Write Away!Issue 25 March 2026celebratingchildren’s writing in Primary Languages
Welcome to issue 25 of Write Away! It’s lovely to be able to share with you some more of the work that primary children have been doing in their language lessons. This is the first issue that has not included any French work! I hope you enjoy reading it, and I’m looking forward to the next issue. Perhaps your work will be included in issue 26!Issue 25March 2026lightbulblanguages.co.uk/[email protected] SeccombeOur guest language for this issue isFlemish.Flemish, also known as Belgian Dutch or Flemish Dutch, is a dialect of Dutch spoken in northern Belgium by about six million people. It is shown by the red area on this map.SaluuSpanish page 4Teachers’ Corner page 12Puzzle Corner page 16German page 1Goeije morn
Meine FamiliebyFreddieYear 5, Aylesburyèèn 1pixabay.comBruder (m.) brotherdas ist here isdu hast you haveer ist he iser mag he likesGeschwister siblingsich bin neun Jahre altI am nine years oldich habe I haveich heiße I am calleder heißt he is calledHund (m.) dogliebe dearliebe Grüße best regardsmein /meine my sechs 6schwimmen to swimund andDeutschWortschatz
Meine FamiliebyJarrydYear 5, Aylesburytweje 2 pixabay.comDeutschWortschatzdas ist here isdu hast you havefünfzehn 15Geschwister siblingsheißt is calledich bin neun Jahre altI am 9 years oldich habe I haveich habe keine HaustiereI have no petsich heiße I am calledliebe dearliebe Grüße best regardsmein/meine mySchwester (f.) sistersie mag she likesund and
Wer bin ich?byGisooYear 2, Aylesburydrieje 3pixabay.comdie the (f.)ich bin I amich kann I canKatze (f.) catkratzen to scratchschwarz blackspringen to jumpund andwer bin ich? who am I?weiß whiteDeutschWortschatzWer bin ich?byEvaYear 2, Aylesbury
En mi barriobyChloeYear 6, Yorkviere 4 pixabay.comespañolVocabularioademás in additionbarrio (m.) neighbourhood, areabastante quitecaramelos (m.pl.) sweetsciudad (f.) citycomida (f.) foodes it ishay there is/areInglaterra Englandir to golimpio cleanmariscos (m.pl.) seafoodme gusta I likeme llamo I am calledmuy veryno me gusta I don’t likepatatas fritas (f.pl.) chipspequeño smallpero butpescado (m.) fishplaya (f.) beachporque becauseprefiero I preferquiero I wantsoy de I am fromtienda (f.) shopuna a, one (f.)vivo en I live in y and
En mi barriobyNoahYear 6, Yorkpixabay.compixabay.compixabay.comespañolVocabularioademás in additionaeropuerto (m.) airportamigos (m.pl.) friendsarquitectura (f.)architecturebastante quitecolegio (m.) schoolcon withdivertido fundos 2es it isespañol (m.) Spanishgrande bighay there is/arehola helloir to golengua (f.) languageme llamo I am calledmis my (pl.)mucho a lot, manymuseo (m.) museummuy veryno es it isn’tpadres (m.pl.) parentspequeño smallpero butporque becausequiero I wanttambién alsotiene it hasy yvuve 5Well done Noah! You have put a lot of detail into your writing, and I very much enjoyed reading it.
En mi barriobyThomasYear 6, Yorkzesse 6 pixabay.comespañolVocabulariobarrio (m.)neighbourhood, areacafetería (f.) caféciudad (f.) cityes isgrande bighay there is/areme llamo I am calledlimpio cleanmucho a lot, manymuy veryparque (m.) parkpero butplaya (f.) beachrío (m.) riversoy de I am fromtienda (f.) shopvivo en I live inun a, one (m.)una a, one (f.)y and
En mi barriobyZacYear 6, Yorkpixabay.compixabay.compixabay.comespañolVocabularioademás in additionbastante quitebonito prettycaliente hot, warmcastillo (m.) castlees isgrande bighay there is/areinteresante interestingir to gome llamo I am calledmucho a lot, manymuseo (m.) museummuy verypero butplaya (f.) beachporque becauseque se llamawhich is calledquiero I wantrío (m.) riversin embargo howeversoy de I am fromtambién alsotienda (f.) shoptiene it hasvibrante vibrantvivo en I live iny andzeevn 7
españolVocabularioLos deportesbyAadarshanYear 6, Ascotatletismo (m.) athleticsbaloncesto (m.) basketballfútbol (m.) footballhago I dojuego I playgimnasia (f.) gymnasticsme encanta I loveme gusta I likeme llamo I am callednatación (f.) swimmingno me gusta I don’t likeodio I hatepero butsin embargo howevery andachte 8
españolVocabulariociclismo (m.) cyclinggimnasia (f.) gymnasticshago I dohola hellojuego I playme encanta I loveme gusta I likeme llamo I am callednatación (f.) swimmingodio I hatepero butprefiero I prefersin embargo howevertambién alsovela (f.) sailingy andneegn 9Los deportesbySofiaYear 6, Ascot
españolVocabularioLos deportesbyMimiYear 6, Ascotatletismo (m.) athleticsbaloncesto (m.) basketballciclismo (m.) cyclingequitación (f.) horse ridingfútbol (m.) footballhago I dohola hellojuego I playme encanta I loveme llamo I am callednatación (f.) swimmingno me gusta I don’t likeodio I hatepero butprefiero I prefertambién alsoy andtienne 10
Los deportesbyElinYear 6, AscotespañolVocabularioatletismo (m.) athleticsbaloncesto (m.) basketballfútbol (m.) footballme da igual I don’t mindme gusta I likeme llamo I am callednatación (f.) swimmingno me gusta I don’t likepero butprefiero I prefersin embargo howevervela (f.) sailingelve 11
