Writing and Spelling

Writing allows children to communicate ideas, stories and information with clarity and creativity. Alongside developing imagination and structure, children also need support with spelling patterns, grammar and punctuation. Encouraging writing at home – in meaningful and enjoyable ways – strengthens these skills. Below are practical suggestions to help your child grow in confidence as a writer and support them with spelling.

Linking Sounds to Letters

· Say the sounds as children write letters

· Use sound mats or alphabet charts

Building Words

· Build words using magnetic letters

· Change one letter to make a new word (cat → hat → hot)

· Practise writing and spelling tricky words little and often

Sentence Writing

· Encourage children to speak in full sentences e.g. when answering questions “Who did you play with today?” – “Today I played with….”

· Get children to say their sentence before writing it (How many words are in your sentence?)

· Use a capital letter at the start of a sentence and for names

· Use finger spaces between words

· Use a full stop at the end of a sentence

· Introduce commas in lists (Year 2)

· Use question marks and exclamation marks (Year 1 and Year 2)

Games & Fun Activities

· Write words in sand, foam, flour or with water and a paintbrush

· Word building with letter tiles

· Label pictures or toys

· Write silly sentences

· Write instructions for something they have done

· Write a short diary about what they have done that day

· Write invitations, postcards/cards/short letters to friends and family

· Write the shopping list, birthday/Christmas wish list

At the bottom of the page you will find links to websites to further support your child with writing.

 

KS2

Developing Writing Skills

· Encourage children to speak in full sentences e.g. when answering questions “What was the best part of your day?” – “The best part of my day was…because…”

· Encourage planning before writing

· Talk about ideas and vocabulary first

· Encourage writing for different purposes (stories, letters, reports)

· Re-read writing to check it makes sense

Spelling Strategies

· Practise spelling patterns and rules – see Spelling Shed below

· Break words into syllables

· Highlight tricky parts of words

· Say words as they are written

Building Vocabulary

· Collect interesting words

· Use dictionaries and thesauruses

· Encourage ambitious word choices

Grammar & Punctuation

· Use capital letters and full stops consistently

· Use commas in lists consistently

· Use question marks and exclamation marks

· Encourage paragraphs for longer writing

Editing & Improving

· Check spelling, punctuation and sense

· Read aloud to spot mistakes

· Improve word choices

· Add detail or description

Games & Activities

· Spelling bingo

· Word searches

· Sentence-building cards

· Story starters

· Writing challenges (e.g. 10-minute write)

· Boggle

· Countdown

 

Useful websites to support writing at home · BBC Bitesize English KS1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zgkw2hv · BBC Bitesize, English KS2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f · How to write a story (by genre) https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zx339j6 · Non-fiction genre guides https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z2yycdm · Writing poetry https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z4mmn39 · Pobble http://www.pobble365.com/ has daily pictures to act as a prompt – fantastic to encourage children to free write · Learn grammar terms and definitions https://www.grammar-monster.com/grammar_terms_and_definitions.htm · Spelling and grammar games https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar

 

Spelling

In the below documents you will find:

· A parent guide to Spelling Shed and how your child can access Spelling Shed at home to support your child with spelling

· Spelling Shed’s Medium-Term Plan so that you can see what words/spelling patterns your child will learn

· Lists of tricky words that children will learn to spell in their phonics lessons (phase 2-5)