Writing
Writing at Highnam largely takes shape in the form of 'The Write Stuff' which is taught at least once a term in each class from Year 1 through to Year 6 across a range of genres. It involves breaking the writing down into 'chunks', selecting the highest quality and most suitable vocabulary and exposure to a wide range of sentence structures in order to support the children in sculpting the very best pieces of writing. During the guided sessions, the children's work is celebrated through the use of sentence stacking (as seen above) and this then becomes the scaffold for their independent work should they choose to use it!
Through the use of the 'Writing Rainbow' (pictured below), children are taught from a very young age to write with precision and purpose, selecting lenses which will enable them to write varied texts of all genres.
In between units of 'The Write Stuff', teachers are able to draw upon multiple other resources such as 'Pobble 365', 'The Power of Reading' and 'The Literacy Shed' in order to provide a diverse and text/media rich literacy diet with which to inspire our young writers!
In EYFS, writing is largely linked to the teaching of phonics through the use of dictation. However, writing opportunities may also be inspired by high quality picture books, the children's own interests or the term's theme of learning. It is important to us that children in EYFS have chances to develop their writing independently as well as during adult led activities and so our EYFS classroom is set up so that the children might access the necessary tools and inspiration to explore this vital skill by themselves.
Below are some examples of writing from across the school.
The Iron Man (The next chapter)
"Hogarth was confused by what he saw. The Iron Man was nothing like any machine he had ever seen. Leaping down from his perch on the gnarled oak tree, Hogarth called out to the massive iron robot but there was no reply. He came a bit closer onto the beach as the waves crashed against the Iron Man's legs and shouted up to him "Hello! What are you doing here?" The Iron Man slowly turned his head and looked down at Hogarth."
- Zoe; Year 4
Dictation (Phonics)
"Jill has the pram and runs. Jill trips. The pram bumps on the steps."
-Nell; Reception
Adventure narrative
As Jack gazed out of the window in awe, the magical sunset pulsed out, rippled red and orange throughout the horizon. Mixed with the scents of snacks and fuel, he could smell adventure hiding, ready to come out. As he gazed through the skies, he could see silhouettes waiting below: a gang of gulls glided; a wave of wind whooshed; a cluster of clouds collided.
Harvey; Year 6
