Shared writing involves the teacher and students collaboratively constructing a text. The teacher models writing strategies while students provide suggestions. This allows the teacher to demonstrate grammar, spelling, punctuation and the complexity of the writing process. Shared writing benefits students by allowing them to rehearse their writing strategies and receive feedback to improve.
Shared writing involves the teacher and students collaboratively constructing a text. The teacher models writing strategies while students provide suggestions. This allows the teacher to demonstrate grammar, spelling, punctuation and the complexity of the writing process. Shared writing benefits students by allowing them to rehearse their writing strategies and receive feedback to improve.
Shared writing involves the teacher and students collaboratively constructing a text. The teacher models writing strategies while students provide suggestions. This allows the teacher to demonstrate grammar, spelling, punctuation and the complexity of the writing process. Shared writing benefits students by allowing them to rehearse their writing strategies and receive feedback to improve.
Shared writing involves the teacher and students collaboratively constructing a text. The teacher models writing strategies while students provide suggestions. This allows the teacher to demonstrate grammar, spelling, punctuation and the complexity of the writing process. Shared writing benefits students by allowing them to rehearse their writing strategies and receive feedback to improve.
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ELTDP
Power of Reading
Using Books for Writing
Shared Writing Shared writing is where the teacher and children construct a text together. A typical shared writing session will see the teacher ready to write on the blackboard or a large sheet of paper, while the children make suggestions as to how the piece of writing should proceed. As with shared reading, a major advantage of shared writing is that it allows the teacher to bring points of grammar, spelling and punctuation to the attention of the children within the context of an immediate and real need to know. Similarly, the teacher is able to model writing strategies and techniques and demonstrate the complexity of the composing process. One of the common failings of children's writing is that they do not think sufficiently about what they are going to write. In shared writing, the teacher is able to "think out loud", and demonstrate what is usually a concealed part of the act of writing. By participating in the writing, children can rehearse and review their present writing strategies, and modify them where and when they see the need. Shared Writing is sometimes called 'scribing', especially when it is used with very young writers. This term well describes the teacher's role in the initial stages of writing where the children's ability to compose a text far exceeds their ability to transcribe. It is another example of where the teacher can provide scaffolding for children's language development. As with all writing, shared writing activities should have a purpose and a potential audience. Subject matter for shared writing will depend on the needs and interests of the children. These can be stimulated through consideration of stories or texts children have read or heard. Stories can be retold or adapted to different characters or settings, for book making or wall display, letters of thanks or giving information to send out to other classes, teachers, visitors or parents concerning reading events. In one class, the teacher sits with the children grouped around a blank poster paper. "I have to write a letter to your homes telling your parents that we have got a meting about the Reading Week. How do you think I should start?" The children's suggestions are discussed, a consensus is formed and the teacher transcribes the letter on to the poster. The children may struggle to gain the internal consistency of style and form, but in doing so will recognise many things about the difficulties of writing, and ways they could be resolved. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is5CPTqiYso Silent Dictation This is a simple exercise that combines reading and writing and that can exploit the books that children have been reading. The teacher mimes to pupils that they should have a paper and pencil ready. She holds up strips that the whole class can read with a familiar text. She shows each for a short time (enough to read but not to copy), the children have to remember and write the phrases: There was once a very hungry little hen, and she ate and ate, and she grew and grew, and the more she ate, the more she grew. Although the teacher controls the language, the activity is cognitively very complex and includes elements of reading such as Understanding the words, remembering the message, transferring information.
Silent dictation: Breaking the silence
Silent dictation as pair work: Allow children to copy (for accuracy) a text from a story book of their choosing into their exercise book. In pairs child A closes book, child B opens her book and points to word or phrase counts to 3 (silently), closes book. Child A has to write word/phrase on a scrap of paper. The discussion that is involved in this exercise and the checking that follows it is a great opportunity for purposeful talk. Process Writing Process writing, sometimes called writer's workshop, is a way of organising composition which serves the professional writer as much as the infant novice, The process is very simple the writer writes down his ideas and works through versions of the work until the ultimate stage of 'publication' is achieved. A typical process writing class in school will have children working at various stages of their writing, some on their own and others with a partner. The teacher will be conferring with children individually and in turn. The process writing workshop is a model of interaction and purposeful talk. The writing process moves the writer through successive stages: 1. Ideas (that can be taken from or in reaction to a story or non-fiction book) 2. Writing a first draft 3. Proofreading (the writer checks their own work) 4. Writing second draft 5. Proofreading 6. Conferring with a partner for proofreading and suggestions 7. Writing third draft 8. Proofreading 9. Conferring with an 'expert' (i.e. a teacher, another adult or an older pupil) 10. Final draft and checking 11. Publication These stages can be varied to suit different purposes and conditions. The basic idea is that the writing will include drafting, correction and some involvement of another 'reader'. In this role of reader, children engage in a different set of literacy activities which serve their own writing and reading development. The teacher does not have to become involved in the process until the writing has been checked several times. This way she can concentrate on helping the writer at a higher level, for instance in making suggestions about style and content, rather than having to concentrate on spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Some sequences might stop at the final draft and checking stage, and remain in the child's exercise book or folder. Publication can mean the child reads the piece to the class, or that it is displayed on the wall or included in a class book or self-made book. Publication provides motivation and genuine reason for the child to do best work (especially in presentation and handwriting), and also provides a sense of purpose and audience for the writing, and another stimulus for talk and discussion in the classroom.
