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Literacy - Writing

Grow your Writing
What does writing look like at Appletree?
INTENT

 

INTENT:

At Appletree Gardens First School, writing is a crucial part of our ambitious curriculum. All children from Foundation Stage to Year 4 are provided with many opportunities to  develop and apply their writing skills across the curriculum. It is our ambition that  pupils are able to speak, read and write fluently so that they can communicate their ideas and emotions effectively and reach their potential.

Our intention is for pupils to be able to independently plan, revise and evaluate their writing. To be able to do this effectively, pupils focus on developing effective transcription and composition, along with an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and spelling patterns. Writers also focus upon the development of fluent, legible handwriting.

Our intentions in writing are for children to:

  • Write for a purpose 
  • See themselves as real writers 
  • Take ownership of their writing 
  • See writing as an interesting and enjoyable process 
  • Acquire the ability to organise and plan their written work

Parents as Partners

Here at Appletree, we recognise that parents are the first and ongoing educators of their own children. We understand the vital role that they play in supporting their children’s learning and encourage open communication between home and school. 

 

Equity and Excellence

We firmly believe that personal and social circumstances should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential. Our carefully structured skills based curriculum supports and engages all children so as to narrow the gap between the most and least advantaged learners, while improving outcomes for all.

 

IMPLEMENTATION
 IMPLEMENTATION:
Reception
In Reception we follow the Drawing Club approach. This approach opens up the magic world of tales and stories whilst enriching children's language and developing fine motor skills. It immerses pupils into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and often does!
 
Year 1
In Year 1 the skills developed in Drawing Club are built upon through the Curious Quests approach. In Curious Quests, children are immersed into stories, poetry and make believe with endless possibilities to invent and imagine. Spelling, punctuation and grammar objectives are covered with opportunities to apply their growing phonic knowledge. In year 1 the pen is like a magic wand which they use to write for their own joy.
 
Year 2-4 Literacy Tree
At Appletree we follow the Literacy Tree approach. This is a 'teach through text' approach, which engages children to write with a clear sense of audience and purpose. Children are immersed in a range of literary worlds and themes, heightening engagement and creating curiosity through drama, discussion and debate.
 
Our approach allows pupils to see themselves represented and also allows them to explore the lives and experiences of others. High quality literature expands our readers' horizons, opening their minds to concepts and themes such as hope, freedom and justice, as well as providing  vital insights into historical settings with geographical and scientific knowledge woven within as part of the narrative.
 
Spelling and vocabulary are taught in context through weekly open-ended investigations with opportunities to practise and apply these skills.
 

Teachers track and assess the children’s progress in writing against National Curriculum writing objectives. These same objectives are used when moderating children’s writing.  

 

IMPACT
Celebrating Writing at Appletree
Spelling at Appletree

The 2014 statutory curriculum for spelling aims to develop a child’s ability to spell words correctly, using their knowledge of spelling rules and of how common phonemes are spelt. Spelling is a developmental process. The stages through which children pass as they develop as spellers are the following: pre-phonetic, phonetic, transitional and ‘correct’. Spelling is a visual-motor skill and children will therefore need to develop visual strategies alongside their phonic knowledge.

 

As a school, our aims in teaching spelling are that the pupils will:

  • be encouraged to look carefully at the words
  • be taught spelling rules and given the opportunity to apply them in writing.
  • to understand how the English spelling system works and how its history has influenced our spelling
  • be helped and encouraged to develop their confidence as competent spellers
  • develop and extend their vocabulary through shared, guided and independent spelling activities
  • enjoy spelling and recognise its value
 
 
 
Handwriting at Appletree
Here at Appletree, we believe that all children should be encouraged to take pride in the presentation of their writing, in part by developing a legible, joined individual handwriting style by the time they move to middle school.
 
Children who are able to form their letters correctly with automaticity are then able to free up their working memory to focus upon composition.