Teaching Writing Effective approaches for the middle years

In the 21st century, writing is more important than at any other time in human history. Yet much of the emphasis in schooling has been on reading, and after the early years, writing skills have been given less attention. Internationally, too many children are leaving school without the writing skills they need to succeed in life.

The evidence indicates that students rarely develop proficiency as writers without effective teacher instruction. Teaching Writing offers a comprehensive approach for the middle years of schooling, when the groundwork should be laid for the demanding writing tasks of senior school and the workplace.

Teaching Writing outlines evidence-based principles of writing instruction for upper primary students and young adolescents. It presents strategies that are ready for adoption or adaptation, and exemplars to assist with designing and implementing writing lessons across the middle years of school. It addresses writing from a multimodal perspective while also highlighting the importance of teaching linguistic aspects of text design such as sentence structure, vocabulary and spelling as foundations for meaning-making. Contributors argue that students need to continue to develop their skills in both handwriting and keyboarding. Examples of the teaching of writing across disciplines are presented through a range of vignettes. Strategies for assessing student writing and for supporting students with diverse needs are also explored.

With contributions from leading literacy educators, Teaching Writing is an invaluable resource for primary, secondary and pre-service teachers.

1. Introduction to teaching writing in the middle years
Tessa Daffern and Noella M. Mackenzie

2. Theoretical perspectives and strategies for teaching and learning writing
Tessa Daffern and Noella M. Mackenzie

3. Teachers as writers
Muriel Wells and Damien Lyons

4. What is involved in the learning and teaching of writing?
Tessa Daffern, Michele Anstey and Geoff Bull

5. Supporting meaning-making through text organisation
Beverly Derewianka

6. Supporting meaning-making through sentence structure and punctuation
Beryl Exley and Lisbeth Ann Kitson

7. Supporting meaning-making through vocabulary
Noella M. Mackenzie and Tessa Daffern

8. Supporting meaning-making through handwriting and keyboarding
Noella M. Mackenzie and Rebecca Spokes

9. Supporting meaning-making through spelling
Tessa Daffern

10. How multimodal text changes the pedagogy of writing
Michele Anstey and Geoff Bull

11. Supporting EAL/D and Indigenous writers
Helen Harper, Bronwyn Parkin and Jennifer Rennie

12. Teaching writing across disciplines: The upper primary school years
Tessa Daffern, Elizabeth Baker and Lauren Elise Barlow

13.Teaching writing across disciplines: The early secondary school years
Lisbeth Ann Kitson

14. Cultivating inclusive writing communities
Natalie Thompson and Chris Stevens

15. Assessing writing: Teacher-led approaches
Mary Ryan and Tessa Daffern

16. Assessing writing: Student-led approaches
Natalie Thompson and Paul Grover

Appendix Graphic organisers and assessment templates
Index

Tessa Daffern is a Senior Lecturer in Literacy Education at the University of Wollongong, and author of The Components of Spelling. In 2012 she was one of the first Australian educators certified as a Highly Accomplished Teacher. Noella M. Mackenzie is Associate Professor in Literacy Studies at Charles Sturt University, and author of Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8.