Spelling
Children learn spellings through the Song of Sounds Programme in Key Stage One, until they are ready to progress onto the Government Spelling Appendix.
We use the ATT Way guidance to teach spellings.
Handwriting
At Star, we use a whole school approach to improving letter formation and handwriting. The scheme that we use is called Kinetic Letters. It is based on ensuring the children have the strength in their bodies, arms, wrists, hands and fingers to prepare them for the skill of handwriting.
The underlying principles of Kinetic Letters
- Building physical strength underpins handwriting, as poor writing may be due to poor strength.
- Children are not expected to do anything before they are developmentally ready for it.
- The different components of writing are mastered individually before being used in combination.
- Letters are learnt as movements not as visual shapes and movement remains central to developing flow and accuracy.
- When handwriting is automatic, the brain can concentrate on content.
- Reading and writing are a reciprocal process and so strengthening handwriting skills will support reading and writing development as a whole.
The Kinetic Letters font covers all the letters in the alphabet, as well as each number, and is based on a set of rules that have been made as simple as possible to enable fast learning. The order in which the letters are taught recognises the cognitive development of children. (Margaret Williamson 2017).
The Four Threads of Kinetic Letters
- Making Bodies Stronger
- Holding the Pencil
- Learning the Letters
- Flow and Fluency
Writing Composition
Read to Write is evidence-based teaching of writing. These units have been carefully mapped out so the entire statutory curriculum for writing is covered for each year group. They also enable schools to draw upon the wider curriculum, which supports schools to build rich curriculums.
