Research School Network: Text Generation – Putting Pen to Paper What do we do for pupils who find themselves struggling to put pen to paper?

We’ve probably all been there – we’ve explicitly modelled (or at least we think we have), we’ve provided scaffolds, we’ve broken things down into small, manageable steps.

Then, we set our pupils off on an extended, independent writing task and some of the pupils just don’t know where to start.

This case study about Jack will be familiar to many readers. So, what do we do for pupils who, like Jack, find themselves struggling to put pen to paper?

The EEF’s guidance report: Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2 , offers teachers some helpful strategies to support the writing process at all Key Stages:

Planning

Jack has been asked to write an extended piece on the topic of ​‘holidays’ – we have covered the topic in class, but as Jack has never actually been on holiday, his mental model is limited. As a teacher, I need to make explicit links between the French Jack already knows, and how that might be used in the context of holidays. Jack needs to be supported to plan ideas, word and sentences. This could be done through some planning discussion questions, such as:


Where might you go on holiday?
Who would you go with?
How might you get there?
Where would you stay?
What would you do there?
What would you eat / drink?
What vocabulary do you know that could be used here? Where have we seen this before?
Which tenses might you need?
How could the model text on sport help you here?
Which higher level structures could you use here? (We have a list of these that we use all of the time – these predictable habits free up working memory, so Jack can focus on other aspects of the task)

It’s crucial that this discussion is used to activate and make links with prior / existing knowledge. It’s not about teaching new stuff. Sentence starters for key ideas might be a useful scaffold, but we need to be careful not to over-scaffold at this point.


Drafting

At this stage, I might ask Jack to note down his key ideas in a logical order. I would probably advise paragraph headings in English, with French notes underneath. I could provide a planning checklist in line with the success criteria. This will help Jack to monitor his own performance.


Revising

This is where Jack will make any changes to his draft in light of feedback or self- evaluation. Self-monitoring from the checklist used at the drafting stage, or some prompt questions might be helpful here.


Editing

Now, Jack is going to make any changes to ensure the text is accurate and coherent. He will check for accurate spellings / common errors. Referring back to his own recent feedback, as well as any whole-class feedback will be helpful here.


Publishing

Here, publishing simply means that the work is presented so that others can read it. In this case, it is handed in to me! Of course, in other writing tasks this may mean displaying work, or sharing with others.


By following these steps, we can support pupils like Jack in overcoming their writing challenges and developing their skills in a structured and supportive environment.

Further reading:

Blog 1 – Town End Research School – Executive Function

Blog 2 – Newcastle Research School – Transcription