Supporting your child in learning to write Writing Workshop 2015 Supporting your child in learning to write

Writing at SFS Igniting Writing Read, Write, Inc. – all children from Reception to Year 4. RWI Get Writing sessions (for younger children) and RWI Literacy and Language and Spelling (for older children) Igniting Writing Cross Curricular writing – History, Geography, Science, RE etc.

Read, Write Inc.

Oxford University Press publish the resources Every day, your child will read and write the words that contain the sounds and graphemes they have learned so far, using lively, fun, phonic storybooks and a Get Writing book. Hold up some Storybooks and Get Writing Books. There are lots of non-fiction books as well! Show a few.

Read Write Inc. Literacy and Language Literacy and Language is a creative writing, comprehension and spoken language programme for Years 2 to 6 that meets the requirements of the new curriculum and statutory assessments. It will: Develop children’s writing, so they become thoughtful and confident writers. Further develop comprehension skills asking more difficult and probing questions about the characters, settings, plots or facts in the texts – inferring and deducing. Engage children with drama and discussion. Build vocabulary and develop spoken language. Teach grammar in context. Prepare every child for the key stage 1 and key stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling tests. When children are ‘Year 3 ready’ ch work on Lit and Lang. Hold up books and show a slide show on the ICT discs

Read Write Inc. Literacy and Language Now we will watch a video clip of a teacher teaching RWI Literacy and Language and you will be able to see how the reading of a text then leads on to the children’s independent writing. http://www.ruthmiskin.com/en/resources/literacy-and-language-teaching-writing/

Igniting Writing

Igniting Writing philosophy Igniting Writing is the development of the ‘writing voice’ through fast, fun, lively and often (particularly with younger children) oral activities. It develops a writer who is confident to write different types of texts using the tools and methods they have been taught as the ‘writing voice’. What are the key elements of Igniting Writing? Show the sign ‘Say it until you love it, write it, say it’.

The Four Generic Targets Objectives Summary Punctuation Powerful sentence Openers Special words and phrases Conjunctions The range of punctuation a pupil can use & the accuracy with which they use it. The strategies pupils have for opening sentences The range of ambitious vocabulary a pupil knows eg: adjectives and adverbs The range of ways pupils have of joining ideas, phrases & sentences These are the 4 generic targets which impact on writing. They are incorporated into all Literacy sessions in writing. It may not be a separate session, but permeates all sessions including in other subjects – history, science etc. There is a pyramid for each of these 4 areas showing progress Rec to Year 6. SEE PARENTS PACK

The Punctuation Pyramid Level 1 . 2 . ? 3 . ? , ! 4 . ? , ! … ’ “” 5 . ? , … - ! ’ “” : ; ( ) Level 1 – Rec Level 5 – Year 6 The Punctuation Pyramid

Igniting Writing – The Method Reception – begins with mainly oral work – ‘Big talk’. leads to written work. Three 15 minute sessions a week in September. This builds up through the year. Key Stage 1 – one hour a week in one block Key Stage 2 – one and a half hours a week in one block.

Igniting Writing method cont…. The focus & text type varies for each Key Stage. A variety of different text types are studied:- Instructions, Reports, Diaries, Playscripts, Recipes, Fiction etc. Example Igniting Writing session First 15 minutes Fast fun activities linked to lesson expectations Next 10 minutes Planning time WILF explanation Focus & text type varies for each Key Stage. A variety of different text types are studied, such as instruction, reports, diaries, playscripts, recipes and fiction. First 15 mins is fast, fun, lively oral based activities linked to what’s expected in their writing. Next 10 minutes - Planning time is then used to refocus the pupils’ thoughts on the stimulus & text type for writing. The children are given a WILF (What I’m Looking For) explanation to refer to when writing. SHOW EXAMPLES Writing time is approximately 45 mins. The children then evaluate their work against the WILF criteria and self assess their work. The child’s partner then assesses the work against the criteria. Work is marked by staff, using our pink and green system. COW time - Ch edit their work in green pen, using the green of the marking. Teacher marking (using pink and green) Evaluation and self assessment COW time. ‘Correct our work’ time 45 minutes Writing time

and a chance to look at some of the children’s extended writing. Time for a break and a chance to look at some of the children’s extended writing. Examples of Igniting Writing from all three classes for parents to browse. After short break – a walk around school to look at the three classrooms and RWI areas.

WILF Children at Stamfordham will be given a WILF list whenever they are given a piece of writing to complete. This will ensure that the objectives for the activity are very clear and that the children understand how they can be successful. The children’s work is ‘quality marked’ using the SFS system of pink and green. See Eg’s of WILF in resource packs.

Now – an activity to complete – don’t worry it’s not too hard!!

In pairs, discuss why I like this sentence: The light slowly dimmed. Next I glanced at the huge beast, whilst I still had time. Identify the – Punctuation, Opener – Next, Special words or phrases – adverb (slowly), adjectives (huge), Conjunction – ‘whilst’.

The boy ran down the street. ACTIVITY Uplevel this sentence. The boy ran down the street. Whiteboards and pens Discuss changed sentences. What did you have to do? How did you know to do it?

Motivation and rewards All our children are hugely motivated in Igniting Writing. They all work very hard to improve their writing skills. Assessment results show that writing levels have improved considerably since the introduction of Igniting Writing and Read, Write, Inc. When a child/children work particularly hard during Igniting Writing we reward them with special writing stickers and also special pencils for exceptional work. Stickers, Pencils etc.

Handwriting – Nelson handwriting Teachers create conditions for neat handwriting - this includes: seating and posture pencil and pen grip how to organise books/paper on the table What is taught: All of the lower-case and capital letters are taught via interactive resources and children’s own workbooks, with clear and consistent instructions about where to start and finish letters. Flicks at the end of letters to be joined, are used from when the children begin letter formation practise in Reception. Break letters that are best left unjoined – such as b, p, g, j, q and y. Spacing letters and words consistently. Keeping ascenders and descenders in proportion and on the correct position on the line Formation sheets - SEE PARENTS PACK Bookmarks – SEE PARENTS PACK

Educational research shows that parental support in a child’s learning in school can lead to improvement in progress of up to 30%

How can parents help? How SFS supports this When writing at home encourage the ‘best handwriting seating position’ and accurate pencil grip. Try to ensure your child always starts letters in the correct position. Learn weekly spelling lists – practise every night (Mon – Fri) for a short time. Read a minimum of four times a week with your child and ask challenging open ended questions. In Class 2 and 3 encourage the use of the home/school writing book. In Key Stage 2 (Class 3) - work through your child’s Literacy homework with them, ensuring they understand the task and complete it to the best of their ability. How SFS supports this Weekly differentiated spelling lists linked to Read, Write, Inc. texts being read/studied. Reading books sent home regularly. Home/school writing books – Class 2 and 3. Differentiated Literacy homework in Key Stage 2. Weekly reading and homework clubs (10/15 mins) run by a Teaching Assistant, to help those children who need a little more support. This is a minimum – every night if at all possible

Any questions?

Handouts Igniting Writing pyramids WILF examples Nelson formation sheet Handwriting posture bookmarks Powerpoint slides