Supporting Your Child with writing Parents Meeting 6 th March 9am Welcome

Supporting your Child’s Writing Development Facts about Writing Writing is a vital life skill in our society Writing is not easy to learn or to teach- it is a complex set of skills Writing is needed for all areas of learning in school Writing can be functional and creative Two clear parts of teaching writing – secretarial and compositional Children who can write well have higher self esteem

How we teach writing at school Structured and free writing experiences. We encourage writing in all areas of the classroom, involving children in writing for a purpose EG through role- play, writing labels for display, writing messages, signing when completed an activity Provide quality writing areas throughout LO phase Guided/Focus Writing sessions Secretarial skills – spelling, handwriting, grammar, structure Compositional skills - exciting language, imagination, engaging etc. Through all curriculum areas. Through experience and talk. Interventions/targeted support.

Writing throughout the Lift Off Phase

Writing Learning Objectives All teaching of writing throughout school is based on these main objectives Reception Use phonic knowledge to write words Write some irregular common words Write simple sentences Spell some words correctly Spell some words in a phonetically plausible way Key Stage 1 To present neatly To spell correctly To punctuate accurately To write with purpose To use imaginative description To organise writing appropriately To use paragraphs To use sentences appropriately To analyse writing To present writing

Understanding the Stages of Learning to Write Developmental stages of children’s early writing 1.Random scribble 2.Scribble that looks like writing 3.Individual shapes that look like letters 4.Some real letters used randomly (especially letters form their names) 5.Letters and shapes written from left to right across the page 6.Individual letters used to represent words (initial sounds) 7.More than one letter used to represent a word 8.Transitional Phases 9.Standard Spelling Look at writing samples together

Writing Expectations Important to know the expectations for each year Keep in mind each child is an individual and will develop at different speeds Reception – Expected Level of Development Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.

Writing Expectations Year 1 – Expected level – 1b+ Can compose a sentence orally and attempt to replicate it in writing. Some use capital letters Begins to have an awareness of how full-stops are used Some ideas may be linked by ‘and’ Writing can generally be read without mediation Simple beginning, middle and end are becoming apparent Begin to use more story language Some interesting and appropriate vocabulary linked to the context Begin to use alternative ways of spelling phonemes EG – ‘ai’, ‘ay’ or ‘a-e’ Know some words contain spelling alternatives Write letters, most of which are correctly formed Spacing used between words – not always consistent

Writing Expectations Year 2 – Expected level – 2b+ Use a range of connectives to make a compound sentence EG and, but, because Full-stops, capital letters and question marks are used more consistently Organisation reflects the purpose of the writing EG Instructions Some use of basic layout conventions are used Use connectives that signal time – EG then, after, before, meanwhile Variation in word choices, some of which are ambitious Detail is used to engage the reader Spells with increasing accuracy and confidence, drawing on word recognition and knowledge of word structure and spelling patterns Write legibly, using upper and lower case letters appropriately within words and observing correct spacing within and between words

What can parents do? With children of all ages there are things parents can do to help ALL children to be the best writers they can be: * Make your home a ‘Reading’ home * Surround your children in rich language * Give them experiences to want to record or write about – 50 things … * Talk about stories * Tell your child stories * Let your child see you as a writer- lists, notes, letters, s, stories, news, diary…. * Encourage your child to make marks or write from the earliest age and provide opportunities for them to ‘write’ for real – Cards, shopping lists, note pads and diaries * Value all attempts they make at mark making or writing * Support your child with home learning (writing, spelling, reading) * Make sure they can write their name accurately and form letters correctly – lower case * Write letters to your child, encourage them to write to family members or friends * Take a note book on trips, encourage your child to write * Make a book, magazine, comic together * Read through your child’s writing with them and talk about what you like and why, then encourage your child to think about how to improve it – age sensitive * Play games like Scrabble, Boggle, Balderdash, Upwords etc * Use the suggested websites

Using the internet to support your child’s writing There are many free resources and games on the web…