Organising Writing into Paragraphs

PROCEDURAL

English›Writing Composition|Ages 7—10|ID: mt_AvJMWQbDsr

Organise writing into paragraphs, grouping related material around a theme, and use simple organisational devices such as headings and sub-headings in non-narrative writing

Mastery Evidence

Divide a piece of writing into paragraphs, each focused on one main idea or aspect of the topic
Use headings and sub-headings to organise a non-fiction text (e.g., a report about animals with sections 'Habitat', 'Diet', 'Appearance')
Identify where a new paragraph should begin in a given text and explain why (e.g., 'A new paragraph starts here because the topic changes from appearance to diet')

Assessment Prompt

“When [child] writes a longer piece — like a report or a story — do they organise it into paragraphs, with related ideas grouped together and, where appropriate, headings to help the reader navigate?”

Curriculum Standards7 alignments

Eng.App2.Y3.Text.1The national curriculum in England

Introduction to paragraphs

Introduction to paragraphs as a way to group related material

English · Key Stage 2

Eng.App2.Y3.Text.2The national curriculum in England

Headings and sub-headings

Headings and sub-headings to aid presentation

English · Key Stage 2

Eng.App2.Y4.Text.1The national curriculum in England

Paragraphs

Use of paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme

English · Key Stage 2

Eng.UKS2.Write.Comp.2dThe national curriculum in England

Build cohesion

Draft and write by using a wide range of devices to build cohesion within and across paragraphs.

English · Key Stage 2

Eng.UKS2.Write.Comp.2eThe national curriculum in England

Use organisational devices

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

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_LKS2_Write_Comp_4The national curriculum in England

Draft and write: Organise paragraphs

Draft and write by organising paragraphs around a theme

English · Key Stage 2

Eng_LKS2_Write_Comp_6The national curriculum in England

Draft and write: Non-narrative material

Draft and write by using simple organisational devices [for example, headings and sub-headings] in non-narrative material

English · Key Stage 2

Prerequisites3

Building Writing Stamina
hardAges 6—7
Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending
hardAges 5—7
Writing Process Vocabulary
hardAges 5—8

Show full prerequisite tree

Building Writing Stamina hard
Paragraph organisation requires writing for different purposes
- Joining Letters soft
  Joined handwriting supports sustained writing stamina
  - Forming Capital Letters soft
    Capital letter formation supports correct sizing in joined writing
    - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
      Master lowercase formation before capitals
  - Sitting and holding a pencil hard
    Joining letters builds on Y1 lowercase letter formation
- Expressing Feelings with Words soft
  Writing about real events draws on the ability to put feelings into words — the SEL skill of expressing emotions verbally before encoding them in written form
  - Triggers and Causes of Feelings soft
    Expressing feelings in words benefits from understanding triggers
    - Feelings Change and Differ soft
      Identifying triggers benefits from knowing feelings change
      - Naming Basic Emotions soft
        Understanding feelings change benefits from naming basic emotions
  - Simple Calming Strategies soft
    Expressing feelings in words benefits from calming down first
    - Naming Basic Emotions soft
      Calming strategies benefit from naming the emotion you're trying to manage
    - Words for Big Feelings hard
      Calming strategies (calm, breathe, settle) rely on knowing this vocabulary to name and apply the techniques
- Writing to inform soft
  Informative writing skills support writing for different purposes
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
  - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
    Oral rehearsal precedes informative writing
    - Describing Aloud soft
      Oral description supports oral rehearsal
      - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
      - Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
    - Building sentences hard
      Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
- Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
  Writing about real events builds on narrative writing skills
  - Rote counting to 100 soft
    Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
    - One-to-one counting hard
      One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
  - Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
    Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
    - Describing Aloud soft
      Oral description supports oral rehearsal
      - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
        Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
      - Group discussions soft
        Conversational skills support oral description
        
        Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
        
        Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
    - Building sentences hard
      Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
    - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
      Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
  - Characters, settings, and events soft
    Story elements from reading inform writing
    - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
      Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
  - Sitting and holding a pencil soft
    Handwriting needed for written narrative
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
  Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending hard
Organising paragraphs requires narrative writing ability
- Rote counting to 100 soft
  Sequencing events in narrative writing draws on the ordinal/sequential thinking developed through counting
  - One-to-one counting hard
    One-to-one correspondence requires knowing the number name sequence
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
  Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
- Saying Sentences Before Writing Them hard
  Oral rehearsal precedes written narrative
  - Describing Aloud soft
    Oral description supports oral rehearsal
    - Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
      Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
    - Group discussions soft
      Conversational skills support oral description
      - Listening and responding hard
        Listening and responding foundational to conversation
      - Exploring Ideas Through Talk soft
        Conversational skills provide foundation for evaluating viewpoints
        
        Feeling of not understanding soft
        Using talk to explore ideas and speculate requires noticing what you don't yet understand — the comprehension-monitoring habit in a spoken register
        
        Asking for Help hard
        Noticing confusion and acting on it requires already knowing that asking for help is a valid response to being stuck
  - Building sentences hard
    Need to understand sentences for oral rehearsal
  - Writing Process Vocabulary hard
    Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
- Characters, settings, and events soft
  Story elements from reading inform writing
  - Listening to Texts Read Aloud hard
    Need to engage with stories before identifying elements
- Sitting and holding a pencil soft
  Handwriting needed for written narrative
Writing Process Vocabulary hard
Organising into paragraphs requires 'paragraph', 'heading', 'theme', and 'organisation' as named concepts

Unlocks4

Cohesion within paragraphs
hardAges 9—11
Planning Ideas Before Writing
softAges 6—10
Layout and Formatting in Informational Writing
hardAges 10—11
Writing for an audience
softAges 9—11