The aim of this course is to support you in developing student writing in lower secondary English. It will also support teachers and teaching assistants who work in other subject areas such as Languages, English Second Language, Drama, and Humanities. Many of the suggested strategies can also be adapted to support students with low literacy or language processing difficulties.
This course is separated into four modules of learning:
Module One: Changing the Focus
The aim of this course is to support you in developing student writing in lower secondary English. It will also support teachers and teaching assistants who work in other subject areas such as Languages, English Second Language, Drama, and Humanities. Many of the suggested strategies can also be adapted to support students with low literacy or language processing difficulties.
Module Two: How to Get Students to Engage in the Writing Process
In this module, we will focus on creating a positive classroom environment where writing is supported, valued, encouraged and challenged across a range of writing types and styles. We will look at how the learning process aids writing development and the role that talking plays in developing positive attitudes toward writing. Strategies to encourage writer experimentation will also be explored.
Module Three: How Models and Scaffolds Support Writing
In this module, we will identify the difference between modelled writing and scaffolded writing. We will look at the purpose of writing and the balance between writing focused on content and writing focused on form. We will explore when to use both supportive methods, and in what context, using a range of examples.
Module Four: Observation, Planning and Strategic Intervention
In this module, we will look at the importance of teacher observation and marking in developing student writing. We will focus on how to observe lessons using an easy-to-follow checklist with writing progression at the heart of the observation, and we will look at how small changes to protocols for marking can make big changes to writing content and form. There is also an opportunity to reflect on your own teaching practice and ways of making changes in your classroom.
Study time: 60 mins.
