Writing for a Brighter Future

Did you know that improving student writing success is a major part of our school improvement plan this year? We are using the 6+1 Traits of Writing to analyse student writing and set goals based on different elements like voice, ideas, presentation, conventions, organisation, word choice, and sentence fluency. Part of this focus includes creating a positive culture of writing within our school. To do this, we have implemented a whole school approach to teaching writing. We have taken into consideration the different stages of writing development, our classroom environments, an engaging writing center, explicitly teaching writing skills, and having students write every single day! We are excited to see our students progress and achieve their goals in such an important area of academics - writing! We also love to celebrate each student’s progress and wonderful writing. It is always a delight to the school leadership team when students come to show off their great work! Have your children been writing more at home? We don’t have homework at St Benny’s, however writing is an essential part of life and can be incorporated into many daily activities! Let’s get writing! 

Here are 3 ideas for incorporating writing for your children into their daily routine:

1. Spend 30 minutes before bedtime reading stories together and then encourage writing/drawing about the book for the last 10 minutes. 
2. Ask your child to help write the weekly shopping list. 
3. Encourage writing by providing fun writing material such as colored pens and markers, personalized stationery, and journals.

Aleesha Rockemer 

Learning and Teaching Adviser