Writing
Willow Brook Primary Academy and Nursery is a storytelling school. We use Talk for Writing to teach our children. We believe that ‘Imitation’ is the first step towards mastery and that writers find their literary voice through replicating the voice and style of other writers. The easiest way to learn anything is to do it the way a master does.’
(Andy Griffiths, Mark Burns)
Talk for Writing enables children to imitate the key language they need for a particular topic orally before they try reading and analysing it. We teach all of our English through fun activities that help them rehearse the tune of the language they need, followed by shared writing to show them how to craft their writing. This enables them to choose the writer tools they want to use in their independent writing, which in turn helps them to develop their own literacy voice. All of our writing is taught with a clear audience and purpose in mind.
In T4W there are 3 Stages.
Stage 1
Stage 1: Imitation - Undertake a rigorous apprenticeship under a master in the field
Once the teacher has established a creative context and an engaging start which is planned for them, a typical Talk-for-Writing unit would begin with some drama or writing activities to help children internalise the pattern of the language required. This is then followed by ‘talking’ an exemplar text (model text), supported visually by a text map and physical movements to help the children recall the story or non fiction piece. In this way, the children hear the text, say it for themselves and enjoy it before seeing it written down. Once they have internalised the language of the text, they are in a position to read the text and start to think about the key ingredients that help to make it work. This stage could include a range of reading as-a-reader and reading as-a-writer activities.
Understanding the structure of the text is easy if you use the boxing-up technique and then help the children to analyse the features that have helped to make the text work. In this way the class starts to co-construct a toolkit for this type of text so that they can talk about the ingredients themselves – a key stage in internalising the toolkit in their heads. Whilst internalising the toolkit, children have the opportunity to see how these tools could be used to create a focused piece of short burst writing with the support of the teacher as a model. During this time, teachers will also work with the children to set ‘tickable targets’ which focus on aspects that they need to attend to.
Stage 2
Stage 2: Innovation - Absorb the hidden knowledge that comes from experience and struggle
Once the children have internalised the text, they are then ready to start innovating on the pattern of the text. This could begin with more advanced activities to get the children thinking about the key words and phrases of the focus text so the children can magpie ideas. Younger children and less confident writers alter their text maps and orally rehearse what they want to say, creating their own version. More confident writers use the boxing up to plan new texts. The key activity in this stage is shared writing, helping the children to write their own by “doing one together” first. This could begin with using a boxed-up grid (innovating on the exemplar plan) to show how to plan the text and then turning the plan into writing. This allows the children to see how you can innovate on the exemplar text and select words and phrases that really work.
Stage 3
Stage 3: Moving from innovation to independent application - Surpass the master in brilliance and rewrite the rules to your own advantage
The teacher now has the opportunity to assess the children’s work and to adapt their planning in the light of what the children can actually do. This stage could begin with some activities focused on helping the children understand aspects that they were having difficulty with and should include time for the children to have a go at altering their work in the light of what they have just learnt so that they start to make progress. This stage will continue to focus on the next steps needed to support progress so the children can become independent speakers and writers of this type of text. Additional examples of the text are compared followed by more shared writing on a related topic and then the children can have a go themselves on a related topic of their own choosing. This process also helps the children internalise the toolkit for such writing so that it becomes a practical flexible toolkit in the head rather than a list to be looked at and blindly followed. At the end of the unit, the children’s work should be published or displayed. The teacher will now have a good picture of what features to focus on in the next unit to move the children forward.
English lessons will introduce subject content progressively and constantly demand more of pupils. The English curriculum has been planned carefully to ensure both clear progression from Year R to Year 6 and clear progression within each unit of work taught. Each unit of work builds on prior learning (See curriculum maps). Models of excellence, that include classic texts, are used to constantly broaden children’s exposure to high quality literature and mastery of grammar.
| General Documents |
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| Talk for Writing A Guide for Parents Carers |
| TKAT Writing Spine |