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Tuesday 27 May 2014

Andy Griffiths

I recently read a book that was given to me by my teaching partner (who wants to remain nameless) , Once upon a Slime written by Andy Griffiths.


Friends I loved it!  This book has some fantastic ideas for getting your kids interested in writing in the classroom.  It gives a little background on how Andy got writing as a young boy and how he turned these early stories from his childhood into best sellers in the present.

What I really liked about this book is that you didn't have to read it front to back, you could just choose different chapters to find some interesting and engaging ways to try writing in your classroom.  This book was not aimed at teachers but at children so all of the tips and ideas are easy for students to understand.

So I have started using some of the ideas, the first strategy I used was the 3 minute write (not sure if that is the correct terminology that Andy used, but I don't have the book anymore!!!).

So the first time I did this I chose the topic or word that I wanted the kiddos to write about and for 3 minutes they just write and write.  We don't worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar, the kiddos just concentrate on putting pencil to paper and writing the first thing that comes into their heads.  The aim is to increase the time that you write or even increase the amount you write in the same time.

I went a little step further with this after the third time we did this, I then used their writing to introduce editing!  
But that is for another post :)

If you are interested in finding out more about Andy Griffiths and his writing just click on the pic above to go to his site.

P. S.  I was not paid or provided with goods in exchange for a review......I just really like his books :)

2 comments:

  1. A 3 min write sounds great!! After some practice I can imagine kids would be so quiet and determined to get something on the page in that time.

    Jemima
    Luck's Little Learners

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    1. Actually they were engaged straight up, not a sound! I did this with some low level Grade 5 kids as well and they loved it, they wrote more in this time than I have seen them write all year.

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