Topic Webs
1. Rationale
At Coldean Primary School we believe that effective communication is key to successful
learning across the curriculum.
The National Curriculum in England: Key Stages 1 and 2 (DfE, 2013) clearly states that
teaching the English language is an essential role of a primary school. At Coldean
English teaching is a priority, we recognise that this is essentially cross-curricular and a
constant through-out school life and beyond. It is part of the ‘essential knowledge’
(DfE, 2013, p.6) that is needed in society: “Teachers should develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and
vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is
both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils,
understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency
in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.”
(DfE, 2013, p.10) Coldean is an inclusive school and we set high expectations for all pupils. At our school
we recognise the importance of accurate and regular assessment in order to support
individuals at every part of their learning journey and in whatever circumstances. To
ensure all children excel we use one to one support, small groups and cross-phase work.
We plan teaching opportunities to help those for whom English is an additional language
and those with disabilities outlined in the SEN code of practice. We agree with the
statement of the National Curriculum, that ‘pupils... who do not learn to speak, read
and write fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised’ (DfE, 2013, p.13).
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Writing and Communication Policy
2. Spoken Language
The National Curriculum states that pupils should be ‘taught to speak clearly and convey
ideas confidently in Standard English’ (DfE, 2013, p.10). They should:
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Justify ideas with reasons
Ask questions to check understanding.
Develop vocabulary and build knowledge.
Negotiate.
Evaluate and build on the ideas of others.
Select the appropriate register for effective communication.
Give well-structured descriptions and explanations.
Speculate, hypothesise and explore ideas.
Organise their ideas prior to writing.
Provision to support this
EYFS
In the EYFS we provide a language rich environment that encourages positive
relationship building. Children have the opportunity to become involved in practical
experiences promoted through play. Adults join in with this play both talking with, and
listening to the children, taking into account their interests and previous experiences.
The children are exposed to the correct grammatical structure of sentences through
consistent modelling by adults and the children are encouraged to extend their
vocabulary through forced alternatives. The frequent use of stories, songs and games
provide the children with an opportunity to explore and build confidence in language.
KS1 and KS2
Talk For Writing
Talk for Writing is the developmental exploration, through talk, of the thinking and
creative processes involved in being a writer. It is an integral approach utilised at
Coldean Primary School in order to cultivate spoken language and writing skills in KS1
and KS2.
It contains 5 main strategies:
1. Book Talk:
An extended opportunity to use talk to explore children’s personal and collective
responses to a text as readers. Book Talk is a 3-step process:
• Eliciting Response
• Extending Responses
• Encouraging Critique
Key Points:
• Teacher models before class tries.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Personal response, not a barrage of comprehension questions.
Developing confidence to ‘have a go’.
Open prompts / questions / invitations.
Critical and evaluative thinking.
Can’t be wrong – but should be prepared to change / adapt / amend in response
to others.
Building group dialogue.
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Teaching points:
• Children develop their own ideas.
• Children do the majority of the talking.
• Conversations between children.
• Teacher intervention for effect, “What John said was interesting. I wonder...”
• Small bursts of talk partners; ‘Have a quick buzz’.
2. Writer Talk
Writing talk is …
• Talk that helps children think and behave like a writer.
• Reading as a writer.
• Writing as a reader.
• Focused on the purpose and audience for the writing.
Key Points:
Teacher models before the class tries at all stages verbalise and make explicit the
reader’s / writer’s thinking – “I think that ...”, “The writer is showing...”
Not just about ‘spotting grammar’.
Key Question: what effect is the writer creating?
Key follow-up: how are they achieving this?
Identify key features that could be used (appropriate for the teaching group)
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3. Storytelling and story-making
Children develop an imaginative world of images that can be drawn upon and
daydreamed to invent new stories. The storytelling and story-making approach involves:
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Learning and repeating oral stories.
Building the confidence to develop them through telling.
Extending this development into writing.
Creating 'new' stories orally as a preparation and rehearsal for writing.
Through storytelling children internalise:
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Story patterns that are revisited, such as ‘quest’ or ‘journey’ stories; in this
way, basic plots can act as blueprints for the imagination.
The building blocks of narrative – common characters, settings, events etc.
The flow of sentences, the syntactic patterns.
The vocabulary – especially connectives that link and structure narrative such as
‘once upon a time’, ‘one day’, ‘so’, ‘next’, ‘but’, ‘finally’ etc.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Key Points:
• The development of storytelling is built through a 3-step sequence:
Imitation
Innovation
Retelling
of • Substitution
learned stories
• Addition
• Alteration
• Change of viewpoint /genre
• Recycling the plot
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Invention
• Use a theme, plot pattern or
simple story idea
• Draw and decide
• Tell and retell
• Work on aspects over a few days
• Shared to independent writing
Storytelling and story-making are often best if first done communally, gradually
working towards greater independence through group, paired and finally
individual approaches.
4. Word and Language Games
Talk games and activities can be used to:
• Stimulate and develop vocabulary (e.g. word associations).
• ‘Warm up’ the imagination and tune children in to more creative thinking
(‘Crossing the river’; ‘Box of stars’).
• Orally develop a character (‘Tell me more about...’).
• Orally develop a setting (‘Painting the picture’).
More examples can be found in Appendix 1.
5. Role Play and Drama
In KS1 role-play areas are established in each classroom and in both KS1 and KS2 roleplay and drama activities, such as ‘hot-seating’ and ‘conscience alley’ are regularly used
at various stages of the reading–writing teaching sequence. More examples of drama
activities can be found within the Learning and Teaching policy.
Additional strategies used to develop spoken language include:
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Peer teaching, modelling and assessment.
Immersion of phonics teaching in all subjects.
Reading aloud and sharing work.
Adults modelling the correct grammatical structure.
Think it- say it – repeat it writing strategy.
Talking is supported with topic and vocabulary word mats.
Debates and discussions.
Use of talk partners.
Ability and mixed ability group work.
Discrete teaching of questioning skills.
Use of planning tools to scaffold speech.
Explicit teaching of verbal reasoning.
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Writing and Communication Policy
3. Writing
The National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) states that pupils should:
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Develop the stamina and skills to write at length.
Use accurate spelling and punctuation.
Be grammatically correct.
Write in a range of ways and purposes including narratives, explanations,
descriptions, comparisons, summaries and evaluations.
Write to support their understanding and consolidation of what they have heard
or read.
At Coldean, we encourage children to write in creative and imaginative ways developing
confidence and independence alongside a ‘love’ of words. In pursuit of this aim we
believe that children should experience a range of purposes and forms of writing. They
are supported in the exploration of all writing genres.
Progression and Continuity
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Communication & Language and Literacy plans in the Early Years Foundation
Stage ensure that writing opportunities are both taught and available in the
environment.
Weekly Literacy plans from Y1 to Y6 provide a progression of word level, sentence
level and text level skills throughout the school.
Children’s writing across the school is moderated termly to ensure consistency of
levelling, which supports accurate tracking of pupil progress.
Learning objectives and targets are taken directly from the Writing Assessment
Criteria (WAC) sheets and are shared with the children at each stage of the
learning journey towards the final writing outcome.
Staff are mindful of possible barriers to each stage of learning and strive to
overcome them (see Appendix 2).
Phonics/Spelling trackers provide a detailed picture of the progression in phonics
and spelling.
A cursive handwriting script is developed throughout the school.
The 2013 Curriculum (DfE, 2013) divides writing skills into two dimensions:
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Composition (articulating ideas in speech and writing). Transcription (spelling and handwriting).
At Coldean we recognise that both these elements are essential to success and we
support the acquisition of both sets of skills through various methods. We recognise that
these areas are clearly linked to the other aspects of English learning: speaking and
listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary.
Composition
Stimuli
Across the school, from Nursery to Year 6, the children are exposed to a wide variety of
first-hand experiences to engage, inspire and stimulate their imaginations. We believe
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Writing and Communication Policy
that these rich experiences provide children with “…stuff to write about!”
These experiences can take a multitude of forms of, some of which are:
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An educational visit or visitor.
A Stunning Start (usually in fancy dress).
A problem to solve.
Drama-based activities e.g. interviewing a book character; finding a dragon’s egg
etc.
Practical activities e.g. cooking to support writing instructions.
Texts (books, web-based, brochures, leaflets, podcasts etc.) are also extensively used to
‘hook’ children into writing tasks. They not only provide a stimulus for writing but also
act as exemplars for the writing genre itself.
Strategies for teaching writing
Teaching strategies for shared writing with
the whole-class/group include modelling and
demonstration as well as collaborative
writing. Teacher modelling shows children
the writing process in action in the hands of
an effective writer, usually in 'real time'.
Demonstration also shows the writing process
in action but the teacher has a dual role
during writing – the 'writer' and the 'teacher'.
