Write Away! issue 13

Write Away!

celebrating
children’s writing
in Primary Languages

Issue 13 October 2022

elcome to a new school year and a new issue of Write Away!
It's issue 13 already! I hope you enjoy looking at and reading

Wall the pieces of work that children all over the country have

been doing in their language lessons.

Find out about this issue's guest language, and don't forget to look
out for my Editor's Pick.

See you for issue 14!

Spanish page 1

French page 4

Issue 13 Teachers’ Corner page 26
October 2022
Puzzle Corner page 32
lightbulblanguages.co.uk/writeaway
[email protected] Our guest language for this issue is
Catalan.
Editor
Clare Seccombe Catalan is an official language of three Spanish
autonomous communities: Catalonia, the Balearic
Islands and the Valencian Community. It's spoken
in parts of Aragón and Murcia, and the Pyrénées-
Orientales département of south-west France. It's
also the language spoken in Andorra.

Catalan is a Romance language spoken by about
9.5 million people. If you know some French or
some Spanish, you'll be able to understand some
Catalan.

Mi carné de identidad

by

Vansh

Year 5, Ascot

español

Vocabulario

contento happy

es (it) is

estoy I am

inglés (m.) English

interesante interesting

me gusta I like

me llamo I am called

nueve 9

porque because

soy de I am from

tengo … años
I am...years old

vivo en I live in

pixabay.com u1

Mi carné de identidad

by

Ava

Year 5, Ascot

español

Vocabulario

hambre (f.) hunger

Inglaterra England

matemáticas (f.pl.) maths

me gusta(n) I like

me llamo I am called

nueve 9

soy de I am from

tengo I have

tengo … años
I am … years old

vivo en I live in

2dos pixabay.com

Mi carné de identidad

by

Gabby

Year 5, Ascot

español

Vocabulario

contento happy

divertido funny

es (it) is

estoy I am

Londres London

me gusta I like

me llamo I am called

nueve 9

porque because

soy de I am from

tengo … años
I am … years old

vivo en I live in

pixabay.com 3tres

Quel est ton mois préféré ?

by

Skye

Year 5, Witham

français

Vocabulaire

aussi also

avril April

car because

cependant however

cinq 5

décembre December

degré (m.) degree

environ about

est (it) is

et and

il fait it does/makes

il neige it snows

il pleut it rains

il y a du soleil it's sunny

il y a du vent it's windy

j'aime I like

mois (m.) month

mon my (m.)

normalement normally

parfois sometimes

préféré favourite

quand when

4quatre pixabay.com

Quel est ton mois préféré ?

by

Tharunika

Year 5, Witham

français

Vocabulaire

aussi also

avril April

car because

cependant however

degré (m.) degree

est (it) is

il fait it does/makes

il fait froid it is cold

il pleut it rains

il y a du soleil it is sunny

j'aime I like

je n'aime pas I don't like

mai May

mois (m.) month

mon my (m.)

