At the centre of every unit is a model text written by a published children’s author, mapped to key criteria and objectives, which makes sure pupils are basing their own work on examples of the highest standards. Below are the free resources created to accompany my ‘Closing the Gap’ series. CLOSING THE WRITING GAP RESOURCES Top 10 grammar moves. This infographic summarises the key grammar moves that feature in academic writing. Before moving into the practical elements, I was keen as a leader of primary English to gain a deeper insight into the science of writing. Some might feel we teachers don’t need this, but I am inclined to disagree. Not only is this understanding central to curriculum design, it helps us to develop precise mental models of how students learn to write. In turn, this allows us to diagnose errors and problems as they emerge with accuracy, so that we can teach responsively. There is, rightly, a lot of concern about children falling behind, but a word of caution here from SENCo, Sara Alston, warns that focusing solely on academic learning when pupils return to school will be damaging.

Closing the Writing Gap by Alex Quigley | Waterstones

Try visual note taking or drawing images to use as memory prompts - it won’t solve the full sentence but could generate enough information to trigger memory and build writing content. It trains teachers to be an expert in how pupils learn to write, from the big picture of planning, editing and revising your writing, to the vital importance of grammar and spelling with accuracy. Highly practical strategies and easy-to use classroom activities are included to help teachers seize opportunities across the curriculum every school day to teach the critical writing process. The ability to reflect upon and manipulate the sound structure of words. In writing, this difficulty will show in spelling. But when a child struggles to spell it can impede their writing significantly, affecting fluency, vocabulary and confidence. Some children will only write words they know they can spell and this means much writing will not reflect their verbal ability. With all the effort of trying to spell and write, a child’s working memory may be taken up with concentrating on this rather than the content of their writing. Freeing up the cognitive load could really help with the fluency of their writing, liberating them to be creative and relaxed. For assessment purposes, under this climate, a teacher can really see their potential. So, this is a book that covers an admirable amount of ground, and I would highly recommend it to all teachers. But while the history of writing was a worthwhile discussion, and the practical approaches for grammar and sentence-level teaching invaluable, the chapter on the science of writing left me with more questions than answers.Speech-to-text software can allow a pupil to speak their writing, which may alleviate both memory and spelling barriers. Closing the Writing Gap is a clarion call to take the three Rs seriously... I hope the revolution it has started in my classroom is repeated everywhere." Alex Quigley has written another brilliant book for classroom teachers and school leaders. This book gets right to the heart of closing the writing gap; it is thought provoking for the reflective teacher whilst also offering helpful guidance and advice for every teacher. Alex is an exceptional writer himself, communicating his expertise and experiences with clarity and precision.”

Catch Up Resources - Close The Writing Gap | Plazoom Catch Up Resources - Close The Writing Gap | Plazoom

With the goal of giving every teacher the knowledge and skill to teach writing with confidence, it makes sense of the history and ‘science’ of writing, synthesising the debates and presenting a wealth of usable evidence about how children develop most efficiently as successful writers.Real Writing is the brand new KS2 English programme from Plazoom, launching this September. Carefully mapped to the National Curriculum for Years 3-6, it’s ideal for closing the learning gap and helping pupils to accelerate their progress. Writing a book about teaching writing is a daunting prospect. Sharing the reality that I spent years in the classroom struggling to support weaker writers only adds to the trepidation. What if my teacher knowledge gap wasn’t the norm? What if my attempts to translate practical strategies fell flat? Our lives can be filled and fulfilled by writing,’ says Alex Quigley. In this important new book: ‘That story begins with our birth certificate and ends with our epitaph …’. I can’t think of a text which better articulates the importance of writing, and then goes on to articulate how to put ambition into practice. It is a book of wise principles and practical implementation. In it, Quigley establishes himself even further as my go-to source of insights into the all-important subject of whole-school literacy.” Nearly two years ago, I began researching and writing ‘Closing the Reading Gap’. After writing my book on vocabulary, I knew that reading was the natural next step.