Year 6 English: Reading your writing aloud, and joined handwriting
Part of the Year 6 English cohesion, editing and reading your own writing aloud chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Reading your writing aloud, and joined handwriting
Reading your writing aloud helps you hear whether it makes sense and sounds right. Use intonation (the rise and fall of the voice), volume and pauses. Legible, joined handwriting makes the text easy to read, and the style should suit the purpose: a neat, formal style for a letter, and a clear, quick style for notes.
Features of legible handwriting
| Feature | What it helps the reader do |
|---|---|
| letters joined at the baseline | read the word quickly |
| even spacing between words | see where each word starts and ends |
| consistent size and slope | read the text without stopping |
Key ideas
- Read your writing aloud, to check the sense and the effect.
- Use intonation, volume and pauses to show the meaning.
- Legible, joined handwriting uses even spacing, consistent size and joins at the baseline.
Method. Think about how the reader sees the words.
- Think about the words. Readers need to see the gaps between words.gaps
- Name the feature. Even spacing between words shows where each word starts and ends.even spacing between words
- Write the answer. even spacing between words
Check. Spacing helps the reader. ✓
Method. Think about the purpose and the reader.
- Think about the reader. The head teacher is a formal reader.formal
- Choose the style. A neat, formal style suits a formal letter.a neat formal style
- Write the answer. a neat formal style
Check. The style suits the purpose. ✓
Method. Think about what the voice shows.
- Think about the voice. Reading aloud shows the rhythm and the sense.rhythm and sense
- Name the reason. Hearing the poem shows what needs changing.what needs changing
- Write the answer. to hear whether it makes sense and sounds right
Check. Reading aloud checks the effect. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: reading aloud is for checking your writing, not only for performing it. Stop when a sentence does not sound right, and change it.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to read their writing aloud to you. Listen for any sentence that does not sound right, and ask them to change it.
Exercise 13E Practice: reading aloud and handwriting
Method. Think about what you hear.
- Think about the sense. You hear if a sentence does not make sense.sense
- Think about the sound. You hear if a sentence sounds awkward.awkward
- Write the answer. It shows whether each sentence makes sense and sounds right to a listener.
Check. Reading aloud checks sense and sound. ✓
Method. Test each choice against the sentence or the text.
- Read what the question asks for. Decide what the sentence or the text needs.
- Test the choice. A quiet, sad line is read softly and slowly, to match the mood.soft and slow fits
- Reject the other choices. Loud and fast would not match the mood of the line.loud and fast do not fit
- Write the answer. soft and slow
Check. The choice fits the sentence or the text. ✓
Method. Look for the feature that helps the reader.
- Look at the features. Joined letters at the baseline help the eye move along the word.joined
- Choose. Mixed sizes make the text harder to read.letters joined at the baseline
- Write the answer. letters joined at the baseline
Check. Joined letters help legibility. ✓
Method. Think about who reads the note and why.
- Think about the reader. I am the only reader.the only reader
- Think about the purpose. A quick note needs clarity, not neatness.clarity
- Write the answer. A quick, clear style, because the note is for me and needs only to be readable.
Check. The style suits the purpose. ✓
Method. Think about how a reader shows the end of a sentence.
- Think about the reading. A reader pauses at the end of a sentence.pause
- Choose. A pause shows the end, a loud voice does not.a pause
- Write the answer. a pause
Check. A pause shows the end. ✓
Method. Choose the volume and the pause.
- Choose the volume. Soft suits a calm stanza.soft
- Choose the pause. A pause after the call lets the audience picture it.a pause
- Write the answer. Read the first stanza softly, with a long pause after the owl's call.
Check. The plan uses volume and pause. ✓
Method. Think about legible joined handwriting.
- Think about joined writing. Joined handwriting connects the letters within a word.connect
- Choose. Legible joined writing joins the letters within each word.all letters joined
- Write the answer. all letters joined
Check. Joined writing connects letters within a word. ✓
Method. Think about the reader and the purpose.
- Think about a letter. A letter needs a neat, warm style.neat and warm
- Think about a list. A list needs a quick, clear style.quick and clear
- Write the answer. A letter to a grandparent can be neat and warm, while a school list can be quick and clear.
Check. The style suits the purpose. ✓
Method. Think about the meaning.
- Think about the meaning. The rise and fall of the voice is intonation.rise and fall
- Name the word. The word is intonation.intonation
- Write the answer. intonation
Check. intonation is the term. ✓