Literacy -
A rich mental picture that describes what we are aiming for is really crucial to success, isn't it?
Cars wouldn't be built without templates, buildings wouldn't be built without plans, in fact... not much would be achieved or, if it were, might not last very long.
We face a challenge when we ask children to write.
How much do we give them?
If we give them a structure... are we doing it for them?
If we give them ideas... how much of it is theirs and how much is ours?
What do we do?
I am a firm believer in the power of What A Good One Looks Like in all aspects of school and life. If we have that rich mental picture, we have something to work with and something to work towards. How can children be ambitious writers unless they have good models of what ambitious writing looks like... gives them something to aspire to and emulate?
Here is the challenge for teachers.... What do we give them?
If our examples are not ambitious enough... we run the risk of setting a glass ceiling of attainment for our writers.
http://lendmeyourliteracy.com/
A contributory website with a wide selection of examples of What A Good One Looks Like.
We should be building our own in schools.
We should be collaborating with other schools to build our resource.
