essay writing year 1

Writing in Year 1 (age 5–6)

In Year 1, your child will learn to write sentences, discuss their writing, and read their writing aloud.

Read on to discover the National Curriculum expectations for writing in Year 1, and to find out how you can support your child at home.

How to help at home

There are lots of ways you can help your Year 1 child with writing. Here are our top ideas.

1. Read to your child

At this age, your child will only be able to read quite simple books by themselves. You can help expand their vocabulary and their understanding of language by reading them books that they can’t read independently yet.

Be sure to keep your child engaged. You would be surprised at the difference putting on funny voices, asking the occasional question, and pointing out interesting pictures makes to your child’s enjoyment of reading!

For books to read with your child, take a look at our free eBook library .

2. Have your child to read to you

Making time to hear your child read isn’t just good for their reading. Seeing words in print helps them to understand the words, to spell them, and to see how grammar and punctuation are used to make meaning.

When you read, occasionally talk about why the author has decided to include something and how they written it. For example:

‘I wonder why the author has chosen to describe the castle as “gloomy”? I wonder what that tells us about what might happen there?’

3. Try some real-world writing

Writing for a real purpose can be a great way to fit in practice. Writing cards, shopping lists, or letters to relatives can be motivating real life reasons for writing, and can show children how useful it is to be able to write well.

At this age, it is a good idea to keep writing sessions short but frequent. For example, you could get writing into your child’s daily schedule by asking them to write down their favourite part of the day before they go to bed.

If your child keeps a diary like this over an extended period, it won’t be long before you can both see some real improvement in their writing (and you’ll have a lovely record of them growing up too!).

4. Tell stories aloud

Giving your child the opportunity to tell stories orally is a great way to get them used to structuring their ideas and using adventurous language.

If they’re not sure where to start, see if they can retell a story that they already know well, like Little Red Riding Hood or Three Little Pigs .

For more practical tips on helping your child improve their storytelling confidence, watch our storytelling skills video with Suzy Ditchburn:

Video: How to develop storytelling skills

What your child will learn at school

In Year 1 (age 5–6), your child will learn to:

• Saying what they are going to write about out loud
• Composing a sentence orally before writing it
• Sequencing sentences to form short narratives
• Re-reading what they have written to check that it makes sense.
• Discuss what they have written with the teacher or other pupils
• Read aloud their writing clearly enough to be heard by their peers and the teacher.

Handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation are all important aspects of writing too. You can find out more about them on our dedicated pages:

Handwriting in Year 1 (age 5-6)

Find out more about handwriting in Year 1 at Primary School.

Find out more

Spelling in Year 1 (age 5-6)

Find out more about spelling in Year 1 at Primary School.

Grammar and punctuation in Year 1 (age 5-6)

Find out more about grammar and punctuation in Year 1 at Primary School.

• Age 5–6 (Year 1)
• Age 6–7 (Year 2)
• Age 7–8 (Year 3)
• Age 8–9 (Year 4)
• Age 9–10 (Year 5)
• Age 10–11 (Year 6)
• Year 1 (age 5–6)
• Year 2 (age 6–7)
• Year 3 (age 7–8)
• Year 4 (age 8–9)
• Year 5 (age 9–10)
• Year 6 (age 10–11)
• Grammar glossary
• Grammar books

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Essay for Class 1 Kids | Most Common Essay Writing Topics & Ideas for Class 1

Creative Essay writing is one of the most efficient ways for Kids these days to help them grow overall. Thus, we advise you to encourage your kids to learn how to write Essays On Different Topics. To help you we have come up with Essay for Class 1 Kids on Frequently Asked Topics. You can access any of the Essay Topics for Class 1 and read it to write Essays of your own. We have provided a list of Simple Essays in English for 1st Grade Kids all in one place.

List of Essay Writing Topics for Class 1

Grade 1 Essays for the most common topics are provided in a simple and easy language by subject experts. Writing an Essay will engage students in activity and inspires them to use their imagination. It is necessary to encourage students to learn Essay Writing Skills which contributes to their overall personality development at an early age. Simply tap on the respective topic you want to have an idea and know different categories of essays.

• My School Essay for Class 1
• My Best Friend Essay for Class 1
• Essay On Cow For Class 1
• My Family Essay For Class 1
• My Parents Essay For Class 1
• My Father Essay For Class 1
• My Dream House Essay For Class 1
• My Mother Essay For Class 1
• My Teacher Essay For Class 1
• Myself Essay For Class 1
• 10 Lines On Rainy Day For Class 1
• My School Bag Essay For Class 1
• My Garden Essay For Class 1
• My Book Essay For Class 1
• Essay On Mango For Class 1
• My Brother Essay In English For Class 1
• Essay On My Grandmother For Class 1 Kids
• My Favourite Flower Essay For Class 1 Kids
• Essay on Picnic with Family for Class 1 Kids
• Essay on My Favourite Season Summer for Class 1

FAQs on Essay for Class 1

1. How do you write an attractive Essay?

Powerful Introduction and Conclusion are necessary for an Attractive Essay. Grab the user’s attention with a nice opening statement and finish it with a thesis statement. A Closing Statement is also mandatory for an attractive essay.

2. Where do I get Important Essays for Class 1?

You can find Important Essays for Class 1 on our page via the quick links. Tap on the respective topic you want to learn and read it.

3. Where can I learn and Practice Writing Essays?

You can learn and practice writing essays at Worksheetsbuddy.com a trusted and reliable portal for any kind of Essay.

