Teaching Writing: Effective approaches for the middle years

In the 21st century, writing is more important than at any other time in human history. Yet much of the emphasis in schooling has been on reading, and after the early years, writing skills have been given less attention. Internationally, too many children are leaving school without the writing skills they need to succeed in life.

The evidence indicates that students rarely develop proficiency as writers without effective teacher instruction. Teaching Writing offers a comprehensive approach for the middle years of schooling, when the groundwork should be laid for the demanding writing tasks of senior school and the workplace.

Teaching Writing outlines evidence-based principles of writing instruction for upper primary students and young adolescents. It presents strategies that are ready for adoption or adaptation, and exemplars to assist with designing and implementing writing lessons across the middle years of school. It addresses writing from a multimodal perspective while also highlighting the importance of teaching linguistic aspects of text design such as sentence structure, vocabulary and spelling as foundations for meaning-making. Contributors argue that students need to continue to develop their skills in both handwriting and keyboarding. Examples of the teaching of writing across disciplines are presented through a range of vignettes. Strategies for assessing student writing and for supporting students with diverse needs are also explored.

With contributions from leading literacy educators, Teaching Writing is an invaluable resource for primary, secondary and pre-service teachers.

Tessa Daffern is a Senior Lecturer in Literacy Education at the University of Wollongong, and author of The Components of Spelling. In 2012 she was one of the first Australian educators certified as a Highly Accomplished Teacher. Noella M. Mackenzie is Associate Professor in Literacy Studies at Charles Sturt University, and author of Understanding and Supporting Young Writers from Birth to 8.