This allows the 'teacher' to comment on
aspects of the process as it takes place: Why
did I do it that way? How did I decide which
word to use next? Here's what I was thinking
when I chose to begin with a preposition.
This is how to do it … This usually slows the
writing process down and allows a tighter
focus on the writing objective.
Collaborative writing is a small step closer
to independence as the children make their
own contributions and the teacher selects
from their suggestions. Quick-burst writing
allows the children to try out what has been demonstrated or discussed in very small
steps, for example using an individual dry-wipe board or a writer’s notebook to list some
possible words or draft the next sentence.
Guided writing uses different teaching strategies. It is not simply shared writing with a
smaller group. The teaching identifies and addresses the group’s key areas of weakness
in a more refined way. Although teacher modelling is used, the children’s involvement is
more closely scaffolded as they apply the strategy and the teacher is able to adapt or
refine the rest of the session accordingly.
Individual teaching/tuition is an option for the teacher when a child has reached a
barrier to learning that is very specific and is not easily addressed during group
teaching. The use of the “remember, model, try, apply, secure” process supports the
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Writing and Communication Policy
individual child. This would be time-consuming for all children but it is a highly
effective pedagogical approach for target children to follow through on a learning gap
and allows them to move quickly back into the shared and guided sessions. Individual
teaching is not the same as guided writing with one child.
Directed writing focuses on one very specific step in learning, uses strategies that will
work most effectively for the individual child and is flexible during the session to move
forward, track back, repeat a step more than once or break the learning steps into even
smaller stages if necessary.
Independent writing gives children the chance to apply all that they have been taught.
It is essential that children know for what purpose they are writing and how they will
know if they have been successful.
The development and use of success
criteria/REMEMBER TOs enable children to focus on the learning objectives for the
lesson.
Assessment of writing is the responsibility of practitioners, peers and the children
themselves. A copy of the Writing Assessment Criteria (WAC) at the stage that the child
is working on is in individual English books and is used by practitioners and children to
assess attainment and provide ‘next steps’ in learning. This assessment should be
undertaken in the plenary of the lesson whenever possible. Practitioners may also make
reference to it in their feedback. Each objective’s achievement is dated the same as
the writing that bears the evidence.
Teaching and learning of grammar
The National Curriculum (DfE, 2013) gives a clear developmental programme for the
introduction and acquisition of knowledge about grammar and punctuation. During
lesson warm-ups and writing sessions children are explicitly taught the areas of grammar
appropriate for their particular age (targets are taken from a child’s WAC sheet).
Children are encouraged to use the appropriate terminology during lessons e.g.
adjectival phrase, subordinate clause etc.
All practitioners in the school model the correct grammar in their spoken and written
language. Children should be corrected whenever appropriate.
Feedback and marking of grammar
Correction of grammar errors should take account of the needs of the child or children
in the group. In the early stages of writing development it is more important to support
the child to construct and write a full sentence whether it includes incorrect grammar or
not e.g. Last night I readed my book. The practitioner should continue to model the
correct sentence back but not undermine the child’s confidence by ‘correcting’ the
language.
In shared and guided writing lessons, the practitioner can use children’s grammatical
errors as key teaching points.
When marking and providing written feedback, grammatical errors should be corrected
in accordance with the Effective Learning Feedback (ELF) Policy.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Transcription – Spelling and Handwriting
Teaching and learning of Phonics and Spelling
Skilled word reading involves decoding and the recognition of familiar printed words.
Underpinning both of these skills is the understanding that letters on a page represent
the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics is emphasised in the early teaching of
reading. (DfE, 2013, p.14)
The writing down of ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: on spelling
quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters
(phonics) and understanding morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling
structure) of words. (DfE, 2013, p.15)
Daily Phonics and Spelling lessons at Coldean include a range of activities e.g. games,
word investigations, dictation, putting words in context that combine the teaching and
learning of phonics, morphology and orthography.
Phonics
Letters and Sounds: Principles & Practise of High Quality Phonics [DfES (2007) DFES00281-2007] forms the basis of Coldean’s phonics teaching.
Pre-School and Nursery: Children are taught Phase 1 of Letters and Sounds
concentrating on developing the children’s speaking and listening skills.
Reception: Letters and Sounds Phases 2 to 4 are taught with Phase 1 being revisited
through the environment. During the Summer Term Phase 5 may be introduced to
children who are ready.
Year 1: Revision of Letters and Sounds Phases 2 to 4 and specific teaching of Phase 5.
Spelling
Phase 6 of Letters and Sounds: Principles & Practise of High Quality Phonics [DfES (2007)
DFES-00281-2007] and Nelson Spelling Resources and Assessment Books form the basis of
Coldean’s teaching of spelling.
Year 2: Revision of Letters and Sounds Phases 3 to 5, specific teaching of Phase 6 and of
the Year 2 statutory spelling requirements from the National Curriculum (2013).
Year 3: Revision of Letters and Sounds Phases 5 and 6 where required and specific
teaching of the Year 3 statutory spelling requirements from the National Curriculum
(2013).
Year 4: Teaching of the Year 4 statutory spelling requirements from the National
Curriculum (2013).
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Writing and Communication Policy
Year 5: Teaching of the Year 5 statutory spelling requirements from the National
Curriculum (2013).
Year 6: Teaching of the Year 6 statutory spelling requirements from the National
Curriculum (2013).
There will be some children in every year group who are less successful spellers and
individual provision will be made for these children through additional support or
intervention programmes.
In order to establish the phonic/spelling level of a child and track their progress,
diagnostic and placement tests are carried out at the beginning of each year. On a
weekly basis the children take spelling lists home to learn. They are then tested on
these words and scores are recorded weekly on the year group’s Spelling Record saved in
the Assessment folder on the U:(Assessment) drive.
Spelling within writing sessions
Children are taught to spell words appropriate to their Phonic/Spelling phase using the
‘Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check’ approach. They are provided with relevant word banks to
support their writing (word banks may contain both functional vocabulary such as
adverbs or conjunctions as well as content specific words e.g. Stone Age vocabulary.)
Words banks should reflect current learning needs and should not become ‘wallpaper’.
As children develop their knowledge and understanding of spelling they are encouraged
to ‘have a go’ in the course of their writing. This may involve the use of a practice
page, whiteboard or rough paper to support the child in making plausible attempts at
spelling unknown words.
Children are taught to use resources such as phoneme cards (see Appendix 3), word
mats, dictionaries etc. and they are expected to use these when writing. When using
ICT children use spell-checking tools, however they are also taught to read through and
check their writing as these tools are not fool proof.
Feedback and marking of spelling in English books
Children are expected to apply their phonic knowledge to correctly spell words using the
graphemes from the Phonics Phase that they are secure in i.e. if a child is working in
phase 4, they are expected to correctly spell all words from phase 3. This includes the
‘Common Exception Words’ (Tricky Words) within phases.
When giving learning feedback, practitioners will indicate (underlining if written
feedback) these spelling errors. Children write the corrected spelling above their error.
Where appropriate, children will practice these words using ‘Look-Say-Cover-WriteCheck’.
In Key Stage 2 any display whose primary purpose is to celebrate writing achievement
should have no spelling errors: this also applies to displays in main corridors. (See also
Learning Feedback Policy)
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Writing and Communication Policy
Handwriting Policy
Aim
The school aims for each child to develop a clear, legible and joined cursive style of
handwriting.
Objectives
The children are taught to:
• Use a comfortable and efficient pencil grip (using the ‘pinch & flick’ method of
picking up a pencil).
• Produce a controlled line that supports letter formation.
• Write letters using the correct sequence of movements.
• Practise handwriting in conjunction with spelling and independent writing
ensuring correct letter formation and proportion.
• Ensure consistency in spacing between letters and words.
• Build up handwriting speed, fluency and legibility.
• Know when to use a clear neat hand for finished, presented work.
• Use a range of presentational skills e.g. print script for captions, subheadings and
labels/capital letters for posters, title pages and headings, a range of computergenerated fonts and point sizes.
This is achieved through:
• Modelling correct formations and joins by all practitioners at the appropriate
Stage.
• Whole school attention to cursive style of letter formation.
• Attention to each child’s individual development.
• Constant practice using good models in appropriate script (see Appendix 4)
Teaching and Learning
The correct formation of letters must be given the highest priority. The first handwriting
lessons are vital and the most important issue is to ensure that the children we teach
learn to form the letters of the alphabet with the correct sequence of strokes from the
beginning. The correct formation of letters needs to become automatic and there must
be frequent opportunities for all children to practice.
Considerations for the formal teaching of handwriting include:
• A good sitting position with chair tucked in, correct posture and page turned on
the appropriate diagonal.
• Seating left-handed pupils to the left of right-handers.
