Writing at Berrymede
At Berrymede we strive to develop competent writers who can compile skilful writing for a range of audiences and purposes that excite and engage the reader. We inspire our pupils through rich purposeful texts, drama, through our Shakespeare projects and opportunities for public speaking both within and beyond the classroom. Many children choose to attend Latin and LAMDA clubs which further enhance and deepen their knowledge, understanding and application of language.
Implementation
At Berrymede, writing and reading are integrally linked through our carefully selected core texts. Writing consists of the following areas:
Composition
- is taught as part of the main literacy lesson and assessed through unaided writing at regular intervals, children receive and respond to and evaluate detailed feedback in order to further develop their work and sense of achievement
- composition refers primarily to writing for a specific purpose and audience. As the curriculum progresses, children are encouraged to develop their own authorial voice and recognise how to vary their style of writing for different readers
- pupil’s composition pieces are recorded in a separate book which is passed on as they progress though Berrymede as a unique record of their writing development, clear sets of rules which help scaffold children’s writing are referred to by teachers and pupils to support independent learning and development
Grammar and Punctuation
- is taught as part of the main English lesson as well as short weekly discrete lessons with specific foci
- are the make-up of a piece of writing. Beginning in Early Years where children learn to write for meaning. In Key Stage One, children continue to build on this as they learn to write in complete sentences, understanding different word classifications and developing sentences and text, linking sentences together. In KS2, children refine and develop these skills further by learning how to vary sentence types, using different language, tense and punctuation for effect, ultimately choosing to do so independently in their compositions
Spelling
- is taught explicitly in one short weekly session where a specific spelling rule is taught (see Spelling Section on Website) and practised relating words using this rule, assessed through a weekly test.
- spelling is a crucial part of ensuring that writing can be understood. All year groups are taught specific sets of spellings rules, building on from Phonics, which in turn build upon one another and are essential for accurate spelling right up to Year 6.
Handwriting
- a bespoke Berrymede handwriting scheme is used to ensure children’s’ handwriting is legible and neat eventually developing into their unique individual styles of writing
Impact
By the time they leave Berrymede our children become confident writers, able to express themselves using a wide range of vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to compose unique prose for a range of audiences and in a range of genres.
