Category: writing for pleasure
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Miss P’s Literacy Calendar 2021-2022
It’s that time of year again! As you all know by now, I love to plan ahead and each year I update what I call my ‘Literacy Calendar’ to include key dates, competitions, book awards, events, days and weeks that help to inform my school planning for the year ahead. This is my third year…
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#3 Playing with Words (Poetry!)
This activity is inspired by Peter H Reynolds’ brilliant book The Word Collector. It’s a fun, creative poetry activity all about collecting and playing around with words! 1) Be inspired Watch this short Scholastic video* about The Word Collector by Peter H Reynolds. You can also read the story online here. *be mindful of adverts…
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How I do it: Let’s Write for Pleasure!
I, like many others, have been a huge advocate of Reading for Pleasure for many years now, but Writing for Pleasure seems to have slipped the net. We depend on it as the largest indicator of success and progress in learning, yet it doesn’t quite receive the same limelight that reading does. Writing in primary…
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Happy National Poetry Day!
This year, whilst researching ideas to celebrate National Poetry Day with my class, I came across Tony Walsh’s poem Take This Pen. I love how the energy and passion of the poem builds to a beautiful, lyrical crescendo. It’s an incredibly moving poem, beautifully illustrated by Chris Riddell, which reminds us that everyone has something…
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Inspiring Writing: Props & Stimulus
Sometimes, the best writing starts with just a little inspiration. “Books, in and of themselves, are magical doorways. Opening a book is as simple as opening a door in the real world, but often much more rewarding! Doorways within books are something special. A character who passes through a magical doorway into a world of…
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Visualisation and Art
Visual imagery is essential for memory, day dreaming and imagination. It can also be used as a powerful classroom tool and, when embedded in the writing process, can produce amazing results. I originally discovered this technique a few years ago during a training course led by the CLPE. I am a big fan of their…
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Inspiring Writing: Hosting a Film Festival
I am a huge advocate of inspiring writing through authentic purpose and audience and one of my fundamental aims this year has been to raise literacy attainment through the use of engaging, creative literacy projects that do just that. The National Literacy Trust’s writing enjoyment, behaviours and attitudes report (2017/18) shows that enjoyment of writing…
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Writing Rivers
I originally saw Jon Biddle‘s excellent Reading Rivers report on the Open University’s Reading for Pleasure website. It stems from an idea originally explored by Pamela Burnard (2002) whereby the ‘river’ was used as a reflective tool to represent key musical experiences. It was then further explored by Gabrielle Cliff-Hodges (2010) with secondary readers and…
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Inspiring Reading & Writing: Launching a Magazine
If your school does not yet have its own magazine or newspaper, founding one can be an amazing opportunity to encourage reading and writing across the whole school community. It’s a fantastic way to get kids into journalistic writing, generating their own ideas and taking ownership of a producing a publication. Starting from scratch can…
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Personal Reflection: Am I a teacher-writer?
If reading is the key to learning, then writing is the lock. Or rather, writing is the medium through which we unlock potential and empower children (and adults). We still depend on writing as the largest indicator of success and progress in learning. Therefore, it should have just as much emphasis as reading in school. For…
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Happy New (school) Year!
The start of a new year always brings a raft of changes and challenges. As teachers, we are constantly reflecting on our own practice but, at times, it’s important to remember not to be too self-critical. Obviously, reflecting on what you would improve is a worthwhile pursuit, but it’s also important to focus on what…
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Encourage creativity, set writing free
‘A love of writing can unlock children’s imaginations, aspirations and academic potential. Yet half of school children tell us they don’t enjoy writing because they struggle with spelling, punctuation, and knowing what to write.’ Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust Half of children in the UK don’t enjoy writing. Half. I’ve often asked…
Literacy with Miss P 