normalement normally

parfois sometimes

préféré favourite

5pixa-
cinc

Les amis de Berthe

by

Arthur

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

chapeau (m.) hat

chauve bald

et and

grand big/tall

il a he has

il est he is

il porte he wears

lunettes (f.pl.) glasses

monsieur Mr

noir black

vert green

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

6sis

Les amis de Berthe

by

Emma

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

chat (m.) cat

cheveux (m.pl.) hair

deux 2

elle a she has

elle aime she likes

elle porte she wears

et and

joli pretty

marron brown

nez (m.) nose

pied (m.) foot

petit small

robe (f.) dress

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

7set

Les amis de Berthe

by

Gemma

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

bleu blue

chat (m.) cat

cheveux (m.pl.) hair

de taille moyenne
medium height

elle a she has

elle aime she likes

elle est she is

et and

nez (m.) nose

petit small

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

8vuit

Les amis de Berthe

by

Laila

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

cheveux (m.pl.) hair

elle a she has

elle aime she likes

elle est she is

et and

glace (f.) ice cream

marron brown

nez (m.) nose

petit small

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

9nou

Les amis de Berthe

by

Robyn

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

bleu blue

chapeau (m.) hat

chat (m.) cat

cheveux (m.pl.) hair

content happy

deux 2

elle a she has

elle aime she likes

elle est she is

elle porte she wears

et and

glace (f.) ice cream

lunettes (f.pl.) glasses

natte (f.) plait

nez (m.) nose

petit small

pied (m.) foot

roux ginger/red

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

10deu

Les amis de Berthe

by

Seraphine

Year 4, Wolverton

français

Vocabulaire

bouche (f.) mouth

chat (m.) cat

cheveux (m.pl.) hair

content happy

elle a she has

elle aime she likes

elle est she is

elle porte she wears

et and

jaune yellow

joli pretty

marron brown

nez (m.) nose

noir black

petit small

robe (f.) dress

voici here is

yeux (m.pl.) eyes

11onze

Les opinions des animaux

by

Linus

Year 5, Bury

français

Vocabulaire

à bientôt see you soon

à mon avis in my opinion

assez quite

aussi also

avec with

baleine (f.) whale

cependant however

coq (m.) cockerel

dix 10

est is

et and

faible weak

féroce fierce

fourmi (f.) ant

frère (m.) brother

grand big

j'adore I love

j'ai … ans I am … years old

je m'appelle I am called

je pense I think

j'habite I live

kangourou (m.) kangaroo

ma my (f.)

mais but

mère (f.) mother

mon my (m.)

n'est pas isn't

père (m.) father

salut hi

timide shy

très very

un a, one (m.)

une a, one (f.)

12dotze

Les opinions des animaux

by

Gracie

Year 5, Bury

français

Vocabulaire

à mon avis in my opinion

araignée (f.) spider

assez quite

aussi also

avec with

cependant however

cochon (m.) pig

coucou (m.) cuckoo

doux gentle

effrayant frightening

est is

et and

fourmi (f.) ant

frère (m.) brother

grand big

j'adore I love

j'ai … ans I am … years old

je m'appelle I am called

je pense I think

j'habite I live

lapin (m.) rabbit

lent slow

ma my (f.)

mais but

mère (f.) mother

mon my (m.)

n'est pas isn't

neuf 9

père (m.) father

petit small

pingouin (m.) penguin

poisson (m.) fish

rapide fast

salut hi

sauvage wild

serpent (m.) snake

sœur (f.) sister

timide shy

tortue (f.) tortoise

très very

un a, one (m.)

une a, one (f.)

vicieux vicious

13tretze

Les opinions des animaux

by

Elizabeth

Year 5, Bury

français

Vocabulaire

à bientôt see you soon

à mon avis in my opinion

assez quite

aussi also

avec with

baleine (f.) whale

bonjour hello

cependant however

dix 10

est is

et and

famille (f.) family

féroce fierce

fort strong

j'adore I love

j'ai … ans I am … years old

je m'appelle I am called

je pense I think

j'habite I live

lapin (m.) rabbit

lent slow

ma my (f.)

mais but

n'est pas isn't

petit small

poisson (m.) fish

souris (f.) mouse

timide shy

tortue (f.) tortoise

très very

un a, one (m.)

une a, one (f.)

14catorze

Les opinions des animaux

by

Lois

Year 5, Bury

français

Vocabulaire

à bientôt see you soon

agressif aggressive

à mon avis in my opinion

assez quite

aussi also

avec with

bonjour hello

cependant however

doux gentle

est is

et and

faible weak

famille (f.) family

féroce fierce

fort strong

gris grey

guépard (m.) leopard

j'adore I love

j'ai … ans I am … years old

je m'appelle I am called

je pense I think

j'habite I live

lent slow

ma my (f.)

mais but

n'est pas isn't

petit small

poisson (m.) fish

serpent (m.) snake

souris (f.) mouse

timide shy

tortue (f.) tortoise

très very

un a, one (m.)

une a, one (f.)

