Closing the Writing Gap

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If I was to identify one important writing process that is most neglected by pupils, I would pose revising their writing. Why is this vital strategy so commonly neglected? In my ‘Closing the Writing Gap’ book, I propose that ‘revising’ writing is misunderstood and confused with ‘editing’. So, what is the difference between these admittedly … Hold that thought’ is not something children with poor short-term memories can do. They say (or often blurt out) something brilliant and then it has faded away either naturally or because someone or something has disrupted the thought process. It can even happen mid-sentence. Have you met those children who begin telling you something and then hesitate and say, ”I’ve forgotten what I wanted to say now”? Or those children so desperate to tell you something that they put their hands in the air as if their lives depended on it, but when you get to them, they’ve forgotten the answer? This type of behaviour may mean a child has a short-term memory difficulty. Few teachers would teach writing in primary or secondary classrooms without using a WAGOLL to model writing for novice pupils. The language of ‘WAGOLL’s – or ‘What A Good One Looks Like’ – is common, but there may be less shared understanding about how to use them most effectively in the classroom. You will find … Though seemingly ‘natural’, writing proves devilishly difficult for far too many school pupils and closing this gap can have a lasting impact on their academic and life success. This article by Alex Quigley introduces 7 steps to improve children's writing that feature throughout his latest book Closing the Writing Gap. 1. Train teachers in the art and science of writing This book provides an easy-to-read and entertaining synthesis of research on writing, beginning with a compelling overview of how writing developed. It has written text at its heart and offers readers a succinct insight into textual research and its practical application to the writing classroom. The book is a rich source of directions for further reading and examples of strategies for teaching writing which will support teachers to reflect on what happens in their writing classrooms and to make enabling changes."

CLOSING THE WRITING GAP THE 2023 MASTERCLASS

Modelling writing approaches. This resource summarises different approaches to modelling writing, including potential benefits and limitations. The ear of the writer is her most precious attribute. When well developed, this ear brings analytic precision, compositional fluency, and technical skills that are necessary to create and craft writing.” - Dominic Wyse, How Literacy Works There is link after link in here for you to find exactly what you need to read to help your children succeed.

Novice writers, including those learning in schools, encounter teachers as gatekeepers of topics, forms, means and processes. But those teachers are often constrained by systems, including the accountability that tests and examinations required by governments engender." - Wyse, How Writing Works

CLOSE THE WRITING GAP - The Confident Teacher 7 STEPS to CLOSE THE WRITING GAP - The Confident Teacher

I knew that every teacher understands the tremendous value of reading – for school success and so much more – but not every teacher is trained equally to understand how children ‘learn to read’ and go on to ‘read to learn’. Develop all writing types, from note taking to narrative writing, along with ‘writing like an artist’, ‘writing like a geographer’, and much more. This book provides an easy-to-read and entertaining synthesis of research on writing, beginning with a compelling overview of how writing developed. It has written text at its heart and offers readers a succinct insight into textual research and its practical application to the writing class- room. The book is a rich source of directions for further reading and examples of strategies for teaching writing which will support teachers to reflect on what happens in their writing classrooms and to make enabling changes.” This book explains seven critical steps to improve children's writing. Though seemingly ‘natural’, writing proves devilishly difficult for far too many school pupils and closing this gap can have a lasting impact on their academic and life success.

What's Inside A Real Writing Resource?

Lots of discussion beforehand. Pie Corbett’s Talk for Writing is an excellent way into writing through language.

Closing the Writing Gap – New Resources - The Confident Teacher

Thanks a lot for your valuable blog. I do appreciate reading and learning frrom " Crafting Great Sentences". I like… Our lives can be filled and fulfilled by writing,’ says Alex Quigley. In this important new book: ‘That story begins with our birth certificate and ends with our epitaph …’. I can’t think of a text which better articulates the importance of writing, and then goes on to articulate how to put ambition into practice. It is a book of wise principles and practical implementation. In it, Quigley establishes himself even further as my go-to source of insights into the all-important subject of whole-school literacy.” A good education certainly involves more than ‘the three Rs’, but any less is surely a marker of a failing system. In affluent, ‘educated’ England, 7.1 million adults are functionally illiterate. But Alex Quigley’s motivation for writing this book is not rooted in statistics. His father “left school unable to write confidently, along with all the limitations, challenges and missed opportunities” that represented, and – driven by that experience – Quigley decries our propensity for platitudes and abstract rhetoric about raising standards. This book explains seven critical steps to improve children’s writing. Though seemingly ‘natural’, writing proves devilishly difficult for far too many school pupils and closing this gap can have a lasting impact on their academic and life success.With the goal of giving every teacher the knowledge and skill to teach writing with confidence, it makes sense of the history and ‘science’ of writing, synthesising the debates and presenting a wealth of usable evidence about how children develop most efficiently as successful writers.It trains teachers to be an expert in how pupils learn to write, from the big picture of planning, editing and revising your writing, to the vital importance of grammar and spelling with accuracy. Highly practical strategies and easy-to use classroom activities are included to help teachers seize opportunities across the curriculum every school day to teach the critical writing process. Closing the Writing Gap will guide teachers at every stage of their career and when used with Alex Quigley’s much-loved books on Vocabulary and Reading gives school leaders evidence-based approaches to literacy that can be applied across a school or a group of schools. Closing the Writing Gap by Alex Quigley – eBook DetailsAlex Quigley’s best one yet. His passion comes through alongside the usual down to earthiness that he does so well. Want to know where to start on helping children catch up? This article has taken all the trouble out of scouring the internet for advice and done it for you. Speech-to-text software can allow a pupil to speak their writing, which may alleviate both memory and spelling barriers. Prioritisation activity. This is a simple summary of comment writing priorities that feature in all school types. The resource can be used as a prompt for discuss and purposeful prioritisation. Secondary Year 6 leavers - Covid-safe transition activities and ideas It's been a chaotic year but Year 6 children still deserve the best ending to their primary journey