Year 2 - Year 6
From Year 2 to Year 6, our bespoke approach follows these three phases, ensuring a structured and consistent path for developing writing skills across all units.
- Reading Phase: Pupils engage with model texts to understand the techniques used by authors, analysing how these techniques affect the reader.
- Toolkit Phase: Focuses on developing specific writing skills, with teachers modelling and guiding practice to build confidence and competence.
- Writing Phase: Pupils apply the skills and techniques they have learned to produce an independent piece of writing, drawing on everything they have practiced in the previous phases.
Each unit begins with the Reading Phase, where children are immersed in a carefully selected, engaging text through a variety of interactive activities such as drama, hot seating, oracy games and vocabulary development. These activities hook the pupils into the text, fostering a deep engagement and ensuring they fully understand the material.
In this phase, pupils are encouraged to ‘Read as a Writer’ - a key component of our approach. This involves analysing the model text to identify the techniques used by the author and understand the effects on the reader. By focusing on these techniques, pupils develop a deeper understanding of writing and its impact.
Next, we move to the Toolkit Phase, where the focus shifts to building and refining the writing skills needed for success. This phase follows a Teach, Model, Practice, Apply approach. First, teachers teach the specific writing skills drawn from the model text, explaining their purpose and function. Then, they model these skills through live writing, demonstrating how to apply them effectively. Following this, pupils are given opportunities to practice these skills in shared and guided writing sessions, where they can experiment with the techniques in a supportive environment. For example, in the Sentence of the Day activity, pupils work with sentences from the model text, rearranging and experimenting with them to consolidate their understanding. The pupils also practise writing them with the focus on handwriting and sentence construction. Finally, pupils apply what they've learned in independent writing, building confidence and developing the ability to use these techniques effectively in their own work.
The final stage is the Writing Phase, where pupils plan and produce an independent piece of writing. At this stage, they are encouraged to draw on all the knowledge, techniques, and skills developed in the earlier phases, culminating in a piece of writing that reflects their learning and creativity. To give their writing purpose, pupils have the opportunity to publish their work in various ways. This might include uploading their writing to an online blog, performing their work in class, or sharing it on Class Dojo. These publishing opportunities not only allow pupils to show case their efforts but also give them a real audience for their writing, fostering a sense of accomplishment and motivation.
