Developing an Effective Writing Programme with Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey

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Beginning the year with our  team at a Sheena Cameron and Louise Dempsey Writing Workshop
  • Lipogram pg 115 The Writing Book - excluding a letter of the alphabet encourages students to really think about the words they are choosing. Shared activity. 
  • Discuss the purpose and audience before writing - consistently.

  • Knowledge pg 31 - Generic features which stay the same within genres. Good discussion with students - ask beforehand about what they already know from last year. 
    Venn diagram to make connections 
        
  • Using Reading - noticing - what author using, how hooking in. Features. Text to text connections.  Instructional text used in Shared Reading previous week. Then as a model for Writing following week. (Imperative verbs-Bossy verbs in Instructional writing)
 
  • Persuasive writing - sell a house, sell a dumb inventions
  • Skills Toolkit 
    Teaching skills for how to use editing cards, find wow words and spelling rules - spelling attempts then editing after.
  • Vital - Modelling to students what good authors do when they are writing - Editing. Proofreading and Re-crafting 
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  • Riskometer to encourage those anxious Can place themselves.
    Beginning of year. Writing goals - Risk taking - Have a go - Keep trying.  establishing routines and expectations. noise level.
    Once established, then introduce groups. 
    Group rotation once a week. During this time include a quick rove and celebration of something cool or a reminder with independent writers. Encouraging students noticing for themselves. 
    Mixed ability seating during writing and then pulling in an ability group to you. 

  • Writing is to communicate and inform your audience. Not all about text types - Other writing forms- diaries, blogs, letters etc. Can just be for fun. Great place to find some Quick writes.     

  • Writing Lessons
    Introduction - less is more. One day. 15mins
    Independent writing (guided) 20 mins.  
    Lesson Wrap-up - be comfortable that not everyone will be finished - if you let students bring their pen with them a lot of kids will finish writing during review time. Can also be a teaching moment for everyone to add into writing.
    Most important feedback is what the kids have done something about. “what was our focus, goal today? Have you achieved it?
    Chunk the task - valuable as you can teach each day.

    Generating Ideas for Writing
    Facebook page- The Writing book . Frequent ideas posted.  Website - resources section. Websites with great ideas for writing links
    Literacy shed
    Note taking

  • Narratives- mini lessons on settings and characters first.

    Note taking - sharing or ideas, students add one more idea they heard. - Zoom in/out template

    Drama in a cave - inputting rich vocabulary, engaging senses, experiencing what they might see in the cave. moving around before starting writing. unlocks imagination, talking to each other, acting our stories, characters, being that person, felt like being in the cave. 

    Talking first - Would you rather PM55 Oral language book

    Personal Writing- opportunities to free write. Important to give them a chance to celebrate this by publishing also. Not just class lesson writing.

  • Clear Criteria and challenge
    Success criteria that really makes the difference. (less emphasis on Learning intentions) Do not need students to write our LI or Success Criteria.) Key is they have to know what they are. 
    Success criteria/Checklist
    Visual -Avoid long sentences - symbols or acronym. 
    Memorable - try to limit . 3   
    Measurable - Can keep them the same, don’t jump around all the time. 
  • Kept referring to checklist when modelling and again in reviewing
keeping the format but changing the image each day.
  • Exemplars- boys in particular really respond to exemplar models. Can just be one sentence models
    Develop exemplar resources - can use post its on TV's 

  • Introducing resource - the Hook Book -  share 3 ways at most. Challenge Students chose 1 to use in their writing. First Share examplers and ask students to think which example it is - Setting, dialogue, jumping into the action. Match with hook resources. (Use same ones repeated over time until embedded)
  • Independent Writing - Establishing routines

  • Self-checks:
    Reading your writing out loud you will find more mistakes than if you read it.
    Focus  for first 3 weeks - Reading your writing in a quiet voice.
                                             Can you spot 3 mistakes?
  • Partner checks: at beginning to establish - what do you like about partners writing and why
    Stacking authors book on the top when sharing. Then swap when completed to reduce distractions.
    end the partner check - did your partner end with a super sentence? Work on it together to make a SS
    Important process as a feedback to your writing.
  • Lesson wrap up
    first weeks- model and teach the self-check (proofread)
    OR partner-check OR review one criteria from the lesson
    Project one piece of student’s work - photo into google drive. Encourage author to be making changes with suggestions from students. Challenge - did you use one good sentence starter. Class contributes ideas, author chooses. Next ALL improve one sentence starter.
    Visualiser to project work onto whiteboard. Student working in book making changes. 
  • Ways to organise ideas pg63. - learn how to do note taking
  • Using symbols to organise ideas
  • Visuals to support order - with a fullstop before next visual
  • Persuasive writing - talking frame pg 51. Use left column frame to begin. Can be in discussions. Then start adding in supporting examples. Practise verbally repeatedly before attempting in writing.
  • Punctuation mime - Reading , a poem, a sentence. Mr Martin on youtube
  • Compound and complex sentences resources on website. Use of visuals to teach - see pg 19 of powerpoint booklet

  • Reading activity - stop at a point of book and write ‘ a moment in time’ format.  I heard, saw, felt, wondered
    What they think is going to happen next? 









































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