From Guided to Independent Writing
Like many teachers (especially primary) I still find it hard to know precisely how to move the children from guided to independent writing.
I’ve certainly been guilty of ‘all or nothing’ in terms of support.
I wanted to put something concrete together that would show what slow release might look like.
It’s still very much a working document. Please do send me any suggestions, additions and/or revisions.
December 1, 2019 @ 4:57 pm
Many thanks for this.
I love the concept of ‘slow release’. It makes sense it terms of allowing children to master the basics while working towards independent writing. I particularly like the early intro’ of the much neglected dictated sentences.
I can also see how this might work with any year group.
Perhaps a timescale might be useful in terms of how, for example, 6 weeks on Information writing might look when it is broken down like this. Many of our staff say they feel they never get enough time to really teach the basic skills because there is pressure to show children ‘producing’ pieces of work. Writing is always seen as having the most ‘creative’ potential of all the core areas and this affects the way it is taught – as you say, the ‘all or nothing’ approach.
The idea of slow release may really help to overcome the pressures that result in children being pushed into drafting too early? It would be great to see how this translates to a unit of work. A lot of food for thought.