Closing the Writing Gap

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This free guide introduces teachers and school leaders across all school phases to Alex’s evidence-based approach to literacy. Geoff Barton, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders, and former English teacher This is a course for teachers across the curriculum and at any stage of their career. Expect useable evidence and research synthesized into tools to embed in your classroom immediately. Be prepared to unleash the power of skilled academic writing to ensure school-wide success. Teaching sentence variation. This resource concisely summarises the four key types of sentence level moves that pupils can practise to develop their writing style. But what is likely to be even more revolutionary in my classroom is the following chapter on sentence construction. Referencing a swathe of research I am definitely going to go away and study, this short treatise alone makes the book worth the investment. From it, I realised that I have not been explicit enough in my teaching of syntax and how important it is in closing the gap for my weaker writers.

Closing the gap – 7 of the best KS1/KS2 catchup resources Closing the gap – 7 of the best KS1/KS2 catchup resources

Then when you explore school attainment, you can see the gap and the daily damage that is suffered by many pupils. When you consider that only 73% of pupils leaving primary school reached the expected level for reading in 2019, it is clear that many of those pupils will struggle to access the secondary school curriculum. It offers advice on reviewing children’s learning needs and provide necessary support, setting up after-school clubs, trying some accelerated learning techniques and more. The gap is writ large when we explore the evidence. Take reading access. Recent research from the National Literacy Trust shows that a mere 1 in 8 disadvantaged children own a book. I think about the impact of those empty bookshelves (in all likelihood, there is no bookshelf at all) for pupils. Our lives can be filled and fulfilled by writing," says Alex Quigley. In this important new book: "That story begins with our birth certificate and ends with our epitaph …". I can’t think of a text which better articulates the importance of writing, and then goes on to articulate how to put ambition into practice. It is a book of wise principles and practical implementation. In it, Quigley establishes himself even further as my go-to source of insights into the all-important subject of whole-school literacy." The ear of the writer is her most precious attribute. When well developed, this ear brings analytic precision, compositional fluency, and technical skills that are necessary to create and craft writing.” - Dominic Wyse, How Literacy WorksWhen children eventually return to school, there is a selection of handy worksheets here, covering wellbeing and helping them deal with the change. Nearly two years ago, I began researching and writing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’. After writing my book on vocabulary, I knew that reading was the natural next step. It is crucial that busy teachers are supported with timely and accessible resources to support their work. As a result, to go alongside my new book, ‘Closing the Writing Gap’, I have produced a small number of tools that I hope will help translate the insights from the book into action. This book provides an easy-to-read and entertaining synthesis of research on writing, beginning with a compelling overview of how writing developed. It has written text at its heart and offers readers a succinct insight into textual research and its practical application to the writing classroom. The book is a rich source of directions for further reading and examples of strategies for teaching writing which will support teachers to reflect on what happens in their writing classrooms and to make enabling changes." Lots of discussion beforehand. Pie Corbett’s Talk for Writing is an excellent way into writing through language.

Closing the Writing Gap - 1st Edition - Alex Quigley

Prioritisation activity. This is a simple summary of comment writing priorities that feature in all school types. The resource can be used as a prompt for discuss and purposeful prioritisation. The ability to reflect upon and manipulate the sound structure of words. In writing, this difficulty will show in spelling. But when a child struggles to spell it can impede their writing significantly, affecting fluency, vocabulary and confidence. Some children will only write words they know they can spell and this means much writing will not reflect their verbal ability. With all the effort of trying to spell and write, a child’s working memory may be taken up with concentrating on this rather than the content of their writing. Freeing up the cognitive load could really help with the fluency of their writing, liberating them to be creative and relaxed. For assessment purposes, under this climate, a teacher can really see their potential.

