Talk for Writing

The Talk for Writing approach is a method of writing we use in school. This approach enables children to imitate orally the language they need for a particular topic, before reading and analysing it, and then writing their own version.

Talk for Writing, developed by Pie Corbett,  is powerful because it is based on the principles of how people learn. The movement from imitation to innovation to invent is used across all our classes.

The Talk for Writing approach enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects. A key feature is that children internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’, as well as close reading. The approach moves from dependence towards independence, with the teacher using shared and guided teaching to develop the ability in children to write creatively and powerfully.