What is Talk for Writing?

At Westdale, we adopt elements of 'Talk for Writing', an innovative approach to teaching writing developed by literacy specialist Pie Corbett. It uses high-quality model texts to introduce children to various story and text types, encouraging them to learn these texts by heart and analyse them critically.

In the 'Imitation phase', we kick off with an engaging hook that sparks the children's curiosity and creativity. For instance, Beegu the friendly alien may crash land on the playground or the children become paleontologists excavating dinosaur bones. The children rehearse a linked modelled quality text with actions and create story maps, internalising the narrative through oral repetition. As they examine the structure, they explore characters and settings, populating the classroom with word ideas and language tools for their future stories.

Moving into the 'Innovation phase', children start to modify the model text with their own ideas. They experiment with different characters, settings, and events while retaining the text's fundamental structure, fostering creativity and helping them discover their unique writing voice. Children apply their own ideas into the familiar sentence structures drawn from the model text. This collaborative and dynamic process cultivates a love for writing while developing essential skills.