We have invited the subject leader for a different subject each month to write a blog about what is going on with their subject in school. This month, our English team outline the effect that 'Sentence Stacking' has had on our children's writing.
Writing at Madginford
This year, we have adopted a new approach to our writing lessons for Years 2-6: sentence stacking influenced by Jane Considine. In sentence stacking lessons, the class focuses on three sentences in depth. Together, the children and teacher gather vocabulary needed for a sentence thinking about synonyms and word classes. The teacher will then model writing a sentence with a particular grammar/punctuation/ideas focus and the children will write their own version as well.
To support our sentence stacking lessons, we have introduced Jane Considine’s Writing Rainbow. The Writing Rainbow gives each sentence a clear focus such as Feeling, Smelling, Punctuation, Sentence Structure, Simile and Repetition.
Following a series of sentence stacking lessons, the children then produce an independent piece of writing using their own ideas and the aspects they were taught during sentence stacking lessons.
We have already noticed a difference in the quality of writing the children are independently producing as well as a positive difference in their attitudes towards writing.
Respect ● Kindness ● Working together ● Challenge ● Perseverance ● Curiosity ● Independence ● Equality