• Ensuring pupils have the correct pencil grip
• Teachers acting as a role model modelling the appropriate script on the
whiteboard, displays, labels, marking etc.
Handwriting is taught in discrete lessons and is practised in other activities such as
Reading Basket or in the environment.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Handwriting Development
Early Years, Foundation Stage
Pre-School and Nursery
Within Pre-School and Nursery the children are given opportunities to explore
handwriting patterns and mark making in a widening range of situations and to practise
and extend their range of skills. They have the opportunity to explore, enjoy, learn
about, and use handwriting patterns and mark making in a range of situations. The
patterns may include: early pencil skills, clockwise and anti-clockwise circles.
Children will experience a range of activities designed to develop their manipulative,
gross and fine motor skills. Fine motor control is developed through games, creative
work, manipulative and construction toys and activities.
Emergent writing is encouraged through role-play and use of a writing table. Older
children may engage in more formal activities with a focus on the correct formation of
letters in their name.
Reception
As in Pre-school and Nursery the children are given opportunities to explore handwriting
patterns and mark making in a widening range of situations and to practise and extend
their range of skills. They have the opportunity to explore, enjoy, learn about, and use
handwriting patterns and mark making in a range of situations. They will continue to
experience a range of activities designed to develop their manipulative, gross and fine
motor skills.
Emergent writing is encouraged within the environment through role-play and the
writing area alongside the children being exposed to the more formal activities of
tracing names and pictures and practising initial handwriting patterns that prepare
children for cursive script.
As soon as children show good control with mark making implements they should be
introduced to simple letter formation; this must be modelled by practitioners to ensure
the correct formation.
Initial letter formation is represented by the font
SassooonCRIn‰ant.
Letter formation should be taught in the following sequence:
• anti-clockwise turn: c, a, o, d, g, q, s, ‰, e
• start at the top, descend and back up: n, m, r, p, b, h
• i, j, k, l, t, u
• v, w, x, y, z
Resources for use at this stage;
• Font SassooonCRIn‰ant
• “A Hand for Spelling” (Charles Cripps, LDA)
• Penpals for Handwriting (Cambridge University Press)
• Simple letter formation sheets (see Appendix 4)
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Writing and Communication Policy
Key Stage 1
Year 1
At the beginning of Year 1 emerging writing is still encouraged in the environment
through role-play. Formal handwriting sessions focus on the correct formation of letters
still using simple letter formation. The children progress to writing on lines with
ascenders and descenders in the correct place. Handwriting books with 4-line feint are
used to help ensure the consistency of letter size and height of ascenders and
descenders.
When a child is confident in their recognition of letters and the corresponding sounds
and has appropriate control for simple letter formation, the child will be given a ‘Pre-
cursive Licence’. At this point they will be formally taught a pre-cursive letter
formation, represented by the font CCW Precursive 6.
The letters are taught in the following groups and order:
• Straight: i, l, t, u, y, j
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Stick first: n, h, m, b, p
2 o’clock: c, a, d, g, qu, e
Top joiners: o, r, v, w, v
Others: x, z, f, s, k
Resources for use at this stage:
• Font CCW Precursive 6
• “A Hand for Spelling” (Charles Cripps, LDA)
• Penpals for Handwriting (Cambridge University Press)
• Pre-cursive letter formation sheets (see Appendix 4)
Year 2
In Year 2 and subsequent year groups, handwriting is often taught as a discrete lesson,
to the whole-class or smaller groups. Often new patterns and joins will be introduced in
one of the discrete lessons at the beginning of a week with children often being given
opportunities for independent practise in other lessons e.g. Reading Basket.
As the children’s control and letter formation, proportion and orientation of their
writing improves they will then be ready to begin to the formal teaching of a cursive
style, this achievement will be celebrated with a ‘Cursive Licence’. The
cursive script is represented by font CCW Cursive Writing 15.
Children will be taught that every letter starts on the line with a ‘lead in’ and ends with
a ‘tail out’ with the exception of capitals.
The letters are taught in the same groups and order as pre-cursive letter formation:
• Straight: i, l, t, u, y, j
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Stick first: n, h, m, b, p
2 o’clock: c, a, d, g, qu, e
Top joiners: o, r, v, w, v
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Writing and Communication Policy
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Others: x, z, f, s, k
Those children who write with a confident and fluid cursive script may be introduced to
a joined style during Year 2. This will be celebrated with ‘Joined Script Licence’.
Our chosen style for joining letters is where every letter starts on the line and every
letter joins with the exception of capitals. This is best represented by font XCCW
Joined 15a.
Resources for use at this stage:
• Font CCW Cursive Writing 15
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Font XCCW Joined 15a
Penpals for Handwriting (Cambridge University Press)
Handwriting Exercise Books
Cursive and Joined writing letter formation sheets (see Appendix 4)
Key Stage 2
Year 3
As the children move into Year 3 they are introduced to a joined handwriting style and
receive their ‘Joined Script Licence’. Our chosen style for joining letters is where
every letter starts on the line and every letter joins with the exception of capitals. This
is best represented by font XCCW Joined 15a.
The letters are taught in the same groups and order as cursive letter formation:
• Straight: i, l, t, u, y, j
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Stick first: n, h, m, b, p
2 o’clock: c, a, d, g, qu, e
Top joiners: o, r, v, w, v
Others: x, z, f, s, k
Children who are able to write in a confident and fluid joined script will be given a ‘Pen
Licence’. It is our expectation that the majority of children will have their pen
licence by the end of Year 3.
Resources for use at this stage:
• Font XCCW Joined 15a
• Penpals for Handwriting (Cambridge University Press)
• Handwriting Exercise Books
• Joined writing letter formation sheets (see Appendix 4)
Years 4, 5 and 6
To refine their handwriting skills, the children practise the correct formation of basic
joins, revising diagonal and horizontal joins learnt in the previous stage. They are
encouraged to be consistent in the size and proportion and the spacing between letters
and words. Speed, fluency and legibility are ensured through regular practice.
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Writing and Communication Policy
The children use cursive joined script in all writing except when other special forms are
required. They are able to distinguish between formal, neat handwriting for
presentational work and informal writing for everyday work e.g. rough drafting. It is
essential to build up speed of writing for note taking, drafting and list-making.
The children are encouraged to use a range of presentational skills e.g.
• Printing for captions, sub-headings and labels;
• Capitals for posters, title pages, headings;
• A range of computer-generated fonts and point sizes.
The full range of pupil attainment
Planning for the teaching and learning of handwriting provides for the full range of prior
attainment within each class or set. Throughout the lesson the teacher will have these
needs in mind and will direct support and provide activities to cater for this range. In
addition to the average attainer, it will normally be satisfactory to think in terms of
three broad levels of understanding and to plan accordingly.
Able pupils
Able pupils will normally work on the same handwriting skills as the rest of the class, but
activities must be planned to stretch their abilities.
Lower attaining/Target pupils
Lower attaining pupils will normally work on same handwriting skills as the rest of the
class, but activities must be planned to enable them to succeed. A fine writing hand
gives a boost to the self-esteem for these lower-attaining pupils.
Special Needs
Those children with an Individual Education Plan/Provision Map should have specific
targets each term for handwriting where appropriate.
Assessment Points
1. Is the writing generally legible and pleasant?
2. Are the letters correctly shaped and proportioned?
3. Are the joins made correctly?
4. Are the spaces between letters, words and lines appropriate?
5. Is the writing properly aligned?
Handwriting Licences
At Coldean we have four different handwriting licences that reflect a child’s handwriting
progress throughout the school (see Appendix 5). It is expected that a child will
demonstrate the appropriate standard of handwriting in discrete handwriting sessions as
well as in other pieces of writing before being awarded a licence. When a child has
achieved the appropriate standard to be awarded a licence, they visit the Head Teacher
with the examples of their handwriting to receive their licence. The achievement of a
handwriting licence can also be celebrated in House Meetings.
Type of Licence
Year group awarded in
Pre-cursive Licence
Year 1
Cursive Licence
Year 2
Joined Script Licence
End of Year 2 / Start of Year 3
Pen Licence
By the end of Year 3
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4. Layout and Presentation
Within the Primary phase, children write on lined paper in their literacy books. In Key
Stage 1 the children use A4 books with 15mm feint on half the page. The children are
taught to write on each line. By the end of Year 2 it is expected that children will write
the full date on the left-hand side at the top of each piece of writing and a title in the
form of a “Can I..?” statement two lines below this.
In Key Stage 2 children are expected to:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Write on pages with 8mm feint.
Write from the margin.
Write the date in full on the left-hand side of each new piece of writing.
Write a title in the form of a “Can I..?” statement two lines below the date and
centred.
Write on every other line to facilitate feedback from practitioners, peers and for
self-editing.
