Years 3 and 4

What the national curriculum

requires in writing at Year 3 and Year 4

Writing - transcription

• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (English Appendix 1)
• spell further homophones
• spell words that are often misspelt (English Appendix 1)
• place the possessive apostrophe accurately in words with regular plurals [for example, girls’, boys’] and in words with irregular plurals [for example, children’s]
• use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary
• write from memory simple sentences, dictated by the teacher, that include words and punctuation taught so far.

Handwriting

• use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined
• increase the legibility, consistency and quality of their handwriting [for example, by ensuring that the downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant; that lines of writing are spaced sufficiently so that the ascenders and descenders of letters do not touch].

Writing - composition

• plan their writing by:

• • discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
  • discussing and recording ideas

• draft and write by:

• • composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures – see Appendix 2 of the National Curriculum
  • organising paragraphs around a theme
  • in narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
  • in non-narrative material, using simple organisational devices [for example, headings and sub-headings]

• evaluate and edit by:

• • assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
  • proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of pronouns in sentences

• proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors
• read aloud their own writing, to a group or the whole class, using appropriate intonation and controlling the tone and volume so that the meaning is clear.
• develop their understanding of the concepts set out in Appendix 2 of the National Curriculum by:
• • extending the range of sentences with more than one clause by using a wider range of conjunctions, including when, if, because, although
  • using the present perfect form of verbs in contrast to the past tense
  • choosing nouns or pronouns appropriately for clarity and cohesion and to avoid repetition
  • using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause
  • using fronted adverbials
  • learning the grammar for years 3 and 4 in English Appendix 2

• indicate grammatical and other features by:

• • using commas after fronted adverbials
  • indicating possession by using the possessive apostrophe with plural nouns
  • using and punctuating direct speech

• use and understand the grammatical terminology in English Appendix 2 accurately and appropriately when discussing their writing and reading.