Writing
Our intention at Milton Keynes Primary PRU is for our children to be secure in their knowledge and understanding of the different genres of writing, to be confident and fluent in their application of them. We want the children to learn that writing enables them to use their imagination and express themselves in different ways. We want them to develop a love of writing; to build on their starting points and have the necessary skills to move on successfully to the next stage of their education.
Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
From Year 1 upwards the children have daily literacy lessons. Grammar and punctuation are an embedded part of every lesson.
Lessons are set within a creative and context which is relevant to children. Typically, this will involve using high quality age appropriate texts to provide models of genre construct and appropriate vocabulary. An audience is identified so there is always a purpose for writing. Within literacy lessons, children are given the opportunity to engage in activities such as:
Text analysis- used to gather powerful language and analyse the key features of a genre and its effect on the reader
Reading and research
Spoken language
Drama techniques
Handwriting is taught as an embedded skill as well as separately to the writing lesson.
Lessons are carefully sequenced in order to build on their knowledge and understanding of writing. Learning is regularly revisited through cross-curricular lessons to help children become secure with skills to become embedded in their memories. Teachers use formal and informal assessments, data analysis and daily, in-class observations to inform planning so that the sequence of lessons meet the needs of their pupils. These assessments also help to identify children who may be struggling with their learning. These children benefit from differentiated learning, flexible grouping, and when necessary, intervention groups that target specific skills such as spelling.
Teachers use modelling regularly to achieve different outcomes: to demonstrate a new skill or genre; to check understanding of specific features or to challenge thinking about a concept to reach a deeper level of understanding.