1. Session 3
LITERACY
GUIDED WRITING
Autumn 2007

2. Pupil characteristics in English
Often boys
Usually well-behaved & positive
Persevered, especially with routine tasks
Lacked self-help strategies
Did not demand attention

3. Obstacles to Progress Reading Writing Limited range of strategies
No higher order skills
Writing
Couldn’t combine different elements of writing
Restricted opportunities for oral rehearsal
Limited access to guided writing
Limited amount of useful feedback

4. Obstacles to Progress Speaking and Listening And …
Didn’t recognise as a skill
Limited direct teaching
Unable to describe progression
And …
Low level targets
Limited opportunity to apply targets
Dependent on TAs
Teachers unaware of progress and expectations
Unsystematic intervention
Infrequent review of progress

5. GUIDED WRITING

6. What is Guided Writing? Guided Writing is the name given to a range
of ways in which teachers support developing
Writers.
Formal Guided Writing involves a small group of pupils sitting with the teacher, rehearsing,questioning,clarifying and revising as each produces an individual piece of writing.
Informal/Supported Guided Writing describes all the ways in which teachers scaffold an independent writing task for pupils. Teachers My provide detailed plans, note – making and writing frameworks, frequent conferences and peer assistance as they seek to guide pupils in their writing.

7. No giant writing or big spaces!!!!
Get Writing!
You have 2 minutes to write about one of these objects.
You can write a piece of fiction, non-fiction or poetry!
You have to write at least 8 lines!
No giant writing or big spaces!!!!
Show participants two objects. Anything will do! They are going to have two minutes to write about it. It is quite important not to do any preamble or discussion at this point. Give a count down as time goes. Who has succeeded in writing 8 lines? Share your writing with person next to you/ the table. Any piece of work we can all hear?
Any comments about the activity?
Hard because we left out the lead up to writing – no discussion / no capturing of ideas etc.

8. Why use Guided Writing? Guided Writing:
Familiarises pupils with the management of the writing process
Enables pupils to be active participants in writing conferences
Encourages pupils to be analytical and reflective about writing
Provides a forum for pupils to discuss what makes effective writing
Supports EAL pupils confronted with the demands of written English

9. Rainbow Activity What might Guided Writing look like in:
Foundation Stage
Year 2
Year 6 ?
Put flip chart sheets on table one headed – foundation stage, one headed year2,one headed year6. Use different coloured pens fill in what you think G Writing might look like. Pass paper on, read and add to ideas already there. Repeat and then share ideas.

10. The Advantages of Guided Writing
It provides the bridge between shared and independent work
the teaching focus and teachers intervention can be tailored in response to particular needs
its flexibility allows for individual, paired or collaborative group work

11. The teacher works with groups or pairs of children who have similar needs.
Children are given opportunity to practise writing in a supported group context.
Children learn to share and problem solve aspects of writing with others

12. Guided Writing Audit Emergent:
Guided Writing is used to support developing
writing in each classroom
Established:
Most guided writing sessions have an explicit
teaching/learning objectives, tailored by the teacher
to the needs of the group
This is the audit of schools carried out on the leadership programme and it is based on the success for everyone self assessment criteria
BUZZ – consider where you feel you and your school is on this scale and briefly discuss on your table.

13. Advanced: Across the school pupils demonstrate a growing accuracy in:
Writing to convey meaning appropriately for different purposes
sentence construction, punctuation and paragraphing
The habit of checking their own spelling, recognising the main patterns of English, aiming at greater accuracy through the use of spell checkers and dictionaries
A fluent and legible handwriting style

14. When do we do Guided Writing?
Time to work with a guided group is scarce so it must be clearly focussed. Guided Writing can take place at any stage of the writing process.
Before writing to support children’s planning and drafting of their work
At the point of writing
After writing – feedback sessions
Refer to page improving writing through guided writing – latest publication from Dfes

15. The Guided Writing Cycle
Rehearse
Write
Share
Reflect
Revise
This is the basic cycle for a guided reading session. The next activity will take us through this cycle.

16. Objective: We are thinking about how commas and connectives can be used, instead of full stops, to make sentences more detailed

17. Rehearse:
As it is made of two different metals, it is called a bimetallic strip.
Cut the sentences into parts, identifying two simple sentences. What has been left over?
Can we place these anywhere else in the sentence to make it make sense?
What happens?
Establish that the connective/conjunction and the comma separate different parts of the sentence and make the simple sentence longer and more detailed. This rehearsal is teacher led – sentence on sentence strip cut up and blutac onto board
Try another sentence

18. When it gets hot, one of the metals expands more than the other.
Identify the simple sentences.
Cut out the simple sentences.
Write them as simple sentences.
What are you left with?
The participant have a go. Sentence on paper cut and identify simple sentences and what is left. Try to change the order of the sentences. Does it work?
What is the role of the commas and connectives?

19. Write:
The kettle needs enough water in it to make your cup of tea so firstly fill the kettle full of water.
Switch the on button to on.
Take a mug. Take a tea bag.
Use connecting words to try to make these two sentences into one longer and more detailed sentence.
(Use sentence strips to record ideas)

20. Share: Reflect: Revise: Share: Share ideas and connectives
Take a look at one of the sentences and dissect it.
Revise:
Look at your sentence. Is there anything you would like to change?
These activities complete the Guided Writing cycle. This cycle may take more than one session! You may need to have the same group over successive days!!
Share:
Share revised ideas.

21. Guided Writing Examples
Watch this clip showing a Year 1 example of Guided Writing
Can you see a clear structure to the session?
Does the teacher support the children through key questions, constructive comments, teaching at the point of writing?
Clips from new DVD

22. Guided Writing Examples
Watch this clip showing a Year 3
example of Guided Writing.
Use the prompt sheet to make notes.
Page 39 of new G. Writing pub.

23. What the children need generally
A repertoire of self-help strategies
Coaching in exploratory and analytic work
Teaching that focuses on ‘deep’ learning that gets to
ideas, concepts and true understanding
Improved oral work to help them think things through and become articulate and ‘ready to write’ or solve
mathematical problems
Planning aids
More group coaching such as guided work
More direct support from the teacher rather than the teaching assistant
What children need in order to make good progress. Some general comments from Making Progress – next couple of slide look specifically at Maths and Literacy. Maths may be a repeat of what they have seen earlier.

24. What the children need in mathematics
They need…
more open activities to talk and think about
more paired discussion to shape their ideas
to be shown how to explore different approaches to solve a problem
time and teacher support to explore and explain their methods and thinking
to keep mental calculation strategies fresh through regular use
more freedom to make their own decisions on how to record their work
to be taught how to use number lines more flexibly

25. What the children need in English
They need…
a range of reading strategies to tackle unfamiliar texts successfully
to see reading as pleasurable and meaningful
help with writing as they write
planning strategies to help them with extended writing
to be given high value targets to improve their writing
to use focused talk to think through their ideas
to be explicitly taught the conventions of speaking and listening

26. Discussion
Consider your schools and the ‘slow moving children’ and ‘children falling behind’ for mathematics or English
What do the children need to do to address this issue?
What do the teachers need to do to address this issue?
What support and professional challenge could Headteachers and senior leaders provide?
What are the implications for LA support and challenge?
Group/table discussion. No need to feed back except for last bullet point perhaps.