These “Top Tips for Learning” videos all have a writing theme. Explore, with our teachers, some of the many components that go into making our children confident and independent writers.
Top Tips for Writing - Adding a Double Adverb
Let Amir Iqbal show you an alternative way of using adverbs; experimenting with using the same adverb twice in a sentence. An adverb explains how something is happening in a sentence. Add a double adverb and explain "why it is happening in that way". Its worth noting that in this video "carefully" is spelt incorrectly. Within the context of this video, we chose not to correct it "there and then" as the task in-hand was so difficult and so we made an allowance for this. When children write, they have to juggle many different concepts and so as teachers, its important to get this balance right - knowing when to intervene and when to step back.
Top Tips for Writing - Powerful Verbs
Let Amy Skedd show you how we teach children to use powerful verbs in their writing. We encourage children to use alternative words for 'went' and 'said' in their writing as they provide more description and ensure higher level sentence composition.
top Tips for Writing - Super Sentences
Let Barry McHugh show how to improve a simple sentence to make it a Super Sentence. A Super Sentence will include sentence components like adjectives, adverbs and connectives. Using all of these components in a sentence will make the sentence more interesting for your reader.
Top Tips for Writing - Adding Adverbs
Let Danny Hafeez show you how to improve a sentence by adding an adverb. A adverb gives more information about the doing word (verb) to tell you how it is happening. Adverbs words that end in -ly.
Top Tips for Writing - Punctuation.
Let Louise Hunter show you some alternative ways of using punctuation; experimenting with different types. Different punctuation marks are used for a purpose in writing, helping it to make sense or adding emphasis.
Top Tips for Writing - Adding Connectives
Let Melissa Sterzl show you some alternative ways of using connectives to add extra information to a simple sentence. A connective is used to join two simple sentences together. They can be used to explain why something is happening.
Top Tips for Writing - Using Phonics
Let Natalie Harle show you how children can use their knowledge of phonics to support their spelling. Here, she shows you how children use phonics to segment words into their individual sounds. It is important to encourage children to use the sounds that they know to write plausible spellings, but to correct these as they become more competent.
Tops Tips For Writing - Developing Handwriting
Let Headteacher Paul Jordan show you some ways to help develop your children's Handwriting.
Top Tips for Writing - Tricky Words
Here Rebecca Olley talks to you about tricky words. Generally, tricky words can't be sounded out using phonics, although it depends what sounds you know. Children learn these words seeing them, hearing them and then practising writing them regularly until they know them well.
Top Tips for Writing - Name Writing
Here Rofiya Begum talks to you about name writing. She will show you a range of ways in which children are supported in recognising individual letters in their name and to formulate each letter when writing their name.
Top Tips For Writing - Powerful Adjectives
Let Rosa Corcoran-Jones show you some alternative ways of using adjectives; experimenting with them in different formats. A smile compares the noun to something else, while a hyphen can be used after the noun. Alliteration means that some words in the sentence begin with the same sound and this is really powerful.
Top Tips for Writing - Who, Which, That Clauses
Let Suzy Waters show you how children can use their adjectives within an embedded clause. In this case, the adjective comes after the noun. This is then punctuated with commas around the clause.
TVI Top Tips Reading Strategies 1
What do you say to a child to help them read (decode) a word when they're stuck! When reading, children use a variety of strategies to help them decode unknown words. The key is to guide your child to the right decoding strategy. In the first of a sequence of 3 videos, Chloe explains some of these strategies. Talk to your child's Class Teacher if we can help more.
TVI Top Tips Reading Strategies 2
What do you say to a child to help them read (decode) a word when they're stuck! When reading, children use a variety of strategies to help them decode unknown words. The key is to guide your child to the right decoding strategy. In the second of a sequence of 3 videos, Fiza explains some of these strategies. Talk to your child's Class Teacher if we can help more.
TVI Top Tips Reading Strategies 3
What do you say to a child to help them read (decode) a word when they're stuck! When reading, children use a variety of strategies to help them decode unknown words. The key is to guide your child to the right decoding strategy. In the third of a sequence of 3 videos, Titi explains some of these strategies. Talk to your child's Class Teacher if we can help more.
TVI Top Tips Reading Enrichment
Sometimes when children read, they may stumble across a concept which they haven't any prior knowledge off. At School, when reading, we "back fill" these gaps of knowledge with artefacts, pictures, videos or just an explanation. We find this helps and Amy, one of our Teachers here at Thames View Infants, offers you a bite-sized explanation of ways that you can help with this at home.
TVI Top Tips Print Conveys Meaning
Teaching that "all these words on this page means something", is an important early reading skill. James, one of our Teachers here at Thames View Infants, offers you advice for how to support your child with early literacy and pre-reading activities at home. There's a lot to cram into 1 minutes - so if you have further questions, speak to your child's teacher.
TVI Top Tips Fine Motor Skills (fiddly things)
Developing children's fine motor skills (how easily they are able to manipulate fiddly thing) is important. It helps with neat handwriting and "joining up" later on. Adam explains how you can further your children's fine motor coordination at home, crammed into 1 minute. Come and see us if you have further questions!
TVI Top Tips Developing Handwriting
How can you help your child develop their handwriting at home? Watch Lakshmi, one of our Teachers at Thames View Infants, offer you some tips and support in 90 seconds! Of course, your child's Teacher will be able to help more - so please them if you have further questions.
Top Tips for Writing - Adding Capital Letters, Full Stops and Finger Spaces
Let Adam Dobson show you how to add capital letters, full stops and finger spaces to a sentence. A sentence always starts with a capital and ends with a full stop. Finger spaces are used to separate words and make the sentence easier to read. ...