Writing standards file for Nikita, a Year 1 secure level 2...

1 of 25 The National Strategies Primary Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics, Nikita writing

QCA 00022-2009DWO-EN-01 © Crown copyright 2009

Nikita Year 1 Secure level 2

Writing standards file



Information report: Old and new toys

During a four-week unit of work on information texts, the class looked at a range of information books and talked about their features and layout. Before writing an information report, Nikita made notes on her own choice of subject matter: Old and new toys. Children were provided with preformatted paper as an aid to organisation and layout, although in Nikita’s case this seemed to be more of a hindrance.

Clements, Sylvia, Tomlinson, F and Evans, J. (2007). Originally published in 100 Literacy Framework Lessons Year 1 (Scholastic,

ISBN 9780439945219). Copyright © Sylvia Clements, Fiona Tomlinson and Jean Evans. Used with kind permission.



Clements, Sylvia, Tomlinson, F and Evans, J. (2007). Originally published in 100 Literacy Framework Lessons Year 1 (Scholastic,

ISBN 9780439945219). Copyright © Sylvia Clements, Fiona Tomlinson and Jean Evans. Used with kind permission.

Assessment commentary On the first page of the report, Nikita tries to squeeze in straightforward information about

what the toys are like with comments about what ‘you’ have to do to play with them, plus a mini-quiz. Different sentence types (statements, instructions, questions) are used for these purposes (AF5 L2 b1 and b2), but the time references are not consistent: ‘Victorian children play with a dolls house. Open it up and move the dolls around’ (not AF5 L2 b3).



Clause structure is grammatically correct, as is sentence demarcation apart from the lack of question marks in the ‘did you know?’ section (AF6 L2 b1 and b2).

AF3 and AF4 are not easily applicable as an organisational template was provided. Nikita has some problems in using this writing frame to present her ideas clearly. She uses only one illustration, mixes up information about the different toys and overrides the format completely in the ‘did you know’ facts for the Nintendo DS (AF4 L1 b1).

Content is repetitive and word choices do not help to contrast ‘old’ and ‘new’ toys (AF1 L2 b1).

The template makes an assessment of AF2 difficult. Nikita appears to have an idea of how to write a report, but struggles to accommodate the layout given (AF2 L1 b1).

Vocabulary is straightforward and key words are repeated (AF7 L2 b1).

Phonetically plausible spelling, but some inconsistencies in spelling in both content and grammatical function words, for example ‘plastic’, ‘children’, ‘with’ and problems with double letters, for example ‘different’, ‘buttons’ (AF8 L1 b1 and b2).

Nikita’s handwriting shows an initial attempt to use entry and exit strokes, but not sustained (Handwriting and presentation L1 b1, b2 and b3).



Narrative writing: Rainbow Fish and His Sister

At the beginning of the summer term, children wrote a story based on reading traditional tales. As a prompt, they were given a picture of a fish. Before writing independently, whole-class discussion and pair work explored some ideas for characters, a problem and how to resolve it.



Assessment commentary

Some variety in sentence openings through the use of time-related words and ‘so’, although most sentences are structured in the same way (AF5 L2 b1). Simple sentences connected with ‘and’, consistent use of past tense (AF5 L2 b2, b3).

Clause structure grammatically accurate except in the penultimate sentence where Nikita loses track of dependent clauses introduced by ‘so’ and ‘that’ (AF6 L2 b1). Sentences correctly punctuated and one appropriate use of comma (AF6 L2 b2).

Story is sequenced chronologically. The opening and closing sentences provide an engaging frame for the events (AF3 L2 b1 and b2).

Written as a continuous piece without sections of any kind, but ideas and events are linked (AF4 L1 b1).

Subject matter is relevant to the given picture, although there is no mention of the sister in the title (AF1 L2 b1).

Word choices describe actions and simple feelings, conveying an individual viewpoint (AF2 L2 b1, b2 and b3).

The basic ingredients of a story are present and used appropriately (AF2 L2 b1, b2), together with attempts at a storytelling style (AF2 L2 b3).

Some vocabulary choices suggest deliberate striving for effect beyond the everyday (AF7 L2 b1 and b2).

