At Thornhill we allow teachers to use a variety of strategies to get the best possible writing from all of the children. 

In order to support children with language acquisition Mr Haslem has been working on establishing the Talk for Writing approach throughout the school. 

The aims of the strategy are fairly simple: 

Provide children with an opportunity to expand their vocabulary in a way that allows them to rehearse new words and phrases regularly and in context. 

Give those children who need scaffolds and structures to support them in extending their writing the tools that they need to feel confident in what they need to write. 

Inspire children to want to write through innovative hooks and creative opportunities to bring purpose to writing. 

Teach children a method for improving their memory by linking words and phrases to actions.

Below are some examples of the text maps that our teachers create to help children to remember the texts that they learn about. This really helps children to feel confident when they write, as remembering what comes next is often half the battle for young children. 

Below are some examples of writing in Year 3. It is easy to see how much more confident this writer is by the end of the academic year. 

Below are some examples of writing in Year 4. It is easy to see how much more confident this writer is by the end of the academic year. 

Below are some examples of writing in Year 5. It is easy to see how much more confident this writer is by the end of the academic year. 

If you would like to know more about the criteria that we look for in children's writing to assess their current attainment level, please open the Writing Assessment Grids attached below. This may help you to understand how to support your child further with writing at home.

If you would like any more help regarding supporting your child with writing at home, please arrange a meeting with your child's class teacher.