15quinze

Les couleurs

by

Kimaaya

Year 6, Selsdon

français

Vocabulaire

blanc white
ciel (m.) sky
comme like
encre (f.) ink
gris grey
jaune yellow
neige (f.) snow
noir black
rouge red
sang (m.) blood
soleil (m.) sun
vert green

16setze

Les couleurs français

by Vocabulaire

Nayonika blanc white

Year 4, Selsdon chaussures d'école (f.pl.)
school shoes
Les couleurs
comme like
by
gourde (f.) flask
Aarya
gris grey
Year 5, Selsdon
jaune yellow

noir black

ours (m.) bear

papier (m.) paper

Père Noël Father Christmas

petits pois (m.pl.) peas

phoque (m.) seal

poussin (m.) chick

raton laveur (m.) raccoon

rouge red

sac (m.) bag

sauterelle (f.) grasshopper

vert green

17disset

Les couleurs

by

Amena

Year 5, Selsdon

français

Vocabulaire

blanc white

boîte à lettres (f.)
letterbox

comme like

étoile (f.) star

gris grey

herbe (f.) grass

jaune yellow

lune (f.) moon

noir black

nuage (m.) cloud

nuit (f.) night

ombre (f.) shadow

rouge red

vert green

18divuit

Tout sur moi !

by

Abigail

Year 6, Ramsbottom

français

Vocabulaire

Angleterre England

anniversaire (m.) birthday

comment t'appelles-tu ?
what is your name?

dessin (m.) drawing

dix 10

est is

et and

j'ai … ans I am … years old

j'aime I like

je m'appelle I am called

j'habite I live

lecture (f.) reading

ma my (f.)

onze 11

où where

préféré favourite

19dinou

Tout sur moi !

by

Tairu

Year 5, Salford

français

Vocabulaire

Angleterre England

anniversaire (m.) birthday

avril April

bleu foncé dark blue

dessin (m.) drawing

est is

et and

j'ai … ans I am .. years old

j'aime I like

je m'appelle I am called

j'habite I live

neuf 9

préféré favourite

vingt 20

20vint

Je porte

by

Lucinda

Year 5, Salford

français

Vocabulaire

Angleterre England

anniversaire (m.) birthday

est is

et and

j'ai … ans I am … years old

j'aime I like

jaune yellow

je m'appelle I am called

j'habite I live

ma my (f.)

mai May

mon my (m.)

neuf 9

préféré favourite

trente-et-un 31

21vint-i-u

Tout sur moi !

by

Niamh

Year 4, Bury

français

Vocabulaire

Angleterre England

anniversaire (m.) birthday

danse irlandaise (f.)
Irish dancing

escalade (f.) climbing

est is

et and

huit 8

j'ai … ans I am … years old

j'aime I like

je m'appelle I am called

j'habite I live

mai May

préféré favourite

vert green

22vint-i-dos

Tu aimes le sport ?

by

Amelia

Year 6, Salford

français

Vocabulaire

affreux awful

amusant fun

assez quite

athlétisme (m.) athletics

barbant boring

car because

c'est it is

embêtant annoying

et and

j'adore I love

j'aime I like

je déteste I hate

je n'aime pas I don't like

natation (f.) swimming

passionnant exciting

très very

trop too

un peu a bit

23vint-i-tres

Tu aimes le sport ?

by

Amelia

Year 6, Salford

français

Vocabulaire

affreux awful

amusant fun

assez quite

athlétisme (m.) athletics

aussi also

barbant boring

car because

c'est it is

cyclisme (m.) cycling

génial brilliant

j'adore I love

j'aime I like

je déteste I hate

je n'aime pas I don't like

mais but

nul rubbish

passionnant exciting

très very

24vint-i-quatre

Tu aimes le sport ?

by

Kevin

Year 6, Salford

français

Vocabulaire

affreux awful

amusant fun

assez quite

aussi also

barbant boring

car because

c'est it is

embêtant annoying

et and

j'adore I love

j'aime I like

je déteste I hate

je n'aime pas I don't like

je préfère I prefer

mais but

nul rubbish

passionnant exciting

patin à glace (m.)
ice skating

quelquefois sometimes

très very

trop too

un peu a bit

25vint-i-cinc

Teachers’ Corner

Find out more information about the writing featured

1-3 Tilly Mackie

How long have the children been learning Spanish?
Some pupils have just started learning Spanish as they are new to the school, others have been learning
Spanish since Year 1.

