Before the lesson: Your child will complete a brief assessment based on a writing prompt. At the end of each 6-week block, they will have another assessment to track and demonstrate their progress over time.

 

Block 1 (Weeks 1-6): Building the Basics

In this first block, your child will begin by learning how to organise their ideas coherently through note-taking and creating outlines, which are essential building blocks of good writing. They’ll then practice writing for different purposes by turning those notes into their own paragraphs. We’ll also dive into storytelling, where your child will develop their narrative structure, learning how to craft a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. For example, they might outline and write their own version of a popular children’s story like "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." In our class, we welcome students from Years 3 to 6, but we always differentiate the text and activities according to ability rather than age, ensuring each child is challenged appropriately.

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Block 2 (Weeks 7-12): Summarising and Describing

Next, we’ll focus on summarising information, teaching your child to identify the main ideas and pick out the important details from a single source, like a short article, and summarise it in their own words. They’ll also work on descriptive language and vocabulary development by using pictures to inspire writing that brings scenes to life. For instance, they might describe a scene from a picture of a bustling city park. Additionally, they’ll learn to summarise information from multiple sources, which builds essential research and information synthesis skills for future projects. Again, all tasks are tailored to match each child's ability level.

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Block 3 (Weeks 13-18): Creative Writing Adventures

In this block, your child will revisit storytelling and descriptive writing, but with more creative freedom. They’ll explore inventive writing, where they’ll use their imagination to compose and craft stories that are engaging and original. For example, they might write about an adventure to a futuristic space colony or describe a day in the life of a young detective. This is a fun block that encourages creativity in writing while still applying the structured skills they’ve learned. The work is differentiated to ensure all students, regardless of age, are both challenged and supported.

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Block 4 (Weeks 19-24): Putting It All Together

In the final block, your child will review everything they’ve learned and work on a capstone project that combines their skills—from summarising to storytelling to creative writing. They’ll engage in planning, drafting, and editing their writing, which might involve writing a short report on their favourite animal and then using that information to create a fictional story featuring that animal. This block helps them apply their writing skills across different genres, solidifying their abilities and showing just how far they’ve come. As always, activities will be adjusted to meet the abilities of each child, ensuring they are appropriately challenged.

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Additional Block for Older Students (Weeks 25-32): Advanced Writing Challenges

For older children, we continue into more advanced writing. They’ll learn how to structure and organise non-fiction writing, including formal essays, complete with introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions. For example, they might write an essay on whether students should have homework. They’ll also develop critical analysis and evaluation skills by writing critiques, where they’ll analyse and give their opinion on a book or movie, fostering their critical thinking abilities. The tasks in this block are specifically designed to challenge students at the appropriate level for their ability.