Writing at Bridge
Writing at Bridge
At Bridge, we endeavour to develop children’s writing skills so that they have a toolkit which they can confidently apply to a range of different types of writing. Children have the opportunity to write for a variety of purposes and audiences, covering a range of genres. Each text type is taught using the following teaching sequence:
- Reading as a reader and then reading as a writer. This involves reading and understanding good-quality examples of the text type and identifying the features that make them successful.
- Teaching the grammar and punctuation for writing depending on the year group and the text type.
- Teacher-modelling of the thought process involved during writing.
- Children apply what they have been taught to a piece of writing (including planning).
- Children edit their work to ensure that it ‘reads’ well.
- Children proof-read their work to ensure that it is accurate.
Grammar and Punctuation
Most grammar and punctuation is taught within the context of a piece of writing as this makes it more meaningful. Some is taught discretely. We follow the progression outlined in the National Curriculum as shown below.
Progression in Grammar |
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
Noun phrase |
Expanded noun phrases |
Expanded noun phrases |
Expanded noun phrases |
Expanded noun phrases |
Expanded noun phrases |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Subordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Co-ordinating conjunctions |
Past and Present tense |
Past simple Past progressive Present simple Present progression |
Past simple Past progressive Present simple Present progression Past perfect Present perfect |
Past simple Past progressive Present simple Present progression Past perfect Present perfect |
Past simple Past progressive Present simple Present progression Past perfect Present perfect |
Past simple Past progressive Present simple Present progression Past perfect Present perfect |
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Sentence types Statement Command Question Exclamation |
Sentence types Statement Command Question Exclamation |
Sentence types Statement Command Question Exclamation |
Sentence types Statement Command Question Exclamation |
Sentence types Statement Command Question Exclamation |
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Adverbs |
Adverbials |
Adverbials |
Adverbials |
Adverbials |
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Relative clauses Relative pronouns |
Relative clause Relative pronouns |
Progression in Punctuation |
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Year 1 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6 |
Full stops Capital Letters |
Inverted Commas |
Inverted Commas |
Inverted Commas |
Inverted Commas |
Inverted Commas |
Commas to separate a list |
Commas to separate a list |
Commas to separate a list |
Commas to separate a list |
Commas to separate a list |
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Apostrophe for omission and possession |
Apostrophe for omission and possession |
Apostrophe for omission and possession |
Apostrophe for omission and possession |
Apostrophe for omission and possession |
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Commas for fronted adverbials |
Commas for fronted adverbials |
Commas for fronted adverbials |
Commas for fronted adverbials |
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Commas for clarity
Parenthesis: Dashes Brackets Colons
Hyphens |
Commas for clarity
Parenthesis: Dashes Brackets Colons
Hyphens |
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Adding detail: Dashes Colons Linking Semi-colons |
Handwriting
Children at Bridge are taught a cursive handwriting style where each letter has a lead in and a lead out. The style taught is shown below:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Children who develop a fluent, legible style will be awarded with a pen licence.
Spelling
At Bridge Junior, we follow a spelling programme called No Nonsense Spelling. This covers the statutory requirements for each year group which can be found here: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/18288/1/English_Appendix_1_-_Spelling.pdf
The focus of the programme is on the teaching of spelling, which embraces knowledge of spelling conventions – patterns and rules; but integral to the teaching is the opportunity to promote the learning of spellings, including statutory words, common exceptions and personal spellings.
Teaching sequence
The programme has been written broadly following a teaching sequence for spelling, whereby each new concept is taught, practised and then applied and assessed. Frequently there is also a ‘Revise’ session before the teaching session. A typical teaching sequence is as follows:
Children are given individual spellings to learn each week at home and are tested on them the following week. Here are some useful websites to support children with spelling: