This week, we began the pilot phase of our new writing curriculum across two Year 6 classes, one Year 5 class, one Year 3 class and one Year 2 class. For context, the school is a 3-form entry, Local Authority maintained school on the outskirts of London. The first week of a unit, with our new approach focuses on text immersion and writer's craft exploration.
In Year 6, our immersion lessons have involved reading Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Holes by Louis Sachar. Both texts delve into themes of ambition, power and isolation. We have been drawing comparisons between how these two very different authors depict characters striving for power and how isolated settings influence the dynamics of that. For instance, Macbeth's ambition for power leads to his downfall, while in Holes, the isolated environment of Camp Green Lake forces characters into situations where subservience to a figure of power is a means of survival.
Our approach to immersion aligns with research on schema building, which emphasises that immersing students in a thematic context can significantly improve their ability to make connections between ideas when they come to explore those ideas independently. Sweller, eta l (2009) found that prior knowledge, or schema, plays a crucial role in learning new material because it helps students organise information meaningfully. Their findings suggest that when students have a pre-existing framework of knowledge, they are better able to absorb new information and link it to what they already know. In our case, by immersing students in the themes of power and isolation through these two novels, we are helping them build a schema that they can add specific techniques to for writing later in the unit. Ausubel, (1968) wrote about subsuming concepts being overarching ideas from which more precise ideas come. In the example above, power and isolation are our subsuming concepts with the examples from the two stories sitting in the layer beneath. As we move further into the unit, students will be introduced to specific techniques that the writers use to tap into these concepts. For example, the way in which Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth during their interactions.
So far, the results have been promising across all year groups. The children are offering insightful perspectives on the themes and how authors use different techniques to convey them. However, this success hinges on the effectiveness of scaffolding and targeted questioning. Without these supports, students can struggle to articulate their ideas in a meaningful way. Research into scaffolded instruction by Bruner, at al (1976) indicates that students benefit when teachers break down complex tasks into manageable parts and gradually remove the support as students become more proficient. Their work underscores the importance of structured guidance in discussions, ensuring that students have the tools they need to engage deeply with the material. This has been evident in our classes, where properly structured questioning has led students to offer thoughtful interpretations of the texts they are studying.
When we come to roll out the curriculum across the school, one of the challenges will be ensuring that all teachers are equipped to scaffold these discussions effectively. Not all teachers feel confident in their ability to do this, particularly when exploring complex themes. To address this, we will be supporting staff through our coaching programme, which will provide training on how to structure discussions that guide students’ thinking while allowing them to explore ideas independently.
In the second half of our first week of the pilot, we transitioned into the Writer's craft phase, where we began focusing on sentence structure and composition. Drawing on the work of Christopher Youles and research into language learning, we have started codifying sentences from the texts students have been reading. This means identifying specific sentence structures used by the authors and practicing these structures with the students. A key piece of research informing this phase is the work of Sweller et al. (2011) on cognitive load theory and working memory, which argues that reducing the demands on working memory during learning allows students to focus on higher-level tasks. Repeated practice of sentence structures frees up cognitive resources, allowing students to concentrate on other aspects of writing, most importantly, purpose and intent.
One of the central ideas behind this approach is to progressively teach students sentence structures that become increasingly complex over time. This gradual build-up allows students to develop a repertoire of sentences that they can draw from, which is critical in helping them write with purpose and intent. A study by Myhill et al. (2012) on Grammar for Writing found that explicit teaching of sentence structure has a significant positive impact on students' writing. The research demonstrates that when students are taught how sentences are constructed with an emphasis on grammatical choices, they are more likely to write with clarity and sophistication.
We have also referred to this method as a “mega-scale colourful semantics” approach. Colourful semantics is typically used with younger students or those with language difficulties, breaking down sentences into their constituent parts to help children understand how sentences work. Bryan & Gast, (2014) on Colourful Semantics found that it is particularly effective in improving sentence construction, especially for children with speech, language and communication needs. By scaling this approach up and applying it to all, we are offering a heavily scaffolded pathway into sentence construction. Over time, the scaffolds will be gradually removed as students become more confident in their writing abilities, though high-ability students will still have the flexibility to explore their own ideas while adhering to the principles of purpose-driven sentence construction much earlier on in the lesson sequence.
One of the reasons this approach is proving effective is that it ensures that all students, regardless of their ability, have access to the tools they need to construct well-formed sentences. For students who may struggle with writing, the scaffolded approach allows them to focus on one aspect of writing at a time, while higher-attaining students benefit from the structured guidance that enables them to write with greater clarity and precision. In keeping with our broader aims, these sentence structures are not taught in isolation but are always connected to the themes being explored in the immersion phase, ensuring that the writing retains its intent and purpose.
Looking ahead, the writer's craft phase will soon transition into the planning, shared and independent writing and editing phases. These phases will offer students the opportunity to apply what they have learned, moving from structured support to more autonomous writing. In the coming weeks, I will continue to share updates on our progress, evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches and gather feedback from the other teachers involved in the pilot to refine the curriculum before we roll it out across the school. By doing so, we aim to build a robust and effective writing program that develops not only students' technical writing skills but also their ability to think critically and write with intent.
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