Table Of Content‘This book is essential reading for any teacher, literacy coordinator or student
Using Talk
wanting to take a serious, research-based look at writing. It offers a superb balance
between discussion of how to teach writing and how to inquire into the way that
writing is taught in the classroom or school. This innovative approach to writing U
about research is both inspired and inspiring.’ s
i
n
Sue Ellis, Reader in Literacy & Language, University of Strathclyde
g to Support
T
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l
k
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U s i ng T alk to S upport presents a new and innovative approach to the o
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teaching of early writing. The authors discuss both theoretical and practical issues
u
around using talk in the classroom to support children as they learn to write. p
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t
Set within the context of national concern for achievement in the development of
writing ability, it addresses the gap in understanding early teaching and focuses on
the exploration of how talk and writing interface. This includes:
Ros Fisher, Debra Myhill,
• Numerous examples of teaching and activities for using talk to support writing
• Using extensive data from classrooms; video and audio recordings; and F Susan Jones & Shirley Larkin
i
s
transcripts of children’s talk h
e
r
• Exploring three aspects of talk when used to support writing: talk for idea ,
M
generation; talk for oral rehearsal; and talk for refl ection.
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This book is for students on Primary ITT courses, particularly English specialists. Jo
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Students on M-level English and literacy courses will also fi nd it useful.
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Ros Fisher is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University a
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k
of Exeter. Debra Myhill is Professor of Education at the University of Exeter.
i
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Susan Jones is a lecturer at the University of Exeter. Shirley Larkin is a lecturer
at the University of Exeter.
ISBN: 978-1-84920-144-5
Cover image © Steve Skjold - Alamy | Cover design by Wendy Scott 9 781849 201445
fisher et al_using_aw.indd 1 25/3/10 11:12:05
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Using Talk to
Support Writing
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Education at SAGE
SAGEisaleadinginternational publisher of journals,
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Oureducationpublishingincludes:
(cid:117) accessibleandcomprehensive texts for aspiring
educationprofessionals and practitioners looking to
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Findoutmore at: www.sagepub.co.uk/education
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Using Talk to Support
Writing
Ros Fisher, Susan Jones, Shirley Larkin and
Debra Myhill
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Allchaptersexcludingthefollowing©RosFisher,
SusanJones,ShirleyLarkinandDebraMyhill2010
Interlude1©FrancesDunkin
Interlude2©RachaelMilsom
Interlude3©CorinneBishop
Interlude4©LindaBateman
Activitysheets©AnitaWood
©Firstpublished2010
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ISBN 978-1-84920-143-8
ISBN 978-1-84920-144-5 (pbk)
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Printed in Great Britain by MPG Group, Bodmin, Cornwall
Printed on paper from sustainable resources
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Contents
About the authors vii
Introduction viii
Classroom poster xii
1 Learning to write 1
Debra Myhill
2 Exploring classroom talk through action research 20
Susan Jones
Interlude 1 Being involved in research – the view from
a school Frances Dunkin 34
3 Talk to generate ideas 38
Ros Fisher
Lesson plans for idea generation 56
Conscience alley 56
Forum theatre 58
Freeze-frame 60
Using music 62
4 Writing aloud – the role of oral rehearsal 64
Debra Myhill
Interlude 2 Using write aloud in the classroom Rachael Milsom 80
5 Talk into writing 82
Susan Jones
Lesson plans for write aloud 100
Invisible writing 100
Magic pencil 102
Paired writing 104
Talking to a toy 106
6 Talk for reflecting on writing 108
Shirley Larkin
Interlude 3 The art of reflection Corinne Bishop 126
v
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vi USING TALK TO SUPPORT WRITING
7 Talking about writing – what the children told us 128
Ros Fisher
Lesson plans for reflection 144
Evaluating writing 144
A step-by-step writing guide 146
Thinking cap 148
Two ticks and a wish 150
8 Managing talk for writing in the classroom 152
Ros Fisher
Interlude 4 My favourite lesson Linda Bateman 166
Appendix 1 The research report – talk to text: using talk to
support writing 168
Appendix 2 Child interview schedule 179
References 181
Index 184
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About the authors
RRooss FFiisshheerr has taught in primary schools in the north-west of England and
the USA. She is now Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at
the University of Exeter. She writes widely about the teaching of literacy and has
researched the role of the teacher, and teacher change in current large-scale initia-
tives to change the teaching of literacy in England. Recent books include Inside the
Literacy Hour (Routledge, 2002) and an edited collection of papers from an ESRC-
funded research seminar series, Raising Standards in Literacy (Falmer, 2002). She is
currently researching the impact of dialogic talk on young children’s understand-
ing of arithmetic.
