Years 3 and 4 English · Key Stage 2 · Writing – composition

Years 3 and 4 planning writing from model texts

Good writing starts before the first sentence. In Years 3 and 4 children are taught to plan by reading and talking about writing similar to what they are about to write, so they can learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar. They also learn to discuss their ideas and record them as brief notes. Planning makes the writing that follows clearer, better organised and easier to finish.

Planning by learning from model texts, explained

In England the National Curriculum treats writing as two things: transcription, which is spelling and handwriting, and composition, which is deciding what to say and how to say it. Planning belongs to composition. By Years 3 and 4 children are expected to write for a range of real purposes and audiences, such as a story, a report, a letter, instructions or a description, and the purpose and the reader decide what form the writing should take.

The first planning method is learning from a model. Before writing, the class reads and discusses a text of the same type as the one they will write. The teacher draws attention to its structure: how it begins, how the parts are ordered, whether it uses headings or paragraphs. They look at its vocabulary, such as precise verbs or technical words, and at its grammar, such as the tense it is in, whether it speaks about “I” or “they”, and how its sentences begin. Children often highlight or annotate the model. Schools use different names and routines for this, but the idea is the same: see how a good one works before building your own.

A model is for learning from, not for copying. The children keep the structure and the kinds of words and sentences, but the content is their own. A class that has read a model report about barn owls might write about otters, using the same sections but their own facts. A child who copies the model’s sentences has not planned anything, so teachers usually ask what has to change when the topic changes.

The second method is discussing and recording ideas. Children talk first, with a partner or in a small group, because talking out loud helps ideas arrive and be sorted. They then record the ideas as brief notes rather than sentences. Common ways of doing this include a spider diagram, a table with a column for each section, a list of key words, or a series of boxes for the stages of a story. The best plan is short. It reminds the writer of what is coming, and it can be changed as the writing develops.

Real purposes and readers keep planning meaningful. A letter to the headteacher about the playground should sound different from a postcard to a cousin, and instructions for Year 1 should be simpler than instructions for adults. Asking “Who is this for, and what do they need?” is one of the most useful planning questions, and it can be asked at home as easily as in the classroom.

Words your child will hear

Model text: A good example of the type of writing the class is about to write.
Purpose: What the writing is for: to entertain, inform, explain, persuade or instruct.
Audience: The people who will read the writing.
Structure: How a text is organised, such as its sections, order and paragraphs.
Annotate: Mark a text with notes or highlighting to show what it does.
Technical vocabulary: Special words that belong to a subject, such as habitat or webbed.
Plan: Brief notes that set out what you will write and in what order.

What the National Curriculum says

In Years 3 and 4, pupils should be taught to:

Plan their writing by discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
Plan their writing by discussing and recording ideas

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

Try it: planning a report from a model text

A class reads this model, then each child plans a report on a different animal. Model: “Barn owls. Barn owls are pale birds with heart-shaped faces. They hunt mostly at night, using their excellent hearing to find mice and voles in the dark. By day, they roost in old barns and hollow trees.” How could a child plan a report about otters?

Read as a writer and look at the structure. There is a heading, an opening sentence that says what the animal is, then facts grouped by theme: appearance, food and home. Each theme gets its own part.
Notice the vocabulary. The writer uses exact words such as “heart-shaped”, “hunt” and “roost”. These words belong to the topic, so the child makes a list of the same kind of words for otters.
Notice the grammar. It is written in the present tense and the third person (“they”), and it starts one sentence with a fronted adverbial of time: “By day,”. A child who wants to match this decides to try one, such as “In the water,”.
Talk about the topic with a partner. What do we know about otters? Where do they live, what do they eat, what do they look like? Record only the facts, not full sentences.

Check the plan against the model. It should have the same shape, but with the child’s own facts and words.

Otters
Appearance: long body, webbed
  feet, thick waterproof fur
Food: fish, hunt underwater
Home: rivers, streams, den
  called a holt
Words: webbed, holt, waterproof,
  hunt, dense

The plan copies the structure and the type of words from the model, but is not made of its sentences. It is ready to be turned into paragraphs, one theme each.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking planning is a waste of time and the real work is the first draft

Children are keen to start, and a plan can feel like writing everything twice. Some have done plans that were too long to be useful.

What helps: Keep plans to five minutes and to notes only. Show how a plan helps by comparing two attempts at the same piece, one with notes and one without.

Copying the model text instead of learning from it

A model can feel like the safe answer. Children think the best way to match a good piece of writing is to reuse its words.

What helps: Ask what has to change when the topic changes. Keep the shape and the kinds of words, then find different facts and your own words.

Writing the plan in full sentences

Children are used to writing sentences, and a plan written in sentences takes as long as the piece itself.

What helps: Use boxes, bullets or a spider diagram where there is only room for a few words. The full sentences come later.

Writing the same way for every reader

Children often write in one style, usually the way they talk, whoever the piece is for.

What helps: Before planning, ask who will read it and what they will want. Try saying the opening out loud to a grandparent and then to a friend, and notice the difference.

How to help at home

Read like a writer. When you read together, stop now and then and ask how the text is organised. Why does this leaflet have headings? How does this story open? What do you notice about the words the author chose?
Talk before writing. Before your child writes anything for homework, ask them to tell you what they are going to say. Ask one or two questions where it is unclear. This helps ideas arrive and spots gaps early.
Make a quick plan. On scrap paper, draw three or four boxes and fill each with a few words. Three boxes might be: start, problem, solution. Keep it under five minutes and let your child change it as they go.
Write for someone real. A postcard to a relative, instructions for a game for a younger cousin, or a note to a neighbour all have a reader. Ask your child who it is for and how that changes what they write.

Builds on

Leads on to

Years 5 and 6: Planning for audience and purpose
Years 5 and 6: Drafting: grammar, narrative and précis
Years 5 and 6: Cohesion and organisational devices
Years 5 and 6: Editing for effect, tense, agreement and register
Years 5 and 6: Proofreading and performing writing