Felicity Ferguson and Ross Young from the Writing for Pleasure Centre are experts when it comes to teaching writing. Chapter One of their latest book, Writing for Pleasure: Theory, Research and Practice, is a neatly structured, meticulously researched summary of teachers’ ideologies and beliefs about or ‘orientations’ towards writing. Each chapter in the book ends with a set of ‘questions worth asking yourself’ and the questions at the end of Chapter One structured this month’s #WritingRocks chat. You can access the original discussion on Twitter by clicking on the hyperlinks that precede each question slide.
BIG Thanks to these wonderful people for their participation in the discussion: @jonnywalker_edu @wishesandstars @WritingRocks_17 @w_errington @one_to_read @FourfieldsY6 @descriptosauru1 @smerchant13 @thewritingweb @katehitchings1 @gibbins_kim @teacherclairew @Marcelavb3 @yallsop @karentulloch1 @lit4pleasure @BillyBeanWrites @kashleyenglish
Qu1)
- I remember in Y3 the other geeks and I published a class newspaper which had the unfortunate title of The Crimson Crusader.
- I think that’s a pretty cool name. I remember trying to do a newspaper too but we weren’t allowed to use the photocopier. Instead we had to write them all by hand. Seem to remember giving up at around 5 copies.
- Oh I love this.
- I did enjoy writing as a child, but I reckon I may have forgotten the more mechanical lessons – perhaps that does not mean they didn’t teach me things. I have always enjoyed writing.
- Do you enjoy writing for the same reasons as you did as child, Jonny?
- I loved it up until Year 8 and I was made to write certain things in a certain way. Hmm. Says it all really.
- What did you love about writing at primary school? Was Yr 7 secondary for you, Ben? Why was this different to Year 8
- The National Curriculum came in. Ahem.
- Actually I didn’t know that at the time. I just felt this shift and I didn’t seem to be so good at writing any more (=grades). I was very perplexed and not happy
- In primary school I was allowed to write stories all the time. I wrote more at home and made comics with my bro and poems and little books of my own. I wrote lots. It was natural.
- I went to primary in the early 90s. All I remember writing was an epic tale that spanned multiple worlds through magical portals. I imagine it was utter tripe, but I loved writing it. I don’t remember there being much focus on grammar or structure. We just wrote.
- I find stories are often what children want to write most. They’re quite natural to them.
- I don’t see a huge problem with that either. To be honest, I think far too much time in secondary English is spent on essay writing and such. I get why, but I think getting rid of GCSEs would be a good place to start.
- No nor do I. And fully agree about essay writing etc.
- I went to a comp in the 70s. No one taught us how to write. They just said: write, here’s the title. I wrote with gusto. Until a teacher told me in red ink… he could’ve written a much funnier story than mine. It stopped me from writing publicly until I was in my 50s. I could write anonymously in exams cos I knew I would never meet the examiner. Plus no comments just a grade. No one at uni taught us how to write either. I’ve now had 6 plays performed in Newcastle. And of course, became a teacher.
- That’s so awful that those words cast such a shadow.
- I was such a goody two shoes that I was devastated!
- Hideous feedback.
- I remember reading a character description I was really proud of to the class. It featured ‘hazel’ eyes – an unfamiliar word and I didn’t really know what I was doing, so wrote ‘hazelnut’. Everyone laughed and no one explained why. I still hate publishing.
- Ah no BUT…. what a gorgeous description… hazelnut.
- Teachers definitely played a part – a few sixth form teachers made it clear that having good answers to things isn’t enough. They cared about clarity of expression and strength of a structure, and didn’t let me get away with having good vocabulary but flimsy flow.
- I loved storytelling but wasn’t fast at picking up the mechanics of writing. This came late. I remember a ‘classroom helper’ in junior school, Mrs. Goodhand, scribing my ideas because I had so much to say! This experience forms my current practice, I believe.
- Just realised – excellent name, Mrs Goodhand!
