Research evidence suggests the following are the most effective strategies to improve students writing:
- Explicit instruction
- Abstract concepts are made concrete
- Emphasis on fluency of Writing
- Present skills in a cumulative and sequential manner
- Develop meta-cognition to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills
The underlying principals of talk for writing are:
- Provide a Model: teachers systematically model the speaking, listening, vocabulary and sentence patterns the students need
- Use oral rehearse: students internalise the pattern of the language required by talking the text before they write it.
- Make the learning visible : the work created during the progress of a unit is clearly displayed
- Co-construct the learning: students are involved in activities that deepen their understanding making them independent thinkers and writers.
The Three Stages of Talk 4 Writing are:
- Imitate
- Innovate
- Invent
At Eddystone Primary we have marked students work using Brightpath, a software package that enables teachers to match their students work with calibrated exemplars. The performance descriptors support teachers in understanding key features of the students writing development.