St John The Baptist Church of England Primary School
Loving Learning, Building Community, Growing in Faith
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Writing
An appreciation for rich quality literature underpins the English and writing curriculum at St John the Baptist. We help children to develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to communicate effectively and promote a lifelong love of the written word and the English language. The National Curriculum English objectives are delivered through a carefully planned and sequenced progression of quality texts which form Novel Studies. These texts have been matched to each year group for their complexity in length, language structure or theme. By the time they leave Key Stage 2, pupils have had valuable exposure to a range of quality works of literature. Novel studies are planned to ensure children acquire the skills necessary to become confident readers and writers, able to communicate effectively both verbally and through written work. Furthermore, the curriculum actively promotes a love of reading for pleasure and development of skills and attributes beyond academic achievement. The careful selection of texts introduces children to cultural diversities, develops their ability to empathise with others and promotes curiosity.
‘Direct Instruction’ is woven through all lessons within the teaching sequence. This ensures the ‘I, We, You’ approach is consistently adopted in order to teach and practise all aspects of writing. The ‘I’ allows teachers to model the process of writing so that the children understand the thought process behind it. Teachers will think out loud to demonstrate and explain how and why they have structured their writing in the way that they have. The ‘we’ then allows the children the opportunity to participate in a shared write, where everybody contributes to the writing outcome. This can then be scaffolded further into paired or group work with children who have been identified by the teacher, before the ‘you’ allows for independent writing.