SSuussaann JJoonneess is a lecturer in education at the University of Exeter, United
Kingdom. Her research interests include gender and achievement, classroom inter-
action and the developing writer. She is the co-author of Talking, Listening, Learning:
Effective Talk in the Primary Classroom(Open University Press, 2005).
SShhiirrlleeyy LLaarrkkiinn has a background in teaching English Literature and in Psychology.
She has researched the area of metacognition in young children since 1999.
Originally working with Philip Adey on a cognitive acceleration programme in
early years science education, she has since explored the role of metacognition in
learning to write and in religious education. She has published a number of aca-
demic papers in this field and a single-authored book entitled Metacognition in
Young Children(Routledge, 2010). She currently lectures at the Graduate Schoolof
Education, University of Exeter.
DDeebbrraa MMyyhhiillll is Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, and is Head
of the Graduate School of Education. Her research interests focus principally on
aspects of language and literacy teaching, particularly writing and grammar, and
talk in the classroom. She is the author of Better Writers(Courseware Publications,
2001), co-author of Talking, Listening, Learning: Effective Talk in the Primary
Classroom (Open University Press, 2005), and co-editor of the SAGE Handbook of
Writing Development (Sage, 2009).
AAnniittaa WWoooodd began her career as a primary school teacher in the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets. She now teaches on the Primary PGCE course at the
Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter. Her interests include
EAL, drama and children’s literature.
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Introduction
The talk to text project
The Talk to Text Project developed from an earlier research project in which
some members of our current team worked with a group of first schools in West
Sussex on classroom talk (see Myhill, Jones and Hopper, 2005). At the end of that
project, the headteachers asked if we could continue to work with them on talk
but, this time, to focus on talk for writing. Although we knew that a great deal had
been written about the importance of using talk to support writing, we also felt
that much of this was insufficiently specific. Everyone knew that talk was ‘a good
thing’ when it came to writing but there was very little known about the differ-
ent ways in which talk supports writing and what happens when children use talk
before, during and after writing.
We approached the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and they agreed to fund the
project. Mainly this funding gave us two excellent research fellows who worked
closely with the schools. The research was greatly enhanced by the fact that we
had one full year as a pilot with the schools that we knew well and then added two
more schools from elsewhere in the south of England for the second year when
the main study took place. In all, over the period of the project, six schools were
involved, with eight teachers, although they were not all with us for the whole
project. For the main project we worked with five schools and with six class teachers
and their classes of 5, 6 and 7 year-olds.
The project had two main aims. One was to work with the teachers to develop
activities that would use talk to support writing and the other was to learn more
about what happens when children and teachers talk in this way. We did not want
this project to be an ‘us and them’ project so the teachers were involved through-
out. The head teachers helped with writing the research bid. The head teachers
and class teachers were involved with the planning and analysis at every stage.
Teachers as well as research follows videoed lessons. We held research days when
those of us who worked at the university met with those of us who worked in the
schools to share ideas. We got together for some of the analysis, and some of the
teachers have contributed to this book. The funding from Esmée Fairbairn was
particularly helpful in providing supply cover for these meetings to take place.
From the background of previous research and our own knowledge of children
and schools, we identified three specific uses for talk to support writing: talk to
generate ideas; talk for oral rehearsal; and talk for metacognitive purposes. We felt
that each of these purposes required different planning on the part of the teacher
and different activities for the children.
In order to clarify these purposes for talk to ourselves, the teachers and the
children involved we worked carefully to define exactly what we meant by idea
generation, oral rehearsal and metacognition. Following discussions with the
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INTRODUCTION ix
Table I.1 Framework for using talk to support writing
Element Definition Example Child speak
Idea generation This provides Role play of a scene Getting Ideas
children with the from a story, draw a
opportunity to talk in picture and explain
groups, pairs or with it to a partner,
puppets/small world talking about own
play, etc. about the experiences, using
topic of the writing. artefacts
It is about the con-
tent of their writing.
Write aloud This gives children Trying out sentences Say it – write it
the chance to put or phrases with a
what they want to talk partner.
say into words
before they write it. Reading invisible
This also means writing.
reading their writing
aloud after writing to
help them ‘hear’
what their writing
sounds like. It is to
help with the form of
their writing.
Reflection This has two The ending was Thinking about
elements: reflection difficult because I writing
on the process of didn’t know what to
writing and write. I didn’t know
reflection o n the what to write next
product of writing. and then I remem-
bered my Red
Riding Hood story
This is a good piece
of writing because it
is funny.
teachers, we changed the terms oral rehearsal to write aloud and metacognition to
reflection. In the case of the former this was to distinguish what we wanted to
focus on from other forms of oral rehearsal. In the case of the latter it was to use
a more easily recognisable term. These definitions and examples can be seen in
Table I.1. We also produced a classroom poster depicting a simplified version for
