Bonaccord Elementary 24-25

Staff members collaborated to develop a two-year plan outlining the scope of writing themes across grades K to 7. This structured approach ensures that students are exposed to a variety of writing types and conventions while maintaining a logical progression that builds upon their skills year after year. By carefully sequencing writing conventions, teachers aim to provide learners with consistent opportunities to refine grammar, sentence structure, punctuation, and overall written communication.

As part of this process, teachers engaged in reflective discussions to assess "Where are we now?"—examining current strengths and areas for growth. To gather meaningful evidence of student learning, each teacher selected three to four varied students to track progress throughout the year. Based on this analysis, teachers collectively identified five key writing conventions as the year-long instructional focus, ensuring targeted skill development across grade levels.

Additionally, the Learning Support Team (LST) took a comprehensive look at the full scope of writing instruction, ensuring alignment and continuity throughout the grades. As part of this initiative, the team implemented the Words Their Way program, which provides a research-based approach to phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction. By integrating this program into writing development, students engaged in word study that deepened their understanding of spelling patterns and word structures.

The team also focused on guiding students through a structured progression from simple to complex sentence structures. This approach supported students in developing stronger sentence fluency, refining their ability to craft varied and coherent sentences, and enhancing the overall clarity of their writing.

In addition to sentence development, writing conventions were emphasized throughout instruction. Students worked on mastering essential elements such as grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, ensuring that their writing adhered to standard conventions while maintaining clarity and effectiveness.

Bonaccord recognizes that writing development is a continuous journey and remains dedicated to equipping students with the tools they need to become confident, effective writers. The team fosters a structured and cohesive approach to writing growth, ensuring students receive the support necessary to refine their skills. With an emphasis on ongoing practice, reflection, and improvement, Bonaccord is committed to helping students strengthen their writing abilities.

Grade 1

There is a significant range in student abilities due to students joining in the middle of the school year with different learning backgrounds (e.g. private education, refugees). With a culturally diverse and growing ELL population at Bonaccord, 90% of the Grade 1 population is identified as an English Language Learner. Students receive daily sentence practice on the board with the teacher (e.g. morning message) in addition to 3-4 days of explicit writing instruction. Using UFLI as our phonics instruction, students’ application of phonics is impressive across classes. Teachers have increased writing engagement such as providing gel pens for punctuation. Despite the continuous writing instruction throughout the year, most of our students are considered “developing” in their writing abilities which focus on capitals, punctuation, who and what.

Significant growth in reading and writing has been observed throughout the year. Initially, reading development was a concern, despite a strong foundational knowledge. Focused intervention through a structured phonics program, supported by consistent practice with Dandelion Launchers phonics books at home, resulted in rapid improvement. Family engagement played a critical role in this progress, with dedicated nightly effort reinforcing new skills.

This advancement is clearly reflected in writing development. Early written work featured brief statements, such as "Go to Whistler," demonstrating emerging confidence. Subsequent writing included more complex sentence construction—"I went with SpongeBob to the mountains." Later samples exhibited further expansion in ideas and details: "My best birthday was in my Mom and Dad’s old house. And I got to play bowling. And my cousins came." This progression underscores the strengthening connection between reading fluency and expressive writing.

Overall, the structured approach to phonics, combined with consistent practice and family support, has contributed to significant literacy growth, leading to increased confidence and capability in written communication.

This student demonstrates strong oral communication skills and draws from a diverse range of personal experiences to enrich storytelling. Expressive recounts, such as visiting the zoo in America, building a snowman with family, and celebrating a memorable birthday at Disneyland, highlight a well-developed ability to articulate events with detail.

Currently, the student is focusing on the correct placement of uppercase letters and periods within sentences. Continued practice and targeted instruction in sentence structure will support further development in written expression, aligning writing skills more closely with oral proficiency.

Grade 4

Students worked on developing sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and punctuation, focusing on commas, quotation marks, and apostrophes. Writing activities connected to personal experiences, fostering self-expression and community learning through stories and other texts.

Instruction progressed from simple sentences to compound sentences, gradually introducing dialogue and its punctuation rules. To measure progress, students completed two independent writing assessments. The preassessment writing task challenged students to respond to the scenario, "A dinosaur just stole your backpack. Call the police." The post-assessment writing task asked students to write about "A friendly dragon comes up to you on the playground and asks you to play." Both assessments required students to write independently for about 20 minutes.

To support learning, teachers implemented the Fix Up the Mix Up Routine, where students copied and corrected sentences containing a variety of capitalization and punctuation errors. Another strategy, the Star Sentence activity, encouraged students to write engaging sentences based on projected images, incorporating dialogue as the year progressed.

