Transcription – Spelling, Handwriting and Presentation

Pupils should be able to:

• use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them
• spell further homophones
• spell words that are often misspelt
• 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.

Pupils should be able to write legibly, fluently and with increasing speed by:

• using 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].

Composition

Pupils should be able to 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

Pupils should be able to 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
• 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]

Pupils should be able to 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

Vocabulary, Grammar & Punctuation

Pupils should be able to develop their understanding of the concepts set out in section Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation (see below) 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

Pupils should be able to 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