Planning Ideas Before Writing
Plan before writing by saying aloud or noting down what will be written, writing down ideas and key words, and encapsulating ideas sentence by sentence before composing
Typical age: 6–10 years
“Before your child starts a piece of writing, do they spend a few minutes planning — jotting down ideas, key words, or a rough structure — rather than jumping straight into writing the first sentence?”
0 / 3 mastered
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Needs first
- Describing Aloud
Oral expression supports saying aloud what you'll write
- Organising Writing into Paragraphs
Planning skills build on earlier oral skills
- Building Writing Stamina
Planning before writing builds on earlier compositional skills
- Simple Stories with Beginning and Ending
Experience with narrative writing supports planning narratives
- Writing Process VocabularyREQUIRED
Planning before writing requires 'plan', 'draft', 'compose', 'sequence', and 'key words' as working vocabulary
- Saying Sentences Before Writing ThemREQUIRED
Planning writing builds on Y1 oral rehearsal
Unlocks next
- Writing for an audienceREQUIRED
Producing coherent writing matched to task/purpose/audience builds on planning skills; learners must know how to plan before they can match organisation to purpose
- Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 9+)
Producing a well-organised science report depends on the planning and pre-writing strategies developed in English composition
- Choosing Form and Tone for Your AudienceREQUIRED
Identifying audience and purpose before writing builds on general planning skills; the step up is from planning content to strategically matching form and tone to audience