Importance of Talking with your children – constantly building and extending their early vocabulary. “If you want to create a generation of great writers first of all make sure they are great talkers” In Reception the majority of homework we set is a “talk homework”, discussing the following weeks theme, the children will then already have some vocabulary to share in our class discussions. Talk the Big TalkTalk the Big Talk Early Years Early Years

Brainstorming language/vocabulary. Beginning to use talk partners. Word of the day developing vocabulary further. Beginning to use WOW words to make writing more exciting. Adult to model or scribe children’s ideas. Many children our fantastic talkers and have so much to say!. Reception Talk activitiesReception Talk activities

Big Writing is the development of the ‘Writing Voice’ through fast, fun, lively and predominantly oral activities Children develop their ‘Writing Voice’ in literacy lessons throughout the week and then apply this during their Big Write session It is based on the premise, IF A CHILD CAN SAY IT, A CHILD CAN WRITE IT

The talking voice is not the same as the writing voice Talking voice is less formal Talking voice includes; slang and dialect, truncated sentences, superlatives, intonation and expression Writing voice is grammatically correct In order to write well a child must be able to talk through their ideas

Lessons during the week build upon skills that will be applied in the Big Write One Literacy lesson per week is devoted to the extended writing task This is split into two sessions plus an editing session The time in each session is dependent upon your child’s Key Stage building up to 45 minutes in Key Stage 2 Lessons are developed in such a way to build on children’s writing stamina whilst experimenting with a variety of genres

Part 1 Children play games, talk for writing and verbalise a plan for what they will write Success criteria is discussed – what is needed for a good piece of work This session is fast paced, active and fun!

Part 2 Following a break where the children can stretch their legs the children enter a calm atmosphere The classroom has soft background music, low level lighting or candle light The Big Write timer is used to encourage children to take a break from writing and read through their writing

Children are encouraged to.. Talk about what they will write Think of exciting WOW words to use in their writing Magpie exciting words and phrases from other writers Have a go at using interesting punctuation Re-read their writing and find ways to make it better Understand what to do next to improve

Violet Vocabulary Captain Conjunction Fantastic Opener Doctor Punctuation Sergeant Sabotage

Once children have completed their Big Write they have the opportunity to ‘up- level’ a section of their writing Children are given clear next steps on how to improve. This takes different forms, depending on the child’s stage in their writing

Children improve their stamina for writing Children are aware of their successes and where they can improve Children’s self-esteem and ‘have a go’ attitude is nurtured

Talk! Talk! Talk! – ask children to describe anything and everything. Write! Write! Write! – encourage them to write letters, a diary, friends and family, send postcards, make lists, play vocabulary games, write stories and illustrate them.

Take the opportunity to comment on interesting use of VCOP (vocabulary, conjunctions, openers and punctuation) when reading with your child. Use a dictionary or a thesaurus to find interesting words to use. Encourage children to think about how to improve work completed at home through use of VCOP.

Be prepared to explain new words to your child and give examples of how to use them. Read often and widely with your child. Encourage children to use phrases or words seen in a book in their own writing. Take it in turns to tell a story. One person starts it, the other says what happens next etc. Look at a picture or photo and describe it; use it to tell a story.

Key Stage 2 – Big Write Each 2- 3 week unit usually focuses on a genre of writing either fiction or non-fiction : Instructions Recounts Narratives Poetry Persuasive Explanations Non-chronological reports Play script Discussion They may be linked in other ways through topic work or using the Power of Reading scheme and studying a novel but the Big Write always relates to one of those genres.

Throughout the unit the children will: -read model and varied examples of that text type -identify genre features -identify target audience, form, structure, purpose -analyse model texts, identifying type of language used and collecting examples. -Sentence level work -hot-seating, role play, drama activities to help with ‘writing voice’ - Set relevant talk homework Children are taught grammar, punctuation and spelling throughout the week in starters or targeted lessons.

Talk Homework Teachers often set this homework the week before, leading up to a Big Write. Talk homework is a concept developed through Big Writing that promotes extended conversations with children. This is a whole school approach to help children understand content and text type and ensure that the children have language to draw upon when writing. It gives them a chance to explore and organise thoughts before jumping into the writing.

Talk Homework Why is talk so important? ‘One of the greatest gifts’ Talk is our language on paper. The better we can talk, the better we can write. The more words we know and the richer the words we have, plus our confidence in using the language for effect, influences how well we succeed in life.

Talk Homework – How you can help! Talk homework can be centred around a game, answering a specific question or just talking ‘around’ a given subject. Encourage as many family members as possible to be part of it – can be done even at dinner time! Give opinions using ‘because’ to explain why you think that. Try and get as many different opinions as possible The child’s opinion is very important! “Tell me why you think that…” Feel free to deviate and discuss linked ideas

Editing their writing The changes in the National Curriculum mean that children are now assessed much more on their ability to ‘work on and improve’ their own writing. Year 3 – 4 Objectives - examples I can edit written work to improve the use of grammar When I finish a piece of work, I read it through to correct spelling and punctuation errors if present. I can add improvements to my own and others writing I am able to use a dictionary to find the meaning and spelling of a words Year 5 -6 Objectives - examples I edit my work to ensure my use of singular and plural words are accurate and I know my writing should not be the language of speech I evaluate and edit to enhance and clarify by proposing changes to vocabulary, grammar and punctuation.

Children are now able to use thesaurus’ and dictionaries and to have had the opportunity to improve before teachers level their work. The session following the Big Write is wholly or partly dedicated to editing their writing from the previous lesson. Teachers mark the work giving 2 stars and a wish. The aim is that children are secure with and can explain what was wonderful about their writing. They can then also explain can be improved, and crucially, how to improve it.

Examples :

Marking using 2 stars and a wish:

Child has re-written section using feedback: