Katzie Elementary 25-26

The data collected from our cohort of students in Grades Two and Five highlights the effectiveness of writing instruction that emphasizes oral language, varied brainstorming techniques, clear teacher demonstration, explicit instruction in writing conventions, and repeated opportunities for students to practice and refine their skills. 

At Katzie, we understand that writing is more than just a skill; it is a way of knowing, connecting, and making meaning. Rooted in the First Peoples Principles of Learning, we recognize that writing invites students to reflect on their experiences, express their perspectives, and build relationships with themselves and others. Through storytelling, students share their ideas, creativity, knowledge, and understanding of the world around them. In sharing stories, students develop connection, empathy, and community while gaining a deeper understanding of themselves and others. 

This year, our inquiry asks: How can we use story (experiences, thoughts, and emotions) to deepen our writing? 

Our focus is to help students strengthen their ability to communicate by developing rich ideas, authentic voice, and strong writing conventions. To support this goal, students will engage in learning experiences connected to the English Language Arts curriculum that encourage them to draw on personal experiences, make meaningful connections, and communicate with purpose. 

Kindergarten to Grade 3: Students will Build Foundations

In the early years and begin to: 

• Explore and express ideas through drawing, oral storytelling, and simple written sentences. 

• Reflect on their work with support, learning to talk about what they wrote and why. 

• Connect writing to personal experiences, family, and community stories. 

Grades 4 to 7: Students will Expand Skills and Writing Purpose 

As students grow, they will: 

• Plan, draft, and revise longer and more structured pieces of writing. 

• Reflect more independently on their writing process and set personal goals. 

• Make deeper connections between their writing, identity, culture, and the wider world. 

Learning in Action Across the School: 

To promote student voice and engagement in writing, classes and targeted supports used a variety of strategies including: 

Through this work, we hope to see students become more confident and engaged writers who are able to communicate their ideas with greater detail, clarity, and purpose while understanding the role conventions play in helping readers make meaning from their writing. 

The data collected from student writing across Kindergarten to Grade 7 will be used to inform and guide future instruction with a student-centered focus. By understanding how students communicate their experiences, thoughts, emotions, and ideas through writing, teachers can tailor learning opportunities that build engagement, strengthen writing conventions, and support students in communicating with increasing clarity and purpose. 

In the Grade 2 cohort, writing was developed through intentional instruction focused on the school-wide inquiry. Building on the journal writing skills developed in Grade 1, students learned to use their experiences, thoughts, and emotions to expand ideas, add meaningful details, and make stronger connections with their readers. Throughout the year, students explored how storytelling can be used to communicate ideas, create engagement, and deepen meaning while strengthening writing conventions. 

Key strategies included: 

• Building on journal writing by using question prompts such as who, what, where, when, and why to help students generate ideas and add detail. 

• Continued UFLI instruction, reviewing previously learned spelling patterns while introducing new patterns to support independent writing. 

• Explicit teaching of sentence structure, including subjects, predicates, and the use of conjunctions to create more complex sentences. 

• Teaching figurative language, including similes and onomatopoeia, to help students communicate emotions, create imagery, and engage readers. 

• Story writing instruction focused on understanding story elements, developing characters and settings, and creating story plans before writing. 

• Opportunities for students to draw on their experiences, thoughts, and emotions to develop engaging story beginnings that captured the reader's attention. 

• Shared writing, teacher modelling, and collaborative partner work to support the writing process. 

• Structured editing routines that included checking for meaning, capitals, punctuation, spelling, and opportunities to "Level Up" writing by adding emotions, descriptive language, and figurative language. 

• Use of comics and visual storytelling to communicate learning in engaging and creative ways. 

• Real-world writing opportunities that highlighted writing as an important form of communication for sharing ideas, telling stories, expressing appreciation, and connecting with others. 

 In the Grade 5 cohort, writing was developed through a structured and purposeful approach focused on strengthening paragraph and essay writing while exploring how experiences, thoughts, and emotions can deepen communication and strengthen writer's voice. Instruction emphasized helping students communicate ideas clearly while making meaningful connections to their own perspectives, experiences, and understandings of the world. 

Key strategies included: 

• Explicit instruction in the conventions and mechanics of effective paragraph writing. 

• Use of the 4 Square writing organizer to support paragraph planning and organization. 

• Teaching students how to craft strong topic sentences, supporting details, examples, and effective concluding sentences. 

• Guided practice developing complete paragraphs that clearly communicated a central idea and personal perspective. 

• Explicit instruction in essay writing, including engaging introductions, well-developed body paragraphs, transitions, and effective conclusions. 

• Opportunities to develop writer's voice by sharing personal experiences, thoughts, opinions, and perspectives. 

• Discussions about word choice and how authors use language to communicate emotion and reflect their unique voice and personality. 

• Opportunities for students to connect writing topics to their own experiences and interests, helping them communicate with greater authenticity and purpose. 

• Ongoing feedback, revision, and editing to strengthen clarity, organization, and communication. 