Correct spelling of simple high-frequency words, for example ‘and’, ‘the’, ‘upon’, ‘went’, ‘there’ (grammatical function words), and phonetically plausible attempts at digraphs in some common words with single morphemes (‘found’, ‘front’, ‘head’, ‘crash’), as well as in some past-tense inflected endings (‘excited’, ‘banged’) (AF8 L1 b1 and b2).

Letters are correctly formed and orientated but there is an inconsistency in size and no use of entry and exit strokes (Handwriting and presentation L2 b1).



Recount: School trip to London Zoo

This work was done towards the end of a two-week unit of work on recount writing. Following the school trip to the zoo, the whole class sequenced photographs of the day as a starting point for improvised drama. In their improvisations, children aimed to highlight what had been most interesting for them. Afterwards, they used sketches to plan individual recounts. Nikita’s plan already includes an exclamatory comment, ‘erer’, showing her reaction to the bug section.







Assessment commentary Each sentence starts with a time connective, achieving some variety in a predictable

pattern of simply-structured sentences. A couple of sentences are extended by the use of ‘and’ to join clauses, and Nikita also introduces reported speech to convey her reaction to the bugs. Past tense is consistent throughout (AF5 L2 b1, b2 and b3).

Clauses are grammatically correct and sentences accurately demarcated, with an appropriately-used question mark (AF6 L2 b1, b2 and b3).

Sequencing of events is very clearly marked by time-related words and phrases, and there are both opening and closing sentences (AF3 L2 b1 and b2).

Pronominal links (e.g. ‘Year 1’, ‘Flamingos’, ‘we’, ‘I’) throughout the piece are coherent but content is not grouped into sections – a possibility in following her plan (AF4 L1 b1).

Nikita’s writing develops the content selected in her plan with some elaboration of ideas through the use of descriptive adjectives, for example ‘black’, ‘blue’, ‘brown’, ‘green’, ‘white’ (AF1 L2 b1, AF1 L1 b2). Her reported exclamation about the bugs and detail concerning the stickers imply simple comment (AF1 L2 b3).

The recount fulfils the basic purpose of telling what happened on the trip, and key features of the genre are demonstrated apart from offering an explicit comment on the events (AF2 L2 b1, b2 and b3).

Vocabulary is close to spoken language with the addition of colour adjectives (AF7 L2 b1).

Spelling shows similar features; many high-frequency words correct plus phonetically plausible attempts at spelling more complex words, for example ‘through’, ‘finally’, ‘colourful’, ‘pigeons’ (AF8 L1 b1 and b2).

Letters are correctly shaped but inconsistent in size and shape (Handwriting and presentation L2 b1).



Poem: Song of the Seaside

The class studied pattern and rhyme in a two-week unit of work on poetry. Nikita chose her favourite poem from a selection on the seaside and changed it to make her own version. The work was completed without teacher support.



Assessment commentary Nikita attempts to order her words to match a rhyme scheme in which numbers introduce

successive clauses (AF5 L1 b1), and every third clause is expanded with ‘that’ (AF5 L2 b2).

Line breaks without punctuation are acceptable in this format, but where Nikita omits the line break between ‘jolly’ and ‘seven’, she uses a full stop (AF6 L2 b2).

The generally consistent use of line breaks is just sufficient evidence for AF3 L2 b1.

Ideas are loosely connected overall, just about acceptable in a number poem, but point-to-point cohesion is weak (not AF4 L1).



The impulse to find rhyming words is somewhat at the expense of the theme of the poem, however the content, although limited, is relevant (AF1 L2 b1).

Nikita was not prompted to make her poem rhyme but has tried hard to do so, as can be seen from her edits, for example changing ‘wolf’ – ‘wild’ to ‘lolly’ – ‘dolly’ (AF2 L2 b2).

Improvement in spelling of words with double letters, for example ‘shell’, ‘seagull’, ‘dolly’, ‘jolly’ (AF8 L2 b1).

Selection of vocabulary appropriate for seaside poem (AF7 L2 b2).