Use guidelines when writing on plain paper.
Writing layout posters can be found in Appendix 6.
Writing to be displayed
In addition to correct spelling and grammar (see above) writing to be displayed should
be presented on paper without pre-printed lines and with a border. This can be
achieved using guidelines underneath. When publishing from a PC border-art can be
used.
Writing should also be mounted in line with the school’s Display Policy.
5. Assessment
Assessment
In order for children to make progress with their writing it is essential that they and all
practitioners are aware of their current attainment and their next steps in learning.
When giving learning feedback, practitioners will use the school’s learning feedback
policy. Pupils and practitioners will use the school editing code to support self and peer
assessment of their writing (see Effective Learning Feedback Policy)
Writing Assessment Criteria (WAC) for the child’s current stage should be inside the
front cover of each child’s English book; this allows the child and any practitioner to
work together to assess the child’s writing and identify ways forward. At the end of each
term the practitioner highlights any WAC targets they know the child is confident in so
that termly progression can be clearly identified (Autumn = orange, Spring = green,
Summer = blue). At the end of each year WAC sheets are passed forward to the child’s
next teacher so that targets completed in the previous year can be highlighted in pink
on the child’s new WAC sheet.
Sparkle Writing (independent assessed writing)
‘Sparkle Writing’ aims to provide teachers with a way to assess and track progression in
writing throughout a child’s school life. Children are issued with a ‘Sparkle Writing book’
in Reception and this follows the child throughout their schooling. A new writing book is
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attached in Year 3 with feint more suitable for Key Stage 2. It is expected that every
child takes part in four ‘sparkle writing’ sessions per term (approximately every three
weeks) completing all of the writing featured in the book independently.
Sparkle Writing Sessions
Sparkle Writing sessions should be different to a regular English lesson. A ‘sparkly’
atmosphere should be created through the use of calming music, lighting and sparkly
props. Even the books that the children write in sparkle!
Lesson Content
Sparkle Writing sessions are stand-alone lessons which provide the children with an
opportunity to apply their knowledge of a text type previously studied. They should not
match the text type being covered in that week’s English lessons but instead could be
the text covered 2 weeks or so prior to the session. The theme of the writing reflects
each year group’s current topic e.g. Y3 children studying the ‘Circus Circus’ topic may
be asked to write a diary entry of a circus performer. It is expected that over the year a
range of text types will be covered in sparkle writing sessions.
Lesson Structure
All lessons from YR- Y6 follow a similar structure. They begin with a word or sentence
level warm-up related to the subject/text type at hand. The Can I… ? is shared with the
children and unlike most English lessons is general and relates to the text type rather
than focussing on a specific skill e.g. Can I use a range of skills to write instructions?
The context of the writing is introduced and expectations are agreed with the children
and recorded, as Remember TOs e.g. use time adverbials, headings, paragraphs etc.
The teacher may discuss with the children features of the particular text type but does
not model writing it. The children can then be given 10 minutes of independent planning
time if deemed appropriate and this is followed by no longer than 45 minutes of writing
time for Years 2-6 (exact writing times are down to the discretion of the teacher). A
timer is displayed and the teacher should encourage the children to check through their
work during the final 5 minutes. There is no specific time limit for children in Reception
and Year 1. The children complete the writing independently and in silence.
Editing sessions
After a Sparkle Writing lesson teachers may plan for an editing session. This may be for
a small group of children on the same day or for the whole class during the following
session or day. This allows the children to revisit, revise and edit their work, as real
writers always do. The children are expected to work independently during these
session guided by verbal or non-specific written feedback e.g. Include an adverbial
phrase in your writing?
Presentation
The children present their writing in the same format as they would in their regular
English books.
Writing support tools
During sparkle writing and editing lessons children can have access to any writing tools
that they would normally use in English lessons. This could include anything from a
phoneme card to a thesaurus. However, it is up to the children to select and use these
resources.
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Assessment
At the end of each sparkle writing lesson the children must assess their learning using
the self-assessment triangles, which they record next to their Can I. Opportunities for
peer assessment should also be provided in some Sparkle Writing lessons. It is expected
that the teacher assesses each piece of work in the Sparkle Writing book against the
children’s current WAC sheet (removable from their English book). The appropriate
targets are triangled, dated and asterisked (*) to indicate that the target was achieved
during a sparkle writing session. Teachers also provide ‘tickled pink’ and ‘green for
growth’ feedback at the end of the piece of writing, however the children are not
expected to respond to this within that particular piece of writing. Instead, at the
beginning of the next sparkle writing session the children are given the opportunity to
read their feedback from last time and use this as a target for their next piece of
sparkle writing e.g. Well done Zoe, you used time adverbials and conjunctions. Next
time use adverbs in your writing e.g. quickly.
Sparkle writing books are brought along to termly writing moderation staff meetings.
These meetings ensure the consistency of levelling across the school, which supports
accurate tracking of pupil progress.
6. Professional Development
Continuing professional learning (CPL) for all staff is identified and met in a number of
ways:
Book Scrutiny
A selection of writing and sparkle books from each class are taken and checked by the
English leaders on a termly basis. It is checked that they adhere to the Writing and
Effective Learning Feedback policies. The books are then returned with a checklist
which informs the practitioner with which objectives they are meeting and what needs
to be improved.
Writing Moderation
As mentioned above writing moderation occurs on a termly basis. Practitioners have the
opportunity to assess with others ensuring consistency of assessment throughout the
school.
Observations and Triangulation
The need for whole-school observations and triangulations are decided by SMT in
accordance with the school’s performance data and changes to policies. Practitioners
are provided with detailed feedback in with which how their teaching can be improved.
Lesson Study
As a school the lesson study approach is used as a form of continuing professional
development. A lesson study defined as a group of professionals with shared goals and a
strong level of trust and respect collaborating to improve their lesson-delivery skills
through talking, researching, planning, observing and sharing feedback. The lesson
study timetable is decided by SMT in accordance with the school’s performance data,
strategies for improvement and changes to policies.
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Staff meetings and Twilights
Staff meetings are delivered when a whole staff training need is identified or when new
innovations are being put into place.
7. Specific groups
At Coldean Primary School we constantly strive to ensure that we ‘close the gap’
between all significant groups in the school. Every child, regardless of gender, race or
ability will have equal access to the writing curriculum at all times. Provision is carefully
considered by all practitioners in order to achieve this. During the termly pupil progress
meetings gaps are identified and strategies are discussed and put into place.
Gender
As previously mentioned, the children are exposed to a wide variety of first-hand
experiences that engage, inspire and stimulate their imaginations. Writing tasks are
topic based, involving exciting subject matters such as; Superheroes, Giants, The
Ancient Egyptians etc. that have a broad appeal.
SEN
Wherever necessary, specialist provision will be made for those pupils who require it.
Please see the SEN policy for ways in which children are supported in English if SEN.
EAL
At Coldean Primary School we ensure that EAL pupils develop their spoken and written
English by:
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•
•
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Providing the children with both personalised and topic based word mats.
Through weekly support from trained bilingual assistants when necessary.
Ensuring that there are effective opportunities for talking and that this is used to
support writing.
Providing a range of reading materials including bilingual books when needed.
Through regular communication with parents so that children’s experience of
language at home can be built upon.
Pupil Premium (PP)
In pupil progress meetings during a discussion between the SLT, SENCO and class teacher
appropriate interventions are decided on in order to ensure the progression of PP
children.
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APPENDIX 1
Pie Corbett: Games to establish a creative mood
Every teacher wants to have children who are cognitively alert - with lively, enquiring
minds that are active and fully engaged. This can be developed through expanding
children’s experiences so they meet and create new ideas. Provide new experiences and
get into the habit of exploring and expanding their capabilities. They need to engage in
playful behaviour, actively participating in fresh activities… ‘variety is the spice of life’.
Cognitive fitness uses both parts of the brain. The right side flourishes with images;
intuitive, holistic and pattern seeking, it explores, plays and dreams new ideas, making
imaginative and spontaneous connections. Feed this with playful games, a broad variety
of fiction, poetry, dramatic plays, music and nonlinear engagement with ideas. The left
side likes to observe, record and enriches what it is doing through puzzles, activating
logical, reasoning and verbal thinking. Feed it with regular sudoku type puzzles, quick
crosswords, and games like chess that force thinking.
A brain positive classroom is one where everyone is excited about learning - trying for
optimal performance, with activities that develop the whole person - where everyone
has a passion and commitment to trying hard and getting better at writing. These sorts
of quick-fire games are a useful basis for writing and brain development with spin offs
across the curriculum.
Creative Connections
Play this game often - just give them a word and ask them to write down as many words
as they can think of that are associated with it. Time them - a minute only, and then see
who has written the largest number of words. Play this many times so that they get used
to generating words and ideas rapidly. This is a fundamental creative writing skill.
