Big Writing – Big Talk Homework 

Hi Parents/ Carers,

This week for Big Writing we will be looking at different examples of newspaper articles and will be writing our own reports in class.  Before we write our own, we will need to know more about this style of writing and identify the key features of newspaper reports.  The Big Writing approach suggests sending home ‘Big Talk’ homework, the night before, to prepare (mentally) for what they will be writing about the next day. The advice is to find a quiet time to have a discussion about the writing topic/ style etc with your child as this will then give them a starting point of familiarity/ personal experience for their writing.

We have sent home a slip with The Big Talk focus, but have given pupils a couple of nights to try and fit this in before they have their writing sessions in school.

This week’s talk homework task is to talk to an adult/ older sibling about the different features of the newspaper reports (You may need to borrow a newspaper from a family member or friend.)  Ask your child the following types of questions:

• Do you notice anything different from the way stories are presented?
• Look at newspapers and talk about how they differ from other types of writing such as, postcards, letters, poems etc?
• How are the paragraphs organised, is the layout of a newspaper report the same as a page in a fictional book?
• Have you noticed anything interesting about the type of language that is being used throughout the report?

We look forward to hearing the children’s contributions and key findings about newspaper report writing and will use their knowledge to help create our own checklists and success criteria for the writing that will take place in school.

Mrs Bowman, Mrs Mackie and Mrs Waugh (whoops nearly wrote Buchanan!)