Story ending: Witch on a Broom

Near the start of a unit of work on fantasy stories, the class listened to the story Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The teacher stopped the reading at the point where the broom had broken and all had fallen off it. During the reading, there were opportunities for partner talk about the characters and their feelings, which was further developed through drama improvisation to act out a possible solution to the problem. Nikita used the ideas developed in her group to write her ending. Children wrote on paper ‘writing brooms’ to produce a classroom display. The video clip shows how Nikita extended her writing with some teacher support.



Transcript The dog found the fabulous wand and gave it to the witch and the witch cast a spell on the dragon and they flew off. The cat cast the broomstick spell. The broomstick was fixed. The friends flew off in a puff of smoke.

Assessment commentary In this piece, Nikita reverts to clauses with ‘and’, expressing her first idea about the

solution as one complete thought (AF5 L1 b2). Her second idea about the cat casting a spell is written as three simple sentences (AF5 L2 b1).

Clause structure and sentence punctuation are accurate, with prompting from teacher about full stops and capital letters (AF6 L1 b1 and b2).

One action follows another in implicit sequence, assuming knowledge about what links the events together (AF3 L1 b2).

Ideas are connected through repeated words relating to the fantasy world (AF4 L1 b1).

The teacher prompts Nikita to develop her ideas, reminding her of predictions about the spell made in the course of the drama work. Nikita hesitates over writing ‘they/it froze’ and eventually writes ‘they flew off’, a thought elaborated on the second side. Description suggests imaginative engagement, for example ‘fabulous wand’, ‘flew off in a puff of smoke’ (AF1 L2 b1 and b2).

The story ending is drafted as a series of statements (AF2 L1 b1).

Some vocabulary choices are lively and in keeping with the overall theme (AF2 L2 b1).

Spelling is mostly correct, including some common single-morpheme content words, for example ‘spell’, ‘puff’, ‘broom’. Phonetically plausible attempts show some problems with vowel diagraphs, for example ‘friends’ and ‘fabulous’ and past-tense inflections, for example ‘flew’, ‘fixed’ (AF8 L2 b1 and b2).



Fantasy story: The Fruit Bowl

Nikita wrote her story at the end of the summer term, following the related unit of work. It was written independently without support other than previous reading and teaching about this genre of writing. The choice of content was Nikita’s own.









Assessment commentary Sentence variation is effective and purposeful in some of the writing, for example ‘once

upon a time back in the 1970s there was sitting…’, ‘and last but not least ...’, ‘years had passed…’, ‘so again ..’. There are also a couple of very short sentences which help the pace of the story: ‘It had rotten fruit in it’, ‘Years had passed’. Past-tense forms are generally consistent apart from ‘so Mr Crunchy eaten’ (AF5 L2 b2 and b3). However, towards the end, sentence structure reverts to clauses joined by 'and' (AF5 L1 b2).

Clause structure is mostly grammatically correct, although punctuation does not always demarcate sentences in ways that are helpful for the reader, especially towards the end of the story (AF6 L2 b1 and b2).

The overall structure is signposted through time-related words and phrases. There is a relevant title, an opening and a closing sentence, even though the latter is simply formulaic, and inappropriate given the actual events (AF3 L2 b1 and b2).

Despite the length, Nikita writes the story as one continuous text, relying on associations between words and pronouns to link one idea to the next. This sometimes makes it hard to follow what is happening (AF4 L1 b1).

Nikita’s choice of content is imaginative and the names chosen for the characters potentially differentiate them. Repetition is used to emphasise change: ‘softer and softer’, and simple comments suggest viewpoint (not sustained): ‘last but not least’, ‘poor Mr Crunch’ (AF1 L2 b1, b2, b3).

This is Nikita’s longest piece of story writing, showing her developing knowledge of the main features of the genre. She introduces four characters, whose problems begin with them getting hungry and trying to eat one another. The plot falters towards the end, but is written in an appropriate third-person style, with some asides to the reader (AF2 L2 b1, b2 and b3).

The most adventurous aspects of vocabulary are the names of the characters and the description of eating the once crunchy Mr Crunch, ‘it felt gooey and sticky’ (AF7 L2 b2).