If the children find this difficult, then you need to play it as a whole class. Provide a
focus such as a picture, photo or object. Then, as a class, brainstorm as many words and
ideas as possible.
Ink Waster
To warm up the brain and get into a creative mood - give the children a topic and ask
them to write as much as they can in say, one minute. Time them and ask them to count
the number of words then try again with another topic. They should write as rapidly as
possible. This limbers up and frees up the mind.
Video Writing
Use the ink waster technique and see how much can be written in a few minutes. Turn
down the sound and play a film clip. The children use this as a basis for writing as
rapidly as possible - the action - the dialogue - a description - or just anything that the
images trigger. It has to be fast with no pauses. If they get stuck - just look up at what is
happening and try again. There is no right or wrong. The only wrong thing is if you stop
writing. Who can write the most words down?
Pattern Spotting
Looking for patterns is an important brain activity. As human beings, we exist through
patterns of behaviour that help us cope with the world. Try any game where children
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have to find a pattern or spot where it is broken. This might be a list of words that
rhyme then spotting the one that doesn’t. Put on a timer and try and do it within 10
seconds:
Rough, tough, enough, bluff, cuff
Through, duff, dough, fluff, gruff, stuff
Identifying the underlying patterns in sentences is important and quite demanding. Try
listing three examples that follow the same pattern and then ask the children to imitate
and come up with the same pattern themselves, e.g.
Before Donni sang, everyone hoped he would keep in tune.
While Donni was singing, everyone put their hands over their ears.
After Donni finished singing, everyone cheered with relief.
As with all things - start simply, e.g.
Angrily, he stormed out of the room.
Happily, she whistled a tune.
Gleefully, he ate the donuts.
Unfortunately, she had one too many!
Then as the children become more proficient, try using just one sentence that children
write out and then, directly below, imitate it, e.g.
As they came to the last tree in the row, where the field ended, Mrs Wentleberry
halted, wondering whether she should climb all the way to the top.
As they reached the corner shop, where the road curved left, Mr Snaggletooth
stopped, hoping there would be some jelly babies left.
As he ran down the hill, where the stream trickled, Jonson paused, expecting
there would be at least one tunnel into the hillside.
New Experiences
The brain is stimulated by new experiences - it makes us curious and generates
language. First-hand experience makes brains grow! Each weekend, try looking for
something curious that you could take into the classroom - photos, a mirror, a key, a
picture of a Salvador Dali, an old watch, a gnarled piece of bark… Use these for rapid
drawing and writing. To write, you could just brainstorm words and ideas as a whole
class or in pairs. What does it look like, remind you of, what do associate with this?
What might it be used for? Invent 5 new things you could use it for? What might a
Martian think it was?
Playful Writing
The brain develops when it has to play hard at working. Being playful with ideas and
language engages the prefrontal cortex and develops our highest cognitive functions.
Novelty and innovation are important for brain growth - whilst routines help to organise,
regiment and make sure that children feel safe and confident, they also need new
experiences and to develop creative thought. This demands training the brain to think in
different ways so that it can generate ideas and possibilities, moving beyond the
expected clich?
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The old magic box game is great fun and never ever fails. Use Kit Wright’s poem The
Magic Box. All you have to do is imagine what might be in there - the poem is a great
model for stimulating ideas. It can help to discuss what might be in a box forest. Then
make a class list (the quicker and the longer the better) or things that would be
impossible to have in a box - sunsets, a universe, a star, a rhino, a playground, a dream,
a memory, a lie, a kangaroo, a rainbow, a scream, etc. Now just make an embellished
list:
In the box of impossibilities you will find A sunset of crimson and gold,
a universe of whirling minds,
a shivering star,
a charging rhino with skin of metal,
a playground rumour
a daydream that comes alive,
a memory of a moment that was cold,
a lie like a nettle sting…
Use poetry anthologies and find poems that have the playful element.
Pie Corbett: Writing games
The Simile Game
Look at the list of common similes below and ask the children to explain to their partner
the story behind the simile. Try inventing new similes and listing them. Collect the best
from scanning poems and novels. Make class lists. Discuss why a simile works - is it just a
visual similarity? Create a simile alphabet in pairs or small groups within a few minutes.
• As brave as a lion
• As busy as a cat on a hot tin roof
• As cunning as a fox
• As deaf as a post
• As dry as dust
• As happy as Larry
• As happy as a rat with a gold tooth
• As hungry as a bear
• As hungry as a wolf
• As innocent as a lamb
• As mad as a hatter
• As patient as Job
• As poor as a church mouse
• As proud as a peacock
• As scarce as hen's teeth
• As silly as a goose
• As slippery as an eel
• As slow as a tortoise
• As sly as a fox
• As stubborn as a mule
• As thin as a toothpick
• As timid as a rabbit
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•
•
•
As tricky as a box of monkeys
As welcome as a skunk at a lawn party
As wise as Solomon
Dead Metaphors
Dead metaphors are clichés - they are the ones that everyone knows and have been used
so many times that they are just a part of everyday language, e.g.
• Stone cold
• A heart of stone
• Apple of my eye
• Boiling mad
• Steer clear
• Bear fruit
• Hatch a plan
• Difficult to swallow
Of course, the first time these were used, they would have been arresting - something
new and apt. Now they have become stale - and have little fresh impact. They are part
of our clichéd language - they communicate but not as powerfully as something freshly
minted. Collect as many as possible from reading and noticing each other's speech. Make
a list. Use these for a writing game by taking them literally, e.g.
I felt stone cold My arms were rock
And my legs were granite.
She was the apple of my eye But someone took a bite
Out of my sight!
My teacher was boiling mad Steam came out of her mouth!
I hatched a plan It is only just able to walk
And needs bottle-feeding daily.
This sort of language play helps children look anew at language that they may just be
using without really thinking about its meaning.
Inventing Metaphors
First of all, identify something that you want to create a metaphor around - for instance
- the stars. Now think of something that is like the subject or something to do with the
subject - they shine, glitter, are like tin-tacks, like diamonds, like jewels, like fiery
eyes. Now use an idea to make a metaphor, remembering not to use the word 'like', e.g.
The stars are shiny glitter.
The stars tin tacked to the night.
The diamond stars shine.
The jeweled stars.
The fiery stars eyed the world
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Notice how one simple way is to:
1. Generate a simile - the stars are like diamonds.
2. Omit the word 'like' - the stars are diamonds.
3. Move the noun in front of the image - the diamond stars. Dylan Thomas uses this
technique in his writing!
Extending the Metaphor
This is much easier than you may imagine. Take a simple simile, e.g.
My teacher is like an... eagle.
Turn this into a metaphor by removing the word like. Now think about what eagles do
and just extend the sentence further, e.g.
My teacher is an eagle swooping around the room, hovering over his students, diving
down on innocent prey and demolishing them with the terrible grip of his talons.
The Word Waiter
Brian Moses once write a poem along this line that involved a 'word waiter' who could
serve up only a certain number of words. This can be used for short burst writing, haiku,
letters or news items. The randomness of the selection adds a challenging edge that
often forces creativity beyond the predictable. The word waiter might serve up a
character, place and dilemma for storytelling. Here are some possible starters - but ask
the children and add many more ingredients!
Character
woodcutter
farmer
princess
adventurer
heroine
Billy
Jo
teacher
Place
hairdressers
station
bus stop
cinema
castle kitchen
old bridge
chip shop
wooden tower
Dilemma
gets lost
is chased
steals something
is trapped
sees a fight
finds a cave
loses money
finds an alien
Poetry Doors
The writer Stephanie Strickland says that, 'poems are words that take you through three
kinds of doors: closed doors, secret doors, and doors you don't know are there'. Make a
list of doors that poetry is.... Just be inventive - have some fun. It doesn't have to make
sense. Indeed, logic and sense will probably lead to dull writing.
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
Poetry
is a
is a
is a
is a
is a
is a
is a
closed door.
secret door.
door that you did not know was there.
door of foxes, as a sly as sunlight.
door of dreams where thoughts hide.
door of disasters, where stories crumble.
door of kittens playing.
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In the City of Rome
We used to play this old game in the back of the car on long journeys. It is ideal for
building descriptions of settings. Think of a place and identify one thing that you can see
(a park bench). Then say, 'in the city of Rome is a park bench'.
The next person has to repeat what you have said and add in something else, e.g. 'In the
city of Rome is a park bench and under the bench is a sleeping dog.' A list of prepositions
helps.
Pass the line on, with each child adding something else they can see or hear. Try playing
the game in groups and pairs until the children can visualise and describe a scene in
their own mind.
Instead of 'in the city of Rome', play the game using the setting in their story, e.g. 'in the
haunted house'. Show children how to sketch the scene and annotate, adding in similes.
