Writing
At Tarvin Primary School, we aim to stimulate a love of language among our writers. We strive to develop writers who are passionate, enthusiastic, creative and dynamic. Through high-quality, engaging texts, our young writers begin their journey on the path to express themselves culturally and intellectually using a wide variety of genres.
We follow a Mastery approach through the programme ‘Pathways to Write.’ Units of work are delivered using high quality texts and children in all year groups are given varied opportunities for writing. Skills are built up through repetition within the units, and children apply these skills in the writing activities provided. Many opportunities for widening children’s vocabulary are given through the Pathways to Write approach and this builds on the extensive work we do in school to provide our children with a rich and varied vocabulary.
Each unit covers a range of areas in the national curriculum:
- Mastery of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation skills
- Writing a range of genres across a year
- Vocabulary development
- Using a wider range of reading comprehension strategies as a whole class
- Spoken language activities including drama and presentations
- Opportunities for practising previously taught genres
- An extended, independent piece of writing
- Links creatively to the wider curriculum
- Challenges greater depth writers
http://www.theliteracycompany.co.uk/introducing-pathways-to-write/
Pathways to Write - The Sequence
The Gateway:
- Begins with a ‘hook’ session to intrigue and enthuse young writers
- Pupils are given the opportunity to predict
- Objects, people, images or role-play are used to stimulate questions about the chosen text
- The purpose and audience of the text is established
- Pupils are given the opportunity to revisit previous mastery skills and ongoing skills
The Pathway:
- New writing skills are introduced from the year group's curriculum, these are called mastery keys and are displayed in the classroom.
- Writing opportunities are provided to practise and apply the skills taught. This is through short and extended writing tasks, including character and setting descriptions, poetry, dialogue between characters, fact files or diary entries in role.
- There is opportunity throughout to re-cap and apply previously taught skills.
- There is challenge for greater depth writers through a wider range of tasks e.g. changes to form, viewpoint and audience.
The Writeaway:
- Pupils section and sequence texts, this can be independently or collaboratively.
- They create extended pieces of writing.
- Opportunity is given to apply mastery skills.
- Time is given for planning, writing, checking, editing, redrafting and publishing.
- A fiction or non-fiction outcome will be written (covering a wide range of genres and themes over the year).
- Pupils publish their piece of writing.
Handwriting
We teach letter formation using Read Write Inc. letter formation rhymes in EYFS and year 1. Please download the handwriting document below for handwriting letter formation phrases, characters and progression with pencil grip.
In year 2, the children refine their letter formation and learn to join their letters. They build upon and further develop these skills in KS2.
We use the Teach Handwriting scheme to support handwriting, gross and fine motor development. Further information about this can be found at the following website link: https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar
At Tarvin, we strive to ensure the children develop a love of language and develop the skills to become confident, capable and independent writers.
Opportunities for the children to develop and apply their skills in spelling, punctuation and grammar are given daily. Learning objectives in punctuation and grammar are taught through Pathways to Write lessons, alongside discrete lessons, where appropriate. These skills are regularly consolidated and further built upon across the curriculum and progressively through year groups.
We follow a mastery approach to the teaching of spelling through the programme ‘Pathways to Spell’. It is a programme designed to deliver the statutory content of the Primary National Curriculum for spelling in key stages 2. Through weekly teaching of spelling objectives and development of a whole school approach to word transcription, vocabulary development and proof-reading, the programme aims to develop children as proficient spellers.
You will find the curriculum overview, national curriculum mapping and progression of learning for writing for each of our year groups in the attached documents. For further detail on the skills that your children are learning on a termly basis, please contact your class teacher.
