Drawing Club and Curious Quest in EYFS and Year 1
In Reception and Year 1, we use a creative approach to writing using Drawing Club and Curious Quests.
Drawing Club in EYFS incorporates story sharing, oracy, drawing, writing, vocabulary, mathematics, imagination and collaboration and Curious Quests in Year 1 bridges the gap between play-based mark-making and formal composition by framing the English curriculum as an ongoing expedition
Each week we use a focus story or animation. The children learn new vocabulary linked to the story/animation and are invited to Drawing Club, where they may draw a character, setting or event. They can innovate their drawings and add secret passwords, magic powers or spells, hidden symbols, letters or numerals.
At the start of reception, the sessions may be purely mark making/drawing based but this will progress on throughout the year to labelling their drawings with initial sounds, CVC words and eventually writing sentences about their drawings.
Drawing Club develops to include writing sentences using simple punctuation and exploring features like alliteration and adjectives, following our school's writing progression document.
Drawing Club excites children with the magic world of tales and story, whilst enriching their language skills, developing their fine motor skills and into a love of writing. It immerses children into a world full of imagination where anything can happen and it often does. It develops a wide range of skills across the whole curriculum. Children’s creative streaks are enhanced as well as their ability to share ideas and skills. It provides an age-appropriate approach that is highly engaging.
Y2 – Y6
At Haresfield Church of England Primary School, we strive to create an environment that promotes both reading and writing whilst strengthening the link between them. In order to ensure that all learners become confident writers, we encourage children to be creative whilst embedding key writing skills within their writing. These skills are taught explicitly and follow a progressive approach, allowing pupils to revisit and build upon prior learning.
High quality literature drives the children’s writing, with outcomes being based around these books. At Haresfield, we strive to create an environment that promotes both reading and writing whilst strengthening the link between them.
Drama activities support the children in becoming fully immersed within their writing. Examples include flashbacks, hot seating and conscience alley. Skills, specific to the genre in focus, are taught through explicit grammar and vocabulary lessons. These skills are then modelled by the teacher in a shared piece of writing before pupils are then given the opportunity to apply learnt skills independently, using a range of scaffolding techniques as required.
Writing is held in high regard throughout all areas of the curriculum, with pupils applying learnt skills to other subjects.
Writing is held in high regard throughout all areas of the curriculum, with pupils applying learnt skills to communicate effectively across the curriculum.
