We are a ‘Talk for Writing’ school
Here we work closely with Pie Corbett, one of the UK’s leading literacy experts, on developing an approach to the teaching of reading and writing that is inspirational and common sense.
Essentially we use storytelling (which includes the teaching of non-fiction texts as well as fiction and poetry) throughout the school, as our way in to literacy. After all, stories are part of what makes us human: they help us to make sense of and understand the world and to better express ourselves.
This approach is called ‘Talk for Writing.’ It is powerful because it enables our children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally before reading and analysing it and then writing their own version. Through fun activities that help them rehearse the tune of the language they need, followed by shared writing to show them how to craft their writing, our children are helped to write in the same style. Alongside this we aim to provide them with a rich diet of literature as they progress through the school. Our class book corners and school library are given a high profile and we employ our own librarian.
Schools adopting this approach have found pupils and teachers alike really enjoy it and they have seen a dramatic improvement in their children’s progress. Our school is no exception. We have applied the approach systematically across our school and the impact has been outstanding. In 2010 70% of pupils were achieving a level 4 in their writing and 14% a level 5. By 2013, 97% of pupils were achieving a level 4 and 51% of pupils were achieving a level 5. If you want to find out more, please feel free to pop in and talk to one of the teachers or, then again, just ask your children to tell you a story.
Report about Dragons
Harry Potter Invention