Birchen Coppice Primary Academy

The Write Stuff (Jane Considine)

At Birchen Coppice Academy, pupils become writers through the delivery of ‘The Write Stuff’ programme by Jane Considine.  Teachers prepare children for writing by modelling the ideas, grammar and techniques of writing.  Children are supported to make ambitious vocabulary choices and encouraged to write with confidence, taking into consideration the impact of their choices on the reader.

Teaching sequence

In the teaching sequence, there are three different types of lessons; writing lessons, experience lessons and independent writing lessons.  The teaching sequence for each unit may be different depending upon the content and structure of each unit plan. A writing lesson consists of three ‘learning chunks’.  Each learning chunk has an initiate, model and enable section.

The Three Zones of Writing

There are three zones of writing which are taught during lessons:

Vocabulary (ideas)   -   Grammar (tools)    -   Literary Devices (techniques)

These are taught through the Fantastics, Grammaristics and Boomtastics, which can be seen on the Writing Rainbow. These are our writing lenses and ensure that children are taught a wealth of writing strategies, vocabulary and grammatical techniques.

Writing lenses are introduced progressively across each key stage.  

Boomtastic progression

Writing in the Early Years

Children develop their love of writing and start their writing journey through ‘Drawing Club’. Drawing Club enables children to dive into the magical world of storytelling while enhancing their language and fine motor skills. After immersing themselves in a traditional tale or a beloved story, children embark on an adventure of words, actions, and descriptive drawings. They’re encouraged to use their imagination to bring themes, objects, and characters to life, using their drawings as a springboard for conversation about what their artwork means to them.

Drawing Club is based upon the 3M principle. These are making conversation, mark making and mathematics. We use a book, traditional tale or an animation as a portal for the week. Children learn new, exciting vocabulary that we revisit each day of the week. We draw characters on a Monday, settings on a Tuesday and we ‘wonder’ on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. In the wonder stage, children give a ‘spell’ or ‘code’ to their character and something amazing happens!