Writing in role

Overview

Writing in role gives children a reason to write and the freedom to explore their ideas in a way that builds their comprehension of a text, and this session looks at how this approach can be planned into lessons. To look at this in more detail we see how the process can be applied to Lonely Beast - using the text as a springboard for all kinds of writing opportunities from social media posts to TV interviews. The important point being that these are informal exercises used to explore a text and develop pupils’ understanding of things like character and context. For anyone who wants to explore this further with their class, there are words of advice for making writing in role a success - starting with making sure the task has a clear purpose when it comes to deepening children’s comprehension, and including the option for pupils to have an element of choice.

Course Materials:

Presentation Slides - Download

.pptx file

Training Handout - Download

.pdf file

Course Creator

Former headteacher Ruth is now an independent education advisor, supporting schools, trusts and other organisations across the UK. She is currently chair of the National Association of Advisors in English (NAAE), an associate consultant for the National Literacy Trust (NLT) and a member of The United Kingdom Literacy Association's (UKLA) awards and members committee.

About the Course

Ruth demonstrates a range of drama and role-play teaching approaches for Year 1-Year 6, showing how important drama is in connecting children to narrative by eliciting personal responses as well as supporting children in developing a deeper understanding of the relationships between characters, making inferences from their actions.