Introducing Teachers’ Writing Groups Exploring the theory and practice National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) Series

Teachers? writing groups have a significantly positive impact on pupils and their writing. This timely text explains the importance of teachers? writing groups and how they have evolved. It outlines clearly and accessibly how teachers can set up their own highly effective writing groups.

In this practical and informative book, the authors:

• share the thinking and practice that is embodied by teachers? writing groups
• provide practical support for teachers running a group or wishing to write for themselves in order to inform their practice
• cover major themes such as: the relationship between writing teachers and the teaching of writing; writing as process and pleasure; writing and reflective practice; writing journals and the writing workshop.

The authors provide a rationale for the development of writing groups for teachers and for ways of approaching writing that support adult and child writers and this rationale informs the ideas for writing throughout the book. All writing and teaching suggestions have been extensively tried and tested by class teachers, and will be of enormous interest to any teacher or student teacher wishing to run their own successful writing group.

1. Why Teachers’ Writing Groups? 2. Teachers’ Writing Groups: a brief history 3. Approaching Writing and Writing Teachers 4. Composing 5. Writing Histories 6. Setting up a Teachers’ Writing Group 7. Notebooks 8. Responding 9. Writing in Different Spaces 10. Reading into Writing and Back Again 11. Reflecting on writing 12. Our Own Writing: what do teachers write? 13. Reflecting on Teaching 14. Establishing children’s writing groups 15. Observations and Encounters with Children Writing 16. Making Assessments of Writing 17. Writing Groups – from community to classroom and from classroom to community 18. What’s in it for my School? 19. Afterword 20. Books and Websites

Jenifer Smith is Senior Lecturer in Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of East Anglia, UK.

Simon Wrigley is a  retired English Adviser (Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire) and former Chair of the National Association for the Teaching of English, UK.