W Level descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Level W (P4)                          

In my writing I am able to:

·        Make marks and symbols on paper or computer.

·        Draw, paint or make mark on paper.

·        Sometimes, I can give meaning to the marks I have made.

·        Recognise which materials make marks.

·        I can listen to and join in with stories and poems.

·        Tell different sounds apart.

·        Communicate with others using isolated words and phrases.

·        Use hand and eye coordination in activities e.g. use a pair of scissors to cut along a dotted line.

·        I have some control in my letter formation.

W Level descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Level W (P5)

In my writing I am able to:

·        I can invent symbols, signs and meaningful print to represent my name and familiar objects, words and actions.

·        I can invent symbols, signs and meaningful print to represent words and actions.

·        I can copy under or over a model provided for me.

·        Help an adult complete a sentence when scribing for me.

·        Draw lines and circles.

·        Start or continue and complete a pattern.

W Level descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Level W (P6)

In my writing I am able to:

·        Tell the difference between letters and symbols

·        I can invent writing to communicate my ideas.

·        I can produce some recognisable letters

·        I can write the first letter of my name

·        I can hear some letter sounds in words.

·        Tell an adult what to write when scribing for me.

·        I can use book or story language e.g. once upon a time.

W Levels descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Level W (P7)                       

In my writing I am able to:

·        I can use letters, symbols and words to represent some nouns I know.

·        I know many more nouns.

·        I can put words together to make sentences orally.

·        I can write my own name correctly.

·        I can hear the first sound in words and write these correctly.

W Levels descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Level W (P8)  

In my writing I am able to:

·        I can begin to write different types of writing e.g. list and a story.

·        I can use single letters or groups of letters to represent whole words in my writing.

·        I can form simple sentences.

·        I can leave spaces between words in my writing.

·        I can attempt to use punctuation marks in my writing e.g. full stop.

·        I can say what my writing means.

·        I can use upper case and lower case letters correctly when writing my own name.

·        I can hold a pencil correctly to form recognisable letters.

·        I can use my phonics knowledge to spell some simple words correctly e.g. can.

·        I can use my phonics knowledge to attempt to spell more complex words e.g. ‘laf’.

W Levels descriptors

Writing performance descriptors for Kindergarten, Early Years and Reception classes:

Here are some targets to help you move onto to level 1c:

ü Talk about something you have just done.

ü Tell a story to match pictures in a book.

ü Make up a story and use puppets or pictures to tell it to someone.

ü Act out a story with your friends and show this to your class.

ü Use upper and lower case letters to write your name.

ü Write words that you know like names of objects.

ü Copy and complete lots of patterns.

ü Copy writing that you can see in your classroom or at home.

ü Every day, write a list, a message, a story or a letter.

ü I will practice what I want to write before I begin to write it.

ü I will leave spaces between each word I write.

ü I will try to read my writing back to an adult.

ü I will try to make sure that all my letters are formed properly so that other people can read them.

ü I will try to make all my letters the same size.

ü Every day, I will draw different types of lines using pencils, and felt tip pens.

ü Learn to spell some common words from the 45 Reception list correctly; about 2- 5 every week.

Level 1 descriptors

Level 1 c

In my writing:

·        Most of my writing is invented.

·        I can use symbols and letters to convey meaning to others.

·        I sometimes need to read back some of my writing before others can understand it.

·        I can write letters others can recognise.

·        Some of my letters can sometimes be too big or too small.

·        Some of my letters may face the wrong way.

·        I can use capital letter to begin a sentence.

·        I sometimes put full stops in the wrong places in the sentence.

·        I can spell three letters words correctly.

·        I try to use my phonics knowledge to spell longer words.

·        I sometimes place letters in the wrong places on the page.

Level 1 descriptors

Here are some targets to help you move onto to level 1b: I will

ü Practice saying what I want to write, before I write it.

ü Try to write out my ideas so that others know what I am trying to say or mean.

ü Read back my work as I write to make sure that it makes sense.

ü Use my knowledge of phonics to stretch the sounds in the words I need to write.

ü Write the sounds in the order in which I hear them in the word.

ü Use full stops to end or close my sentences.

ü Make sure my letters are the same size when I form them.

ü Remember which letters sit on the line and which stand on the line.

ü Remember which way letters face.

ü Write from left to right.

ü Use my little finger to separate the words as I write.

ü Write captions and labels for diagrams.

ü Learn how to form and write questions about things I want to find out about.

ü Learn to spell some common words from list 2 (the medium frequency words) correctly.

ü  Learn to spell 2-5 words correctly each week.

Level 1 descriptors

level 1 b

In my writing:

·        Others can understand most of what I have written.

·        I can structure simple sentences to use in my writing.

·        Most of my writing is made up of simple sentences.

·        I can use finger spaces to separate words in my writing.

·        I know I must use full stops to end my sentences but I don’t always put them in the right places.

·        My writing shows why I am writing or the topic I am writing about.

