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Hi everyone, I'm in the process of writing my dissertation on the effectiveness of the Big Write scheme in teaching children how to write. I've not been able to find much literature out there about the Big Write, has anyone come across any accademic literature or articles that i might find useful?
I have found some of the comments about the Big Write on previous threads really interesting and i'd like to know more about your thoughts about the programme. I've heard loads of teachers raving about Ros Wilson's Big Write programme, but I also want to look into the issues that have been raised from it too. What about:
Thanks in advance
Not sure about the vcop over content argument at all. VCOP is skills based-and can be applied to any type of writing. In terms of marking, the long piece of writing that children do has ALWAYS been the biggest to be marked whether it is done in Big Writing or something else. It deserves to be marked properly as the children have worked hard to produce it. The Criterion Scale , which I assume you are talking about, should not be used evry week so the time for marking will probably be an hour and a half to two hours in my experience.
Assessment of writing (when the tasks are assessed against the Criterion Scale) provide levels but much more importantly, they identify specific and individual targets for children to work towards.
Schools should introduce the subject for Big Writing but the input at home should be talk based-not planning on papaere. The purpose of this is twofold-processing of information and iddeas fotr the writing task but also promoting talk at home.
I have also found this to be the case, struggling to find any critical analysis of Big Writing that I can use in academic writing. I have found that all of the literature comes from Andrell and is very one sided.
Hallam001What a state we are in when a commercial scheme can become so successful in the absence of any decent evidence base! I despair for primary education ......
I didn't realise that big writing was a scheme.
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