In Writing this half term, Team DB have focussed on using their text driver Amazing Evolution to write a non-chronological report. The children enjoyed exploring the Amazon Rainforest, as well as creating their own hybrid animals from the depths of Amazonia. The children read various non-fiction texts to support them with their writing. The class have worked hard on their SPaG this half term, implementing modal verbs, expanded noun phrases, as well as trying to show cohesion between sentences and paragraphs. Throughout their writing, the children have tried to incorporate the SPaG that would allow their writing to flow. Following this task, the children spent quality time focussing on blackout poetry. They analysed specific pieces, engaging with various texts as well as learning about the specifics of this type of poetry. The children participated in a shared model using an extract from the BFG, before analysing an extract from The Hobbit, where the focus was upon Smaug the Dragon. The aim of the poem itself was to choose words or short phrases that would create a whole new poem that was nothing to do with the original text. The children were amazed at how poetic their pieces were, especially when they designed their artwork based on their poem. 

In Writing this half term, Team NH have focused on using their text driver The Boy in the Tower to write a diary from the main character's point of view. The class spent a lot of time exploring Ade as a character - he is no longer allowed to go outside and the rest of the city have been evacuated after an invasive plant, the Blucher, has taken over. The children delved into how he may be feeling in this scenario, using evidence from the text to form their diary writing. Team NH also took an interest in the invasive plant that had taken over Ade's city which lead them to wanting to explore this further. Since then, they have written a non-chronological report all about the Blucher plant, as well as designing and writing about their own mythical plant that has taken over. Throughout both pieces, Team NH have looked at using parenthesis to add additional information in their non-chronological report,  as well as parenthesis to add an additional voice in their diaries. The class have also considered the use of relative clauses, fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases to ensure their writing is more cohesive. Their final products have been wonderful and each of them should be proud of their efforts. 

This half term in Writing, Team LF focused on creating a setting description of the magical world beyond the wardrobe in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Their writing was closely linked to their Science learning about habitats, with children choosing to base their setting description on either a rainforest or a desert environment. This allowed pupils to apply their scientific knowledge while developing their descriptive writing skills. In preparation for their final piece, they revisited a range of key grammatical features, including speech punctuation, expanded noun phrases and paragraphing. The class explored how expanded noun phrases can add detail and precision to descriptions, while effective paragraphing helps to organise ideas clearly and guide the reader through the setting. Throughout the unit, they analysed examples of effective setting descriptions, identifying the language and structural features that help to create vivid imagery and atmosphere. They also took part in shared writing activities, working collaboratively to describe different habitats and landscapes. This provided opportunities to practise applying skills before independently planning and writing their own detailed setting descriptions of life beyond the wardrobe.

This half term in Team CB, the class have been working really hard on their transcription, planning and composition skills within writing. The class used Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as their text driver and have created alternative scenes for key parts of the book. As a class they spent time writing an alternative scene to Harry first discovering his magical powers, before crafting their own alternative scene for how Harry discovered he had been accepted to attend Hogwarts. The class loved sparking their own imagination to develop well structured ways in which this scene could be brought to life. They focussed on using adverbs to document when, where or how things happened. They also continued to work on including speech within their writing which was accurately punctuated. A range of sentence types and form were used to add variation to their writing throughout the piece.

During Summer 1 Team CH have loved exploring James and the Giant Peach written by Roald Dahl. The class were hooked into their writing when James sent a mysterious letter containing a puzzle. The children worked together carefully to solve the clues and reveal the new class story. As part of their learning, Team CH explored the features of letter writing and identified that James’ letter was informal. The children noticed the use of apostrophes for contractions and discussed how informal language helps make writing feel friendly and personal. They used apostrophes for contractions confidently in their own writing and wrote a range of compound and complex sentences to make their ideas more detailed and engaging for the reader. The class then planned and wrote their own informal letters to a character of their choosing, thinking carefully about the language and features they needed to include. Once completed, they proudly sent their letters all the way to New York! 

Team JF have had a wonderfully busy and imaginative Summer 1, with all their literacy learning centered around the much‑loved book Esio Trot. The children were immediately hooked, especially when they explored the riddle from the story. Inspired by this, they created their own riddles based on a secret animal, carefully choosing clues and crafting rhyming couplets that kept everyone guessing. The classroom was full of excitement as Team JF tried to work out each other’s mystery creatures, and the pride on their faces when their clues were solved was brilliant to see. From there, the enthusiasm for the book only grew, so the class took on a new challenge: rewriting the story from the perspective of Alfie the tortoise. The children thought deeply about how Alfie might feel, what he might notice, and the adventures he might have. They worked hard to include features such as expanded noun phrases, different sentence types, and a clear beginning, middle and end. Their versions of Alfie’s adventures were full of creativity, humour  and thoughtful detail, showing just how much progress they’ve made as young writers.

In writing, Team AC children enjoyed reading a variety of different texts including George and the Dragon and Supertato. They used each of these texts as a starting point for discussion and this led to 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 segmenting (Fred Talk) to help them spell words independently. They practised using finger spaces to separate their words clearly. and 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 forming their letters correctly and making their letters an even size. They continued the use of suffixes, 'ed' and 'ing as well as the prefix 'un'. Adults also introduced the idea that writers sometimes need to use 'es' as well as 's' to show plurals. The class have continued to extend their written work by using the word 'and' to join sentences and ideas.

In Summer 1, Team EO continued to encourage children to choose to write independently within provision. Children in Reception have been accessing daily handwriting lessons in addition to the writing completed within their RWI groups. During these handwriting sessions, there has been a strong focus on letter formation, using Fred Fingers to write simple CVC words, and writing short phrases and sentences through Hold a Sentence activities. It has been wonderful to see the progress the children have made this half-term, as well as their growing confidence and love for writing. Children in Year 1 have been using some of the texts explored in Talk Through Stories to develop their writing skills. Using story maps, children wrote simple past-tense retells of stories explored during these sessions. Throughout the units, the children learned when to punctuate sentences using question marks and exclamation marks, as well as how to use the suffixes -es and -er. There was also a strong focus on using capital letters at the start of sentences and full stops at the end. The children worked incredibly hard on neat handwriting and correct letter formation. 

During the first of the Summer half terms, Team CW have practiced forming letters speedily in response to a sound and with the correct letter formation. They have used Read, Write Inc letter formations to help them and have also practiced Fred fingers when spelling CVC words. The focus has been on writing the dominant sounds in words and writing simple dictated sentences. The whole class have worked incredibly hard to really develop and strengthen their writing skills. Well done Team CW!