·        I can use story language to structure my story.

·        I can spell all 45 most common words for Reception Year correctly.

·        I can spell all cvc and cvcc words correctly and make a good attempt at longer words.

·        I spell most of my words using my phonetic knowledge.

·        I can form most of my letters correctly.

Level 1 descriptors

Here are some targets to help you move onto to level 1a: I will

ü Practice saying what I want to write, before I write it.

ü Keep reading my writing back to myself to make sure that it makes sense.

ü Think carefully about the words I use so that my writing makes sense.

ü This will help me to make sure that others can read and understand my writing.

ü Try to think of at least one really good idea to use in my writing.

ü Write about one or two characters in my story.

ü Include where my story takes place (the setting).

ü Try to begin new sentences with a capital letter.

ü Leave finger spaces between words.

ü Put a full stop at the end of my sentences.

ü Remember to stop at full stops when I am reading back my writing or when I read aloud.

ü  Learn to spell some common words from list 2 correctly; spell 2-5 words correctly each week.

ü Make sure that my letters are formed correctly and facing the right way.

Level 1 descriptors

level 1a

In my writing:

·        Others can understand my writing without me reading it for them.

·        I write simple sentences only.

·        My writing consists of repeated simple sentences.

·        My writing is more like spoken language than written language.

·        I write for myself and do not show awareness of the reader.

·        I can use only one capital letter and one full stop correctly in my writing.

·        When I write, I stretch out the sounds in each word so that I am able to write them in the order in which they occur in the word.

·        I can spell most common words from the first 100 words list correctly.

·        I am beginning to spell more complex words correctly.

·        I can remember some visual patterns in word spelling e.g. ‘all’ etc and words that sound the same but are spelt differently e.g. ‘it’ and ‘eat’.

·        I can form all my letters correctly.

Level 1 descriptors

Here are some targets to help you move onto to level 2c: I will

·        Practice saying what I want to write, before I write it.

·        Make the beginning of my writing interesting so that the reader wants to read more.

·        Make sure others can read my writing without me.

·        Include more than one idea and more than one character in my writing.

·        Write about three or more sentences about each idea in my writing.

·        Stretch the sounds in the words I need to write so that I can spell it correctly.

·        Remember to use capital and full stops in most of the sentences in my writing.

·        Write the personal pronoun ‘I’ with a capital letter.

·        Use my spelling list to check any words I am unsure of.

·        Learn my spelling patterns so that I can write words I am not sure of correctly.

·        Check that I have not used capital letters in the middle of sentences.

·        Check that I have left spaces between the words in my sentences.

·        Begin to join my simple sentences together using connectives like ‘and’, ‘but’ ‘then’.

·        Use simple descriptive language to say more about nouns or verbs e.g. adjectives and adverbs e.g. It is a rainy day. Alex ran fast.

·        Write simple instructions that others can understand and follow.

Level 2 descriptors

Level 2c

In my writing:

·        I use more than one sentence to communicate my idea.

·        I can attempt to use story form in my narration.

·        I can attempt to recount events in the right order.

·        I know I am writing for an audience and write with this in mind.

·        My ideas are developed in short sections.

·        I choose and use appropriate words to the topic, sometimes with good effect.

·        My sentences are structured like speech.

·        I repeat pronouns and simple verbs too much.

·        I sometimes join my simple sentences with the connectives ‘and’ and ‘then’.

·        I can use capital and full stops to punctuate more than one sentence in my writing.

·        I can spell more common words from the first 200 most common words.

·        I make phonetic attempts at spelling words I do not know.

·        I form my letters correctly, sometimes with a flick.

Level 2 descriptors

Here are some targets to help you move onto to level 2b: I will

·        Make sure I have a good idea about who I am writing for.

·        Make sure I know how to set the particular type of writing out, before I begin.

·        Plan my ideas in a sequence that makes sense.

·        Practice saying what I want to write, before I write it.

·        Try to say more about nouns and verbs by using at least one describing word for each.

·        Make my writing more interesting by starting new sentences in a different way each time e.g. Amy went for dinner with her friends last night or Last night Amy went for dinner with her friends.

·        Have a word list close by so that I can find and use words I have not used before in my writing.

·        Use more connectives like ‘because’ and ‘so’ in my writing to make my sentences longer.  

·        Begin to write in the correct tense. Use past tense for what happened earlier and present tense for what is happening now.

·        Use more punctuation marks like question marks and exclamation marks to end my sentences when needed.

·        Make wider use of capital letters in my writing e.g. for the start of people and places’ names.

·        Remember not to mix capital letters and small letters in the sentence.

·        Write ascenders (letters with a neck) and descenders (letters with a tail) correctly all the time.

·        Learn my weekly spelling words lists and use them in my writing.

·        Keep practising letter sounds and spelling patterns on my spelling list to help me spell words I am not sure of.

·        Make my letters more legible and clear and form them with flicks.