35 Strategies for Supporting

Weak Writers
1. Oral rehearsal
Provide warm-up opportunities. Talking before writing helps weaker writers to have
something to say often they can compose a sentence in their head but not on paper.
Key words are more likely to be taken into pupils long-term vocabulary if spoken.
!. "rama
#ole play can help weak writers to generate ideas$ especially when asked to write from
another persons point of view. "ebate can be used to generate for and against
arguments. Key words and sentence starters can be given for oral activities.
%. &isual stimuli
&isual stimuli can help to prompt pupils who struggle to generate vocabulary and ideas.
'mages can be printed on writing frames$ postcards$ O(Ts etc. Key words are more
effective when displayed with icons.
). Props
Ob*ects can stimulate ideas and writing e.g. ++1 memorabilia. ,-tory-sacks .bags of
items revealed one by one/ might be used in 0nglish$ (istory$ "rama.
1. 02emplar pieces
0nsure pupils have an idea about what the written outcome should resemble show
e2amples of that type of writing. -hared reading of an O(P often found to be more
effective than copies in front of pupils. Time needs to be built into lessons for this.
3. Provide a recipe
'dentify the key features of the type of writing pupils are re4uired to do - at word$
sentence and te2t level. e.g. #ecipe5 present tense$ short sentences$ chronological
order.
6. #eal tasks for real audiences
#esearch has shown that weaker writers perform better when they draw on real
e2periences and have a clear sense of who they are writing for. 7se 89P as a checklist
for form$ audience$ purpose.
:. ;odelling
;odel on the board or O(P the thought processes you go through as you write. This
helps to demystify writing. +orks well with short e2am 4uestions on O(P or openings to
longer pieces.
<. =orrecting the teacher
;odelling can be e2tended into group composition by asking the group to criti4ue the
writing or contribute their ideas.
1>. Peer composition
't can be much less intimidating writing in pairs this makes weak writers feel less
e2posed.
11. Presentation
-eparate presentation issues from content weaker writers confuse them and may use
frustration with presentation as an avoidance tactic.
1!. ;ini whiteboards
These 9) or 91 boards allow mistakes to be erased and prevent paper from endlessly
being screwed up. =an be photocopied.
1%. 9lternatives to 9)
-ome reluctant writers are phased by 9) lined paper and may not be well-e4uipped. Try
alternative colours$ si?es$ pens etc. Post-its and O(Ts allow work to be easily.
transferred to the front. &ary the format of worksheets consider 9% si?e.
1). +riting mats
These are double-sided 9% laminated sheets of key words$ writing frames$ e4uations and
diagrams for a particular topic. They help to bring key words off the wall and prevent
continual re4uests for paper to lean on.
11. @eft-handed writers
@eft handers will sometimes find it easier to miss every other line and when possible$
use pencil .doesnt smudge/ and portrait format. Paper should be diagonally leaning to
the right on the desk.
13. Aotemaking
;odel notetaking and offer a variety of frames for making notes. +eak writers do not
see the difference between writing and notes. The ability to be concise under timed
conditions is key to e2ams and takes lots of practice.
16. Planning
'ntroduce students to a variety of planning formats. ;odel how you plan. Aever allow
pupils to begin e2tended writing without a plan of some kind. +eaker writers respond
well to a routine of planning.
1:. The 3 +s
=an be used to help pupils find something to say +ho$ +hat$ +hen$ +here$ +hy$ (ow.
1<. -e4uencing activites
These encourage pupils to do the thinking and help weaker writers to organise their
ideas. -trips containing words$ phrases or whole sentences are ordered by pupils.
These can either be e2panded into a full answer or stuck down as an alternative to
handwriting.
!>. Post-its
Pupils write ideas on post-its which can be moved about into the right order to form a
plan. Bood for kinaesthetic learners.
!1. +riting frames
Aeed to be differentiated$ otherwise developing writers will be held back. Bood for
writers who write vast 4uantities with little content.
!!. +ord count
-pecify the amount of words allowed. To encourage conciseness$ make rambling writers
reduce their work to 1 sentences$ 1 bullet points$ or even 1 words. This forces them to
cut out unnecessary words and works very well on a computer.
!%. -haping paragraphs
'f pupils are beyond a writing frame but still need support$ replace frame with
paragraph headings$ bullet points$ key 4uestions or sentence starters.
!). ;r Pee
(elps pupils to structure a paragraph in the right order Point$ 0vidence$ 02planation.
!1. =lo?e
+hen using clo?e passages$ try to ensure that the answers cannot be guessed e.g. give
too many .or no/ answers or blank out phrases instead of single words.
!3. Key words
"eveloping a useful sub*ect vocabulary that aids learning is more of a priority than
spelling for weak writers. @esson starters are a good place to play key words definition
games and activate pupils prior learning. =onstant recap is vital to e2tending vocabulary.
!6. @ocating key words
Place key words and sentence starters on the appropriate part of the writing frame to
ensure they get used. 9lternatively$ put the words on strips which can be moved about.
!:. @ink words
Bive link words and phrases as well as key words these help to develop more
sophisticated thinking and writing e.g. because$ therefore$ but$ ne2t$ so$ finally$ also.
!<. -ynonyms
'f vocabulary is limited$ give lists of alternative words with the same meaning. =an make
a big difference to verbs e.g. went C walked$ ran$ strolled$ rushed$ raced.
%>. '=T
+hen students word-process$ encourage them to highlight separate points .paragraphs/
or key words using different fonts and shading. +orks well with kineasthetic learners.
%1. "rawing
-ome weak writers have been found to perform better if they draw illustrations or
cartoons alongside their work.
%!. "isplay
(as been found to be effective when it identifies stages in the process of writing or
planning e.g. (ow to write up an e2periment steps 1-1.
%%. -cribing
+eak writers can 4uickly become reliant on @-9 as scribe or on over-writing. 9
combinationDwithdrawal approach is advisable.
%). #ereading
+eak writers rarely read back over what they have written. 0ncourage students to
read work aloud to check for missing words$ wrong words$ etc.
%1. Praise
+eaker writers do respond to praise but are hard to motivate. Opportunities for
success in writing activities in order help to develop a ,can do mentality. Try to make
writing tasks progressively demanding so that pupils can build up skills.