- One of my most emotional moments was when I typed a reluctant writer’s story as he dictated it and then we worked on crafting it. The pride in his face made a lump lodged in my throat.
- That’s REALLY important – I let them speak words into a dictaphone or tell them or scrawl them, if that is how they want to write. I have a dyslexic boy in my class who writes in symbols and then checks spelling later.
- Wow, Alison. Isn’t it amazing when the penny drops that they have the power to turn their own ideas into a stories that others can enjoy?
- During ITE, we were only taught one conception of how writing should be taught too. I didn’t know about the variety of approaches that were available… That was a bit sad.
- Did this influence the way you approached writing Chapter One of ‘Writing for Pleasure: Theory, Research and Practice’? It is such a well-researched, comprehensive summary of different ideologies and beliefs about or teachers’ ‘orientations’ towards writing.
- Oh for sure!
- I don’t recall learning about writing in ITE…a worry
- No me neither – actually what I *do* remember was blinking spelling and grammar documents. That’s more NLS problems.
- They teach it better now, however!
- My training was only 5 years ago from an ofsted outstanding ITE provider, but all I recall learning about teaching English is phonics.
- Oh no!
- The Literacy and Numeracy Strategies were on their way out during my training and even during a 4 year BEd in education and English there was not a focus on how to teach writing. No mention of modelling or scaffolding. Focus on clearly differentiated tasks.
- Wow – We worked towards the same undergrad qualification, Claire, but I started in the same year the strategies came out. It’s shocking how the training around writing lurched from one extreme to the other. I was lucky to have a lecturer who prioritised an authentic approach.
- I remember handwriting being the most important thing and feeling terrible about my writing because of it. It was not enjoyable. I don’t remember being taught how to get better at writing, just being allowed my pen licence in y4.
- Were you left-handed Claire? #lefthandedproblems
- This is my life! Left-handed here.
- I am right but wrong! I held the pen the ‘wrong way’ because of issues with my fingers which made writing painful in the recommended grip.
- It’s still an issue in some classes now. I took my notebook into a school and they were horrified at my scribbles, until I showed them further drafts where the presentation became neater. I thought the teacher was going to have kittens.
- I had a piece of writing I’d spent ages on ripped up because there were crossings out and I had to rewrite the whole thing three times. Handwriting became a real issue. I spend time teaching speed handwriting as well as presentation handwriting.
- It’s such a barrier and knocks confidence so much. My best writer in year 6 has the most ‘creative’ writing!
- When I did my PGCE my tutor said my handwriting was atrocious. No laptops in those days! So I bought an ink pen and taught myself calligraphy and did the whole file & lesson plans in italic writing!
- We had to learn calligraphy in primary schools in Turkey. I remember dipping the pen in the ink and writing in a very special notebook, it was so fun!!!
- I’ve done it with my classes over the years. Calligraphy. Graffiti. Etc. They all love it.
- I remember going home with inks all over my hands and clothes, mum wasn’t very pleased as we had no washing machines then or central heating.
- Yuk! Pen licences.
- My main memories were severe anxiety, a lack of competence and a lack of personal responsibility. I often didn’t know what to do, how to do it or why we were doing it… Writing remained a mystery.
- Were there any particular occasions where you felt a sense of personal responsibility or confidence in being able to craft a piece?
- I made a class comic with a pal – it went between people’s trays but this was very much separate from the business of writing lessons. He did the writing – I did the illustrations.
- That sounds great! My own two children create graphic novels in this way.
- I loved it. But that was because I was allowed to write whatever I wanted quite a lot. Usually a project on my cat, Tommy! Or a letter to someone in my own time. I don’t remember much actual writing teaching but it was pleasurable.
- In primary….
- What wonderful memories, Karen. Do you still have any of the writing about Tommy?
- Yes!!! Even one with his whisker stuck on.
- How did your experience at secondary school compare?
- Secondary was a bit more judgmental ….less autonomy & more right & wrong…..
