Rome wasn’t built in a day. Talk for Writing Primary Expert Maria Richards explains why you must invest time and have a plan if you want to reap the potential benefits of Talk for Writing for your school.
Talk for Writing in the Australian outback
“Traditionally, learning for aboriginal children was largely a matter of observation and imitation…within concrete contexts. The imitation and innovation phase of Talk for Writing taps into this preferred learning style”.
Creating quality independent writing at Hallsville Primary
At Hallsville Primary, teachers have found that there is not one magic ingredient for creating quality independent writing, but many. What do they think is the most important? Reading: “We have found that the longer you linger with the text, the better the independent outcomes are”.
Getting to the end point – real, quality independent writing
Emma Mann, from Penn Wood Primary, tells us how they get their pupils to the end point – real, quality independent writing. The stages of Talk for Writing support ‘the end point’, i.e. getting children to write well independently. In order to do this, we follow ‘imitation, innovation, independent application’.
Quick tips for how to build a school community that reads
We know the importance of increasing the amount children read and, as Pie Corbett would say, ‘helping children to catch the pleasurable habit of reading.’ Many of the training centres have shared their experience and success in building reading for pleasure into the school culture. Here are our top tips.
Winds in the North West – a Mary Poppins inspired unit of work
Following Talk for Writing training, Headteacher Sue Jackson invited an enthusiastic staff to plan a unit of work based on a creative hook and quality texts. This unit of work in Year 4 is based on Mary Poppins and exemplifies some key aspects of the Talk for Writing teaching sequence in action.
Creating seasoned writers at Summerhill
How a Talk for Writing project at Summerhill Primary School transformed writing: “As leaders, it has been exciting to watch the teachers grow in confidence and develop the ability to teach writing in a more creative way. There is a buzz of excitement around the school”.
Putting reading up front at Front Lawn Primary
Front Lawn Primary has been on a journey of improvement since 2013, when Talk for Writing was first introduced. Reading results are greatly improved with children making accelerated progress. As a result of teaching reading to the whole class, children are now more confident in discussing a text.
Getting Yew all Reading
Maureen Carroll, Talk for Writing Lead at Yew Tree Primary in Birmingham, explains some of the steps the school has taken to embed a love of reading in the pupils: “Our main priority was developing a love of reading throughout the school in order to boost self-confidence…open up a world of unlimited opportunities”.