ABSTRACT

This book explores what writing for pleasure means, and how it can be realised as a much-needed pedagogy whose aim is to develop children, young people, and their teachers as extraordinary and life-long writers. The approach described is grounded in what global research has long been telling us are the most effective ways of teaching writing and contains a description of the authors’ own research project into what exceptional teachers of writing do that makes the difference.

The authors describe ways of building communities of committed and successful writers who write with purpose, power, and pleasure, and they underline the importance of the affective aspects of writing teaching, including promoting in apprentice writers a sense of self-efficacy, agency, self-regulation, volition, motivation, and writer-identity. They define and discuss 14 research-informed principles which constitute a Writing for Pleasure pedagogy and show how they are applied by teachers in classroom practice. Case studies of outstanding teachers across the globe further illustrate what world-class writing teaching is.

This ground-breaking text is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the current status and nature of writing teaching in schools. The rich Writing for Pleasure pedagogy presented here is a radical new conception of what it means to teach young writers effectively today.

chapter 2|6 pages

Defining writing for pleasure

chapter 4|6 pages

Self-efficacy

chapter 5|7 pages

Self-regulation

chapter 6|7 pages

Agency

chapter 7|9 pages

Motivation

chapter 8|6 pages

Volition

chapter 9|11 pages

Writer-identity

chapter 11|8 pages

Create a community of writers

chapter 12|7 pages

Treat every child as a writer

chapter 13|11 pages

Read, share, think, and talk about writing

chapter 15|20 pages

Teach the writing processes

chapter 16|15 pages

Set writing goals

chapter 17|7 pages

Be reassuringly consistent

chapter 18|11 pages

Personal writing projects

chapter 19|10 pages

Balance composition and transcription

chapter 20|12 pages

Teach mini-lessons

chapter 21|12 pages

Be a writer-teacher

chapter 22|9 pages

Pupil conference

Meet children where they are

chapter 23|20 pages

Literacy for pleasure

Connect reading and writing

chapter 24|15 pages

Conclusion

An action plan for world-class writing teaching