Developing writing skills for expression and communication through creative writing is an important aspect of the English curriculum in KED.  KED is the Swedish pedagogical approach towards learning which is followed in various Kunskapsskolan schools across the world.  I teach English to Grade 4, 5 and 6 at Kunskapsskolan, Bengaluru. At the onset, it is very important to understand that writing and expressing oneself in any form, whether oral or written is individual and each child learns in a different manner. Keeping that in mind, I follow differential teaching methods in my classrooms. The idea is to address all kinds of learners using diverse instructional methods. I come across different kinds of students; there are ones who struggle to form basic sentences, and the ones who express themselves quite fluently to the ones who have amazing ideas but can’t pen down these thoughts cohesively on paper.

It is very important to understand that encouraging students to read and exposing them to different genres of writing is of immense importance. I would like to cite instances and strategies that have helped me introduce my students to reading. When, I had to teach a poem by R.  Stevenson to Grade 5 students, I decided to have the class in the Library as I had already spotted a collection of books by R. L. Stevenson there. I started off by introducing the students to Stevenson and then asked the students to find some books by Stevenson in the library. I did point towards the particular section. A few of them picked up his books and were quite interested. We had a short discussion on the books and the author again and then we moved on to our poem. This small activity was important as it helped me raise the interest quotient of the students, they saw the picture of the author and read a note on him, few of them were interested to read more about the author and after the class, quite a few issued the books they had just picked up from the racks.

Another instance is when the students from Grade 4 were reading a summary of “Little women” by Louisa May Alcott. We had quite an interesting discussion on the story and then I informed them that an abridged version of the novel is available in the library. Later, I found out that two students had issued the book and had enjoyed reading it. Reading the book gave them a thorough understanding of the story and introduced them to wide range of vocabulary, which definitely helped them in their written work. Just an awareness of the range of books available in the library helped me a lot.

 Communication sessions form an important part of the English curriculum at school. During these sessions, we have discussions on wide ranging topics and in one such session, we were discussing ‘boarding schools’. I remarked that as a child I had enjoyed reading “Malory Towers” by Enid Blyton and after reading it, I wanted to head off straight to a boarding school and have my own share of mischiefs. We had a small discussion on the book as well. I concluded the session by informing the students that those interested in reading the book, can pick up the book from the Library and few of them did and are already on the 3^rd/4^th book of the series. These above mentioned strategies have helped me immensely in developing an interest for reading in my students. Building an active interest in reading also helps in making the writing process more interesting for the students.

When it comes to writing, there are students, who are comfortable enough to write paragraphs and are just beginning to write stories. Then there are the ones, who love reading and eagerly look forward to writing sessions. Irrespective of which phase of learning to write a student is on, exposure/introduction to diverse genres of reading and writing is pertinent. The teacher can always have a discussion with the student on a book, he and she has read to drive the concept of plot lines and characters home and how they can be woven into a story. This eventually helps them internalize the written forms and develop their writing skills.

As a teacher/facilitator, I take a keen interest in the reading progress of the students and quite often I ask the students to write a book review on the book they have recently read. I share a book review format with them, where they are asked to answer basic questions like;

1. Write about the plot.
2. Your favorite character and why? Draw a sketch of your favorite character.
3. What did you like or not like about the book?

This step is very important before moving on to a more independent book review process.

It’s not just a fact but a reality that more you write the better your writing skills become. Asking students to write a journal is another great way to encourage them to develop their writing skills and one can either give students some idea on how to begin their journals and on what occasions to write or just let them write whatever/ whenever they wish to write. While writing a journal, students can just pen their thoughts freely. They don’t need to fish for ideas or worry about being extra imaginative.  Here again, writing more often is important. Writing frequently even if it’s a small paragraph will go a long way in improving the writing skills. And it doesn’t have to be their daily routine, they could write about an event that affected them, a movie/ a book that made them think, any interesting person they met, what made their day great/not so great! . Some of the topics suggested by me were; Highlight of my day, What did I learn today, My trip to ABC, the most boring part of my day, Do I miss going to school, How am I enjoying my vacations etc.

Connecting interests with writing work is also a way to motivate students to write. I have encountered students who just don’t want to put a pen to paper. This method works wonder with them. Giving prompts to such students helps them write freely and develop their skills slowly. I have a student who is interested in Dinosaurs and Paleontology. I try to incorporate his interests in the written work that I give him. It could be picture composition or story writing. Of course, I try not to constrict him only to his topic of interest and encourage him to write on other topics as well but Dinosaurs come to my rescue quite often!!

To summarize, here are the key elements of my writing programme;

• Differentiated instructional methods to cater to individual students.
• Motivating students to write by connecting the topic with their interest.
• Encouraging students to read books by introducing them to different authors.
• Interactive session with the students about his/her ideas and events around them and how they can express it in written form through different writing forms like stories/essays.
• Encouraging students to write a journal