Good Readers
make Good Writers
Gill Matthews
Stephanie Austwick
Kevin Jeffery
The Professional Literacy Company
Agenda
Introduction
The context – Reading Detectives
New Orders for English
The Units – KS1 fiction
KS2 fiction
Non-fiction – the research process
The Units – KS2 non-fiction
KS1 non-fiction
Building a Rich Learning Environment
Higher Order Reading Skills
Location
Re-organisation
Inference
Evaluation
Appreciation
Creating Real Experiences
for Reading and Writing
What is Reading for Real?
Providing children with:
an engaging and motivating ‘hook’ into the
text
a purpose for their reading
a context for their reading
an authentic audience for their writing
based on their reading
By hook or by...
 a letter
 an email
 a visitor
 an animation (e.g. Crazy Talk, Morfo Booth)
 a video clip
 a poster announcing a competition
 artefacts with an accompanying request
 a message in a bottle
 local request (a person or a venue)
 Head Teacher’s request
Reasons to read – and write!
 Film Director – wants to make a film of a book
 Animation Company – an animation of a book
 TV Company – wants ideas for a documentary
 Theme park – new attraction/ride based on book or
theme
 Museum – wants help planning an exhibition
 Local attraction – wants to create a visitors’ pack
 Author – wants help with a sequel to a book
 Tourist Information Service – trail/leaflet/guide book
 Competition – series of challenges
Phase 1
Create an experience
- to hook pupils in
- give reason to write
Explore language
-use it
-explore content
-empathise
Reading
Immersion
Analysis
Reading as a writer
Phase 2
Speaking & Listening
Capturing ideas
Drama
Oral rehearsal
Phase 3
Plan
Model the writing
process
Writing
Writing as a reader
Presenting
Read texts
-enjoy,
-discuss vocabulary
-language features
-effect on audience
Try out ideas
Explore further
texts, videos etc
Allow adequate
time to complete
writing task and
present work
It’s Good Readers
That Make Good Writers
THE BIG PICTURE
Initial Agreement with Head
3 linked courses to look at the teaching of
writing:
- Writing for Real
- Exciting Writing
- Good Readers Make Good Writers
Changes to National Curriculum
Revised Programmes of Study for all
subjects KS1-3
Consultation period Feb – April 2013
Publication of final orders Autumn 2013
Statutory from September 2014
Key Issues
 English or Literacy?
 Literacy across the Curriculum?
 Oracy: significantly smaller role
 Reading: Word Reading; Comprehension
 Writing: Transcription (incl spelling, handwriting);
Composition (incl. grammar, punct.)
Schools Response
Reviewing our practice in the light of the
new orders:
What are we committed to keeping?
How do the new orders support this?
What do we need to change?
Support for Reading
 All pupils must be encouraged to read widely
across both fiction and non-fiction to develop
their knowledge of themselves and the world in
which they live, to establish an appreciation and
a love of reading, and to gain knowledge across
the curriculum. Reading widely and often
increases pupils’ vocabulary because they
encounter words they would rarely hear or use
in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’
imagination and opens up a treasure-house of
wonder and joy for curious young minds.
Support for Reading/Writing
 Reading and listening to whole books, not
simply extracts, helps pupils to increase their
vocabulary and grammatical knowledge …
These activities also help them to understand
how different types of writing … are structured.
All these can be drawn on for their writing.
 Pupils should understand, through
demonstration, the skills and processes
essential to writing.
The Reading Jigsaw
The
Code
Accuracy
Fluency
Expression
The
Message
Reading
the Lines
Between
the Lines
Beyond the
Lines
The
Medium
Reading
to
Reading
with
Reading
by
The
Purpose
Learning
to Read
Reading
to Learn
Reading
for Life
What needs beefing up?
