Learning to write is a very important skill that is developed across all areas of the curriculum. Children start by mark making before learning the letters which represent the sounds. Writing not only allows children to record their thoughts and ideas but enables them to write messages to others as well as write their own stories, articles or books. It is essential that the teaching of writing develops children’s’ competence in both transcription (spelling and handwriting) and composition (articulating ideas and structuring them in speech and writing). Children should also be taught how to plan, revise and evaluate their writing.
Writing down ideas fluently depends on effective transcription: that is, on spelling quickly and accurately through knowing the relationship between sounds and letters (phonics) and understanding the morphology (word structure) and orthography (spelling structure) of words. Effective composition involves articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Writing also depends on fluent, legible and, eventually, speedy handwriting.
Here at Pensans we want our children to be able to write for a purpose and understand that different genres of writing enable us to do this. Therefore it is important that our children understand the features of the different writing genres including narrative, poetry, recount, report, instructions, explanations, persuasion, debate and labels, lists and captions and revisit these over their time here.