For many of us, the return to the school year will taste of ash. Ash in our mouths as we answer the questions about how homes and forests burned. Ash in our hearts as we mourn people and places, and millions of dead animals. Ash in our memories with images and memories of heat, fear…
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Step by Step Blog
How to teach your students to write a captivating holiday recount
It’s hot and sticky, your eyelids weigh as much as a cinderblock and you have to read page after page of, ‘In the holidays… followed by a blow-by-blow account of everything students did. As a teacher, you may have 99 problems but let’s make sure boring holiday recounts are not one of them! One of…
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4 Recounts Every Teacher Wants to Read
Have you ever met someone at a party whose stories go on FOREVER but ultimately go nowhere? Their tales highlight pointless details with no punchline and they finish so abruptly you only realise it has ended by the five seconds of silence. Eliminating this alarming situation is an unofficial long-term goal of ours! So, how…
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What is a Sizzling Start? Only the easiest Step to teach!
Have you ever read a book and been absolutely hooked from the first page? Or noticed how so many movies throw you straight into the middle of an epic battle or action scene from the very first second? If you answered ‘yes’, then you know what a Sizzling Start is! A start that captures a…
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2019 Persuasive Writing Competition Winners
We were totally overwhelmed by the number of entries to our Persuasive Writing Competition. We had almost 400 entries from 43 different schools, including schools as remote as Streaky Bay Area School and as far-flung as Aloutau International School in Papua New Guinea. It has been a busy couple of weeks at Seven Steps HQ…
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Group Activity for Persuasive Writing
Writing collaboratively is a wonderful scaffold and it also gives a far better result. Just look at all the scriptwriters who work together to create a popular TV series like Modern Family. So, when you get students to tackle a full text for the first time, don’t ask them to do it alone. Get them…
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3 Quick Tips to Encourage Student Collaboration
Everyone loves a good collaboration. The Wright Brothers. Yothu Yindi. Mickey and Minnie. Macaroni and cheese. But how is this wizardry achieved in a writing classroom? Good news: it’s not magic. Through short, practical, collaborative activities, students feed off each other’s energy to develop better ideas. Engaging students in the writing process with their minds,…
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5 Writing Activities for Halloween
Boo! It’s time to get your scare on: hello, Halloween! Many of us love to dress up for Halloween, but it’s also the perfect time to go beyond spooky sartorial choices and explore your students’ writing creativity. These five Halloween writing activities will help your students create a creepy tale or two. 1. Picture Writing…
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