At Katzie, our focused cohorts included one primary group (Grade 2) and one intermediate group (Grade 5). As part of our 2025-26 Student Learning Plan, teachers analyzed student writing data, identified areas for growth, and developed targeted instructional plans aligned with our school-wide inquiry. Using this data, teachers focused on supporting students to develop their writer's voice, make meaningful connections to their experiences and identities, and strengthen writing conventions, including spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and editing skills. 

Throughout the 2025-26 school year, teachers monitored student growth in writing and adjusted instruction in response to student needs. Learning experiences intentionally connected curricular content to students' experiences, interests, and perspectives while providing explicit instruction in writing strategies and conventions. School-wide assessment data demonstrated overall growth in writing achievement, with fewer students performing at the Emerging level and more students demonstrating proficiency by the end of the year. This responsive approach supported students in making meaningful progress as writers, each at their own developmental level. 

Grade Two Cohort:

In our Grade Two cohort, from the fall to late spring, the class demonstrated significant growth in proficiency. In the fall, 45% of students were at the Emerging level and 55% were at Developing, with no students yet reaching Proficient. By late spring, only 21% remained at Emerging and 16% were at Developing, while 63% of students had achieved Proficient status. This shift represents a substantial reduction in the number of students performing below proficiency, with 12 students moving into the Proficient range. 

Student One:  

Student one demonstrated strong growth in writing stamina, organization, and detail. In alignment with our inquiry, the student moved from describing a single recess activity to creating a detailed, engaging piece that shared personal experiences, reflections, and specific examples from Grade 2. The student showed increased confidence in expressing ideas, elaborating on experiences, and using writing conventions to communicate meaning more effectively. 

Student Two: 

Student two showed remarkable growth in their ability to communicate ideas through writing. Beginning with a brief statement about a personal experience, the student progressed to creating an extended piece that included multiple ideas, descriptive details, and personal reflections. Through our inquiry, the student learned to draw on meaningful experiences to engage the reader and add depth to their writing. Increased independence, writing stamina, and confidence were evident as the student shared their voice and organized their thinking in a more purposeful way.  

Grade Five Cohort: 

 In our Grade Five cohort, from the fall to late spring, this cohort demonstrated strong growth in overall achievement. In the fall, 24% of students were at the Emerging level, 28% at Developing, 41% at Proficient, and 7% at Extending. By late spring, only 11% remained at Emerging and 14% were at Developing, while 57% reached Proficient and 18% achieved Extending. This shift reflects meaningful progress across the year, with the number of students performing at the Proficient or Extending levels increasing from 14 students (48%) to 21 students (75%). 

Student One:

 Student One’s writing completed the first School Wide Write with direct adult support. Aligned with our inquiry, this sample demonstrates an emerging level of writing. The student had difficulty generating and organizing ideas, expanding on personal experiences, and communicating thoughts in a clear and structured way. Creating a topic sentence, writing complete sentences, applying spelling conventions, and developing a cohesive paragraph was developed through the writing process with meaningful support from their IESW. Throughout the year, the student was better able to access their ideas, make connections to personal experiences, and express those ideas in written form. 

 Student Two:

Student two’s writing sample demonstrates significant growth in the student's ability to use personal experiences and reflections to create meaningful writing. In alignment with our inquiry, the student effectively draws upon experiences with humour from Grade Five to engage the reader and provide advice to future students. The writing is well organized, with a clear introduction, relevant supporting details, and a focused message throughout. The student incorporates examples and transitions to connect ideas, demonstrating an increased ability to elaborate on experiences and communicate with a specific audience in mind. While minor errors in spelling, capitalization, and punctuation remain, the writing is coherent, detailed, and reflective of a Proficient level of performance. Overall, this sample highlights notable growth in the student's ability to develop ideas, express voice, and communicate through writing. 

 Katzie's Next Steps:  

The writing data collected over the past years demonstrates positive growth across all grade levels, particularly in students' ability to use experiences, thoughts, and emotions to communicate ideas and strengthen their writing voice. While we continue to see opportunities for growth in writing, our school-wide data, including formal assessment results and overall proficiency trends, indicates that numeracy is now an area requiring targeted attention and development. 

As a result, our school focus will shift toward building students' numeracy skills through a collaborative and inquiry-based approach. This work will be supported through summer professional learning, ongoing staff collaboration, and focused inquiry into effective mathematics instruction and varied assessment practices. 

Moving forward, we aim to: 

• Strengthen numeracy instruction across all grade levels by developing common understandings of effective mathematics teaching practices and high-impact instructional strategies. 

• Engage in collaborative professional learning and inquiry focused on mathematics, using student data to identify areas of need, monitor growth, and inform instructional decisions. 

• Build students' mathematical confidence, reasoning, and problem-solving skills by providing opportunities to explain their thinking, make connections between concepts, and apply learning to meaningful real-world situations. 

• Develop responsive and inclusive learning experiences that support diverse learners and provide multiple entry points for students to access and engage with mathematical concepts. 

• Continue to maintain effective writing practices by embedding opportunities for students to communicate their thinking, reflect on their learning, and explain mathematical reasoning through oral and written responses. 

Through this work, we hope to see increased student confidence, proficiency, and engagement in mathematics while continuing to support the communication skills that have been developed through our writing focus.