How long are their language lessons?
1 hour per week.

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
At the beginning of every lesson the pupils practise their recall of Spanish by using whiteboards to
record what they have learnt so far. This consists of sentences all about themselves and each week we
add to our whiteboard work with new learning. I take photos of their whiteboard work throughout the
year to show progression. This recall of personal facts will be put to use when the pupils write to their
penfriends in Spain later in the year and they will be able to share key facts about themselves.
What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
Pupils have key questions to answer and for those new to Spanish they have sentence starters to
support their writing. For differentiation some will be expected to answer the key questions
independently and begin to substitute information as well as ask the key questions orally.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
I think this piece of work celebrates the excellent recall skills of our pupils which allows them to write
about themselves as well as express likes and dislikes and add a personal, funny touch to their writing.

4-5 Viki Anderton

How long have the children been learning French?
Since Year 3.

How long are their language lessons?
45 minutes, taught in half term blocks during the academic year.

26vint-i-sis

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
After practising weather phrases with actions, children increased their general vocabulary base by
learning days of the week, months of the year, and higher numbers to develop their sentence building.
This involved playing battleships as a speaking activity and describing weather on a map of France
including the temperatures. We revisited prior language on opinions from a previous unit in Year 4. As a
starting point for their written work, we looked at a WAGOLL and colour coded and categorised
vocabulary from it.

What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
Children had access to vocabulary in their book, plus a writing frame and model text was available to
adapt if required.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
I was very impressed with the confidence shown by both children in tackling this written task, requiring
no additional support or input. Their work is highly accurate, and they have been able to use conjunctions
to justify their opinions. It is also beautifully presented.

6-11 Helen Coffey

How long have the children been learning French?
This work was completed at the end of Year 4 – their second year of learning French.

How long are their language lessons?
45 minutes, once a week

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
We read the story Les Amis de Berthe, by Gwen Brookes, as part of our work on descriptions. We did
some listening, speaking and reading activities then the children used the new vocabulary and grammar
structures to invent a new friend for Berthe.

What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
They had word mats with key vocabulary in French and the meaning in English. Some pupils also chose
to use a writing frame to help them structure their work.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
The children have successfully adapted the new language to create their own descriptions and I love
their illustrations and neat presentation. I am also delighted that some children have added adjectival
endings where necessary.

27vint-i-set

12-15 Jayne Jackson

How long have the children been learning French?
3 years, albeit with no lessons taught from March to September 2020 (Year 3) due to Covid, and with
further disruption throughout Year 4. These pieces were written in July 2022, at the end of Year 5.

How long are their language lessons?
50-60 minutes weekly

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
In order that UKS2 pupils could experience (and be enthused by) rapid progress following all the Covid
disruption, I purposely chose to focus on units of study that incorporated a great many cognates. One
such unit was Le Carnaval des Animaux which we began with a brief introduction to the life of composer
Saint-Saëns and by listening to excerpts of his music. Children were then introduced to key animal
nouns and attention was drawn to the links between the French & English lexicons (e.g. chicken/une
poule/poultry etc.). Eight key adjectives were taught as pairs of antonyms, each with an associated
action. Pupils also focussed on the negative construction (which they had already met in their previous
unit, Je suis le musicien) and practised this via ‘Human Sentence’ tasks using a ne+pas sandwich to
surround the verb. They absolutely loved the Monsieur Johnson ne+pas video to the tune of ‘Oom pah
pah’ from the musical Oliver (if you’ve never heard of it, do check it out on YouTube!) Children also
worked in pairs to analyse the example penpal style letter on the Light Bulb Languages, highlighting
different word categories in different colours (i.e. nouns, adjectives, conjunctions, opinions, adverbs,
intensifiers etc.).

