1. BIG Writing
A Ros Wilson Strategy

2. The Big Writing Philosophy
Big Writing is the development of the ‘writing voice’ through fast, fun, lively and predominantly oral activities
Pupils talk the ‘writing voice’ in a dedicated ‘Big Writing’ session & at other points in a week
Based on the premise,
IF A CHILD CAN SAY IT, A CHILD CAN WRITE IT

3. The Four Generic Targets
VCOP
Summary
Vocabulary
Connectives
Openers
Punctuation
The range of ambitious vocabulary a
pupil knows; WOW words.
The range of ways pupils have of joining ideas, phrases & sentences
The strategies pupils have for opening sentences; especially the 3 key openers: connectives, ‘ly’ words & ‘ing’ words
The range of punctuation a pupil can use & the accuracy with which they use it.

4. The Punctuation Pyramid
Level 1 . 2
. ? 3
. ? , ! 4
. ? , ! … ’ “” 5
. ? , … - ! ’ “” : ; ( )
The Punctuation Pyramid

5. what is the matter peter
EXAMPLE ACTIVITIES
Uplevel this sentence.
The boy ran.
In pairs, discuss why I like this sentence and
identify the parts which have been uplevelled:
The light dimmed. I took a glance at the beast, whilst I still had time.
Find the missing punctuation.
what is the matter peter

6. THE BIG WRITE!
Children take home a ‘talk home work’ which is the topic of their big write that week.
Children should talk about the topic with their family to generate some ideas to help them write.
The ‘Big Write’ lesson is solely focused on allowing the children to creatively write about the topic having prepared ideas beforehand.
Children write in a special ‘Big Writing’ book and may use special pens/pencils too!

7. BIG WRITING – Teacher’s Role
To maintain the silence
To provide 10min brain breaks
To prompt pupils to build in VCOP
[These are known as time prompts]

8. MINS 30/45 It's BIG Writing time! 5/10 mins 30/40 mins 20/30 mins
5/10 mins
Check your punctuation!
30/40 mins
Time is up. Check your targets!
30/45
MINS
It's
BIG Writing
time!
20/30 mins
Check your openers and connectives.
10/20 mins
Check your WOW words!