Writing

We follow the Syntax Project from Ochre Education Australia to teach our tamariki their writing skills. 

The Syntax Project is a collection of grammar and syntax lessons created by teachers to explicitly and systematically teach writing skills to students.

The project is based on the idea that to be effective writers, students must first understand how sentences are constructed. It focuses on a "function-first" approach, teaching children about the purpose of grammar and syntax in creating clear and meaningful sentences and paragraphs, rather than just naming or identifying parts of speech.

Scope and Sequence

The Syntax Project provides a structured scope and sequence that progresses from simple to more complex sentence structures. It's designed to be taught incrementally, with new concepts connecting to prior learning and providing plenty of opportunities for practice. The lessons often incorporate strategies from "The Writing Revolution," a methodology that emphasizes building writing skills from the ground up, starting with sentences.

Here's a breakdown of what the program typically covers:

• Sentence Level: It starts with the basics, teaching children to identify the components of a complete sentence (who or what is doing something, and what they are doing). Students learn to identify and correct sentence fragments and to expand simple sentences with more detail (e.g., adding "where," "when," or "how"). ✍️

• Punctuation and Word Knowledge: The program also teaches correct punctuation (capital letters, full stops, question marks, commas) and introduces various word types, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

• Paragraph and Text Level: As students progress, the lessons move on to building paragraphs, including how to write a topic sentence, include supporting details, and use transition words to link ideas. The goal is to build a strong foundation that empowers students to confidently write in different genres and styles.

This explicit, systematic approach helps to demystify the writing process for our tamariki (children), building their confidence and giving them the tools they need to become proficient and powerful writers.

Please note that in Rūma Weka we are teaching with the Australian Year 1 scope and sequence as this is equivalent to our Year 1/2 New Zealand curriculum.