Then practise turning the scenes into mini paragraphs.
Disasters
Children - indeed, most humans, - are fascinated by disasters. But what might be a
disaster for superman or an ant?
5 Disasters for Superman.
• His tights are in the wash.
• The colour in his boxer shorts washes out and now they're pink.
• His Mum says to be in by 8.00 and in bed by 9.00.
• His Dad tells him not to start fights.
• His Gran gives him Kryptonite pants for Christmas.
April Fool's Day
• Write a list of April Fool's day tricks and jokes?
• Put plastic bottles outside instead of milk bottles.
• Put onions in Wendy's bed.
• Wrap up a stone to make a big parcel.
• Stick a penny on the path.
• Put salt into a pot instead of sugar.
• Hide John's trousers.
• Stick a cup to a saucer with superglue.
The Writing Box
Keep a 'writing box' in the classroom. Each week put in a new object that the children
have to write about. They can take any angle that they wish. Steven, 7 yrs, wrote this
short piece about an old watch that I popped in:
The silver watch
The back is smooth and round. It has hinges to open it. It has a gold wheel that spins
round. It has springs. The spring beats out and in like a heart. It has a silver plate with
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patterns. The patterns are curls. The best part I like is the gold colour inside. The time
is quarter past six. That is all I know of the silver watch.
Deborah, 8 yrs, wrote about the box itself and the unicorn that it contained.
What has the box ever held? A diamond? A ring? A heart of rubies? Or a unicorn with a
sapphire collar? The inside of the box is as black as ebony. The unicorn can never feel
happy or sad. The unicorn is trapped between both, never will he move again. The
person who owned the box was a merchant who staggered around. The merchant rode a
golden camel. The box was his favourite possession. Yet only he knew what it contained.
He passed on the secret to me. Inside the box was a key, a key to let the soul of the
unicorn out into the world...
Creating Potions
With one class we had been reading Terry Nation's book Rebecca's World. We wrote
magical potions to cure Grisby's bad feet:
Potion to cure bad feet.
Take three drops of verruca cream, add corn plasters with a pinch of bunion powder and
a squirt of foot cream. Mix it together and heat it up in a stained saucepan. It is called
'Footcure'. - Matthew, 9 yrs
Later on in the story Rebecca nearly falls prey to 'Bad Habits'.
Potion for curing bad habits.
Take six bitten nails,
Five sucked thumbs,
Ten chewed pens
And a bag of humbugs.
Mix them to make
'Habitcure'.
Julie, 9 yrs
For Sale
With that class we fell into the habit of selling things (see Creative games from stories).
I think the idea came when one day someone put up a 'for sale' notice in the staff room trying to sell off some disruptive year 6 pupil! In my class we tried writing notices to sell
off pesky younger brothers and then we moved on to selling historical artefacts such as
'Pyramid for sale - genuine offer!'
Dream Jars
In Gulliver's Travels there is a good description of what he has in his pockets. This idea
led into making lists of the contents of Mrs Thatcher's (the ex-Prime-minister) handbag
and I seem to recall that one witty lad wrote a list of what was found in Emu's beak Michael Parkinson's finger! Other stories often lend themselves to writing ideas. The BFG
can be used to create Dream Jars. You could write about the contents or how to use the
contents.
In the red nightmare jar
Is a drop of blood from the sword that killed St Thomas,
Is a drop of paint from the letterbox in King's Lane,
Is a traffic light's eye from the High Street,
Is a red card from the referee's collection.
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Invented Insects
As a child I had a much-prized copy of the Observer's Book of Birds. One year when I was
working in a village school, I decided we would invent flies and create the Observer's
Book of Invented Flies! We looked at several bird entries to get the gist of how to write
our fly entries, drew invented flies and then wrote about them:
Red-backed Fly
So named because of the red stripes on its back. Flies between April and June. Eggs are
seven and found underneath cars. Young found in sewers. It has scent glands on its head
that give a pungent smell when alarmed.
Nancy, 9 yrs
The large-winged bird-eating fly.
This fly is the largest specimen of the bird-eating flies. The male has a small sting at the
bottom of his abdomen which enables him to poison the bird. They lay over a thousand
young but only about five survive. The female grows so heavy when she is pregnant that
she can't fly and that is why the male makes the nest. Their legs are so powerful that
they can carry a fully-grown eagle. They live in small areas of the mountains.
William, 9 yrs
Dragon's menu
Dragons are always popular with primary age children. The book Eragon by Christopher
Paolini is a cracking good read. Each child could make their own dragon passport. An
alphabet for a dragon's menu might also be fun:
A is for an angler's boot.
B is for a bull's horns.
C is for a car's back seat.
D is for dirty dish cloths...
Excuses
Excuses are always needed. When I was a child I was endlessly late and homework was a
mystery to me! Make a list of excuses - the more exaggerated the better. Here are some
year 4s in full flight...
This morning I was late for school because there was a knock on my door and I opened it
to find that the local farmer had just dumped a lorry load of horse manure on my
doorstep. I had to dig myself a route to the front gate.
This morning my head teacher was late for school because his Lotus Elan was jammed at
the lights when star performers from Sir Serendipity's Travelling Flea Circus had
escaped. They had to be hunted down and recaptured before the traffic could move...
The Trout Fishing Game
This game came from an idea in a Richard Brautigan poem that I have adapted. Richard
Brautigan wrote Trout Fishing In America - hence the title of the game. To play the
game, make a long list of possible subjects for writing, e.g. worries, bicycles, recipes,
trout, clouds, bees. Choose one or two to work on as a class. Decide whether the
subject is beautiful or ugly and write your opening line using this pattern:
A bee is not a beautiful thing.
Now make a list of contrasting subjects, using the following pattern:
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A bee is not a beautiful thing;
It's not like a kingfisher
hurrying in its flashy coat of blues and scarlet.
It's not like a dandelion
Shaking its golden mane.
It's not like a Siamese cat's eyes
Of Egyptian sapphire.
A Nuisance of Nouns
Ask the children to explain the collective nouns in the alphabet below and then create
their own alphabet - this might best be done in small teams, dividing the alphabet up
between them.
An abandonment of orphans
A ballet dance of swans
A crush of rhinoceroses
A dose of doctors
An elephant of enormities
A fidget of school children
A glacier of fridges
A hover of hawks
An inquisition of judges
A Jonah of shipwrecks
A knuckle of robbers
A lottery of dice
A misery of bullets
A number of mathematicians
An outrage of stars
A prayer of nuns
A quake of cowards
A roundabout of arguments
A swelter of duvets
A tangle of tricksters
An upset of horoscopes
A vein of goldfinch
A wonder of stars
An xray of soothsayers
A zeal of enthusiasts
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The Room of Stars
This game follows on from the invention of collective nouns. There are many
possibilities. Split the class in two. One half has to rapidly make a list of places, e.g.
room, town, city, village, mountain, river, star, sun, kitchen, alleyway, lawn, garden,
castle, etc. The other half has to make a list of nouns and abstract nouns, e.g.
memories, love, doom, sparklers, curtains, sunsets, wisdom, jealousy, disasters, grass,
hedgerows, teapots, certainty, etc. Then put children into pairs and they match the
words listed exactly in the order they write them down, e.g.
The room of memories.
The town or love.
The city of doom.
The village of sparklers.
The mountain of curtains.
The river of sunsets.
The star of wisdom.
The sun of jealousy.
The kitchen of disasters.
The alleyway of grass.
The lawn of hedgerows.
The garden of teapots.
The castle of certainty.
As well as places you could try vehicles, or 'the moment of...', or time, e.g. 'the day
of...', 'the week of...', 'the month of...', the year of...'. You could leave this just as a list
of surprising and interesting combinations. Interestingly, many seem to have a power of
their own. Show the children how to take one of the ideas that seems to have promise
and extend it. I find this easiest by taking on with an abstract noun. For instance, if you
take the 'kitchen of disasters', you could list all sorts of disasters, e.g.
The kitchen of disasters is where The kettle's spout melted,
The teapot shattered into splinters,
The fridge shivered all night, The sink sunk!
The city of doom could be a list of things that have happened that are doom-laden. Try
a different pattern by using 'in', e.g.
In the city of doom
The streets are awash with dead starfish
And the windows have wept tears of ice,
The shops are empty as silence...
Pie Corbett: Sentence games
Many schools have found that quick-fire daily sentence starters can have an impact on
children’s writing. I think that the ability to rapidly construct and vary sentences almost without thinking about it - is one of the basic skills of writing. If children are
labouring over sentence construction this must interfere with the flow of imaginative
composition.
