1. Supporting children with writing
St Thomas’ Primary
24th August 2017

2. Aim low – achieve low. Aim high – achieve high.
Writing
The key to writing success is to break through the glass ceiling of expectations
Aim low – achieve low.
Aim high – achieve high.

3. Three Key Strands to teaching Writing
Different Genre
Teaching the detail, structure and features of different genres of writing
Basic Skills
Grammar
Spelling
Sentence structure
Handwriting
Writing Voice
Vocabulary
Connectives
Openers
Punctuation
Throughout the week
Big Writing

4. IF A CHILD CAN SAY IT, A CHILD CAN WRITE IT
Big Writing
IF A CHILD CAN SAY IT, A CHILD CAN WRITE IT
Frequent & regular outdoor learning that is difficult to replicate in the classroom
Big Writing effectively breaks writing down into small steps that children can understand.
Aims

5. Big Writing Key Elements of Big Writing Writing Voice Teaching Wall
Self/ Peer
Assessment
Fun – Lively
Motivating
Writing Voice
Brain Breaks
Vocabulary
Connectives
Openers
Punctuation
Key Elements of
Big Writing
Teaching
Wall
(interactive)
Up-Levelling
Two–Part
Big Write Lesson
Checking Targets
(Success Criteria)
Warm-Ups & Games
Stimulous Moving Images

6. Early Years & Less Able
When children are not ready to write, they can easily talk the VCOP!
When children are not ready to write they can easily talk the VCOP!
eg.
Adult: Who can say a sentence that begins with when?
Child: When I walked to school I saw a cat.
Adult: Who can put a WOW word into that sentence?
Child: When I STROLLED to school I saw a cat.
Adult: Who can add another WOW word?
Child: When I strolled to school I saw an ENORMOUS cat.

7. Big Writing Frequency Progression Primary 1 20 mins
Allocate 1 dedicated writing lesson each week, being flexible with days to ensure writing lessons continue and are planned around holidays.
Planned opportunities for writing across the curriculum should be in addition to writing lessons ie. Science reports, Have-a-Go writing
Primary mins
10 mins VCOP followed by 10 min writing
Building this up by end of P1.
Primary 2
30min (VCOP and planning) + 30 min writing
Primary 3
Start 30 min (VCOP and planning) + 30 min writing Build up to 50 min/ 50 min after the first term
Primary 4-7
50 min ( 40 min VCOP, 10 min planning)
Break
50 min extended writing
45 minutes writing

8. Writing Balance of Genre
Balance of genres should follow the guidance in the Sharing Good Practice Folder i.e. at least
writing
Block 2
January – April
2 Imaginative
1 Personal
1 Writer’s Craft
1 Poetry
2 Functional
1 Cold Writing Assessment
Block 1
August – December
4 Imaginative
3 Personal
2 Writer’s Craft
2 Poetry
3 Functional
2 Cold Writing Assessments
Block 3: January – April
As Block 2

9. Children need to believe that they can achieve
Writing
Children need to believe that they can achieve
and that they can
always improve.

10. 5 Part Story Structure

11. Interactive Teaching Wall

12. Big Writing
A way of teaching writing originally devised by Ros Wilson
A way to teach writing that makes children feel confident and motivated.
A way to break writing down into small steps that children can assimilate.
A way to teach the steps that matches the developmental stage of the children being taught.
Fast, fun, lively, predominantly oral activities.
Pupils talk the ‘writing voice’ in the first part of a dedicated Big Writing session and at other points in the week.
If a child can say it , then the child can write it.
Talking voice not the same as the ‘writing voice’.
Frequent & regular outdoor learning that is difficult to replicate in the classroom
Aims

13. Thank you for your interest!