- Similar experience at this end – I chose to keep so many writing outcomes from primary school, secondary less so.
- I think I did, but I remember more the writing I did at home than the writing I did in school. I guess, I had more freedom at home to choose what to write.
- What kinds of things did you enjoy writing at home, Marcela? Did you share this writing with anyone?
- When very young I used to enjoy playing writing, putting letters together to pretend I was writing. I vividly remember that… I used to ask my mum if she could read it? Many times! Then all sorts, poems, journal, stories, letters (some to imaginary people, some to real people).
- I also (strangely) really enjoyed writing a series of questions for me to answer. Ludicrous questions and ridiculous answers. It was fun!
- This is the cutest thing, Marcela. Author and audience rolled into one, wrapped up in a whole load of fun!
- The focus was on precision and presentation and not content and experimentation. All bar two teachers, who were more creative.
- I have no clear memories of learning how to write. I don’t suppose I enjoyed it that much. None of my teachers stood out as being enthused by writing.
- I did enjoy writing as a child, but I reckon I may have forgotten the more mechanical lessons – perhaps that does not mean they didn’t teach me things. I have always enjoyed writing.
- I also think films, drama, reading aloud, storytelling activities would actually help them with imagination which nurtures creativity- the main ingredient for writing!!!
- And then we acted them out.
- I had great success with a group of PlayStation mad boys writing film scripts for their own video games. They loved the format and the impact on their writing was astounding.
- I can just visualise that. The boys in my Year 6 class would stay at home when Call of Duty was out…
- I loved learning to write and used to write my own stories from being quite young. Devouring books gave me a good imagination I think. Unfortunately I’ve always struggled with my handwriting and so that was something that made writing negative at times.
- How do you feel about sharing your handwriting with your class? I used to pride myself on my teacher printing but had to learn cursive on the hop when changing schools about 15 yrs ago. I suppose the children now see how my handwriting changes according to the purpose.
- Loved learning to write. I would credit an infant school teacher who let me write copious amounts for a story that I was proud of, and my parents, who encouraged me to write and read loads of books.
- I’ve got so that my writing is fine as long as I take my time so I don’t mind sharing. I actually mention this as a point to them sometimes. I used to be very self-conscious when training as I never really learnt cursive properly so it takes a lot of practice.
- I agree that being explicit is essential.
- When teaching Yr 2 how to write lower case ‘k’ last year, I told them I was worried about it looking like an ‘R’. I demonstrated a couple successfully; they spontaneously clapped! I think crossing out dodgy ones also had a + impact.
- So important! Good to show them that learning never stops!
- I had this secondary teacher who did not believe that I wrote this composition about a story. Not knowing my parents couldn’t read and write he called them in. When he realised… he basically helped me to update my writing skills, he was fab!!!
- I always loved reading and writing… From the age of 7/8 I started to write poems and stories, won so many competitions too, but all in Turkish.
- That’s wonderful to hear about your early love of writing and how your stories and poems were recognised. Do you still write poems and stories now and do you have a preference for which language you write in? (Full disclosure – I’m a jealous monolingual.)
- Yes, I still write. I published my own book Alya the Pathmaker and working on the second book in the series. I write more in English than Turkish now. I don’t always remember Turkish words, or I feel as if the language in Turkey has also changed.
- Mystery + adventure + coding in space = looks fab.
- Thank you so much. Thanks to my child-like imagination nurtured by Working with kids over 10 years …we also publish free Pathmaker Magazine based on the book.
- I think that language is a living organism, as the culture of the community transforms because of socio-political factors, the language also transforms to accommodate and reflect these changes…
- I found Steven Poole’s ‘Unspeak‘ fascinating – it covers one element of what you describe
- Yes, this is an interesting take.
