Year 2 English · Key Stage 1 · Writing – composition

Year 2 editing writing: rereading, proofreading and reading aloud

A first draft is rarely finished. In Year 2, children learn to look again at what they have written, talk about it with their teacher and classmates, and make simple additions and corrections: checking it makes sense, that the verbs match the time of the events, and that spelling and punctuation are right. They also read their writing aloud with expression so that the meaning is clear to the listener.

Revising and reading aloud, explained

Many young children feel that writing is finished when the last word is down. A big step in Year 2 is learning that writers go back to their work. The curriculum asks for simple additions, revisions and corrections, made by evaluating, rereading and proofreading, so in this year the changes are small: adding a word or a sentence, swapping one word for a better one, fixing an ending or correcting a mistake. It isn’t about rewriting a piece from the start.

Children learn to evaluate their writing with the teacher and with other pupils. In a typical lesson a child reads a few sentences to a partner, and the partner says what worked and suggests one thing to improve. Teachers also show what they do themselves: they write a sentence on the board, think aloud, notice a problem and fix it. Seeing an adult reread and change their mind makes it normal for a child to do the same.

Rereading to check that the writing makes sense includes checking the verbs. A recount of something that has happened should stay in the past tense (we went, we were digging), and a description of what is happening now should stay in the present (we go, we are digging). Year 2 children are expected to use verbs to show time correctly and consistently, including the continuous form, where a verb ending in “-ing” follows am, is, are, was or were, as in “the wave was coming in”. A common slip is to start in the past and drift into the present halfway through, or to write “we was” in place of “we were”, which is how many people speak but isn’t written Standard English.

Proofreading is the final check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation. One example in the curriculum guidance is checking that the ends of sentences are punctuated correctly. Teachers encourage children to look for one thing at a time: first capital letters and full stops, then spellings they are unsure of, which many teachers ask them to underline and check. Many schools ask children to make changes in a different coloured pencil, which helps children see how their work has improved.

The last step is reading aloud. Children are taught to read what they have written with the right intonation, so that a question sounds like a question, a pause comes at a full stop and the feelings in the writing come across. Reading aloud shows up a missing word or a sentence that is too long, because the ear catches what the eye misses. It also gives the child a chance to share their writing and be proud of it.

Words your child will hear

Revise: Change writing to make it better, for example by adding, replacing or moving words.
Proofread: Check writing for mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Evaluate: Think about how good a piece of writing is and what could be improved.
Tense: The form of a verb that shows when something happens, such as present or past.
Continuous form: A verb form that shows an action in progress, such as “was digging” or “is running”. Also called the progressive form.
Intonation: How the voice rises, falls and changes to show meaning when we read aloud.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 2, pupils should be taught to:

Make simple additions, revisions and corrections to their own writing by evaluating their writing with the teacher and other pupils
Make simple additions, revisions and corrections by rereading to check that their writing makes sense and that verbs to indicate time are used correctly and consistently, including verbs in the continuous form
Make simple additions, revisions and corrections by proofreading to check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation
Read aloud what they have written with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: improving a draft

A child has written: “Yesterday we go to the beach. We was digging a hole in the sand then a wave come in and filled it up we ran away laughing” How can they check and improve it?

Reread it aloud, slowly and exactly as written. The first sentence sounds wrong: “Yesterday we go” does not fit, because yesterday is already finished.
Check the tense. The events happened in the past, so “go” becomes “went” and “come” becomes “came”. The sentence “we ran away laughing” was already in the past, so it stays.
Check the continuous form. “We was digging” should be “we were digging”. The “-ing” form is right, because the digging was going on when the wave arrived, but the helper word must match “we”.
Proofread the punctuation. The long middle sentence runs on with no full stop, so change “then” to “when” to join the two ideas, put a full stop after “up”, and give “we ran away laughing” a capital W and a full stop at the end.
Add something. Swap “a wave” for “a big wave” to give a picture, and keep the change small.
Read the improved version aloud, with a pause at each full stop and a lively voice for the wave, to check it now sounds right.

Yesterday we went to the beach. We were digging a hole in the sand when a big wave came in and filled it up. We ran away laughing.

Common mistakes and how to help

Starting in the past tense and slipping into the present

When we tell a story in speech, we often switch to the present (“and then he goes…”). The child writes what they would say and doesn’t notice the change.

What helps: Ask “Has this already happened?” of each verb. Underline the verbs in a short piece together and check that they all tell the same time.

Writing “we was”, “I done it” or “they come” in place of the written forms

These are forms children hear at home or among friends, so they sound right and the eye doesn’t catch them.

What helps: Don’t criticise how the family talks. Simply say “in writing we say…” and read the written form aloud. Practise the forms that come up most: we were, I did, they came.

Reading what they meant to write instead of what is on the page

The writer knows the meaning, so the brain fills in missing words and punctuation. A child can reread a piece twice and still miss mistakes.

What helps: Read with a finger under each word, or whisper it. An adult can read the writing back exactly as written, and the child listens for anything that sounds odd.

Thinking that checking only means spelling

Spelling mistakes are the easiest to spot, and they are what children often get told about. Missing full stops and tense errors are noticed less.

What helps: Check one thing at a time: first does it make sense, then verbs, then capitals and full stops, then spelling. A short checklist of two or three items works best.

How to help at home

Read it back to me. Ask your child to read their writing to you while you just listen, then ask what they would like to change. Children are often happy to fix things they find themselves.
One improvement. Choose one small change: a better word, an extra detail, a missing full stop. Making just one is a success, and it builds the habit without turning writing into a chore.
Spot the mistake. Write a short passage and put in two or three mistakes, such as a missing full stop and a wrong verb. Ask your child to be the detective. Then swap, and let them write mistakes for you to find.
Use another colour. Let your child make changes in a different coloured pencil so the improvements show. It makes clear that good writers change their work and that mistakes are normal.
Read with feeling. Ask for a question to be read like a question and an exciting sentence to be read with excitement. If it doesn’t sound right aloud, talk about what to change.

Builds on

Year 1: Saying and sequencing sentences
Year 1: Checking and sharing writing

Leads on to

Years 3 and 4: Planning by learning from model texts
Years 3 and 4: Drafting sentences, paragraphs and stories
Years 3 and 4: Editing, proofreading and reading aloud