We as a team believed that the information shared regarding Essays for Class 1 has helped you with enough essay writing ideas. If you want any topic to be added to the list of essays in English feel free to ask us and we are open taking your suggestions. Stay connected to avail latest updates on Essays of Most Common Topics for students.

Kindergarten Worksheets

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Free Printable Essay Writing Worksheets for 1st Grade

Essay Writing made accessible! Discover a collection of free printable Reading & Writing worksheets for Grade 1 students, crafted by Quizizz to enhance their learning experience.

Explore Essay Writing Worksheets by Grades

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Explore printable Essay Writing worksheets for 1st Grade

Essay Writing worksheets for Grade 1 are an essential tool for teachers who want to help their students develop strong reading and writing skills. These worksheets focus on various aspects of writing, such as sentence structure, vocabulary, and grammar, as well as nonfiction writing, which is a crucial component of a well-rounded education. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can provide their students with a solid foundation in reading and writing, setting them up for success in their academic careers. Furthermore, these worksheets are designed to be engaging and fun, ensuring that young learners stay interested and motivated throughout the learning process. In conclusion, Essay Writing worksheets for Grade 1 are an invaluable resource for teachers looking to improve their students' literacy skills.

Quizizz is an excellent platform that offers a wide range of educational resources, including worksheets, quizzes, and interactive games, making it an ideal choice for teachers who want to supplement their Essay Writing worksheets for Grade 1. With Quizizz, teachers can create custom quizzes and games that align with their lesson plans, ensuring that their students are receiving targeted instruction in reading and writing. Additionally, the platform offers a variety of nonfiction writing resources, which can help students develop their skills in this important area. Teachers can also track their students' progress and performance, allowing them to identify areas where additional support may be needed. Overall, Quizizz is a fantastic resource for teachers who want to enhance their Grade 1 reading and writing curriculum with engaging and effective materials.

Year 1 Writing

Discover year 1 writing standards.

Home > English > Writing > Year 1

In Key Stage 1, children are expected to quickly develop foundational English language skills . Some primary school students start with very limited writing ability, mainly using verbal skills to communicate. The key development in Year 1 writing is to bridge the gap between spoken language and printed words.

A great writing activity to try with your young writer is to break down spoken interactions into different types. Being able to identify different types of interactions helps children learn many forms of expression, and how each employs different vocabulary , grammar, and punctuation.

There are three fundamental types of writing (sometimes called "composition") that children will learn about and practice in Year 1:

Opinion Writing

Informative writing, narrative writing.

While your child’s writing will be basic in Year 1, they’ll start to understand the difference between the writing styles listed above. Your child will also learn about correct sentence writing practices, as they’ll be expected to write short compositions displaying their knowledge of each text type and structure. The more they practise writing, the easier it will be for them to identify different styles of text.

Year 1 students will learn that their opinion is linked to their thoughts and feelings about something, and that people can have different opinions on the same thing! When writing about their opinions at this primary education level, they'll be expected to express their thoughts and ideas using correct grammar and punctuation, whilst also supporting their argument with a reason for their opinion. As children are still developing their basic writing skills at this level, it’s always important to remind them to write in complete sentences, using capitalisation and punctuation to help logical articulation.

A simple example of Year 1 opinion writing could be:

• (Title or Question) Which animal is the best?
• (Give your opinion) I think that the lion is the best animal.
• (Give a reason) This is because they rule the savannah.

Informative writing informs its reader through primarily factual content. In Year 1, young children should be able to identify informative writing, distinguish facts from opinions , and write simple yet complete sentences about a variety of topics.

Typically, learners will study simple scientific facts or learn about the environmental world around them. You can encourage this by giving your child many opportunities to read factual scientific books and articles. Even if your child is a struggling reader, this activity will develop a deeper understanding of what it takes to write a great informative text, whilst also adding valuable knowledge that will be helpful for them as they move on to Year 2 .

Practice Tip

Challenge your child to complete one of the report writing lessons on Night Zookeeper . These lessons model examples of great informative writing and ask children to write their own sentences about the animals featured in the lessons.

In Year 1, children are often already aware of narrative devices, structures, and forms, but mainly through non-written mediums, such as watching TV and films, and listening to friends and families recount their experiences. They may not, however, be used to the formal breakdown of this and how to write a story themselves.

This style enables your child to practise their creative writing skills, while learning key writing rules, such as sentence writing and story mapping, while growing their vocabulary list!

Narrative writing is perhaps the best writing style to teach your child all they need to know about sequencing, which relates to the three main components of a story plot: beginning, middle, and end. It also offers Year 1 students the chance to learn how to use appropriate structural and linguistic devices to give a story an arc - such as (but not limited to) "once upon a time", "then", and "happily ever after".

Key Story Features

It's always a good idea to break up these features and work on them separately with your child as they try to make sense of each component.

Your child can build their own writing world on Night Zookeeper . This will provide lots of opportunities for them to practice their character creation skills as they invent new animals for their Night Zoo.

How Night Zookeeper can help

Our writing program for kids focuses on helping children develop their writing skills in a fantastically fun way! It improves your child’s writing skills using non-traditional writing resources such as fun noun games, punctuation challenges (such as how to use commas ), interactive lesson series, creative writing prompts , and more! All our award-winning content follows the English National Curriculum guidelines.

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Related articles

• Writing (overview)
• Writing Games For Kids
• Primary English Curriculum
• Year 1 Reading
• Year 1 Spelling
• Year 1 Grammar
• Year 1 Punctuation

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