Closing the Writing Gap

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Beginning with a potted history of writing pedagogy, and a section on the science of writing (more on that later), Quigley then turns to two crucial nuts and bolts of the craft: grammar and syntax. Closing the Writing Gap does offer a simple conceptual model. But for me, it was not robust enough to fully grasp the full spectrum of the development of writing. Early years, key stage 1 teachers and, equally, those who work with struggling writers at all stages of education, would have been helped by a more comprehensive model. For example, I would have loved to have read Quigley’s take on Joan Sedita’s ‘writing rope’ model, which is far more detailed (and arguably more helpful). Maybe he’ll do that soon.

Closing the writing gap by Alex Quigley Book review: Closing the writing gap by Alex Quigley

Often children with the difficulties stated above can end up on the ‘bottom’ table, or tasks set may be fixed at a very low bar. This counts for all children, really. Do you know your children’s individual skills and potential? Might they surprise you if you let them choose tasks without limits? With a variety of strategies and high expectations, children can often achieve fantastic things. I never expected two years ago that this book would be published during a global crisis that would see pupils impacted by school closures. When you wed closures to limited book access, limited teaching, along with limited support at home, the prospect for the reading gap is massively challenging. Speech-to-text software can allow a pupil to speak their writing, which may alleviate both memory and spelling barriers. It is crucial that busy teachers are supported with timely and accessible resources to support their work. As a result, to go alongside my new book, ‘Closing the Writing Gap’, I have produced a small number of tools that I hope will help translate the insights from the book into action.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. 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. 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. I was delighted and relieved then to receive really positive commendations from a brilliant array or teachers, leaders, and research experts. You can read their quotes below: Classroom teachers across all phases, middle leaders, literacy leaders and senior leadership teams, who want to ensure that every pupil can access the curriculum and write with confidence and skill. The course ensures that writing exemplification is linked to every subject and phase.

7 Steps to Closing the Writing Gap - Routledge

This book provides an easy-to-read and entertaining synthesis of research on writing, beginning with a compelling overview of how writing developed. It has written text at its heart and offers readers a succinct insight into textual research and its practical application to the writing classroom. The book is a rich source of directions for further reading and examples of strategies for teaching writing which will support teachers to reflect on what happens in their writing classrooms and to make enabling changes. But what is likely to be even more revolutionary in my classroom is the following chapter on sentence construction. Referencing a swathe of research I am definitely going to go away and study, this short treatise alone makes the book worth the investment. From it, I realised that I have not been explicit enough in my teaching of syntax and how important it is in closing the gap for my weaker writers.Your first chance to see the new ‘Closing The Writing Gap’ book in action. This is the must-see course companion to the final book of ‘The Gap’ trilogy by renowned writer, teacher and TES columnist, Alex Quigley.