Talk4Writing isn’t only about storytelling. As our Year 5 students can demonstrate, this literacy technique is applicable across the curriculum for teaching language techniques in any written genre.
Year 5 students studied the “I have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr. as part of their “Space and Segregation” topic. They were exploring persuasive writing in their literacy lessons and wanted to understand how this famous speech used powerful language and persuasive techniques to emphasize the aims of the Civil Rights protest of 1963. These techniques were then be adapted and re-invented by students in their own powerful, ‘I have a dream’ persuasive writing texts – read on to see some examples.
In this way, Talk4Writing can support the teaching of our topics by bringing history to life. It can deepen a child’s understanding of a given text type, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. The shared “talking text” will demonstrate the use of specific (and often complex) linguistic and grammatical techniques in context, so that pupils have concrete examples of how to apply them. Through shared writing sessions, teachers can support and challenge children to adapt these techniques in their own writing.
We hope you enjoy seeing this powerful speech brought to life in Year 5. Please do call in to see all of the children’s writing that was produced as a result of this project. Congratulations to Miss Cara and all the Turtle Class!