Year 6 creative writing..

Recently in English, we shared with the Year 6 pupils these wise words by Gary Provost.

“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen.

I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”

It serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of writing with different sentence constructions in order to create interest and balance. This really inspired the children and is displayed in their classroom and their books for their constant referral. The difference is already being seen in their writing!

Writing is a difficult skill to master and requires a whole school approach. At RSM we work with the youngest pupils right through to our Year 6s to build the children’s capacity to write with confidence and fluidity. The recent inset from Danny Doyle reaffirmed our good practice.

Phillipa Rushby

Head of English