Key Learning in Writing
Compostion
Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
- Explore and identify main and subordinate clauses in complex sentences.
- Explore, identify and create complex sentences using a range of conjunctions e.g. if, while, since, after, before, so, although, until, in case.
- Identify, select, generate and effectively use prepositions for where e.g. above, below, beneath, within, outside, beyond.
- Select, generate and effectively use adverbs e.g. suddenly, silently, soon, eventually.
- Use inverted commas to punctuate direct speech (speech marks).
- Use perfect form of verbs using have and had to indicate a completed action e.g. I have washed my hands. We will have eaten our lunch by the time Dad arrives. Jack had watched TV for over two hours!
- Use the determiner a or an according to whether the next word begins with a consonant or vowel e.g. a rock, an open box.
- Explore and collect word families e.g. medical, medicine, medicinal, medic, paramedic, medically to extend vocabulary.
Explore and collect words with prefixes super, anti, auto.
Composition
Plan their writing by:
- Reading and analysing narrative, non-fiction and poetry in order to plan and write their own versions.
- Identifying and discussing the purpose, audience, language and structures of narrative, non-fiction and poetry for writing.
- Discussing and recording ideas for planning.
- Creating and developing settings for narratives.
- Creating and developing characters for narrative.
- Creating and developing plots based on a model.
- Generating and selecting from vocabulary banks e.g. noun phrases, powerful verbs, technical language, synonyms for said appropriate to text type.
- Grouping related material into paragraphs.
- Using headings and sub headings to organise information.
Evaluate, and edit by:
- Proofreading to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation in own and others’ writing.
- Discussing and proposing changes with partners and in small groups.
- Improving writing in the light of evaluation.
Perform their own compositions by:
Using appropriate intonation, tone and volume to present their writing to a group or class.
Transcription
Spelling
- Use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them.
- Spell further homophones.
- Spell words that are often misspelt.
- Use the first two letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary.
- Write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words and punctuation taught so far.
- Learn to spell new words correctly and have plenty of practice in spelling them.
- Understand how to place the apostrophe in words with regular plurals (e.g. girls’, boys’).
- Spell words as accurately as possible using their phonic knowledge and other knowledge of spelling, such as morphology and etymology.
Handwriting
- Form and use the four basic handwriting joins.
- Write legibly.