Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2

Active writing
1. Establish clear aims
2. Activate prior learning
3. Provide an example
4. Explore the features of the text
5. Demonstrate/model the composition
6. Share the composition
7. Scaffold the first attempts
8. Independent writing
9. Draw out key learning
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2

3. Provide 4. Explore
an example features of text

2. Activate 5. Define
prior learning the conventions

1. Establish Model for active writing 6. Model

clear aims Shared criteria the composition
Questioning & wait-time

10. Draw out 7. Share the

key learning composition

9. Independent 8. Scaffold the

writing first attempts
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
1. Establish clear aims
 For the unit of work
 For each lesson
 Draw on Es and Os
 Draw on knowledge of genre features
 “Begin with the end in mind”
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
2.Activate prior learning
 Questions
 Mind maps
 Snowballing
 KWL grids – What do I Know? What do I Want to
Know? What have I Learned?
 Pupil annotation of exemplar texts
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
3. Provide examples
 Good and poor models
 Use past pupil scripts
 Generate own exemplars if need be
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
4. Explore the features of the text
 Planned questioning – direct teaching
 DARTs
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
5. Define the conventions
 Teacher-led
 Draw on outcomes of pupils’ investigations
 Collate check list
 Label exemplar text
 Make conventions visible for all
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
6. Demonstrate the composition
 Teacher writing solo
 Draw on a ready-prepared text to ensure quality
 Incorporate “think-alouds” – planned in advance
 Demonstrate importance of re-reading – “reading
as a writer, writing as a reader”
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
7. Share the composition
 Pupils contribute to the process
 Use individual whiteboards to draft suggestions
 Work orally too
 Take more than one suggestion each time
 Discuss reasons for choices
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
8. Scaffold first attempts
 Sentence starters
 Word and phrase lists
 Connectives
 Writing frames
 Prompts and questions
 Differentiated
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
9. Independent writing
 May be part or whole text
 Reference to aims of task and conventions of text
type
 Aware of marking focus
 Peer and self assessment
 Teacher intervention with groups to offer
feedback – guided writing sessions
Building Bridges in Literacy P6 – S2
Active writing
10. Reflection and review
 At end of each lesson and at end of full task
 Reference to aims, conventions, process
 Identification of next steps
 Interactive wherever possible
 Foundation subjects training file - plenaries