Posted on: 12/12/2019
Here's a recent blog we have written highlighting the importance of this approach.
Children are hardwired to mimic adult’s behaviours – this is a fundamental way in which they learn new skills. It is therefore critical we strive to be role model learners in all subjects. Children need to see us as writers (and as readers) and modelling ‘writing behaviours’.
Over this term, we have been working to explore the ingredients of an effective modelled/shared write. The modelled/shared writes are one of the most important parts of the creative writing lesson - if not the most important - so we wanted to record and share the main points that came out of these discussions.
First and foremost, what is the difference between the two? In a modelled write, the children are more passive, observing us write a passage on the board referring to the learning objective and success criteria as he/she writes. In a shared write, the teacher elicits ideas from the children and together they all compose a collaborative passage. A third practice is a guided write where the adult works with a smaller group of children (within the lesson) pinpointing a specific skill the group need support with. In a guided write, the children have their own English books in front of them and the main role of the adult is prompting and questioning.
These three essential approaches can be seen as a sliding scale of adult support and an increasing scale of independence for the children. But what are the ingredients of a quality shared/modelled write? How do we make this the richest possible experience for the class? Below are some elements which we see as essential:
Make quality literature the context: Of course, at the Literacy Tree, we are going to start with this. Whether, it’s fiction, non-fiction or poetry, we want to use literature as a context for writing and an opportunity to analyse an author’s styles, word choices and approaches. Where possible, we want to mimic this style and appropriate it. For example:
We know that Piers Torday often uses short one-sentence-paragraphs, why do you think he does this? Do you think we can use that technique here? What effect will this have on our reader?
Write live in the lesson: Whilst we definitely want to pre-prepare our piece of writing before the lesson, we also need to feign spontaneity as we write. The children need to see us write live - pen to flipchart paper - and get that sense of tactility. They need to see our handwriting, the way that we join and what we do if we make mistakes. Therefore, the teacher must be the mark of excellence in terms of handwriting and taking pride in the work.
I want you to pay attention to my handwriting at the moment. I am making a diagonal join here and, as the next letter is a descender, I must make sure it clearly hangs below the line.
Model using the Learning Obkective and Success Criteria but also go beyond: It is not enough for children just to practise a skill in sentences down a page; children must weave skills together in a coherent piece of writing. If the Learning Objective is to use noun phrases, then we need to model how this sits within a paragraph. We also need to go beyond the objective, reviewing related skills always challenging the children to raise their game. Consider the following:
The sunset before us was glorious. The red orb bowed majestically as it deliberately drew a thick, purple curtain down over the day and disappeared into the North Sea. Above us, the lonely silhouette of a seagul wheeled and circled.
The modelled passage above demonstrates a range of noun phrases but also how personification could be weaved in to add further detail and life.
Model spelling and new vocabulary: Ensure that children have a chance to see any new vocabulary (whether from a word bank or from word lists) at work in the piece of writing. Refer to the word classification and make sure that any interesting spelling rules are referred to as well. Underline (dotted or wavy) any spellings you are unsure of and make sure you check them later - even better, have a dictionary monitor ready who can check for you.
Think aloud and make deliberate mistakes: We all make mistakes and its important to demonstrate to children how we deal with theses and move forward. This is as true in life as it is in writing. When writing in front of the class, we have to talk about the choices that we are making. Why are we using one word more than another? What effect will this have on the reader? Could we add in an adjective here? Model editing as you write by deliberately making spelling mistakes, leaving out grammar or editing word choice. Be wary of using the term ‘up-levelling’ as this suggests that there is an invisible hierarchy of words and sentences. There isn’t. Sometimes it’s the simplest word that can be the most profound. Rather phrase this process in terms of what effect we are intending (scary, sorrowful, factual etc) and how our reader might respond.
Read the piece over as a whole: Once this part of the writing has been finished, read it over in front of the class and check for cohesion. Are the verb tenses consistent? Is there too much unwanted repetition and can we use pronouns and noun phrases to support this? Do adverbials support cohesion and paragraph changes? Underline or write in a different colour any specific skills you want them to notice.
Modelled writes as plenaries: Remember that the modelled/shared write doesn’t have to only be at the beginning of the lesson. If the children are getting restless, let them start their own pieces and bring them back together later in the lesson to continue the modelled/shared write if appropriate.
There are a lot of manoeuvres to think about here and not all are needed in every lesson– it very much depends on the needs of the class. Amongst it all we need to keep it fairly pacey. At first, it will seem like learning to drive but the more modelled/shared writes you do the more automatic all these manoeuvres will become and the richer the experience will be for the children.
