Sharing Good Practice
Completely unaware, during this week,
they had added 15 high level words to
their vocabulary bank, identified the
structure of an information text, were
exposed to simple, compound and
complex sentences and had learnt
how to write with a passive and active
voice.
The Innovation Stage:
Week 2 began and the boys were
constantly asking when our English
lessons would be happening. All
of a sudden, English wasn't so
bad. Revisiting the text and new
vocabulary, during this week, was
imperative; through games and
interactive learning the pupils were
still completely engaged: Sentence
Tennis; Mirror Recall; Class Battles;
Musical Vocabulary and Splat, to name
a few. During this week, the boys were
given the power to change the text
they had learnt to any natural disaster
they desired. Using research and
learning from week one, they began
to build their very own information
text using only pictures, actions and
performance, in small groups. Out of
nowhere, many of these pupils took
lead in their groups from the onset and
knew exactly what they wanted their
text to look like. Engrossed in their
learning they performed, to their peers
with great pride and confidence. After
a lot of hard work and perseverance,
they had a final piece ready and could
recite it easily.
Invention Stage
It was time to break the news... This
week, they would write. Dread filled
my body as I believed this was where
we would go back to square one. To
my surprise, they couldn't wait to get
pen to paper. According to them, it
was going to be easy now:
"I have so much in my brain right now,
this is going to be easy!"
"Talk For Writing has given me the
time to gather my thoughts and ideas,
before I have to sit down and just
write."
" I loved Talk For Writing! It was so
easy when I had to sit down and write
because I knew it all. It was in my
head."
During this week, the children wrote
their first draft. Using self and peer
assessment, they learnt the true
importance of editing and the positive
effect it can have on our writing. They
had the opportunity to change the
text they had learnt, as a group, and
completely personalise it and instead
of this seeming like a daunting task, it
was invigorating because they were
already equipped with all of the skills
they needed! At the end of this stage,
all pupils sat down and took part in a
Big Write style lesson, where they sat
in a calm and inviting environment
with soothing music, candles and a
healthy snack to keep them going; the
production of their Hot Piece was well
underway. One of the most rewarding
times for me, during this process, was
watching these children, that day, as
they just sat down and wrote. Not
once did they take their pens from
their papers. Witnessing the look of
accomplishment and pride on their
faces as they submitted their two-
page piece of writing was a moment
I won't forget.
As teachers, we work every day,
thinking of ways to make learning
fun and engaging so that your pupils
love coming to school and leaving
at the end of each day with a huge
smile on their faces; excited and
intrigued for what's going to come
next. I am not saying that one unit of
T4W made every boy I've ever taught
want to write every second of every
day or become an author, but it did
give them the confidence and ability
to write four times a week without
complaining. Four months later, I do
however, have a little boy who smiles
with excitement, every time I ask him
to take out his book and write, and a
parent who couldn't be prouder.
In my opinion, Talk For Writing is an
approach to learning - not just writing
- and has always risen standards in
my classroom, year in, year out. Due
to its transferable nature, I use it in
all subjects: from learning the water
cycle in Science; the life of a famous
person from the past, in History; the
characteristics of different triangles in
Maths, to identifying where the names
of each of the 7 Emirates originated
from, in Social Studies - it's always a
hit!
It's fun, engaging, active and lively;
equipping all children with the skills
and tools to access the curriculum-
what's not to love?! Teachers, all
you need to do is turn up with an
abundance of energy and enthusiasm
and the rest slots into place.
Stacy Murtagh, Year 6 Class Teacher and English Leader at Jumeirah English
Speaking School (JESS), Arabian Ranches. With a true passion for teaching and
learning, she is always finding and creating new and innovative ways to engage
children in the classroom. (Twitter: @StacyMurtagh)
Class Time
Term 1 Sep - Dec 2019
17