Writing
Shine your light as a writer
For a child, the ability to communicate in written form underpins all other learning and is a vital step in enabling children to become life-long learners. At St James’s we prioritise written literacy as a key skill for all children to secure at a young age. Our writing curriculum aims to be engaging and inspiring, motivating children to write for a variety of purposes, always with their reader in mind. Our text-driven writing curriculum provides children with high quality models for writing and ensures a wide range of reading experiences for all. Our ambitious texts expose children to a wide range of vocabulary as well as being chosen to enrich our curriculum with diversity and representation.
Key documents:
English National Curriculum - click here
English Long Term plan - click here
Writing Rationale - click here
English at St James’s
At St James’s CE Primary School, our English curriculum is driven by high quality texts. These act as the stimulus for writing and form aspirational models for the children to explore. Our writing spine has been chosen to expose children to text types that could pose a barrier if they were exploring these independently.
Our chosen texts fall into the following categories:
Resistant texts – These are texts written to encourage the reader to make sense of them by seeking meaning around nuances, hints, uncertainties and clues.
Non-Linear texts – These are texts with plots and storylines that do not flow chronologically. They may include flashbacks (or flash forwards) as well as storytelling from a range of perspectives.
Figurative texts – These are texts with morals and lessons to be learned. They could include characters learning life lessons or stories which take the reader on a moral journey.
Narratively complex texts – These can be stories with multiple narrators, narrators who have an unusual perspective on events or even narrators who are animal rather than human!
Archaic texts – These are classic stories: books that have stood the test of time.
Through exploring these tricky text types, children gain skills and experience to enable them to become life-long readers and writers but just as importantly, these are books that are full of magic, mystery and fun!
Our English curriculum also includes high quality poetry, non-fiction texts and enrichment experiences to ensure every child finds their enthusiasm and spark for reading and writing.
Spelling
Our teaching of spelling follows the No Nonsense Spelling Programme where spelling rules are mapped out termly. Spelling is taught discretely and children are given the opportunity to apply their spelling knowledge when writing.
Kinetic letters
We us Kinetic Letters to teach handwriting alongside our Phonics and Spelling teaching. This supports children from the very start with gross and fine motor skills, enabling them to write more fluidly, accurately and quickly and enabling them to naturally progress into joined handwriting. Visit our handwriting at home pages for more infomation and resources. Handwriting at home (Reception to Year 2/3) and Handwriting at home (Year 3 to Year 6 - Joining)