Student work from Fix Up the Mix Up and Star Sentence activities demonstrated growth in sentence structure, punctuation, and creativity. Through these strategies, students strengthened their foundational writing skills while fostering their ability to express ideas effectively.

As part of the weekly vocabulary routine, students practiced using the target vocabulary word in context by writing a complete sentence that demonstrated correct usage. In addition, as part of the writing process, students edited their work for capitalization, spelling, and punctuation before publishing their final drafts of a variety of writing projects. Examples of student work for Word of the Week are provided below.

Teacher’s Assessment & Reflection

All our focus students made progress in their use of complete sentences. The use of end punctuation became more consistent among lower students, which was encouraging. Stronger writers also showed growth in their understanding of compound sentences and dialogue punctuation. These skills helped keep their ideas clear as they increased the sophistication of their writing. Some of our lower writers were not yet able to demonstrate compound sentences or correctly punctuated dialogue. Many of these students are ELL and perhaps not developmentally ready to generalize the more complex punctuation rules introduced into their own writing.

Final Thoughts on Growth

Class 1:

Student A wrote more and incorporated stronger descriptions and vocabulary in the post-assessment. Punctuation showed only slight improvement from the fall, with no commas or quotation marks used when writing dialogue in either assessment.

Student B's writing maintained a similar level of description from the fall to the post- assessment. Sentence structure remained strong in both assessments, though more risks were taken with compound sentences in the post-assessment. A significant shift was seen in punctuation, as dialogue was heavily used in both assessments. In the pre-assessment, no   quotation marks were included, but in the post-assessment, efforts were made to correctly punctuate dialogue with commas and quotation marks, demonstrating clear progress.

Student C consistently wrote with strong sentence structure in both assessments, effectively  using both simple and compound sentences. Dialogue was frequently included in the pre-assessment, with correct punctuation applied much of the time, though quotation marks were not always used consistently. In the post-assessment, a greater confidence in punctuation rules was displayed, with quotation marks and commas applied more uniformly. While a few errors in                    punctuating dialogue remained, overall improvement was evident.

Class 2:

Student A's writing is significantly longer than in the fall. End punctuation is now used fairly well, though some fragments and run-ons remain. A simile and basic transition words were incorporated, reflecting techniques practiced throughout the year that were not present in the pre-assessment writing. The rules for punctuating dialogue have not yet been internalized.

Student B's writing has also increased in length since the fall, showing improved fluency.  Quotation marks are now used confidently to indicate dialogue, though the comma rule has been over-generalized, leading to unnecessary commas separating dialogue from dialogue tags, even when ending with a question mark or exclamation point. The overall sophistication of writing has remained largely the same.

Student C demonstrated strong writing skills at the beginning of the year, and the post- assessment continues to show a solid understanding of capitalization and punctuation rules. Growth is evident in areas such as descriptive language and the use of specific techniques to enhance writing, including similes and triple scoop words.

Grade 7

The Grade 7 School Wide Goal focuses on enhancing students' grammar and writing skills through targeted instruction and practice. The primary objectives include correctly using commas after transitional words or phrases, accurately placing commas within quotation marks for direct speech and textual quotations, identifying punctuation and sentence structure errors through editing exercises, and effectively writing compound-complex sentences. To achieve these goals, a variety of teaching methods are employed, including grammar worksheets, direct instruction, and modeling, where teachers demonstrate writing techniques for students to replicate. Progress is monitored through multiple forms of data collection, such as the School Wide Write assessments conducted in September and April, various in-class writing assignments (including stories, essays, and narratives), grammar-focused worksheets, and observational data gathered during instruction.

In one Grade 7 class, students demonstrated a range of writing abilities over the course of the year. Student A began the year at a Developing level, with frequent grammatical errors including run-on sentences, spelling mistakes, and incorrect or missing punctuation—particularly the absence of commas. Following targeted instruction, Student A showed improvement in using commas in essay writing and the April School Wide Write, though continued to struggle with using commas correctly in dialogue. This student occasionally used compound-complex sentences correctly and was sometimes able to identify punctuation and structural errors during editing exercises, but overall maintained a Developing level in writing.

Student B displayed writing skills that fluctuated between Developing and Proficient. In September, this student did not use commas but was able to construct complete simple and compound sentences. With the support of direct instruction and practice, Student B improved in using commas after transitional phrases and demonstrated a growing ability to identify punctuation and sentence structure errors. However, the use of commas in quotations remained inconsistent. By April, Student B was writing more confidently, using complex and compound-complex sentences more frequently and accurately, and had progressed to a Proficient level.

