Writing
"Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s." -Stephen King
When children are given time and space to use writing as a tool for thinking and opportunities to share ideas and preferences, they take ownership over their choices and develop the confidence to play around with language features, writing conventions and form.
At Henry Green, we acknowledge that writing can be challenging for many of our children. However, we also appreciate that writing provides a way to express what you love and what excites you. Writing is a way to escape and create the world the way you would like it be.
In order to allow children to thrive as writers, we have dedicated ourselves to carefully curating a curriculum which provides endless opportunities. We strongly believe in writing for a real-life purpose and children having a strong sense of their audience. We encourage children to take risks in their writing and to have a sense of pride in their work because as Louis L'Amour says 'start writing, no matter what. The water does not does flow until the faucet is turned on'. Taking into consideration that each child has their own taste and style, which we wholeheartedly encourage; by accommodating for individual needs, we aim to develop children’s voices and inspire a new generation of authors.
The teachers at Henry Green have been teaching the children
- the writing process (drafting, revising and editing)
- the purpose of writing
- to become more fluent with handwriting, spelling, sentence construction
- to write across the curriculum
END OF EYFS WRITING OUTCOMES AT HENRY GREEN
Suhana - Greater Depth Klea - Expected
END OF KS1 WRITING OUTCOMES AT HENRY GREEN
Year 1 Greater Depth Year 2 Expected Year 2 Greater Depth
END OF KS2 WRITING OUTCOMES
Working At Greater Depth
We have been focusing on contextualising the teaching of grammar within our writing sessions (explicit lessons once a week) which has had a significant positive impact on the children's outcomes. By the end of Year 6, children at Henry Green are successful writers across a range of genres.
Texts within the English curriculum
At Henry Green, core texts are carefully selected taking into account the overall intent of the topic. These are of high quality and from a range of authors in order to raise the literacy achievement of all children by putting quality children's literature at the heart of all learning. In addition to this, we have also taken into account children's cultural heritage and have incorporated text that allows them to identify themselves in a story. This serves as a powerful tool in enabling our children to gain a better understanding of not only their own culture but also the cultures of others.
Closing the gender gap
Often research evidence has suggested that boys perform less well than girls in writing (Daly, 2003). At Henry Green we truly believe that the boys are equally capable in achieving age related expectations as the girls. By the end of KS2, as a result of choosing the right core text that appeals to all within the curriculum we have been able to reduced this gap.
Ada - year 6 Jay - year 6
Bella - Year 4 Adam - Year 4
Alfie - Year 4
In years 3 and 4, children have had additional phonics sessions which has helped them apply their phonetical knowledge to their writing.
Writer of the Month - May
Pupils of Henry Green, there are many outside activities that you can take part in to help you enhance your writing skills! So why not take part in a writing competition today! Don't forget to bring in your final pieces of work to share with others...