Making Writing Fun: Jonathan Gambier Primary Learning and Teaching Consultant

Two Angles: Improving Writing: Developing Skills: handwriting, Spelling Developing language and vocabulary Developing and refining ideas Purpose, audience and engagement: Why am I writing this? Who is it for? What are they going to do with it when it is finished?

Research Into Boys’ Writing Boys respond to: Using visuals: Illustrations and Films Drama Practising writing through talk ICT

Visual Texts can include… Video/DVD Pictures, including illustrations Photographs Powerpoint presentations Web pages Dramatic representations

Developing talk around character Using illustrated story “Man on the Moon” by Simon Bartram Baboon on the Moon Movie clip Use the illustrations or stills to identify the descriptions of the characters Look at their rooms – what does this tell us about them ? Use all of your senses to describe what some of the places in the illustrations might be like

Building Up the Writing Use the illustrations to build a story board – so that the children can describe what has happened……

Improving the writing…….. Use illustrations from the book – or stills from the film to add in the thoughts to create the more complete narrative

Compare the moon characters…. What is their job on the moon? What clothes do they wear on the moon? How do they feel about being on the moon? What is your evidence for this? Why do you think they feel this way?

“…..if the moving image holds such great sway over the minds of the young, the cinema must also represent a great, and relatively untapped reserve of educational power” Shawnda Moss 2010

The VW ‘Snow Day’ recount… The Crunchy Nut cereal’ Narrative writing WARMING UP SKILLS: Dialogue, Sentences, Plot, Sequence Adverts are a great source of quick storylines – and can trealy help the children to understand storylines, dialogue and characterisation

Playing Games to “Warm Up Writing” Quick starts to lessons Skills Language Ideas

A few games……..

The Dog Ate the Bone Adding Words The hungry dog ate the grizzly bone. Dropping Chunks In The dog, which hadn’t eaten in days, ate the bone. Adding at the end The dog ate the bone before the others could get some. Adding at the beginning As it was ravenous, the dog ate the bone. Changing words The rottweiler devoured the bone. Adding a simile The dog ate the bone like a lion ripping into its prey. Reordering It was the bone that the dog was eating. Alliterating The dozy dog ate the brittle bone.

Publishing: Borders and Letters

Tiling

Calligraphy Celebrate and rehearse NEAT HANDWRITING!! Let the children enjoy presenting their work for display – and use this activity to extend handwriting competence

Choice: Which paper do you want to use?

At Home – how can you help? Writing comes from experience Writing is fuelled by talk and discussion Writing improves with practice Writing requires us to want to write It’s OK to PLAY!