What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
Pupils had access to a list of animals, colour-coded to denote gender, a similarly coded list of adjectives,
the example text from Light Bulb Languages and dictionaries.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
I was particularly impressed by the level of accuracy with adjectival agreement but also by the wide
variety of nouns and adjectives used; every single piece produced was unique to the individual and there
was very evident pride demonstrated by all the pupils.

16-18 Stephanie Mannooch-Loudon

How long have the children been learning French?
2 years

How long are their language lessons?
30 minutes, although this work was done as part of a weekly MFL creative writing club.

28vint-i-vuit

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
The children in the club are from a mixture of year groups. They have all previously learnt colours in
French and topics such as food and animals, as well as definite and indefinite articles.

What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
We read a poem with the same refrain and discussed similes. The children used dictionaries to find
nouns to include in their own poems.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
The children discovered some new and unusual vocabulary which they would probably not normally
encounter in lessons. I was pleased with how well they used the dictionary.

19-22 Jane Birtwistle

How long have the children been learning French?
Since the start of Key Stage 2.

How long are their language lessons?
60 minutes a week (rotated blocks during the year) in the Salford school; one hour a fortnight in the Bury
school; 45 minutes a week in the Ramsbottom school.

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
After the long summer break, we started the new academic year by recapping the basics. This year,
after completing a personal information speaking challenge, pupils confidently created their own
personalised minibook: Tout sur moi ! (All about me!).

What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
A teacher-prepared minibook template inspired by Clare Seccombe’s minibook blogpost and webinar,
and sentence builders on the topic of personal information.

What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
The written French in these minibooks is accurate and they are all beautifully illustrated. The pupils
enjoyed becoming the author of their own minibook and reading their booklet to their peers!

23-25 Jane Birtwistle 29vint-i-nou

How long have the children been learning French?
Since the start of Key Stage 2.
How long are their language lessons?
60 minutes a week (Rotated blocks during the year)

Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this
piece.
This creative writing piece completed our autumn term 1 topic: Le sport !. Pupils confidently created
their own personalised concertina minibook: Tu aimes le sport ? (Do you like sport?) after a series of
lessons building from nouns to expressing opinions and finally justifying opinions.
What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?
A teacher-prepared concertina-style minibook template inspired by Clare Seccombe’s minibook blogpost
and webinar, and teacher-prepared sentence builders on the topic of sport (two versions to meet the
needs of all children).
What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?
The written French in these minibooks is accurate and they are all beautifully illustrated – I particularly
liked Kevin’s French themed football illustration! I loved the authenticity of the work in each book. The
pupils enjoyed becoming the author of their own minibook and reading their booklet to their peers. The
craft element to this task was motivating for all and showcased their end of topic outcomes which was
hugely rewarding. They took great pride in their writing and were delighted with their progress.

30trenta

31trenta-i-u

Puzzle Corner

Which is the odd one out each time, and why is it the odd one out?
There might be more than one correct answer!

1. a. b

c. d.

2. a. chat b
c. Katze catino
Iceland
3. a. New Zealand b Australia d.
c. Canada d. gato

4. a. b

c. d.

32trenta-i-dos

Puzzle Corner

Solution from issue 12

LANGUAGE WORD FOR
"LANGUAGE"

Catalan llenguatge
Danish sprog
Dutch taal
German
French Sprache
Hungarian langue
Italian nyelv
Polish lingua
Spanish język
idioma

Lithuanian kalba

Icelandic tungumál

Norwegian språk

Welsh iaith

Turkish dil

Xhosa ulwimi

Swahili lugha

Indonesian bahasa

Esperanto lingvo

Finnish kieli

Estonian keel

33tizenhét

to all the children and teachers
who have contributed their work to Write Away!