EASTERTOUN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Curriculum Update
Writing
A Parent/Carer’s Guide to Our School’s Approach to Developing Writing
Issued January 2008
Q. What does it mean when “writing” is referred to in educational terms?
A. In schools we mean a piece of continuous text written by a pupil. Writing is not to be confused with handwriting which is one of the tools used to produce a piece of writing. Although writing is taught in its own right pupils are encouraged to carry their knowledge and skills into other areas e.g. science, history.
Q. What kinds of writing are children expected to produce?
A. A piece of writing can be -
> a single phrase or sentence or it can be a longer piece of text
> personal – when a child writes about an experience he/she has had or gives his/her opinion about a topic.
> imaginative – in this a pupil uses his or her imagination to make up a story which is fictional.
> functional – This type of writing is based on a fact. It could be a report on a visit or an experiment, a menu or a timetable. It could be a piece of writing about a historic event.
> writer’s craft. Pupils are given the start of a piece of text and required to continue it in the same style.There can also be a slight overlap with one piece of writing meeting the requirements of two types of writing e.g. a personal / imaginative story.
Q. When do children begin to produce a piece of writing?
A. Right from the start of primary one children are encouraged to “write” and these early attempts are praised. Although they might not have developed the manual skills to form letters correctly or have the phonics knowledge to spell words correctly they are encouraged to try to “write” something which they then “read” back to the teacher or their class. Gradually as their knowledge of handwriting and phonic develops words can be seen within the initial “scribbles.” This is called emergent writing. Encouragement and showing that these early attempts at writing are valued help to promote eagerness to learn. Weekly “Star Writers” are chosen in most classes and these children benefit from having their work displayed on the classroom walls.Fluency in writing can be supported by words displayed around the room on “word walls” and as the children become more able they are given dictionaries which contain the most frequently used words. Individuals can ask to have words written into these booklets although to encourage fluency in writing the number of words which can be requested in one lesson is often restricted. As children progress up the school they rely less on teacher support until, by the later stages, they can make use of commercially produced dictionaries and thesauri.
Q. I read in the newspapers that teachers don’t bother about spelling nowadays. Is that true?
A. No. Teachers do still care about spelling. However, a balance must be kept between not interrupting the flow of the writing by making a pupil so conscious of his/her spelling that he/she thinks more about this rather than the content of the writing. Teachers use their professional judgement and their knowledge of individual pupils to decide to what extent to intervene.
Q. Does the same apply to punctuation?
A. Yes, although there are clearly laid down guidelines for which punctuation skills a child should learn according to his/her stage of development. These range from the very basic skill of marking a sentence with a capital letter and full-stop to such things as using similes and writing in paragraphs. Punctuation and spelling are regarded as technical skills and are also given a separate place in the curriculum. They are developed in phonic/spelling teaching and in grammar exercises.
Q. You mentioned earlier that handwriting is a tool for writing. Are there are any other tools?
A. Yes. Pupils can use magnetic letters, small individual whiteboards or computers. Various software packages are available to ensure progression. Aids such as pencil grips and larger keyboards can be used to give individuals extra support. Some pupils use an “AlphaSmart” when writing.
Q. When I was at school I only seemed to write imaginative stories. Why do children write in so many different formats?
A. Nowadays educationalists are more aware of the need to give children skills for life. We want them to develop into
Ø Successful learners
Ø Confident individuals
Ø Responsible citizens
and
Ø Effective contributors
In everyday life people are less likely to write an imaginative story than they are to write an invitation, a recipe, a letter of complaint, a list of items, a list of instructions and so on. In their diaries they might comment on the character of someone they met that day. Children, therefore, are given the opportunity to learn how to change the style of their writing to suit a given purpose.Children are made aware of the learning intention and the success criteria before they begin to write.They are given a sense of audience by being encouraged to think of the recipient of their writing. A letter to an aunt thanking her for a gift will be written in a different tone to a letter to a politician complaining about the lack of play facilities!
Q. How are levels awarded to a piece of writing?
A. Pupils work progressively from pre-level A through to level F and then to standard grade and higher. This process begins at the age of three and continues through their secondary education. The criteria for attaining each level is agreed nationally. Teachers share with individual pupils which level they are on and they are made aware of their targets which will enable the next level to be attained. This process is part of personal learning planning and begins in primary one.A teacher’s professional judgement can be confirmed by using tests from the National Assessment bank.
Q. Why are the children given blank jotters to write in?
A. As their fine motor control develops pupils are given lined jotters to practise handwriting and to do other writing like grammar exercises. However, it is school policy to provide pupils with blank jotters, often A4 in size, to do continuous writing. This makes it easier for work to be edited and redrafted.
Q. What does this mean?
According to the stage a lot of emphasis is placed on planning and laying out work, on self assessing and on peer evaluation and assessment. Similarly teachers use formative assessment comments. Pupils are encouraged to use these various forms of assessment to make improvements to the content of their own work. This could be as simple as putting in a few full stops to transferring several sentences to another paragraph. It could mean slotting in a few adverbs or adding a fuller description of a character. If the paper is blank then it is easier to make these amendments without the restrictions that lines would cause. It is inevitable that these jotters will look untidy but rubbing out, using arrows to slot in words etc are a sign that a child has attempted to improve his work.
Q. Is all writing redrafted?
No. Depending on the stage of development individual or groups of children, in consultation with their teacher, will choose several pieces of work in the course of the year to redraft and produce a good copy.
Q. Do children always write on their own?
A. No. There will be times when pairs, groups or even the whole class will collaborate on a piece of writing. This might be done at the planning stage or a whole piece of writing can be produced like this. The sharing of good ideas and the teacher modelling good practice can be of great benefit.
Q. I’d like to help my child to be a better writer. What advice do you have?
A. Encourage your child to read and/or read to him/her. Children who read a lot are continually absorbing information about writers’ styles, widening their vocabulary, absorbing spelling rules and learning about punctuation, grammar and structure. They gain a wide background knowledge on which to draw to suit their own needs. Above all, if he/she produces a piece of writing, resist any temptation to criticise spelling etc but value it.Remember that when people write they often give us an insight into their deeper personality – they give us a piece of themselves.
I hope the information contained in this leaflet has been useful to you. If you would like any more information please contact me at the school. Similarly, if you would like the leaflet in another format please contact the school.
