Writing and Oracy
‘If you can’t say it, you can’t write it,’ Pie Corbett.
At Middlestone Moor Primary Academy, our children enter school with varied levels of competency in their communication, language and literacy skills. Therefore, we aim to develop all children’s spoken and written language across the whole curriculum. This begins on their first day at school. We know that a pen, pencil, chalk or even technology are not adequate tools to enable children to become independent writers. We also recognise that physical development can be a barrier for a developing writer. Passionately, we believe that the teaching of writing must be explicitly taught; including both the physical and technical skills alongside developing a love of reading and writing a range of different genres across the curriculum, for a range of purposes.
Intent
Firstly, we aim to give our pupils a ‘voice’ through the explicit teaching of oracy which we define as, ‘the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language’ Voice 21. In addition to exposing pupils to a diverse range of texts, to enrich their vocabulary, we are giving our pupils the tools that they need to ‘say’ what it is they would like to write; only then can they begin their writing journey as a writer. From starting school, we ensure that our pupils are given a range of opportunities to develop both their transcriptional and compositional writing skills. Our pupils develop their fine and gross motor skills, build their core strength and are explicitly taught and receive regular practice on how to form their letters correctly. They are taught a range of strategies to become competent and accurate spellers through our Sounds-Write teaching.
All English teaching ‘cycles’ are centred around a high-quality text as a stimulus through which grammar and punctuation skills can be explicitly taught. Building on these skills, our pupils are provided with regular opportunities to respond to the texts read and apply their basic skills in extended pieces of writing across a range of different genres, for a range of different purposes and audiences. We take every opportunity to ‘innovate’ the writing process; promoting our children’s creativity and providing a ‘real’ purpose for writing. Understanding each stage of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing EEF, 2021) is essential to enable our pupils to become ‘authors’ themselves. Our pupils are taught that writing is a process and not a product. In our increasingly ‘digital’ modern world, it is our aim that our pupils leave school with the view that writing is a gift which will improve their life chances and widen their opportunities; reflecting our school values, ‘ASPIRE’.
Implementation
Our curriculum is based upon the principles derived from research into the cognitive load theory and the importance of regular retrieval of previously taught knowledge and skills so that our children know more and remember more. We select our texts from a wide bank of suggested literature including:
- ‘Reading Reconsidered’ by Dough Lemov.
- Pie Corbett’s ‘Reading Spines’.
- Texts with cross-curricular links including non-fiction.
- Visual texts.
- Award winning texts.
- Aspirational people from ‘The Little People Big Dreams’ series.
- Texts from a range of cultures including those which reflect diversity to promote Cultural Capital.
Writing in EY
The following activities are gradually built upon as our children settle into the school routine and demonstrate their ‘readiness’ for writing:
- Daily gross motor skills development using a range of movement activities including ‘fundamentals’ to improve core strength, balance, co-ordination and gross motor control.
- Daily name writing practice.
- Daily letter formation practice.
- Daily Sounds-Write lessons.
- Dictation 3 times per week to retrieve previously taught spellings.
- Focused adult led writing task once per week in response to texts read.
- ‘Letter Join’ home learning practice.
- Daily modelling of communication and language skills to develop oracy including sentence stems.
- Daily opportunities to write in a range of different contexts, using a range if medium, for a range of different purposes within our continuous and enhanced provision.
Writing in Key Stage 1 and 2
Our fortnightly ‘writing cycles’ are centred around these high-quality texts, where the product of the unit is an extended piece of writing where the children are provided with the opportunity to apply the grammar and punctuation skills taught within the unit. Our expectations are high; we expect our pupils to begin to apply the new knowledge and skills taught within the unit while also demonstrating the skills they have learnt in previous units, in previous year groups; retrieving their knowledge demonstrating a change in their long term memory. Oracy is the ‘golden thread’ throughout the curriculum and within each unit the children are provided with the opportunity to express themselves clearly, confidently and effectively in a range of situations.
