Writing

We are all writers

At St Michael’s Academy we endeavour to make writing a meaningful and memorable experience for the children by ensuring every unit of work has a clear audience and purpose.

Curriculum documents

How is writing taught?

To kickstart our writing sequence we create a hook. This ranges from a video, music clip, picture or an experience. We also show our children a quality text to inspire young minds. We know that children who explore and hear a range of high-quality texts are better able to reflect on how writing devices affect the reader. Together, the class create a co-constructed success criteria where we are able to identify features from a writing style. From this, we generate ideas together through talking and jotting key vocabulary, plan, draft, revise, edit and publish. We use the Writing Rainbow as a tool for thinking, talking and writing, by looking at the ideas of writing, the grammar of writing and the techniques of writing. Providing structured writing opportunities allows children to understand how the writing process works, but we believe it is equally important to allow children to use and apply their learning by giving them time and space to write freely for their own purpose and pleasure.

We aim to teach a minimum of 5 writing lessons a week for 50 minutes.

Grammar and punctuation is taught daily at the start of every writing lesson for 10-15 minutes. This is in context to what our students are writing that day. Some grammar and punctuation lessons may require explicit teaching.

Precision spelling – minimum of 3 times a week.

Teaching of spelling rule - minimum of 3 times a week.

Weekly spellings are sent home. Handwriting – in years 3 and 4 – to do 10 minutes, at least 3 times a week. Year 5 and 6 – delivered to the class during autumn 1 for 20 minutes a week. From autumn 2, handwriting becomes an intervention.

Creative Writer Week

Children need to vary between longer carefully-constructed units of writing and opportunities to write quickly, in varying styles on a particular stimulus – a mixture of quick writing and slow writing.  

‘Creative Writer Weeks’ give opportunities to write fluently in a range of styles over a week. Using an initial stimulus or hook (a picture book, a film, an experience, a cross-curricular link, a cultural link etc) children have the opportunity to write in 4 or 5 different styles through the week. For example:   

• Short story/diary entry/other piece of descriptive writing    

• Poetry    

• Balanced argument    

• Letter    

• Newspaper article or other report    

• Persuasive writing   

Creative Writer Weeks see the whole school writing using the same stimulus, with opportunities to then celebrate and reflect on children’s writing across the school. Examples in the past have included The Queen, The Rugby World Cup, London and The Foxes of St Michael's. 

Penfluencers

Writing is a huge part of our curriculum and learning across all subjects at St Michael’s Academy. Writing is an important form of self-expression and promotes self-reflection. To help promote a love for writing, we have recruited 11 Penfluencers, one from each class. Penfluencers work together to pass on their enthusiasm for writing. Penfluencers ensure their teacher plans a range of writing activities and are also the go-to person if anyone needs additional resources to support. Not only do they promote external writing competitions, they also design their own writing competitions and present these in assembly. 

Enrichment

• We invite authors and poets to lead and inspire our children with workshops. 

• We celebrate literacy-themed events throughout the year, such as World Book Day.  

• As a school we take part in the Somerset Literacy Network competition, the BBC 500-word challenge and have our own poetry day. Several children across the school have had the opportunity to attend Able Writers’ days and collaboratively work with other schools in Yeovil 

Pupil voice

Examples of writing

Year 4: Non-chronological reports based on rainforest animals.

Year 6: Ho-Yen class including a continuation of the story The Day No One Woke Up and biographies on the author Polly Ho-Yen.

Year 4: Leaflets on The Water Cycle.