NET Scheme News 2024 Summer issue 46

The Speaking to Writing “Seed” Project In the 2022/23 school year, the Speaking to Writing (S2W) “Seed” project was initiated by the NET Section. The project was also supported by a team of experts from the Dyslexia- SPELD Foundation (Australia) who provided training for teachers in the Talk4Writing approach. This was of particular interest due to the outstanding progress made by English as an Additional Language (EAL) students in UK schools when using oral storytelling to support writing (Renwick, 2010). From our collective learning and collaboration with schools, we adapted the ideas to fit school contexts and develop units of work. The Importance of Talking and Oral Language in Teaching Writing For some children, sitting on a mat and reading a book is not enough.The opportunity to interact verbally, visually and joyfully with a memorable, meaningful version of a text is very powerful (Corbett & Strong, 2018). For example, involving children in learning a story orally enables them to internalise a narrative pattern and language features.This internalised language can then act as a launch pad for creativity in writing. What is Talk for Writing? Pie Corbett explains: Using oral communication to enhance the instruction of writing and reading is grounded in well-established evidence within the field of educational and developmental psychology. The neural pathways required for biologically primary skills, such as spoken language, have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. In contrast, the ability to use language for reading and writing (biologically secondary skills) is a relatively recent development in human history. Learning a biologically secondary skill is made easier A Journey into Words and Wonder Speaking to Writing: by connecting instructional activities with a biologically primary skill (Geary, 2008). Learning a Model Text Units begin with the internalisation of a model text, which is learnt orally and supported by a story map and actions. This text provides targeted examples of the language and ‘tools’ that will help students improve their writing. Moving from Speaking into Writing Discussion is central to grammar and sentence level work, helping to build knowledge of language features and expand vocabulary. Initially, writing takes place in short bursts, before students are encouraged to help create a new‘class’version of the text they are working on. Creative Ownership By the end of each unit, children create their own unique version of the text.They are able to incorporate their own ideas, new vocabulary and the targeted language built into the units. Roland Smith, Gareth Storey, Advisory Teachers, and Maria Chau, Project Officer NET Section Collaborative Project 22 NET Scheme News Issue 46