The Write Spot

The Write Spot

On Monday 18th August all CHPS staff participated in a curriculum day focused on teaching Writing. The day supported the work we are doing to develop a whole school consistent approach to teaching Writing, and was facilitated by Paula Heenan, who is a Literacy Consultant. George Drew, Sarah Ryan and Susan Williamson have been working with Paula since the beginning of 2021.

Over the course of the day, staff collaborated in grade level teams focused on developing shared beliefs around the teaching of Writing. Staff all started their own writer’s notebooks, and we looked at how our use of the consistent language of The 6+1 Traits of Writing aligns with the Victorian Curriculum.

One of the things we have been working on this year is starting to view students’ writing with an admiring lens rather than a deficit lens. When we use the admiring lens, we focus on what the student is doing well and we see evidence of progress. Admiring lens feedback is specific and targeted, allowing the student to understand exactly what they have done well. For example ‘The way you described the breeze hitting your skin really made me feel like I was there.’ Using the admiring lens creates positive feelings about writing and places the focus on possibilities rather than limitations.