Writing

At Bennerley Fields School, we use Colourful Semantics as an approach to support writing across the curriculum. Colourful Semantics is a speech and language programme using colour-coded cards to help pupils build sentences by adding different parts (who, what doing, what, where, etc.), improving sentence structure and understanding of grammar and meaning (semantics). It starts with "who + what doing" (e.g., orange boy + yellow running) and progresses, adding more colours like green (what), blue (where), and pink (when) to create complex, detailed sentences, making language visual and easier to comprehend.

How it Works (The Colours & Questions)

Pupils start with simple structures and add more elements as they develop skills. 

• Orange (Who?): People, animals (The boy).
• Yellow (What doing?): Verbs/Actions (The boy is running).
• Green (What?): Objects/Things (The boy is running with a ball).
• Blue (Where?): Locations/Prepositions (The boy is running with a ball in the park).
• Pink (When?): Time/Adverbs (The boy is running with a ball in the park yesterday).
• Purple (How? / What like?): Adjectives/Descriptions (The big boy is running with a ball in the park). 

Why It's Used

• Supports Language Development: For pupils with Developmental Language Disorder, Autism, or other special educational needs.
• Builds Confidence: Makes sentence construction less daunting.
• Improves Comprehension: Helps understand complex sentences and questions.
• Develops Narrative Skills: Supports with telling stories. 

It's a structured, visual way to teach the components of language, moving from basic meaning to detailed grammar, often used by Speech and Language Therapists (SALTs). 

If you would like more information about the programme, please speak to Gaby, Anna or Katy or Carys who support us with Speech and Language.