Team DB's focus for writing this half term has been to rewrite the ending of Private Peaceful. The children have read and unpicked the text in detail, calculating various emotions and then deciding how they would prefer the text to end. They collaborated a mind-map of what had happened in the text and then the children worked on how they could take their own narrative forward to provide an alternative ending. As a class they looked at other stories, especially some fairy tales, and how authors have changed the endings from the traditional stories that the children were aware of.  The children were able to employ skills learnt previously in the Autumn term such as expanded noun phrases, and use these for character and setting description. In addition, the children adopted the use of various skills they have been taught to ensure cohesion in their writing and to set pace. They used both speech and direct speech in their writing, again to ensure cohesion. The children have thoroughly enjoyed reading the text by Morpurgo, and this has been evident in their enthusiasm throughout literacy. 

This half term in Writing, Team LF focused on creating non-chronological reports about animals. They explored the layout and key features of this type of writing, learning how information is organised clearly for the reader. As part of this, they worked on developing their use of subordinate clauses and conjunctions to add detail and improve the flow of their writing.
The class read and analysed a range of example reports, including texts about a jaguar and an axolotl, which helped us to understand both the structure and language used. To build their confidence, the class completed a shared write about lions, applying everything they had learned. This supported the children in planning and organising their ideas effectively before creating their own non-chronological reports.

The class focus for writing this half term has been on children in Team CB constructing a news report based on a new hybrid animal discovered in the sea. This focus for writing links to their text driver, All the way down – Ocean. The class loved the opportunity to read and learn more about newspapers and how they are structured. The children could identify both layout and text features and worked hard to refine grammar skills around using prepositions and adverbs to describe in detail as all this would provide additional information to the reader. The class also revisited speech briefly so that quotes could be used effectively. When constructing their own work, the class planned strategically and in chronological order to support with their recount of the event. These published works will feature in the Summer newsletter for pupils and parents to enjoy and inform their understanding of these new species. 

This half term, Team CH's writing focus has been on constructing an informative text about the dangers of plastic. This links closely to the class text driver, A Planet Full of Plastic by Neal Layton. The class thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to read the text and deepen their understanding of how to care for the environment, as well as exploring the positive changes they can make to help protect it.
The children worked hard to include a range of simple, compound and complex sentences in their writing, along with the effective use of subordinating clauses. They also briefly revisited the use of apostrophes for singular and plural possession. Overall, the children put in a tremendous amount of effort and should be very proud of their work.

This half term, Team JF have been exploring the fascinating world beneath the waves through our text driver, The Big Book of the Blue. Inspired by the incredible creatures found in our oceans, they created our own non‑fiction fact files.
Each child chose a sea creature to research independently, gathering interesting facts and building rich descriptions of life under the sea. From graceful manta rays, to mysterious anglerfish, the class showed real curiosity and enthusiasm as they discovered what makes each creature unique.
To support their writing, they focused on key grammatical skills that help make information clear and accurate. The class practised using apostrophes for possession and worked on writing subordinating sentences to add detail and depth. These features helped them produce fact files that were both informative and engaging.
It has been wonderful to see the children develop their research skills and grow in confidence as non‑fiction writers. Their final pieces are a fantastic celebration of their hard work and imagination.

In writing , Team AC children enjoyed reading a variety of different texts including the story Slow Samson, The Koala Who Could, Billy and the Beast and Lost and Found. They used each of these texts as a starting point for discussion and eventual written work focusing on writing clear sentences about the characters in the text, the setting and the retelling of the story through use of story mapping. The children focused on using good segmenting (Fred Talk) to help them spell words independently. They practised using finger spaces to separate their words clearly. There was a strong focus on using capital letters at the start of sentences and full stops at the end. The children also worked hard on neat handwriting and forming their letters correctly. Adults introduced the use of suffixes, 'ed' and 'ing' as well as the prefix 'un' into their writing this term. The class have also extended their written work by using the word 'and' to join sentences and ideas.

During Spring 2, all of Team EO became authors when they created their very own Dear Zoo book — a fantastic achievement that the children were incredibly proud of. In Year 1, pupils continued to develop their writing skills through Talk for Writing. Using story maps, children wrote simple past-tense retells of stories explored during Talk Through Stories. Pupils learned about the suffix –ed and how it shows that writing is in the past tense. They also began learning to spell the days of the week using red rhythms. Within the half term, Year 1 pupils continued to practise spelling the days of the week, writing simple past-tense retells, and were introduced to the prefix un-, learning how it changes a word to its opposite meaning.

In Writing this half term, Team DB have focussed on using their text driver Private Peaceful as well as incorporating their knowledge of their History topic, to create a non-chronological report about Trench Warfare. The class spent time reading through the text, exploring emotional response of the soldiers as well as researching using history texts about the topic as well as the internet. The children explored how non-chronological reports were written, the format used by authors as well as the language used to keep a reader entertained. Team DB learnt how it was important to use technical vocabulary, developing their skills of parenthesis to allow them to use definitions within their own writing. The children were able to develop their ability to use relative clauses as well as providing description using expanded noun phrases and expanding their skills further. To aid their presenting of work, the children sought pictures to compliment their writing, allowing them to produce a quality piece of learning. 

This half term in Writing, Team LF focused on creating an alternate ending to The Iron Man. In the lead-up to this, they explored a range of key grammatical features, including the use of speech, nouns and pronouns and adverbials to support cohesion within their writing.
As part of their preparation, they also read a variety of alternate endings to well-known stories, helping the children to understand their structure, organisation and key features. To build their confidence further, they completed a shared write, creating an alternate ending to Jack and the Beanstalk. This gave the class the opportunity to practise applying their skills collaboratively before moving on to independently plan and write their own alternate endings to The Iron Man.

In Writing this half term, Team CB have focussed on using our text driver the Firework Maker’s Daughter to write their own prequels. They spent time exploring the original text, growing familiar with characters, themes and plot before discussing how some of the characters came to be in their current form. This led to Team CB deciding to write their own prequel to explain how Razvani the fire-fiend became his current form. Reading many examples of prequels, the class learned from the structure and applied this to their own writing. As it was a narrative text, this gave the children plenty of opportunity to refine skills learned in Autumn such as expanded noun phrases for detail as well as using newer writing skills such as adverbials and direct speech. The class worked hard to recall speech rules when writing to show that these words were spoken. Their final product was fantastic and the class should be proud of their efforts!