Writing at Wibsey Primary School

At Wibsey Primary School, we promote writing and look for ways to inspire and motivate pupils so that they see themselves as ‘writers’. We aim for our children to be able to write in a variety of styles and forms appropriate to the situation, producing well structured, detailed writing in which the meaning is made clear and which engages the interest of the reader. Attention is paid throughout the school to the formal structures of English, grammatical detail, punctuation and spelling.

Each year group uses the class novel to provide meaningful contexts of writing and also plan for pupils to practise and apply the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired through English lessons to other areas of the curriculum.We systematically take advantage of opportunities to make cross-curricular links in writing.

In the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1, children learn about the different purposes of writing by observing teachers modelling writing in a variety of contexts and then practicing these skills within guided and independent tasks. They use a variety of stimuli for writing such as trips, visitors and the topics and related books and write for a wide range of purposes. Talk for Writing is often used to scaffold the writing process from oral rehearsing before recording in the form of planning, writing and editing.

In Key Stage 2, children continue to write in a variety of styles and for a variety of audiences. They are taught more complex rules of grammar and syntax and are encouraged to apply these in their independent writing. Children are expected to use a more sophisticated range of vocabulary and imagery by accessing dictionaries, thesauruses and reading more challenging texts. Children take an active part in editing and revising their own and others’ work before the teacher marks it.

In Key Stage 1 and 2 children record their work in two English books. The first is the English Skills book where the children are taught specific writing skills that link with the progression documents and non-negotiables, which are both drawn from the National Curriculum. The second book is the Writing Across the Curriculum book where children are expected to apply these skills within their independent writing tasks.

The writing process is broken down into a number of steps that are taught and practised regularly:

  1. Before writing
  2. Planning
  3. Drafting and Writing
  4. Evaluating and Editing
  5. Proof-Reading
  6. Reading Aloud and Sharing

 

Examples of writing at Wibsey Primary School

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

 

Year 4

Year 5

 

Year 6