The difference between a Level 3 and a Level 4 writer is the ability to construct and
vary sentences.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Many children benefit from daily sentence practice. When introducing new sentence
patterns remember to start orally - so they hear the pattern and then say it. This can be
followed by using cards or a washing line so that they see and move the words around
and physically manipulating the sentences - good for all children but especially the
kinaesthetic learners. Finally, they can begin to move into writing on mini white boards.
Keep the session speedy - the idea is to become automatic at writing, not something
laboured. Push the more able to develop sentences. Be ruthless on full stops! One handy
tip is to say to children, 'Don't show me until you have checked'. The idea is for the
children to think, write and then re-read, checking for quality and accuracy.
Link the sentence types to a text type and to what will help children make progress.
Immature writers should conquer the simple sentence, after this; ensure that the
compound sentence has been accomplished. Then begin moving into the complex
sentence.
Practise sentence games and use the same sorts of sentences in modelled and shared
writing. Make sure children use the sentence types in their own writing. This is vital - try
working on a sentence (or paragraph) that then has to be 'dropped' into a longer piece of
writing. Store good sentences in writing journals for future use. Here are some games to
get you going:
Random words
Choose a book. Ask for a number - this gives you a page to turn to. Now ask for a number
- this gives you the line. Then ask for a small number - this will select a word. The
children then have 15 seconds to write a sentence using the selected word. Then use the
same sort of process to randomly select two or three words - can they make a sentence
using the words... Be ruthless on capital letter, sense and full stop.
Noun and verb game
Ask for a list of nouns (engine, ruler, pencil, tree). Then make a list of verbs (sipped,
stole, rushed, wished). The game is to invent sentences that include a noun and a verb
from the lists. This can be fun if the nouns and verbs do not match in any sensible way you will get some quite creative solutions!
The engine sipped...
The ruler stole...
The pencil rushed...
The tree wished...
Now complete the sentences preferably choosing unusual ideas, e.g.
The engine sipped from a cup of silences.
The ruler stole a tongue of ideas. The pencil rushed down the stairs and into the garden.
The tree wished it could turn over a new leaf.
Join
Provide two short, simple sentences. The aim of the game is for the children to join
them to make one sentence. They will need to use some form of connective and t can be
useful to suggest a way of joining them. For instance:
The camel ate the cake
The cake was full of dates.
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Writing and Communication Policy
You could ask the children to join the two sentences above using the word 'which':
The camel ate the cake, which was full of dates.
This game is vital for children who are Level 3 writers and need to begin using a variety
of ways (beyond 'and then') to link sentences, gaining flow in their writing. So, play this
often!
Animal game
Make a list of animals. The children have to write a sentence about each one - as playful
as possible. Put in certain criteria, e.g. use a simile, use two adjectives, use an adverb,
use 'after', use 'when', etc.
Alliterate
Use the animal list to create alliterative sentences - one per animal, e.g. the tiny tiger
tickled the terrified terrapin's two toes with torn tinsel.
Improve
Provide a list of dull sentences that have to be made more detailed or interesting or
powerful, e.g.
• The worm went.
• The man got the drink.
• The dog came along the road.
• The woman ate the stuff.
• The man looked at the stuff in the shop.
Check it
Write up some sentences or a paragraph with errors for the children to check. Build n
the sorts of mistakes that the children often make so they get used to identifying and
correcting their own errors. These might include - spellings, punctuation mistakes,
changes in tense, slang, etc.
• He runned down the lain.
• She was dead frightened.
• I just jumpt over the wall.
• I ran home, Lucy just walked.
Shorten
If children overwrite or write poorly formed, clumsily sentences, write these up and ask
them to shorten the sentences or clarify them.
The robbers who were being chased ran down the road till they could run no more and
then they decided that they would go into the cave and then they would hide in there
and wait.
Change the ending
Provide a short sentence and ask the children to extend it by adding a chunk on at the
end. Provide a list of ways, e.g. use a connective, add on an 'ing' chunk, add on a chunk
using 'who, which, that when, while, where, before, after', etc.
Teddy closed the curtains.
This might become:
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Writing and Communication Policy
•
•
•
•
Teddy
Teddy
Teddy
Teddy
closed the curtains when the fireworks started.
closed the curtains while everyone was juggling.
closed the curtains before the milkman came.
closed the curtains, hoping it would keep out the sunlight.
Change the opening
Provide a simple sentence and ask the children to extend it by adding a chunk on at the
beginning. Build up a repertoire of different ways to vary the opening to sentences, e.g.
use an adverb (how), a time connective (when), an 'ing ' or 'ed' chunk, one word, a
simile, a prepositional phrase (at the end of the lane - where), an adjective, etc.
Bertie dug a deep hole
Might become:
After tea, Bertie dug a deep hole.
In the garden, Bertie dug a deep hole.
Carefully, Bertie dug a deep hole.
As fast as a ferret, Bertie dug a deep hole.
Hoping to reach Austrailia, Bertie dug a deep hole.
Drop in
Provide a simple sentence and ask the children to 'drop in' a something extra, e.g.
adjectives, adverb, a phrase or clause. Be wary of children dropping in too much! Of
course - you could add to a sentence by attaching a bit either end as well.
Bertie dug a hole.
Might become:
• Bertie dug a deep hole.
• Bertie rapidly dug a hole.
• Bertie, the farmer's dog, dug a hole.
• Bertie, hoping he would soon see a kangaroo, dug a hole.
Copy
This final game is an important one. Look carefully at the text type that you are
teaching. Are there any particular sentence types that the children will need to be able
to use in their writing? Look at the stage they are and decide what sorts of sentences
they need to be able to write, in order to make progress. Model several of one type on a
board - then ask the children to imitate the pattern, substituting different words. For
instance, here are several 'adverb' starter sentences:
Carefully, Pie at the donought.
Angrily, Jerry kicked the football.
Gently, Maisha held the sandwich.
Create several more together and then use a bag of adverbs to help the children begin
writing their own similar sentences, using the same underlying structure.
Pie Corbett: Creative games from stories
Imitate
Read a short poem or paragraph to the class. The game is for them to listen carefully
and then as soon as you have finished write down as much as they can remember - filling
in gaps if they need. In pairs, they can compare results and then listen to the original.
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Writing and Communication Policy
This develops memory but is also interesting because different people remember
different sections - or everyone remembers the same piece - why?
Interviews
Children work in pairs - one in role as the poet or author and the other is about to
interview them. Read a poem or paragraph. The interviewers then ask questions and
role-play an interview. Hear some in front of the class. Questions can be about the poem
- but also any other aspect that the interviewer deems interesting!
Story Sale
Choose an object from a story and write a For Sale notice, e.g. For Sale - The Minotaur's
Horn. Straight from the labyrinth, the genuine article...
Likes, dislikes, puzzles and patterns
Put children into pairs to make a list about a story or poem of likes, dislikes, puzzles and
patterns. Or, each pair makes a list of 5 questions they are curious about. Later on, list
these as a class and see if other pairs can provide ideas or answers.
Story Poem
Stop at a vivid moment in a story. Use a simple frame (I heard., I saw, I touched., I
wondered.) to write a senses poem in role as a character in the story, e.g.
• I heard the distant rumble of the Minotaur's hot breath.
• I heard the dark hooves scraping the sandy floor.
• I heard the heavy beat of my heart as it drew nearer.
• I saw the sudden sharp flash of its red eyes glinting in the darkness.
• I saw the ragged hair and the flared nostrils.
• I touched the cold walls for comfort.
• I touched the thin string of Ariadne's hope.
• I wondered if my fear would turn into dust
Exploring feelings in a poem or story
a. Choose a key object from a story - something which made you feel something (happy?
sad? bored?) and explore why:
The ball of string made me feel sad because.
b. Work in role as a selected character, explaining how he/she/it felt at that moment in
the story. Present as a monologue:
I am weary because
"What if" re-telling
Think of a "what-if" moment in a story when events could take a different turn. Make a
list of these key moments - usually at a crossroads where decisions are made. Make
notes or draw events and prepare to tell what happens next in your new version. This
works best if you can give examples, e.g. Theseus drops the ball of string and cannot
find it in the darkness.
Dialogue
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Writing and Communication Policy
Choose a favourite moment in a story and write some dialogue for that moment, either
as part of a play, as a duologue for a pair to perform or as a piece of story writing.
Discuss with the class possible scenes.
Phone a Friend
a. Choose a specific moment in a story. In role as a character, phone a friend, another
character or a member of your family, explaining what has happened, how you feel and
what might happen, e.g. imagine you are the Minotaur in the labyrinth. Phone your
Mum!
b. Or, phone an agony aunt for advice.
Personal
Does anything in the story remind you of something that happened to you (e.g. a time of
surprise, a time of fear, a time of shame, a time of violence, a time of fun)? Tell or
write the anecdote.
