Good writers and good teachers of writing

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The potential ability of a child to become a good writer and for a teacher to
become a good teacher of writing are essentially two sides of the same
coin.
Key characteristics of a good writer are:
a belief in what you have to say
a sense of purpose
a sense of audience
an ability to order and express ideas clearly and effectively
an ability to use the language accurately
an understanding of and ability to use writing conventions
an awareness of the need to draft, re-draft, edit and change written work in
order to produce the most effective final result
an awareness of the importance of good presentation
Conversely, key characteristics of a good teacher of writing are someone
who:
listens to children in order to help them express their ideas;
ensures that writing takes place in a meaningful context which is both
motivating and provides a real audience;
ensures that writing opportunities are carefully integrated into an overall
teaching plan;
structures lessons carefully in order to equip children with necessary
language and to help them structure and order their ideas;
provides frameworks which allow children to use language creatively and
successfully;
balances their approach between whole class work and discussion and
individual time for concentrated focus and effort;
teaches children to draft, re-draft and edit and to understand and appreciate
the value of doing this;
teaches the importance of legibility and accuracy in written work;
encourages sef-awareness and self-correction;
encourages children to take pride in their own work and interest in the work
of others e.g. through display and publication, reading childrens own stories
to the class;
responds to childrens intended meanings, gives positive, constructive
feedback and is sensitive to childrens problems and needs at different ages
and stages;
sets and expects appropriately high standards (children will invariably try to
meet these).
When teaching writing throughout the primary years, it is important to vary
our approach and to give children a rich experience of different kinds of
writing.
This includes:
Initial writing writing to support initial learning and to consolidate oral
work. This is often the typical kind of writing included in the Activity Books of
coursebooks. The most effective kind of initial writing is when children are

also encouraged to think and develop cognitive skills as in, for example,
simple classifying, sequencing, logical deduction or visual observation writing
activities.
Collaborative writing a dynamic process in which childrens ideas are
shaped through working with others. The final product may be a joint effort
or individual work but structured collaboration will play a central, formative
role. Collaborative writing allows you, as teacher, to participate and explicitly
model writing processes. It also helps you to meet the needs of everyone in
the group. Collaborative writing can be motivating for children and standards
of writing often improve rapidly as a result.
Functional writing writing that serves a practical function such as email or letter writing, report writing, invitations etc.. Children need to be
taught how to write functionally in an appropriately contextualized way. As
well as explicitly teaching appropriate conventions to be used, it is also
important to highlight the reason for these and the way they relate to the
readers needs.
Imaginative writing writing which takes children beyond real
experiences into a world of invention. The key here is to provide a model,
framework or template which gives free rein to childrens imagination but is
also within their current linguistic reach.
Personal writing writing in which children record their experiences,
express their opinions, attitudes and feelings. Children need a stimulus to
encourage a personal response as well as a framework to help them to
organize their thoughts. With young children in particular, you also need to
make it clear that there are no right answers and that you value diversity in
the way they respond.
Poetry writing which gives children the opportunity to explore the power
of words and to play with the rhythms and patterns of language. Children
need a stimulus, model or framework to support their writing. It often works
well to create a poem collaboratively with the whole class first before children
work on their own poems individually, or in pairs or groups.