Teachers’ Corner Find out more information about the writing featuredJoanna JamesHow long have the children been learning German?They have been learning since Year 1.How long are their language lessons?30 minutes a week in Year 1, increasing to one hour a week from Year 2.Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this piece.First we played vocab games to introduce and practise family vocabulary with its gender (mein/meine). We then looked at the question Hast du Geschwister?’ and plural answers, practising in pairs and as a mingle activity. Finally, I introduced an example family letter through a running dictation and we used this for reading comprehension before writing our own letters. What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?They could look back in their books and use bilingual dictionaries. We also talked a lot about how to use the structure of the original letter as a base, with writing frames as an option for children who might find this tricky. What do you particularly like about this piece of work?I like how they used their books to find extra information about hobbies and pets from previous topics. 1-2How long have the children been learning German?Since Year 1How long are their language lessons?30 minutes a week in Year 1, increasing to one hour a week in Year 2Joanna James 3twoave 12
How long have the children been learning Spanish?Since EYFSHow long are their language lessons?One hour per weekDescribe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this piece.1: I live/ I am from2,3: Adjectives to describe a place including translating sentences 4: En Madrid hay… Cultural knowledge. Predicting and looking up new nouns 5: Ultimate trapdoor: an example of a simple paragraph in trapdoor game style 6. Adding adjectives: a grammar sheet that built knowledge of phonics, vocab, gender, adjective order and agreement and finished with translating sentences into Spanish. 7. Writing a paragraph on Google Slides. No online translators allowed! 8: Feedback given and edits made. What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?Sentence builders with 3 sentence structures: I live/am from…, It is…, In my area there is…. A marking grid, with ‘stars’ for including nouns, adjectives, key verbs, adjective order, conjunctions etc. as well as for effort. Board used to write any unknown words needed rather than using an online dictionary Describe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this piece.We played lots of vocabulary and miming games to introduce and practise animals and actions, and sang the song Old MacDonald hat ‘ne Farm. We also read the story Bist du meine Mama? and made lollystick animal puppets to practise questions and answers using the structures bist du? and ich bin. Before the writing, we did lots of oral practice describing animals, initially me describing for the class to guess, then moving onto working in pairs. What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?We did a shared write together of another animal and children could refer back to this. They also had word mats with the structures ich bin and ich kann plus pictures and words for colours, actions and animals. What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?In Key Stage 1 we focus mainly on speaking and listening rather than writing, but it was lovely to see how the children enjoyed this activity and took pride in their work. The two pieces submitted are both EAL learners who really shine in German lessons! Nieves Sadullahdertienne 134-7
How long have the children been learning Spanish?Between six months and over four yearsHow long are their language lessons?One hourDescribe briefly the teaching and learning activities that took place prior to the children writing this piece.The children have been learning about sports, and this is their independent writing which encompasses all of their learning. We focused on using phrases to express likes and dislikes as well as the verbs jugar and hacer to accurately write about the sports the pupils play/do. What support did the children have to enable them to complete this piece of writing?The pupils started the topic developing their vocabulary with recall activities to consolidate word level understanding before using word cards and knowledge organisers to focus on sentence level work. Pupils then used this scaffold to write independently and create their final pieces about sports. What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?The pieces of work are personal to the pupils and allow them to express themselves in Spanish. We then included this piece of writing in our letters to our Spanish pen friends! What do you particularly like about these pieces of work?The children were confident in using or adapting the sentence builders to write accurate sentences. Because of this, there was much better accuracy in using adjectives. There was evidence of use of vocabulary from other topics eg ‘pez tienda’ (fish shop). I was pleased they had the confidence to use what they knew instead of an online translator and to adapt sentences to express their own ideas. Tilly Mackie 8-11veertienne 14
vufttienne 15
Puzzle CornerCan you fit all the Spanish-speaking countries into the grid?There are some letters already in the grid to help you.zestienne 16ArgentinaBoliviaChileColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaGuatemalaHondurasMexicoNicaraguaPanamaParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSpainUruguayVenezuela
Puzzle CornerSolution from issue 24zeevntienne 17
to all the children and teacherswho have contributed their work to Write Away!