Student C consistently demonstrated strong writing skills, beginning the year at a Proficient level with minimal errors. This student effectively used commas after transitions and constructed compound and complex sentences, occasionally incorporating compound-complex structures. Initially, Student C struggled with using commas in quotations, but after instruction, was able to apply this skill accurately in story writing. Throughout the year, Student C showed a solid ability to identify punctuation and structural issues in editing tasks. By April, their writing reflected increased sophistication, with more frequent use of complex sentence structures and correct punctuation, maintaining a high Proficient level.

In another Grade 7 class, students demonstrated varying levels of writing proficiency throughout the school year. Student A began the year at a Proficient level, showing strong writing skills with only minor grammatical errors. They were able to use commas after transitional phrases and construct compound and complex sentences in their September writing. By April, Student A had further refined their skills, using commas accurately and consistently, including in conjunction with quotation marks during story writing. Their writing demonstrated a solid grasp of punctuation and sentence variety, particularly with the use of compound-complex sentences. Student A continues to perform at a high academic level and maintains a Proficient standing in writing.

Student B started the year at a Developing level, with frequent grammar and punctuation errors, including missing commas and inconsistent capitalization. Over time, Student B made noticeable progress, learning to incorporate commas into their writing and demonstrating an emerging ability to use quotation marks correctly in story writing. In the April School Wide Write, Student B showed improvement in basic punctuation and quotation usage. However, their sentence structure remains limited, with writing primarily composed of simple sentences. While growth is evident, Student B continues to work toward greater complexity and consistency in their writing.

Student C also began the year at an Emerging level, with significant challenges in grammar and punctuation. Their initial writing lacked commas entirely. Over the course of the year, Student C made small gains, beginning to use commas and quotation marks in story writing, though their use remains minimal. In the April assessment, Student C demonstrated a better understanding of punctuation, but their sentence structure has not significantly improved, as their writing still relies heavily on simple sentences. Continued support is needed to help Student C develop more advanced writing skills.

In the final Grade 7 class, students demonstrated a range of growth in their writing abilities over the school year. Student A, who receives ELL support, began the year at an Emerging level. In September, they were able to construct a few simple sentences with some correct capitalization and punctuation, though most of their writing lacked consistency in these areas. Spelling was generally accurate. By April, Student A showed significant improvement, writing complete sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation throughout. There were early signs of varied sentence structure, including some correctly formed compound sentences, indicating steady progress.

Student B started the year between Developing and Proficient. Their initial writing sample contained numerous errors, such as run-on sentences, missing capitalization, and incorrect punctuation. Sentences were mostly simple and lacked variety. With focused instruction and practice, Student B made notable improvements. By April, they were using commas and exclamation marks correctly in their writing and demonstrated a broader range of sentence structures. While simple sentences were still common, there was a clear increase in the use of compound sentences, reflecting growing confidence and skill.

Student C progressed from Developing to Proficient over the course of the year. In September, their writing showed a basic understanding of sentence structure but was hindered by run-on sentences and difficulty organizing ideas. Punctuation was often misused, and brainstorming was a challenge. By April, Student C had developed the ability to brainstorm effectively, organize their writing clearly, and use punctuation—including commas and quotation marks—appropriately. They also demonstrated the use of transitional words and complex-compound sentences. Their writing showed improved organization and a consistent tone suited to the intended audience and purpose.

Bonaccord teachers developed a learning spectrum based on various professional resources. The next steps are to ensure that learning outcomes are fully aligned with British Columbia’s K-4 English Language Arts Foundational Learning Progressions. In September, the school goal committee will meet to refine these outcomes, making adjustments based on students’ progress and assessment data from this year to better reflect student needs. Additionally, to reach the widest range of learners, the initial approach of tracking three to four specific students will be revisited, with an effort to explore how this method can be effectively implemented across the entire class.

To further enhance the focus on conventions and strengthen assessment practices, several strategies will be explored. Expanding formative assessments, such as regular writing samples and conventions check-ins, will provide ongoing insights into student progress. Peer and self-assessments can foster a deeper understanding of mechanics and revision skills, while rubrics with clear benchmarks will help track growth over time. Conventions instruction will continue to be embedded in authentic writing tasks, ensuring students apply their learning in meaningful ways. Small-group or individualized conferencing will provide targeted feedback, addressing specific student needs. Additionally, leveraging digital tools for grammar and spelling support—while teaching students how to critically engage with automated suggestions—will build their confidence and independence as writers. These efforts aim to refine instructional approaches and assessment methods, ensuring all students develop a strong foundation in written communication.