Here at Thornbury we are always looking for ways which will help our children to develop as writers, and also ensure that our marking is a process which clearly identifies the next step the child needs to take and gives the children constructive feedback on their work.

One way which has proved very successful is through the development of Success Ladders. These provide small steps or rungs, which clearly identify each feature of a particular genre and format of writing, both for fiction and non fiction. We identify and model these when teaching, the children then assess their own writing against the steps of the Success Ladder and then together we can identify what is missing from that piece of work or what might need improvement as a way forward in their learning.

Developing Success Ladders is an ongoing process, as each teacher may adjust, add to or amend an existing ladder, to best meet the needs of their group of children and the learning objective to be delivered.

Below are links to a selection of our Success Ladders used to support narrative work. Should you be interested in receiving copies of other genre or format ladders, please contact us.

Success Ladder for a Story Opening
Success Ladder for Story Setting (Year 2)
Success Ladder for Setting Description (Year 5)
Success Ladder for a Whole Story
Success Ladder for a Whole Story (Dilemma)
Success Ladder for a Whole Story (Myth)

We have also included a blank ladder which will allow you to produce your own.

The Ladders are downloaded in MS Word format, to allow you to customise them. If you do not have MS Word then you can download a free Word viewer from here.