Spelling shows problems with past-tense endings of verbs, for example 'tried', 'died', 'decided'; consonant digraph ‘qu’, ‘ck’; double letters as in 'rotten', 'sitting'; vowel digraphs, for example 'poor', 'gooey', 'again' (AF8 L2 b1 and b2).

Handwriting throughout this piece suggests it was done in something of a rush, with both letter formation and word spacing becoming more careless towards the end (Handwriting and presentation L1 b1, L2 b1).



Assessment summary

Nikita is taught in a mixed-ability class. The evidence for Nikita’s writing comes from the spring and summer terms and is based on units of work from the Primary Framework.

AF5

Nikita is able to use different sentence openings in ways appropriate for different genres, and some variations in simple sentence structure help to clarify meaning in what she writes. Tense choices are correct and sustained. Level 2 awarded for this assessment focus.

AF6

Nikita’s writing is mostly grammatically correct, the few exceptions coming at points where she tries to express complex thoughts and does not have the knowledge of syntax to help her do so. She uses full stops correctly, although she sometimes needs prompting about capital letters when working independently. There are isolated instances of correct use of question marks. There is enough evidence to meet the criteria for level 2.

AF3

There is evidence to show that Nikita can organise and structure her writing, although she is mainly reliant on action chains unfolding in time, with less success in organising non-narrative pieces. Her stories have titles, openings and closings and sometimes these relate to one another. Level 2 awarded for this assessment focus.

AF4

Nikita makes simple connections between ideas and events in narrative or recount writing, but there is as yet no explicit grouping of content. When Nikita writes longer texts – for example her fantasy story – the overall clarity would be improved by organising material in ways other than through chains of actions in time. Level 1 awarded for this assessment focus.

AF1

Nikita is beginning to plan and write more sustained, imaginative texts although the content is sometimes limited. She chooses words with some care and in most pieces there is a brief comment suggesting viewpoint. Criteria for level 2 just met.

AF2

The evidence shows that Nikita can use the features of different genres to write purposeful texts, relevant to the tasks set. She attempts to use an appropriate style. Most of the evidence comes from work that was completed on the basis of whole-class teaching, rather than showing Nikita’s ability to make her own selections of form and reader. Level 2 awarded for this assessment focus.



AF7

Some adventurous word choices that are relevant to the topic make her writing more interesting to read. Nikita makes some attempts to use new vocabulary and introduce it into her work. Level 2 awarded for this assessment focus.

AF8

Nikita’s teacher reports that she is able to learn new spellings rapidly and use these in her writing. She is consistently able to spell a wide range of high-frequency words and uses her phonic knowledge, including knowledge of long vowel phonemes, to spell new words. However, she finds it difficult to write words in the past tense and to form plurals. Although some criteria highlighted in level 1 there is sufficient evidence for level 2.

Handwriting and presentation

Although Nikita is able to form her letters correctly, they are not always consistent in size and there are times when upper and lower case are mixed. She does not always use ascenders and descenders consistently. Level 1 awarded for this assessment focus.



Writing assessment guidelines: levels 1 and 2

Pupil name Nikita Class/Group Year 1 Date Summer term

AF5 – vary sentences for clarity, purpose and effect

AF6 – write with technical accuracy of syntax and punctuation in phrases, clauses and sentences

AF3 – organise and present whole texts effectively, sequencing and structuring information, ideas and events

AF4 – construct paragraphs and use cohesion within and between paragraphs

AF1 – write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts

AF2 – produce texts which are appropriate to task, reader and purpose

AF7 – select appropriate and effective vocabulary

AF8 – use correct spelling Handwriting and presentation

Level 2

In some forms of writing:

some variation in sentence openings, e.g. not always starting with name or pronoun

mainly simple sentences with and used to connect clauses

past and present tense generally consistent


clause structure mostly grammatically correct

sentence demarcation with capital letters and full stops usually accurate

some accurate use of question and exclamation marks, and commas in lists


some basic sequencing of ideas or material, e.g. time-related words or phrases, line breaks, headings, numbers