A Typical Writing Cycle
Lesson Focus/Activities
Day 1: Reading/exposure to the text
Reading Comprehension and/or vocabulary focus.
Day 2: Explore the features of the text type/genre
Read an example and identify the features of the text type.
Identify PAT – purpose, audience and text type.
Day 3: Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation Task
Linked to a specific skill within the text type/genre explored on Day 2.
Day 4: Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation Task
Linked to a specific skill within the text type/genre explored on Day 2.
Day 5: Writing Focus
Children ‘practise’ writing in this genre, applying the new skills taught.
Day 6: Revising and Editing
Recap the features and give children time to revise and edit their writing based on feedback.
Reintroduce the text from Day 1
Using a task of your choice e.g. drama task, discussion.
Day 7: Planning
Introduce PAT – purpose, audience and text type.
Re-read the text.
Recap the features of the text type and share the planning sheet.
Teacher model a plan and children complete their own plans.
Day 8: Writing/Drafting
Recap PAT.
Teacher model the opening section, using the plan from Day 7.
Teacher model making revisions and editing in green pen.
Day 9: Writing – Editing and Revising
Recap PAT.
Based on teacher feedback including live marking, children to edit/revise the first section of their diaries.
Teacher model the next section, using the plan from Day 7.
Teacher model making revisions and editing in green on the IWB.
Day 10: Editing, Revising and Publishing
Children to spend some time editing their writing and making any revisions in green pen.
Recap the purpose and audience of the text type. Invite children to present their writing to the class, group or partner.
The Creative Writing Cycle
Each half term, children experience a ‘creative writing cycle’ where children have the opportunity to apply the skills that they have learnt. This is to develop the writer’s craft and a love of writing.
Spelling
In Key Stage 1, our pupils learn to spell through our daily phonics teaching using the Sounds-Write programme. As part of English lessons, they also learn the spelling rules outlined in the National Curriculum. In addition to these sessions, all pupils complete a dictation task 3 times per week which focuses on the retrieval of previously taught spellings. All pupils are given ‘personalised spellings’ to learn at home, beginning with high frequency words, progressing to polysyllabic words.
In Key Stage 2, our pupils learn to spell through the discrete teaching of the spelling rules, incorporating aspects of the Sounds-Write teaching of polysyllabic words. Our spelling curriculum reflects the National Curriculum expectations but is bespoke to our pupils, including regular retrieval of the spelling rules and conventions which our pupils find the most difficult to retain and apply. All spelling sessions include a retrieval element. The children are required to retrieve their knowledge of the spelling rules and HF words taught and apply this knowledge by completing a dictation task.
Handwriting
We use the ‘Letter Join’ programme for the teaching of letter formation and handwriting. This is a progressive approach from print to cursive.
EY
Children are explicitly taught to:
- Accurately form all lowercase letters correctly.
Key Stage 1
Children are explicitly taught to:
- Accurately form all upper-case letters correctly.
- Begin to use the cursive ‘lead in’ and join some diagraphs and high frequency words.
Key Stage 2
Children are explicitly taught to:
- Join all letters in a cursive style, using the ‘Letter join’ recommended progression.
The children can access this programme at home using the link below.
Impact
The intended impact of our curriculum offer for writing is to ensure our pupils are prepared for their life beyond primary school and their future education. Our pupils will:
- Apply their phonic knowledge and understanding of spelling rules and conventions to spell with accuracy.
- Write in a fluent and legible style.
- Talk about their writing articulately and confidently to inform their planning.
- Use the strategies taught, texts experienced and life experience to inform their writing, expressing their creativity.
- Recognise a range of different text types and genres and understand the features.
- Identify the purpose and audience when writing.
- Understand that writing is a process and not a product, recognising and valuing the importance of each stage.
- Be able to write confidently and competently for a range of different audiences and purposes.
