Transcription – Spelling, Handwriting and Presentation

Pupils should be able to:

• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand the guidance for adding them
• spell some words with ‘silent’ letters (ex. knight, psalm, solemn)
• continue to distinguish between homophones (new & knew) and other words which are often  confused
• use knowledge of morphology & etymology in spelling; understand that the spelling of some words needs to be learnt specifically (see spelling section below)
• use dictionaries to check the spelling and meaning of words
• use the first three or four letters of a word to check spelling, meaning or both of these in a dictionary
• use a thesaurus.

Pupils should be able to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by:

• choosing which shape of a letter to use when given choices and deciding whether or not to join specific letters

• choosing the writing implement that is best suited for a task.

Composition

Pupils should be able to plan their writing by:

• identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own
• noting and developing initial ideas, drawing on reading and research where necessary
• in writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to or seen performed

Pupils should be able to draft and write by:

• selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning

• in narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action

• précising longer passages

• using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs

• using further organisational and presentational devices to structure text and to guide the reader [for example, headings, bullet points, underlining]

Pupils should be able to evaluate and edit by:

• assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing
• proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation to enhance effects and clarify meaning
• ensuring the consistent and correct use of tense throughout a piece of writing
• ensuring correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register

Vocabulary, Grammar & Punctuation

Pupils should be able to develop their understanding of the concepts set out in section Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation (see below) by:

• recognising vocabulary and structures that are appropriate for formal speech and writing, including subjunctive forms
• using passive verbs to affect the presentation of information in a sentence
• using the perfect form of verbs to mark relationships of time and cause
• using expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely
• using modal verbs or adverbs to indicate degrees of possibility
• using relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that or with an implied (i.e. omitted) relative pronoun

Pupils should be able to indicate grammatical and other features by:

• using commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity in writing
• using hyphens to avoid ambiguity
• using brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis
• using semi-colons, colons or dashes to mark boundaries between independent clauses
• using a colon to introduce a list
• punctuating bullet points consistently