Improving children's writing

Example 1:

On Sunday we went to the park. We fed the ducks.

Look for opportunities were children could enhance their work further with adjectives, adverbs, prepositions etc. Can they add more sentences or clauses?

What else did you do?

How did you do it?

'We' - who does this include?

What was the weather like?

Where were the ducks?

What did the park and ducks look like?

Example 2:

We wented to the seaside on sunday and me and my sisster played on sand with buckits and spayds and we builded sandcassuls and put flags in them. After that we goed to amyousments and road on the dodgums and the roundbout.

Spelling corrections:

We went to the seaside on Sunday and me and my sister played on the sand with our buckets and spades and we built sandcastles and put flags in them. After that we went to the amusements and had a ride on the dodgems and the roundabout.

Spelling issues - don't want to discourage child from using adventurous vocabulary due to accuracy - words can be understood so this is positive.

Progression ideas - using punctuation to structure work e.g. use commas

- addition of adjectives, adverbs

- work on spelling

Allow children to plan ideas first, then focus on transcription later on.

Example 3:

On Saturday I went to Derby with my mum and dad. We bought a new pair of shoes for me and a new shirt for my dad. We went to a cafe for a sandwich and a drink later. It was good. I had apple juice and an egg sandwich. Then we went to some more shops and we got the bus and we went home again. I had a good time.

Work accurate but could be further enhanced with adverbs, adjectives, develop vocabulary, vary sentence structures and develop use of punctuation. By reading, this could help children to widen their vocabulary, provide ideas for sentence structure, enhance writing for increased effect.