Qu2)
- I’m getting more confident but (and I’m not just saying it) it’s because I’m writing what I want to write a lot. And I have an audience for my writing, thanks to people like @TeresaCremin @lit4pleasure @nikkigamble and @imaginecentre I still have major problems because I have these ideas but I find them very difficult to get into words that make sense. Communication is hard for me.
- I love the fact that there is always something you can improve, different styles to experiment with. My aim is to keep on improving. I adore poetry, but have a long way to go before I have truly found who I am as a poet, but that’s okay.
- I find it hard to write unless I have some big ideas or personal links to what I’m writing about. I need to think it all through (or map/draw it out) before I can even put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard, as it actually is!).
- Yes!! A good writer is one that keeps on writing. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. You’re a good writer if you write what it is you really want to say and put the best words for the job in the best order.
- Yes I suppose I am. I’ve had six short plays performed in Newcastle since retiring. I write reviews of plays too. And write other personal things on my blog. If anyone doesn’t like it then no biggie… I just have to express myself through writing.
- I do write and I find I can write in front of my class – I did my first completely unplanned writing lesson two weeks ago. However, I would still like to grow in confidence.
- I think I’m better than I was and I’m happy to model my writing with children. I’m confident writing in academic language but always found creative writing challenging. It is useful as a teacher to empathise with finding writing challenging & share strategies for overcoming.
- Yes, empathy and understanding is crucial. I mess up all the time and tell my class ‘I don’t like that sentence’ or ‘That isn’t really exact enough’…
- …..no…….what would good look like?!
- I’ve become a much better writer because I am being a writer more. Only in the last year or so though and mainly because of my enthusiasm for a Writing for Pleasure approach.
- I enjoy it, so I intend to keep on trying.
- .. ish. I find I’m a bit too much of a technical writer and I prefer to edit every sentence as I go which is a method I sometimes force myself out of when modelling for my class. I might not be amazing but I still really enjoy doing it!
- I love to write now and often write at home just for fun. I don’t think I’m particularly good, but I enjoy it. Creating worlds, cultures, characters. It’s great. I enjoy writing for my class too and try and write short extracts fir when we’re doing a narrative unit.
- I think I am but then English is not my first language, so I am not as crafty as I am with Turkish. Self-discipline, imagination, enjoyment and interest in sharing my ideas, all helped me and encouraged me to write. I was also very lucky to have a chance to read amazing books from young ages, thanks to my teachers as we didn’t have many to buy books. If I was to learn writing from black and white worksheets, I don’t think my imagination would be this fun!!! I can’t spell, I meant money to buy books.
Qu3)
1) appreciate kids want to say what they want to say (like I do)
2) appreciate each one of them is unique (like I am)
3) embrace that (as I hope anyone would of my writing)
4) have impossibly high standards of yourself as a writer (…well, you get the picture!)
- In my experience, children will meet our high-standards when they have an emotional investment in their writing doing well anyway. The absolute best is when YOU as the teacher genuinely want it to achieve what they want it to achieve too.
- All of the above.
- I never want writing to be a mystery to children. I really focus on the foundations of #WritingForPleasure for this reason:
- Self-efficacy (confidence)
- Competency & independence (self-regulation)
- Agency (personal responsibility)
- That’s interesting Ross and I mostly agree here – but I DO want writing to be mysterious to a degree! Admittedly it’s not for all writers; but Pullman touches on the mystery of the process somewhere and I am with him on that aspect.
- For me mystery means when they find their voice. When their writing is unique to them. Process is individual too. But being a writer – there is no password. No code to get in. Hence demystifying writing.
- I did best when I had choice over the subject and could work in the way I wanted to. I try to allow different approaches in the classroom. Every child has something worth writing about – my job is to facilitate this.
- Encouraging children to find what works for them is crucial.
- This is a beautiful thing.
- I had a lovely conversation online today.
- ‘Would you like to write this in Portuguese?’
- ‘YES!! I would have the right words and my mum is here.’
- ‘Do it – I will then translate it.’
- ‘Yay!!!!’