Our lives can be filled and fulfilled by writing,’ says Alex Quigley. In this important new book: ‘That story begins with our birth certificate and ends with our epitaph …’. I can’t think of a text which better articulates the importance of writing, and then goes on to articulate how to put ambition into practice. It is a book of wise principles and practical implementation. In it, Quigley establishes himself even further as my go-to source of insights into the all-important subject of whole-school literacy.” Like many teachers my age, I was not taught grammar explicitly at school; or at least, I can’t remember if I was. I learned it on the job, preparing my students for their grammar tests. It was then that I realised the power of sharing with my students what Daisy Christodoulou describes as the ‘meta-language’ of words.

Writing Gap | The Confident Teacher Writing Gap | The Confident Teacher

Few teachers would teach writing in primary or secondary classrooms without using a WAGOLL to model writing for novice pupils. The language of ‘WAGOLL’s – or ‘What A Good One Looks Like’ – is common, but there may be less shared understanding about how to use them most effectively in the classroom. You will find … This book provides an easy-to-read and entertaining synthesis of research on writing, beginning with a compelling overview of how writing developed. It has written text at its heart and offers readers a succinct insight into textual research and its practical application to the writing classroom. The book is a rich source of directions for further reading and examples of strategies for teaching writing which will support teachers to reflect on what happens in their writing classrooms and to make enabling changes. Want to know where to start on helping children catch up? This article has taken all the trouble out of scouring the internet for advice and done it for you.

Less is more. This stands to reason - if you can’t make more time, then ask the child to do less. Perhaps they can continue with a task when others have moved on (if it doesn’t mean they’ll miss curriculum content) or use bullet points to structure but with one or two well written pieces to show depth. Quality not quantity. Modelling writing approaches. This resource summarises different approaches to modelling writing, including potential benefits and limitations. For a teacher, distinguishing between developing an ear for writing as Wyse describes, and letting pupils know that writing is difficult and a craft as Heller suggests, provides a real challenge, especially when the curriculum asks for ‘greater depth’ alongside ‘fronted adverbials’. This is further complicated when looking at children with ‘spiky’ profiles. Those who shine in some areas dull as soon as pen reaches paper; the sparkle is lost and the assessment process may mask their true academic potential. So how can we attempt to close the attainment gap for these children? Closing the Writing Gap is a clarion call to take the three Rs seriously... I hope the revolution it has started in my classroom is repeated everywhere." I was delighted and relieved then to receive really positive commendations from a brilliant array or teachers, leaders, and research experts. You can read their quotes below:

Closing the Writing Gap: Alex Quigley: 9781000591385 Closing the Writing Gap: Alex Quigley: 9781000591385

There are few simple solutions in education. If you are being promised one, it is at best a hopeful fib, at worst a deceptive sales-pitch. But there are some helpful principles that can guide our actions. A useful one I think could help improve literacy in primary and secondary schools: write less; read more. It … This book explains seven critical steps to improve children's writing. Though seemingly ‘natural’, writing proves devilishly difficult for far too many school pupils and closing this gap can have a lasting impact on their academic and life success. Furthermore, as this article encourages, a child with a specific difficulty such as dyslexia may have literacy as a barrier, but it does not mean they are low ability. Be vigilant and find strategies to enable them. Discrete phonic lessons are needed but not at the expense of a broad and balanced curriculum, and challenge at the same level as their peers. As Mary Myatt writes, set high challenge but with low threat. Catch children succeeding by removing barriers rather than creating a system that sets them up to fail. In the current climate, I know that can be difficult, but with strategies like those suggested above, these children can show what they are truly capable of achieving.Often children with the difficulties stated above can end up on the ‘bottom’ table, or tasks set may be fixed at a very low bar. This counts for all children, really. Do you know your children’s individual skills and potential? Might they surprise you if you let them choose tasks without limits? With a variety of strategies and high expectations, children can often achieve fantastic things. Top 10 grammar moves. This infographic summarises the key grammar moves that feature in academic writing. Alex Quigley has written another brilliant book for classroom teachers and school leaders. This book gets right to the heart of closing the writing gap; it is thought provoking for the reflective teacher whilst also offering helpful guidance and advice for every teacher. Alex is an exceptional writer himself, communicating his expertise and experiences with clarity and precision.”