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St Andrew's C.E. Primary School

Enriching Lives

Year 3

Y3 Teacher Assessment for Writing

Y3 - Working towards the expected standard

The pupil can, after discussion with the teacher:

  • write in a range of  non-narrative forms
  • write simple, coherent narratives† 
  • use the range of punctuation taught up to and including Y2 mostly correctly^ 
  • use co-ordination (e.g. or / and / but) and some subordination (e.g. when / if / that / because) to join clauses
  • spell many common exception words* 
  • use phonic knowledge and other knowledge of spelling to spell many words relating to the KS1 programme of study correctly
  • form capital letters and lower case letters correctly.

 

Y3 - Working at the expected standard

The pupil can:

  • write for a range of real purposes and audiences, beginning to develop an awareness of appropriate language and form (e.g. letter; report writing)
  • create settings, characters and plot in narrative†
  • use speech punctuation correctly when following modelled writing
  • use some conjunctions ( e.g. and, because, when, even though), adverbs (e.g. often, quickly, very), and prepositions (e.g. next to, underneath, with) for cohesion and to add detail
  • use past and present tense mostly correctly (e.g. ran, wander) and begin to use other verb forms (e.g. will go, have eaten)
  • use the range of punctuation taught up to and including Y3 mostly correctly^ (e.g.

apostrophes for possession, commas in lists)

  • spell correctly words from learning in previous year groups, and some words from the year 3 / year 4 spelling list,* using phonic knowledge and other knowledge of spelling such as morphology, to spell words as accurately as possible
  • spell most common exception words*
  • increase the legibility, consistency and quality of handwriting (e.g. by ensuring that downstrokes of letters are parallel and equidistant)
  • join letters with diagonal and horizontal strokes where appropriate.2

 

Y3 - Working at greater depth within the expected standard

The pupil can: 

  • write effectively and coherently for different purposes, drawing on their reading to inform the vocabulary and grammar of their writing
  • use detail and vocabulary to interest and engage the reader 
  • use paragraphs
  • improve the effect of their writing by making changes when editing (e.g. re-ordering sentences and adapting vocabulary).

 

 

 

 

Reference will need to be made to the expectations of the national curriculum for Y3  to ensure that writing is at the correct pitch.

*These are detailed in the word lists within the spelling appendix to the national curriculum (English Appendix 1).

Teachers should refer to these to exemplify the words that pupils should be able to spell. 

^This relates to punctuation taught in the national curriculum, which is detailed in the grammar and punctuation appendix to the national curriculum (English Appendix 2). Pupils are expected to be able to use the range of punctuation shown here in their writing, but this does not mean that every single punctuation mark must be evident.

2The national curriculum states that pupils should be taught to ‘use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined’.