A few years ago, our school made the decision to really focus on putting reading and books at the heart of our curriculum. We felt that by using books as the drivers for our writing curriculum children would have further opportunities to be exposed to high quality texts beyond their reading lessons and become fully immersed in the world of that book.
We chose Literacy Tree planning sequences because, at the time, we were really impressed with the texts available and importantly we felt the planning sequences wove in the necessary grammar teaching that we needed. (Since we joined, the site is constantly being updated with even more brilliant sequences.)
Fast forward three years and we can see a complete difference in both our writing outcomes and engagement. Each unit provides opportunities for short, medium and long bursts of writing, something that is really helping support our stamina for writing, particularly after Covid. Children are learning and then applying the grammar to their writing and they have a much better understanding of writing for purpose and audience.
I think for me, as English Lead, the best thing about our move to Literacy Tree is the excitement and buzz it has created around books and writing. Teachers are excitedly sending me messages telling me that a new planning sequence has been released and they can't wait to start using it. If the teachers are excited, you know that the classroom will be a place where children are enthusiastic about learning. And there is nothing that speaks more volumes than a Year 6 boy declaring, "Miss, this Suffragette book - it's made me really enjoy writing."
Jodie Smith, English Lead
