Writing

Writing at Lordship Lane

Aims

Literacy skills are, of course, a fundamental part of the primary school curriculum and at Lordship Lane we aim to ensure that all children are equipped with strong writing skills as a foundation not only for their future learning in secondary school but also for life beyond. We seek to ensure that children write accurately with regard to spelling, punctuation and grammar but also that they can express themselves eloquently in a range of contexts and use language imaginatively and creatively.

Curriculum

We use the Talk for Writing approach to teaching writing at Lordship Lane. This approach includes a focus on speaking and listening skills that helps to build children's vocabulary and helps them to learn new grammatical structures as part of the writing process. The precise objectives that children work on to make progress in their writing have been planned out for each half term across the school so that we know if children at Lordship Lane are making the expected amount of progress.

The majority of our writing teaching makes use of texts as stimuli. Sometimes these texts are the same as those used for Destination Reader in key stage 2, while other times separate texts may be used. These texts have been chosen both for how well they engage children in writing and for the high quality models of written English that they offer.

It is important that children are presented with books that are published by established authors from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The children at our school need to know that they too are able to aspire to write at the highest standard. As they analyse the books, unpick the themes as well as learn the grammatical techniques used, they are gaining the essential knowledge and skills to make them educated citizens. By presenting them with books that contain various themes, social interactions and cultural practices to inform their compositions, this offers them a window on the world that they might not normally experience.

Writing Teaching

In Early Years, children begin to learn to write in phonics sessions when they begin using the sounds they have learnt to write words. Other opportunities for writing are provided in short sessions in small groups. These writing sessions are generally based on books that the class have read together or other real life experiences that the class has shared.

In Key Stages 1 and 2, children receive a daily English lesson to develop their writing skills. They also receive separate short spelling and handwriting sessions so that the focus on their English lessons can remain on composition and expressing themselves effectively in written English.

Overview

The table below offers an overview of the texts that are used as stimuli for writing across the school. We have also mapped out when children learn specific writing skills across the school but this is not currently shared on this page.

	Autumn 1	Autumn 2	Spring 1	Spring 2	Summer 1	Summer 2
1	Rainbow fish, Marcus Pfister The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle The Mixed Up Chameleon, Eric Carle The Koala who could, Rachel Bright and Jim Field The Lion Inside, Rachel Bright and Jim Field Kiss Goodnight, Sam, Amy Hest	Ruby’s Worry, Tom Percival Ravi’s Roar, Tom Percival What not to give an ogre for his birthday, Will Hughes The Three Billy Goats Gruff Aliens Love Underpants, Claire Freedman and Ben Cort Dinosaurs Love Underpants, Claire Freedman and Ben Cort	Fergal is Fuming, Robert Starling Zog, Julia Donaldson Little Red Riding Hood How to Catch a Star, Oliver Jeffers Splat the Cat, Rob Scotton Love, Splat, Rob Scotton	Slinky Malinki, Lynley Dodd Octopus Shocktopus. Peter Bentley & Steven Lenton The Selfish Crocodile, Faustin Charles & Michael Terry The Colour Thief, Gabriel Alborozo Big Book of Bugs, Yuval Zommer Billy and the Dragon, Nadia Shireen	The Day the Crayons Quit, Oliver Jeffers The Day the Crayons Came Home, Oliver Jeffers Pumpkin Soup, Helen Cooper A Pipkin of Pepper, Helen Cooper The Enormous Turnip, Ian Beck The Tin Forest, Helen Ward and Wayne Anderson	Silly Billy, Anthony Browne The Storm Whale, Benji Davies The Ugly Five, Julia Donaldson The Tunnel, Anthony Browne Black Dog, Levi Pinfold
2	Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Amanda Askew Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks!, Nancy Loewen	Out and About, Shirley Hughes Mrs Armitage: Queen of the Road, Quentin Blake	Orion and the Dark, Emma Yarlett The Gruffalo’s Child, Julia Donaldson	Ada Twist, Scientist, Andrea Beaty Stories from India (The Wicked Wish), Anna Milbourne	Zeraffa Giraffa, Diane Hofmeyr The Diary of a Killer Cat, Anne Fine	The Bee who spoke, Al MacCuish The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark, Jill Tomlinson
3	Narrative: Cinnamon, Neil Gaimon The Emperor of Absurdia, Chris Riddell	Narrative: Tuesday, David Wiesner Voices in the Park, Anthony Browne	Narrative: The Hodgeheg, Dick King Smith	Narrative: Greenling, Levi Pinfold	Narrative: The Tear Thief, Carol Ann Duffy	Narrative: Krindlekrax, Philip Ridley
3	Poetry: Revolting Rhymes, Roald Dahl	Information Texts: Stone Age Boy, Satoshi Kitamora	Instructions: The Hodgeheg, Dick King Smith	Poetry: Quick, let’s get out of here, Michael Rosen	Persuasive Letters: My Shadow is Pink, Scott Stuart The Proudest Blue, Ibtihaj Muhammad	Information Texts: History link to ancient civilisations
4	Narrative: Leon and the Place Between, Grahame Baker-Smith Varmints, Helen Ward & Marc Craste	Narrative: The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, Philip Pullman	Narrative: Journey, Aaron Becker	Narrative: Azzi in Between, Sarah Garland	Narrative: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore, W.E. Joyce	Narrative: Varjak Paw, SF Said
4	Instructional Texts: Can I Build Another Me?, Shinsuke Yoshitake	Poetry: A Kid in My Class, Rachel Rooney	Newspaper Reports: The Man who walked between the Towers, Mordicai Gerstein	Persuasive Writing: The King who Banned the Dark, Emily Howarth Booth	Poetry: Cloud Busting, Malorie Blackman	Informal Letters: When Jessie Came Across the Sea, Amy Hest
5	Narrative: There’s A Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, Louis Sachar	Narrative: Wolves in the Walls, Neil Gaiman	Narrative: How to Live Forever, Colin Thompson The Immortal Jellyfish, Sang Miao	Narrative: Nowhere Emporium, Ross MacKenzie	Narrative: Beowulf, Michael Morpurgo	Narrative: Wizards of Once, Cressida Cowell
5	Newspaper Reports: Curiosity, Markus Motum	Poetry: Moon Juice, Kate Wakeling	Poetry: Poet Study – William Blake	Discussion: The Dam, David Almond	Persuasive Writing: The Island, Armin Greder	Biography: On A Beam of Light, Jennifer Berne
6	Narrative: The Viewer, Shaun Tan Kensuke’s Kingdom, Michael Morpurgo	Narrative: Wonder, R.J. Palacio	Narrative: Holes, Louis Sachar	Narrative: Welcome to Nowhere, Elizabeth Laird	Review: In this term, children write a range of texts based on a range of stimuli to review and demonstrate a range of writing skills (see separate document).	Narrative: Animal Farm, George Orwell
6	Biography: Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World, Kate Pankhurst	Poetry: Overheard in a Tower Block, Joseph Coelho	Explanation Texts: Moth, Isabek Thomas & Daniel Egneus	Letters: Henry’s Freedom Box, Ellen Lavine and Kadir Nelson		Various: Leaving LLPS

Writing

Writing at Lordship Lane

Aims

Curriculum

Writing Teaching

Overview

Autumn 1

Autumn 2

Spring 1

Spring 2

Summer 1

Summer 2