Writing
A Presentation for Parents
Literacy
“Talking is an important aspect of
preparation for writing. Not only does it
clarify thinking that may, later, be
expressed in writing, but talking can also
motivate and stimulate ideas”
Children read to write and write to read.
Early stages of writing
Mark making and emergent writing developing
into standard written English.
Children’s writing:
Is valued
Has a purpose
Is linked to other areas of literacy
Direct teaching and feedback
Time and opportunity to practise and improve
‘BIG’ Writing
Child centred approach which uses
interactive teaching methods.
Focus on 4 main areas:
 Vocabulary
 Connectives
 Openers
 Punctuation
Violet Vocabulary
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Victoria’s Super Powers
Victoria has the power to help
people really see how things
look.
She holds the secret of how
characters and places really feel.
Although words for sights and
sounds are her favourite
weapons, she knows the
importance of taste, touch and
smell too.
Victoria knows how to pick just
the right nouns or verbs to give
writing real power over a reader.
She uses adjectives and adverbs
to hypnotise people into really
seeing and feeling a piece of
writing.
Vocabulary
WOW words
You can support your child by reading to
them and with them – no matter their
age! You can share the WOW words you
find in your own reading. Or talk with
them about different words which can be
used in different situations.
Captain Connective
He links everything together
The Captain’s Super Powers
 The Captain holds the team
together and without him
writing can be repetitive and
boring, holding no power over
the reader at all.
 His greatest power is to link
ideas together providing a net
to catch any reader.
Connectives
These join sentences together, increasing
sentence complexity, but can also be used as
a sentence opener.
We encourage children to use a range of
different connectives.
To support your child you can discuss different
connectives and expose them to connectives
beyond ‘and, but and because’. Encourage
them to try out different connectives in their
writing and draw their attention to the
connectives you use when you write.
Incredible Opener
The Incredible Opener starts every sentence with some oomph!
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The Incredible Opener’s Super
Powers
The Incredible Opener is a master of
disguise.
Sometimes, he jumps up and tells
the reader when something is
happening. Suddenly, he is adverb.
Although, he can be a link between
ideas just like Captain Connective.
Alternatively, he can express an
opposite idea. On dark, windy nights,
when even the wolves stay in their
dens, he can be a whole phrase!
He may seem like a bit of a Joker,
but don’t be fooled - he helps add
structure. It’s his job to hook the
reader in and keep him reading.
Openers
Using different ways to start sentences to
make the writing more interesting and
engage the reader.
POWER openers: connectives, words
ending with –ed,-ly, -ing
Encourage your child to use different ways
to begin sentences. Play with using
verbs and adjectives at the beginning of
sentences.
Doctor Punctuation
Doctor Punctuation heals grammatical mistakes
Dr Punctuation’s Super Powers
 The Doctor’s basic weapon is
the power to stop and start a
sentence. If capital letters and
full stops are missing, or in the
wrong place, writing is weak. It
will not have the power to grab a
reader.
 His control over the reader is
reinforced by the use of commas
to separate ideas. They work
well when combined with
connectives and openers.
 He reveals what characters
actually say with speech marks.
Punctuation
Discussing a range of punctuation in reading;
using a wide variety during writing.
Supports the development of more complex
sentences.
You can help your child by making up fun
sentences together using different forms of
punctuation. Try a challenge such as making a
sentence which has parenthesis (brackets) or
an exclamation mark at the end!
Working Together
‘Parents, carers and other family members
can and do make a real difference to
children’s education. When parents are
actively involved in their child’s learning,
it has a positive effect on attainment and
achievement’