Wider range of reading strategies
Impact of purpose and audience on form
and language in writing
Wider definition of text for reading and
writing
Literacy across the curriculum
Teaching of Effective Research Skills
Purpose of Today’s Course
To look at the teaching of reading and
writing in the light of new NC Programmes
of Study for English
To look at the wider picture for teaching
reading, including non-fiction
To look at how reading (and S&L) can
impact on writing
To provide some working models for
teachers to take away and trial
THE UNITS
The units
Fiction – KS1, KS2
Non-fiction – KS2, KS1
Key Stage 1 Fiction
The Man Whose Mother was a
Pirate
by Margaret Mahy
Booktalk – Aidan Chambers
Likes
Dislikes
Puzzles
Patterns
Key Stage 2 fiction
Krindlekrax by Philip Ridley
Cast list
Character
name
Major or
minor
character
Who they
are
What they
look like
What they
are like
Ruskin
Splinter
Major
Friend of
Corky
Son of
Wendy and
Winston
Small,
thin, frizzy
red hair,
glasses
with thick
lenses
Aspiring
actor
Inquisitive
Strong
sense of
right and
wrong
Key Stage 1 non-fiction
Dinosaur Discovery
Key questions
What did they look like?
Where did they live?
How did they move?
What did they eat?
Research process
Activate prior knowledge
Identify research questions
Set a purpose for reading
Navigate non-fiction texts
Interrogate the text
Record and evaluate information
What we
Know
What we Would
like to know
What did they look
like?
Where did they
live?
How did they
move?
What did they
eat?
What we have
Learned
What I know about:
Before reading
After reading
Question
Answer
Details
Source
Skimming and scanning
Skimming – to quickly identify the main
ideas in a text
Scanning – to find specific information
Skimming
Read the title, headings and sub-headings
Look at visuals
Read first and last sentences of
paragraphs and sections
Keep thinking about the meaning of the
text
Scanning
 Know what questions you are trying to answer
 Don’t try to read every word
 Read vertically rather than horizontally
 Visualise key words
 Look for clues e.g. capital letters, spelling
patterns, word shapes, numbers
 Use signposts e.g. sub titles, headings, headers
 Use textual organisational devices e.g.
alphabetical order
Interrogate the text
 Unknown words – to work out word meanings
 Stop and think – to monitor understanding
 Check the text – to interpret visuals
 Text marking – to identify key information
 Read, write, read – to read for meaning
 Ask the teacher – to formulate questions and
monitor understanding
 Analyse the question – to answer different types
of question
 Find the main idea – to identify key information
Interesting words chart
Word
Page no
Any clues
used
Your
explanation
Dictionary
help if
needed
unearthed
78
root word
dug up
No
Record and evaluate information
Key words
Notemaking
Change the form
Children’s quiz
Next steps
What we
Know
What we Would
like to know
What we have
Learned
What did they look Big, green,
like?
three-fingered
Where did they
live?
How did they
move?
What did they
eat?
Argentina,
warm swamps
Letter 1
Dear children
Professor Thomas Rex has told us that you are willing to
help us to make a dinosaur park. He says that you are really
good at doing research and very imaginative.
First, could you send some maps showing how we can lay
out the dinosaur park?
Then, design a poster to persuade people to come to the
dinosaur park.
Finally, we would like to have a quiz about dinosaurs for the
children who visit the park. Could you come up with 10
questions for the quiz?
Thank you so much for your help
M Jones
Mr M Jones
DARTs
Directed Activities Related to
Texts
Reconstruction DARTs
Text completion
Sequencing
Grouping
Table completion
Diagram completion
Prediction activities
Analysis DARTs
Text marking
Text segmenting and labelling
Table construction
Diagram construction
Questioning
Summarizing
Key Stage 2 non-fiction
A Smooth Guide to...
The learning environment
Discuss :
How does your school/ classroom
environment support or celebrate
reading?
Does it tell children and visitors that
reading is important? interesting?
exciting? cool?
Working Walls
How does your school/
classroom environment support
the reading into writing process?
AND FINALLY …
Remember: Key elements of the experience
 an engaging opening event or experience that
‘hooks’ the children into the unit
 a lively and interesting context that can be
sustained over a number of weeks
 an unfolding narrative
 authentic audiences and purposes for reading
 opportunities for children to work in role
 literacy at the heart of the unit
Think Ahead
Note down three action points that you can
do as soon as you are back in the
classroom