Inspiring Writing in Primary Schools

Liz Chamberlain, Author

• Publisher: Learning Matters
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781526460189, 9781526460172
• eBook ISBN: 9781526461629
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Grundschulbildung

The second edition of this popular book includes a new ?charting your progress? feature for more focused coverage of assessment and more examples of writing for a digital audience. This practical text provides trainee teachers exemplar lessons that encourage purposeful writing across the curriculum alongside a detailed exploration of what makes them good, and the theory behind them.  It encourages trainees to consider the teaching of writing critically and to envisage how they can shape lessons for their own teaching. In starting with teaching then exploring theory, the text mirrors how many trainees will learn. 

 

1 Children and Their Writing

Introduction

Writing is among the greatest inventions, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible.

(Robinson, 2009:7)

The most fascinating thing in the history of writing is that, although it has been a tool used for over 6,000 years, it is only in the last 150 years that writing has been a skill within the reach of most of the population. The first writing systems were based on pictures and hieroglyphs before they moved into alphabets and syllabic structures that matched sounds and syllables with corresponding letters and shapes. Writing was also an economic activity, with a primary function to record financial transactions, so it feels rather disappointing that its roots are not more connected with creativity or self-discovery. Some of its other functions included predicting the future or the setting down in writing of laws and decrees, for which archaeologists and historians are grateful, as this was the key to understanding early writing systems. It was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the early nineteenth century that led to a modern understanding and subsequent translation of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, a system far more sophisticated and complex than merely pictures representing words or ideas. The Stone was written by a group of priests in three languages: Greek (the language of the rulers), hieroglyphic (used for official Egyptian documents) and demotic (the common script of the day) and it listed all the good things that the pharaoh Ptolemy V had achieved for the people. The fact that it was written in three languages is a testament to the power of text – ensuring as wide an audience as possible would allow for as many people as possible to read the wise words of the priests and the good deeds of the pharaoh.

It took many more centuries for writing to travel to Europe and even longer for the invention of paper to revolutionise people’s access to writing. In the 1870s, when education in England became government-financed, children were taught to read and write. Together with the Industrial Revolution, this led to writing becoming more widespread. Prior to this, while some of the population could be considered ‘literate’, the definition at the time meant only being able to read and comprehend, with most available reading material centring on biblical scriptures. Writing also belonged to those in the privileged classes, as it was they who had access to the necessary tools, like ink and paper. It was earlier, back in the fifteenth century, that Johannes Gutenberg invented interchangeable, reusable print, leading to the drop in prices of printed materials, such as books and newspapers. The printing press was also responsible for some of the problems with our English writing system. A Flemish printer working for William Caxton (who brought the printing press to England and is credited with standardising the English language) decided that ‘ghost’ should have an ‘h’, as that was how it was spelled in his language. David Crystal (2013) argues that knowing these stories behind our often incomprehensible spelling system makes the language come alive – the added benefit is to make awkward spellings easier to remember.

Fast forward five centuries, and advancements in technology mean that whether through our text messages, status updates, blogs or tweets, being able to write means being able to participate. These foundations are laid in classrooms up and down the country, where the inspiration for a positive relationship with writing can be sparked. Therefore, this book aims to demonstrate how writing can be exciting, whilst still meeting the requirements of government policy and National Curriculum statements. It will also stress the importance of confident and skilful teachers with excellent subject knowledge for English, providing children with real reasons for writing, which in turn will enable them to become enthusiastic and developing young writers. It will also stress and stress again that assessing children’s writing for the purpose of school or the accountability agenda does not lead to children who want to write and who are inspired to write. What children are able to achieve in the national tests reflects what children are asked to demonstrate in high-stakes tests. Many children can be ‘high-ceilinged’ by the writing activities designed by their teachers and are, therefore, not necessarily able to demonstrate all that they know about writing. For example, the child who writes at home may be performing above national standards away from the classroom in their out-of-school writing. In our current system, teachers are required to assess children’s writing, to judge it on a set of criteria, rather than for its honesty, its content, its potential, and what it is does to the reader who’s just experienced it. It is imperative for the children in your classes that you do not confuse the necessary evil of assessment with genuine feedback on the writing, which has been planned and taught within a context of purposeful and engaging writing activities.

The book does look at spelling, grammar and punctuation, but you will not find a section entitled SPAG in any of the lesson exemplars; instead you will see that these elements are embedded throughout the suggested activities. You will find no argument in this book that grammar is not important, just as phonics are essential for reading. What you will discover is that, like phonics, grammar needs to know its place in the writing process – it is not first and only, it is part of a process of writing that should be based foremostly on having something to say and having a desire to share it with an audience, even if that audience is yourself. Grammar takes on its important role when it is active within a piece of writing. Any children’s writer will tell you that the story comes first and it is this desire that drives the writing process, not whether 14 fronted adverbials and seven adjectives have been ticked off as having been used in the first three sentences. At a simple level, words in the English language are interchangeable; I don’t know if the word ‘green’ I’m about to use will be an adjective, as in the ‘the green apple’, or an adverb as in ‘the greedy chocolate-enjoying teacher was feeling slightly green’, a noun as in green(s) the vegetable, or a proper noun, as in Mr Green. Grammar makes sense when you start composing – either offline (in your head) or on the paper or screen. The same is true of punctuation; where you put a comma makes all the difference to the meaning, and you’ll find many funny online examples to share with your classes. One of my favourites still remains, ‘Most of the time, travellers worry about their luggage’ – try reading it again and omit the comma. And if you’re keen to see how passionate people can become about grammar, in this case word classes, take a look at the debate that ensues when you ask people to decide where to put the word (or modifier) only into this sentence: ‘She told him that she loved him’. The result can be up to eight different sentences, but not if you believe that the word ‘only’ should only be placed in relation to the subject and the verb. But then that spoils all the fun.

Some of the ideas in the book will be familiar, and this is deliberate. The book aims to show how the exemplar activities can be adapted and refined and hopefully evolve within the context of your own classrooms rather than suggest you teach the lessons as a set of stand-alone sessions. Of most importance is that this is a book about children as writers and what it is that writing does for children that means they want to record their ideas (fully formed or not) by writing them down. Throughout the book, examples of children’s writing will be used to exemplify or illustrate points of interest. ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Publisher Note
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• The Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 Children and Their Writing
• 2 Writing is not a Subject
• 3 Writing in the National Curriculum
• 4 Charting the Writing Journey
• 5 Teachers as Readers and Teachers as Writers
• 6 Becoming a Historical Enquirer
• 7 Creating a Geographical Soundscape
• 8 Story Stones for Telling Stories
• 9 Inspiration through Quality Texts
• 10 Poetry through Found Words
• 11 Researching through Digital Devices
• 12 Writing Beyond the Classroom
• Final Thoughts
• Index