- Experimenting with writing with a class over 15 years ago brought back a joy of writing I had forgotten I once had as a youngster. I remembered all the things I hated and actively sought to do things differently, but more importantly listened to pupils’ opinions.
- Because I don’t remember anyone showing me how to craft a piece of writing or introducing the writing process past planning, I have a strong focus on modelling every step of the writing process.
- I put a lot of focus on vocabulary and choosing/editing words for effect not just because they are ‘Wow words’ I was never really taught this but feel it is so important.
- It’s all about choice. What words are relevant to what I want to write. That’s when there’s a buzz about words.
- Definitely!
- Because I love to write, I realise how children feel when being asked to write something they don’t want to. I try, as much as possible, to allow them freedom of choice. I hate being stifled myself, so don’t want my class to feel that way.
- Oh, it has to be fun and relevant to children’s ideas, feelings, lives, imagination.. so that they will want to share their ideas in written format, willingly, not because it is a task. Also they need time, you can’t write in a hurry!!!
- I don’t always know exactly where my story is going. So I don’t expect them to. I give them freedom to plan in different ways. I cross out a lot and model that’s ok. I magpie ideas and techniques. I write with them. I share my writing and encourage them to share.
Qu4)
- Why didn’t you do this as an entire hour???!!! This is MAHOOSIVE!!!
- Ooh, you want to see how it started out, Ben!
- Gives me a chance to catch up.
- It sure is! I don’t know where to start! I’m panicking! Ha!
- Big question, 240 character limit. I say share what you want to shout about most.
- Ok! Get rid of SATs. Stop fetishising over Spag! Use the two books Wr 4 Pleasure. And Real World Writers. *Write 4 Pleasure *Write as pleasure *Write with children *Love words and have fun with words *Language is a living breathing moving wonder *Be in awe *Read read read.
- You need to know your pupils and how they operate as writers. You need to know yourself too. You need authentic conversations during the writing process. I am learning to know when to sit back and be quiet but this has been a weakness of mine in the past!
- Thank you very much to everyone for this chat – really useful for me.
- My first time and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you.
- Writing is sharing of ideas and sharing a piece of yourself with your reader. The teacher as a guide, facilitator, coach, mentor, editing buddy and cheerleader. Showing that they believe in the young writer while they learn to believe in themselves. Giving them the tools they need to realise their own creative visions.
- This is a beautiful thing.
- Totally agree. Extremely well said.
- Exploration, experimentation, discovery of writing – purpose, meaning and the craft.
- Took early retirement from teaching 6 years ago. Burnt out! Spent 2 years sleeping! Then 4 years ago started writing. And two years ago running writing for pleasure workshops for children. And Saturday and tonight is the first of me feeling the fire in my belly again! Thank you.
- What a journey you’re on, Wendy!
- The children in your workshops are lucky to have you writing amongst them. Thank you for sharing your honest reflections tonight. See you next time.
- Ah thank you so much. That is so kind to say. They bring me pockets of joy… especially in these dire times.
- Thank you. It was enriching.
- I wouldn’t want to write about clouds because someone told me to do so. That is not fun. My mind has no links to clouds. I want to write about the Sumerians, the outer space and coding.. So maybe we need to ask children what they would like to write about.
- Every child has something worth writing about. I had a pupil who wanted to write about nail varnish…and I let her. It turned out to be a fantastic piece about her older sister. Outer space and coding – great!
- I absolutely love this.
- So much to say! I would want the teachers to show the learners that they are completing the task alongside them. Show them the struggles and how to overcome. I would like my writing curriculum to be somewhat flexible to follow interests and current events.
- If we want children to take ownership of their learning and write with enthusiasm then we need to be flexible. Rather than focusing on one topic, why not allow children to create their writing using the materials from very fabric of their own lives?
- Yaaay!
Writing for Pleasure: Theory, Research and Practice is published by Routledge. It hits the sweet spot between theory and practice and is an utter pleasure to read.
