grammar-for-writing

Intervention

Grammar for Writing
(not to be confused with the National Literacy Strategy materials of the same name published in 2000)

Years/Age range

Y8

Type of children

Mixed-ability

Child/Adult ratio

Whole class

Length of intervention

9 weeks (three weeks in each term of a full school year)

Brief description

Debra Myhill and collleagues at the University of Exeter devised an ‘intervention [which] comprised detailed teaching schemes of work in which grammar was embedded where a meaningful connection could be made between the grammar point and writing. [The pupils were] taught [each] writing genre over a three week period once a term, and addressed … writing learning objectives from the Framework for English… [The pupils] were given … written outcomes for each genre studied: the opening of a story; a written speech; and a portfolio of three specified types of poem. A medium term plan was provided for each [genre], which outlined the time frame, learning objectives [and] assessed outcomes, accompanied by a range of relevant stimulus resources.’

Effectiveness

For writing in Y8: modest (effect size 0.21 over randomly assigned control group), but included for its importance in research terms and as the first quantitatively-evaluated UK scheme for boosting writing at secondary level

Further information

Debra Myhill
d.a.myhill@ex.ac.uk