openings and/or closings sometimes signalled


ideas in sections grouped by content, some linking by simple pronouns


mostly relevant ideas and content, sometimes repetitive or sparse

some apt word choices create interest

brief comments, questions about events or actions suggest viewpoint


some basic purpose established, e.g. main features of story, report

some appropriate features of the given form used

some attempts to adopt appropriate style


simple, often speech-like vocabulary conveys relevant meanings

some adventurous word choices, e.g. opportune use of new vocabulary


usually correct spelling of:

o high-frequency grammatical function words

o common single morpheme content/lexical words

likely errors:

o inflected endings, e.g. past tense, plurals, adverbs

o phonetic attempts at vowel digraphs


letters generally correctly shaped but inconsistencies in orientation, size and use of upper/lower case letters

clear letter formation, with ascenders and descenders distinguished, generally upper and lower case letters not mixed within words

Level 1

In some writing, usually with support:

reliance on simple phrases and clauses

some sentence-like structures formed by chaining clauses together, e.g. series of ideas joined by repeated use of ‘and’


mostly grammatically accurate clauses

some awareness of use of full stops and capital letters e.g. beginning/end of sentence


some formulaic phrases indicate start/end of text, e.g. once upon a time, one day, the end

events/ideas sometimes in appropriate order, e.g. actions listed in time sequence, items numbered


simple connections between ideas, events, e.g. repeated nouns, pronouns relate to main idea


basic information and ideas conveyed through appropriate word choice, e.g. relate to topic

some descriptive language, e.g. colour, size, simple emotion


some indication of basic purpose, particular form or awareness of reader, e.g. story, label, message


mostly simple vocabulary

communicates meaning through repetition of key words


usually correct spelling of simple high-frequency words

phonetically plausible attempts at words with digraphs and double letters

sufficient number of recognisable words for writing to be readable, including use of letter names to approximate syllables and words


most letters correctly formed and orientated

spaces between words

upper and lower case sometimes distinguished

use of ICT, e.g. use keyboard to type own name

BL

IE

Overall assessment (tick one box only) Low 1 Secure 1 High 1 Low 2 Secure 2 High 2



Making a level judgement

Nikita’s writing was assessed using the L1/L2 assessment guidelines. This shows level 2 awarded for AF5, AF6, AF3, AF1 and AF2. In addition, level 2 criteria are highlighted for AF7 and AF8. The evidence exceeds the minimum requirements for level 2, indicating that her writing is more than low level 2.

Following the flow chart for making an overall level judgment in writing, to decide on whether the level is low, secure or high it is notable that the highlighting in AF6 at level 2 is partial, indicating that Nikita still needs support in managing grammatical punctuation. Similarly, for AF4 and for handwriting, only L1 was awarded. The video evidence from the classroom shows both what Nikita can do independently and what else she can achieve with some teacher prompting. In addition, though there is a range of evidence from the literacy curriculum, Nikita’s work from other subject areas is not illustrated. This would give a more accurate indication of how well she writes at some distance from explicit supportive teaching. Taking all these considerations into account, a secure level 2 was judged to be the best fit.

Next steps

In her next class, to broaden Nikita’s range of experience in writing, her teacher will need to concentrate on writing non-fiction texts. There will be opportunities to do this particularly in the Year 2 units on explanations, information texts and non-chronological reports. These units will also provide teaching opportunities for non-chronological organisation of texts in order to assist Nikita in grouping ideas by content.

The first narrative unit on stories with familiar settings will provide opportunities for Nikita to consolidate her skills of grammatical punctuation and in particular question marks, exclamation marks and commas in lists. These units will also provide teaching opportunities for the use of speech in narrative writing, as will the unit on traditional texts. In spelling, teaching now needs to concentrate on assisting Nikita to make informed choices about digraphs and words which are multi-morphemic.



Acknowledgements

Clements, Sylvia, Tomlinson, F and Evans, J. (2007). Originally published in 100 Literacy Framework Lessons Year 1 (Scholastic, ISBN 9780439945219). Copyright © Sylvia Clements, Fiona Tomlinson and Jean Evans. Used with kind permission.

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Writing standards file for Nikita, a Year 1 secure level 2...

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