Writing
"All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the
world upside down." Friedrich Nietzsche
At Great Hockham Primary and Nursery School we want all of our pupils to become confident, competent and creative writers. Our pupils will be given access to high quality texts to read and there will be a balance between teaching the features of specific genres and covering the technical aspects of writing. Our pupils will view mistakes as learning opportunities and use them to edit and improve their writing.
Our writing curriculum is underpinned by the National Curriculum. We encourage writing through all curriculum areas and use quality reading texts to model examples of good writing. In 2022 we launched 'The Write Stuff', a strategy devised by Jane Considine to help children to progress and improve their writing skills based on high quality texts. All our writing is taught through the ‘writing rainbow’ which provides a lens for the writer to focus through in order to ensure all writing is effective and engaging for the reader, whilst meeting the intended purpose.
The Writing rainbow consists of 3 strands:
The FANTASTICs (Ideas), The GRAMMARISTICs (Tools), and The BOOMTASTICs (Techniques) support children's learning, precision and writing.
The FANTASTICs system allows children to identify the nine elements that all text types are comprised of. When pupils are familiar with these nine elements, they are able to ensure that they are incorporated into their writing. The FANTASTICs help children to sharpen their understanding of their own and others’ writing by encouraging them to be observant and reflective.
The 9 GRAMMARISTICs cover national curriculum requirements, capturing the broad spectrum of key grammar knowledge. Discrete grammar lessons are also taught to ensure specific grammar knowledge is taught and revisited.
The BOOMTASTICs capture the ten powerful ways to add drama and poetic devices to writing. They help children structure their work, teaching them to showcase their writing voice, demonstrate originality and to take risks in a bid to capture the truth of a situation.
Writing is taught through a number of different strategies. We use a method called “Sentence Stacking” which refers to the fact that sentences are stacked together and organised to engage children with short, intensive moments of learning that they can then immediately apply to their own writing.
This method also allows pupils to improve their oracy and widen their vocabulary in every lesson. Pupils love their writing lessons and can’t wait to show what they’ve learnt in their weekly independent "little writes" or in their independent extended pieces at the end of each unit.
Spelling in KS2
Our spelling curriculum is designed to provide a broad and balanced education that meets the needs of all children. We follow the award-recognised Ready Steady Spell by Literacy
Counts to ensure that all pupils become fluent, accurate spellers. Our spelling curriculum, building on what the children have learnt in KS1 is research-informed and impact-proven, helping children secure the essential skills and strategies they need to spell confidently across the curriculum. Through engaging activities, consistent teaching routines and regular opportunities to revisit prior learning, we help children move spelling knowledge into their long-term memory. Our aim is to build confident writers who are equipped with the tools they need to communicate clearly and effectively. Spelling is taught in a clear and systematic way, with regular reviews and assessments.
