1. Writing for Children App F Readability What do you understand by the term ‘readability’? What features do you think make a text more readable for children?

2. Writing for Children App F Vocabulary - Informality An informal text is more likely to use phrasal verbs, so avoiding more difficult verbs derived from Latin. E.g. ‘to look down on’ instead of ‘to patronise’ and ‘to put up with’ instead of ‘to tolerate’. Informal texts are less abstract. Stories for young children should use concrete nouns in the main. An informal text is likely to be closer to speech (see lesson 1). Too much realistic speech is not a good idea though – ritual and formula will reduce realism.

3. Writing for Children App F Vocabulary – Imagery and predictability Language should not be too simple. Words like ‘boat’ and ‘car’ leave questions open such as what type. This makes it more difficult to predict what will happen next. More precise words like ‘submarine’ and ‘mini’ may be better. Pictures may help provide richness of imagery. Words should be familiar. Words should trigger some imagery. There should be a relationship between words and pictures.

4. Writing for Children App F Vocabulary – Sound effects Spelling and pronunciation should be consistent. E.g. it is better for a book to use ‘head’ and ‘dead’ than ‘head’ and ‘said’. Too many monosyllables mean unskilled readers read in a monotonous way. Polysyllabic words tend to give rhythm as these words carry a stress pattern the child already uses.

5. Writing for Children App F Linking sentences Another issue concerning vocabulary is the extent to which the writer: Repeats the same noun Replaces a noun with a pronoun Uses a different noun for the same thing (re- lexicalisation) Writers need to find a balance between repetition that reinforces the learning of vocabulary and repetition that sounds unnatural. If a pronoun is too far from the noun then a child’s memory will be taxed.

6. Writing for Children App F Constructing sentences Get your verbs in early and prefer ‘action’ verbs. Avoid using the verb ‘to be’ too often. Keep the subjects (everything before the verb) of sentences short. Avoid passives. Balance the need for short sentences with the need for clarity and naturalness. Explain cause and effect using the connective ‘because’.

7. Writing for Children App F Lineation The position of line breaks is called lineation. This has an effect on the readability of the book. Original research on lineation was carried out by Graf and Torrey in 1966. One strategy for making a text more readable is to put the line breaks at the boundaries between grammatical units rather than splitting them up. You can establish a pattern to the lineation by looking at subject, verb, object and adverbial and where the line breaks occur between them. It is not a good idea to end lines at sentence boundaries as this creates a line of capitals on the left hand side. If line breaks end sentences then children tend to jump lines. Line breaks should help readers to predict what is on the next line, so it is better if they occur towards the end of sentences.

8. Writing for Children App F Task Carousel around the various activities to explore these ideas in greater depth.