Enhancing children’s writing

In this chapter I suggest that the study of the works of a single author not only fulfils a range of objectives but can also provide a deeper insight into how children’s engagement with texts might ‘empower’ them and thereby influence their independent writing. It is therefore a ‘way in’ to literature for all age groups and abilities, and places the emphasis on the importance of the texts themselves, how these texts can be utilised as scaffolds and how texts can be used to contextualise the technical aspects of writing. The chapter emphasises the importance of a flexible and creative approach when planning to use the works of a single author, demonstrating how, given the time and opportunity, children can use the words they hear and read to find their own distinctive voice. The ideas and examples I use are taken from lessons taught during units of work which focused upon stories by Kevin Crossley-Holland. These lessons, and the resulting conversations with children and the work they produced, revealed the unique ways in which individuals reacted to the study of texts by a single author. For some it gave them a ‘voice’ which provided a scaffold for their own written work. For others, however, it merely provided them with the freedom within which they were able to play with and subvert existing textual structures, manipulating them for their own use. It is hoped that as this chapter is read, three key themes will emerge, which are all inextricably linked. The first of these is the power of text and how children can be empowered through reading to find their own ‘voice’. The second theme relates to the impact of powerful literature on children’s writing, and finally the third is the idea that ‘texts can teach’ – a recognition of the implicit nature of contextualisation in the teaching of all aspects of writing.