"If students don't write at least three times a week, they are dead". - Donald Graves
"Real writers are eager for collaboration. They use other people's brains to help them get their writing right". - Mem Fox
"You learn to write by grappling with a real subject that truly matters to you". - Ralph Fletcher
"If students don't write at least three times a week, they are dead". - Donald Graves
How can we help?
The opportunities are endless!
We are back in schools, so whether you want PL for your whole school or sessions with your leadership team, we can help. In school consulting can also include model lessons, lesson observations and feedback, we can totally tailor to your school.
Professional Learning Courses
All About Writers offers a number of professional development courses to build teacher knowledge and share HOW to implement in your classroom or school.
All Core PL Courses are TQI approved and look at the aspects of pedagogy that work together in a great writing classroom. Read more about them below.
We can also tailor courses to the needs of your school and teachers.
All About the Writers' Workshop (3 hours)
This is the place to start your learning! A Writers' Worksop offers a predictable routine and contains essential lesson elements to allow a community of writers to flourish. We will unpack all of this, plus the key tools that a workshop provides, including writer's notebooks, writing partners, mentor texts and visual anchors. A key goal for our students is to develop independence as writers, and the workshop is the place to start.
All About the Writing Process (3 hours)
Every writer will tell you that writing is a process, and we will tell you that when we teach the strategies of process, we teach writers. And wow, there is so much to learn! Process supports writers to be ready to write, and to keep on writing. It's central to the workshop, and a vital avenue for teaching craft. It provides a scaffold for student choice and autonomy. This course is all about HOW - the strategies our students need to be writers.
The qualities of great writing, or author's craft, start with great ideas, and end with conventions. Writers know how these elements work together, and understand how they can support meaning, tone and voice. In this course, we unpack these qualities using mentor texts and writing samples, and learn to look at writing through the eyes of a writer. We will also share tools that are available to support teachers and schools to assess and moderate writing.
All About Writers' Craft (3 hours)
All About Writing Conferences (3 hours)
A writing conference is fundamentally a conversation between two writers. But did you know there are different types of conferences, with routines and roles that support both teachers and students? We will look at how to create a climate for conferencing, as a vital first step. We will observe, practice and plan for our own classes and head back to school empowered to succeed.
All About Writing, K_6 (5 hours)
Looking for an overview? This course is a great option. Obviously, it cannot offer the depth of learning found the Four Core Courses, but it does provide a broad overview of this pedagogy and how to get started in your classroom. We will dip into the workshop, process, craft and conferencing in a BIG day of learning. So, what's the issue? You'll want to know more!