Writing Implementation

Wilnecote Junior Academy teaches writing and spelling using the Literacy Tree framework.

To develop our pupils as writers we do the following:

• Use high-quality, diverse children's texts by significant authors each term.
• Teach children to write effectively for a range of purposes and a range of readers, adapting their vocabulary and style as appropriate.
• Encourage children to write with interest, commitment and enjoyment.
• Show children how to write in a variety of forms, such as stories, poems, reports and letters.
• Show children how to evaluate, edit and improve their own writing.
• Show children how to use punctuation to make meaning clear to their reader.

Within Key Stage 2, children are encouraged to make significant links between reading, spelling and their own writing.

Children will:

• Focus on a book per unit
• Learn through text pedagogy
• Learn spellings linked to the text and apply them to their writing
• Learn and practise grammar which is embedded within their English lessons.

This approach aims to motivate children to write for a range of audiences and purposes effectively. The children will be immersed in a range of literary worlds and themes, heightening engagement and creating curiosity through process drama, discussion and debate. It allows them to see themselves represented and also explore the lives and experiences of others.

Planning

Planning for English is done at three levels:

1. Long Term Plan – A whole year overview embedding all National Curriculum requirements and audience and purpose at the core.

2. Medium Term Plan

A unit will be based on a specific text and will last up to 3 weeks (weeks stated on the LTP).

3. Short Term Plan – A detailed and fully resourced SMART board will be used to teach the daily lessons.

Our book-based planning sequences provide comprehensive curriculum coverage, engaging children to write with a clear audience and purpose. This forms the backbone of our Teach Through a Text pedagogy.

Spelling Implementation

In Key Stage 2, children are taught statuary spelling words and rules through the Literacy Tree Spelling Seeds during 2 lessons per week.

Across the Key Stages, dedicated SPaG/phonics/spelling working walls will be visible in all learning spaces in which English lessons are taught, including references to learning taking place within the English lessons.