Miming scenes
Prepare to mime a scene from a story, a poem or extract from non-fiction. Will the rest
of the class be able to guess which scene?
Meetings
Prepare to hold a meeting, e.g. to discuss in role as local people what is happening in a
story or poem or to debate a piece of information or viewpoint.
Gossip
Between characters or about events. These could be main characters or bystanders.
Thoughts in the head
Work in pairs - choose a place to stop in the story. In role - say aloud what the different
characters might be thinking - is it the same as what they are saying? Or draw a cartoon
and thought bubble for a character in a story or poem.
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Writing and Communication Policy
APPENDIX 2
Overcoming Barriers to Writing
Difficulties with remembering sentences
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Talk for Writing
Oral rehearsal
Actions to help
Reciting other writers’ sentences
Story Maps
Repetition of
stories/sentences/actions
Paired work using whiteboards, reading each other’s
sentences, taking turns to write a sentence.
Think it, Say it, Write it, Read it
t:drive > English > Writing
Counting words on fingers, checking against final
sentence.
Child says sentence aloud and counts number of
words. Draw lines and add initial sounds for each
word in the sentence e.g. A d_____ t__ i_ u__ th_
sh_____ .
Child to write their sentence as they speak, not
necessarily grammatically. Teacher to model correct
grammar in conversation in order for children to be
able to structure their sentences correctly.
Daily/weekly dictation of sentences related to genre
being taught in order for the child to learn relevant
vocabulary, sentence structure and style.
‘Letters & Sounds’
Visualising sentences in different ways e.g. close your
eyes; can you see your sentence? Throw your
sentence across the room; can you see it on the wall?
Poor fine motor skills
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Opportunities to play with resources that require fine
manipulation e.g. threading, pegs, sand/water play, beads,
malleable materials.
Cutting and puzzles to aid in fine motor development.
Large and small mark making tools – inside and outside – to
practice using one handed tools and equipment.
Draw lines and circles using gross motor movements.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Begin to use anti clockwise movement and retrace vertical lines
in a range of materials e.g. sand, shaving foam, etc.
Begin to form recognisable letters, using appropriate pencils –
support in correct way to hold pencil
Trace over letter templates.
Lack of language experience
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Provide rich experiences through educational visits, themed
days, etc.
Word banks – provide children with word banks to extend their
vocabulary on display and for personal use. Use SYM writer
when possible.
SYM writer
High frequency word
cards
Phonic cards
Visual dictionaries
Reading quality texts – daily reading to the children with
carefully chosen texts.
Brilliant books!
Engage children in speaking and listening games
Talk for Writing
Resources
SENCo
Storytelling and role play –
Planned opportunities for children to listen to stories that are
read, recited and acted out by teachers Children are given lots
of opportunities to tell stories and role play
Role-play corners &
resources
Providing opportunities to encourage home school partnership:
Parent workshops for EYFS Phonics, Reading.
Give parents opportunities to help their children through take
home tasks / topic overview
Book bags, reading
cards, home phonic
activities
Circle time – regular circle time throughout the school
encouraging speaking and listening skills
Nurture groups and speech and language intervention to develop
pupils’ confidence, vocabulary and ability to vocalise thoughts
SEN support
and feelings.
Modelling by class teacher and peers
Lack of knowledge on how to be a writer (structure)
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Activities involving talking, including conversations about their
learning/ play, home school reading book. This develops
children’s ability to structure ideas, thoughts and feelings in
order to communicate them effectively.
Talk for Writing: See Writer Talk section of main policy
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Writing and Communication Policy
Identify common features of different writing genres e.g. How
do we know that this is a fairy tale? Because it has “Once upon
a time…”
Modelling the use of language and conversation
Providing key words, topic vocabulary, word banks, visual props
SIM writer Phonic
cards
High Frequency words
Talk partners: Think-Pair-Share strategy
Using sentence starters e.g. ‘I know this because…’
Paragraph planners / starters / scaffolds
Narrative packs –
Who, What, Where,
When, Why
Story Hill
Think it, say it, write it, read it
Opportunities for free writing – toolboxes, role play
Mind maps
Experience of different genres and styles of writing – emersion
Writing frames
Break down stories into sections – focus on writing one section
e.g. the end or introduction.
Time
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Spend more time on each genre (cover less genres in more
depth in years 1-4, revisit everything in years 5 & 6).
Teach writing as a sentence based activity building up to
connecting sentences and paragraphs.
More differentiated expectations. Children fully aware of the
‘Can I…’ statement which they are working towards as a group
or class.
Children use the assessment criteria in the front of their
English/Writing books to identify their individual ‘next step’.
t:drive > English >
Writing > Assessment
Criteria for Writing
(Full Set).doc
Give children more time to plan. Teach them to plan effectively
(in same tense as final outcome) and how to follow plans.
Sue Palmer’s Skeleton
Books (PPA Room)
t:drive > English >
Resources >
Interactive Skeleton
books
Self-initiated targets
Emphasis on quality over quantity. 3 good sentences are better
than 3 rushed paragraphs.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Don’t overload the children (too many expectations)
Overwhelmed by task and lack of clarity
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Teacher to clearly differentiate tasks according to the needs of all
the children, leading to the specific writing outcome.
Differentiated success criteria. Children and teacher to create
success criteria collaboratively.
Children to be aware of stepping-stones needed to complete task.
Stepping-stones to be displayed in an accessible way.
Teacher to clearly model the process throughout each task and carry
out mini-plenaries.
Ensure writing tools are accessible. Teacher to model use of
resources (pen, word bank, dictionary, phoneme chart etc).
Teacher to speak with a range of prompts (saying the same thing in
different ways). Check children understand verbally before they
start.
Constant encouragement, praise and positivity.
Planning ensures small achievable targets building towards the final
writing outcome
Breaking down learning into timed ‘chunks’ of challenge i.e. You
have 5 minutes to… etc. Needs to be differentiated.
Mixed ability groupings to provide aspiration for all children
(sometimes)
Visual cues to aid retention of the task; ‘Now – Then – Next’ cards
supported with pictures
Expecting children to repeat task back to an adult or friend to aid
internalisation of the task
Systems of assistance well established within classrooms i.e. What do
I do if I am stuck? Displays/ rehearsals of processes
Giving children sufficient time to think/ processing time
Supporting to ‘get started’ with the initial sentence and then leaving
children to work independently.
Children should be given the various skills required to write in a
certain genre before they have to apply them to a final piece of
writing (once they know the rules of the game they can be more
creative with the content)
Spelling
Action to Overcome Barrier
Resources
Children are grouped by ability for Phonics and Spelling lessons.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Interactive word displays
‘Try it’ paper approach; children attempt to spell word
independently and adult affirms attempt (spelling journals)?
Practice use of dictionaries (for competent spellers).
Limit to 2/3 corrections per piece of writing, with particular focus on
high frequency words, according to child’s phonic phase. Give the
children time to learn from the corrections.
Using large HFWs to support spelling acquisition.
Phoneme charts
Train children to use learning environment
Reinforce ‘segment-blend’ phonics approach
Use of whiteboards to attempt independent spelling
Encourage children to visualise spelling in head
Modelling spelling processes to children that are ‘stuck’
HFW word banks with pictures to support independence
‘Clicker 5’ to remove emphasis on spelling
Topic specific word banks with pictures
Encouraging reading as a means to improve spelling
Adult to ‘draw’ spellings as child writes; child associates word and
spelling with picture cue
Standardised mnemonics for HFW and ‘tricky words’ (taught and
displayed e.g. big elephants can always understand small elephants)
across the school.
Correcting articulation through modelling back.
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Writing and Communication Policy
APPENDIX 3
Phoneme Cards
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APPENDIX 4
Handwriting Scripts
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Handwriting Licences
APPENDIX 5
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APPENDIX 6
Year 1 writing layout
Writing Layout Posters
Friday 23 rd September 2016
Can I set my writing out correctly?
The date and learning question are written by
my teacher or pasted into my book.
When we write in our English books, we always
use our neatest handwriting.
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Writing and Communication Policy
Year 2 writing layout
Friday 23 rd September 2016
Can I set my writing out correctly?
Firstly, we write the date on the top
line of the page (on the left).
Next, we write the title underneath (or
sometimes our teacher will do this for
us).
We make sure this is centred.
When we write in our English books, we
always use our neatest handwriting.
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Writing and Communication Policy
KS2 writing layout
Friday 23rd September 2016
Can I set my writing out correctly?
1. Firstly, we write the date at the top next to the
margin.
2. Next, we write the title two lines below the date
and centred.
3. We underline the date and title with a ruler and
in pencil.
4. We always miss a line out to help write
corrections above. Although we leave two lines
between paragraphs.
5. When we write in our English books, we always
use our neatest, joined-up handwriting.
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