Building Writing Stamina
PROCEDURALWrite about real events and for different purposes, developing stamina for sustained writing across genres beyond narrative (e.g., recounts, letters, instructions)
Mastery Evidence
- Write a recount of a school trip using temporal connectives (first, then, after that)
- Write a simple set of instructions with numbered steps
- Sustain writing for an extended period across a full page without stopping
Assessment Prompt
“Can [child] write in different styles for different purposes — for example, writing a recount of a school trip, a letter to a friend, or a set of instructions for a game?”
Curriculum Standards3 alignments
W.1.1Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical SubjectsWrite opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
Eng/KS1/Y2/WC/1bThe national curriculum in Englanddevelop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing about real events
Eng/KS1/Y2/WC/1dThe national curriculum in Englanddevelop positive attitudes towards and stamina for writing by writing for different purposes
Prerequisites5
- Joining LetterssoftAges 6—10
- Expressing Feelings with WordssoftAges 5—7
- Writing to informsoftAges 5—7
- Simple Stories with Beginning and EndinghardAges 5—7
- Writing Process VocabularyhardAges 5—8
Show full prerequisite tree
- 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
- 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 Process Vocabulary hard
Informative writing requires knowing 'genre', 'audience', 'purpose', and 'detail' as concepts
- Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
- 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
- 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
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
Writing simple narratives requires 'narrative', 'sequence', 'beginning', 'middle', 'ending' as shared vocabulary
- Expressing & Justifying Opinions soft
Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech
- 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
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
Oral composition requires vocabulary like 'compose', 'sentence', and 'sequence' to participate meaningfully in the exercise
- Writing Process Vocabulary hard
Writing for different purposes requires the vocabulary of purpose, genre, recount, and instruction
Unlocks3
- Drawing conclusions from evidencesoftAges 7—9
- Planning Ideas Before WritingsoftAges 6—10
- Organising Writing into ParagraphshardAges 7—10