Writing

Literacy lessons at Paddocks are taught in a cross-curricular fashion and linked to the exciting topics that children are studying at the time. Teachers use a structured writing cycle to cover the features of each writing genre which is further supported by the Grammarsaurus guides to non-fiction writing.

At the beginning of each writing cycle the class will look at existing examples of the chosen genre. They have the opportunity to pick out the ‘Genre Features’ needed to ensure they are writing in that genre style and any age-appropriate grammar features they can find too. Children are asked to always consider the purpose, audience and type (PAT) for each genre. The next phase in the cycle is ‘GatheringContent’ which is the chance to practise genre-specific grammar and gather the required information needed to create their final pieces of writing. The children then are asked to ‘Plan’ their piece of writing before the ‘Write’ part of the cycle. Once children have written their piece of work, they are expected to ‘Revise and Edit’ their work. We use the mnemonic ‘ARMS’ and ‘CUPS’ in this phase; revising their work is focusing on how their writing sounds and whether they need to add, remove, move or substitute any words and sentences in their work. Editing their work is focusing on what their writing looks like and asks them to check their capitals, usage (subject and verb agreement), punctuation and spelling. The final phase in the writing cycle is to ‘Publish’ their work in best for display.

Teachers use a range of resources, ICT and texts to inspire children during literacy lessons and teach the specific features of a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry genres throughout the school.