Writing skills underpin success across the curriculum, support the development of thinking skills and are vital in many careers beyond school. Yet, in many countries, achievement rates in writing are low. How to Teach Writing, Spelling and Grammar offers a research-based, highly practical approach to making real progress in writing.
Building on the evidence of ‘why’ and ‘how’ this approach is effective, it sets out specific guidance for teachers on ways to effectively develop the underlying writing subskills of text generation, transcription and self-regulation. Its comprehensive support includes clear steps for building the teacher knowledge required to teach tricky aspects of writing (such as sentence structures) and makes workable recommendations for classroom practice. Together, the diverse and well-evidenced resources in this book are directed towards making you feel confident in your knowledge of writing and how to teach it – not to mention excited to teach all the key skills, right away.
Features – This book:
- Provides a one-stop-shop on how to teach writing at all primary year levels
- Is grounded in ‘the science of writing’ to inform teaching practice
- Includes high-value assessment and planning resources, such as a spelling programme and a scope and sequence guide to writing goals
- Is written by experienced educators with real-world insight that can inspire you to make writing a highlight of every school day
About the Authors:
Dr. Helen Walls is a professional learning facilitator and educational researcher, with 20 years’ experience working in schools. She is committed to raising achievement in writing by sharing evidence-based, practical methods to engage every student. Helen is managing director of The Writing Teacher, a consultancy that provides writing workshops and resources for teachers, all accessible online. She is also a member of the Massey University school support team. For her PhD thesis, Helen conducted two empirical studies into the teaching of writing, which included a trial of the Fast Feedback Formative Evaluation System outlined in this book. She has published with The Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties and The Education Hub.
Dr. Christine Braid has 40 years’ experience as an educator, including 12 years as a classroom teacher and 25 years as a teacher educator with a focus on literacy teaching. In her academic studies, she has specialised in literacy: she has a Diploma of Children’s Literature, her MEd thesis looked at using picture books for developing comprehension discussion with older primary students and her PhD examined the influence of teacher knowledge and practice on literacy outcomes for new primary students. Combining her practical and her experience, Christine works with teachers to promote systematic and explicit teaching and to provide opportunities for incidental learning. Christine has a particular enthusiasm for finding ways to inspire teachers and children using books.
