Sometimes a story can express so much about how we feel. Look at the first of the four picture writing prompts below. Is the hand sinking into the puddle – or rising out of it? That depends on your point of view. Maybe the puddle is an illusion – or perhaps the hand is an…
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Step by Step Blog
Two things we’ve learnt from NAPLAN 2018
Every year, our Seven Steps creator and CEO Jen McVeity sits the NAPLAN writing test – in pretty much the same conditions Australian students face. And every year she finds it hard. As an author, it’s obviously not the actual writing that’s a challenge. In fact, Jen feels that the NAP Marking Criteria truly values…
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Informative Writing – More Than Just Facts
1 in 5 people don’t wash their hands and of those who do, only 30% use soap. Telling kids to wash their hands is one thing, but what if you could show them why it is so important? (I’m sure as teachers this sounds like a dream come true!) This year’s winner of the…
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The Writer’s Game
Have you ever played the writer’s game? You know, the one in which you listen in on a random conversation between strangers on the bus, in the park or at the train station – and write down every word? Feels a bit odd, doesn’t it? It’s not just the fact that we’re taught it’s not…
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Picture Your Story
We all do it: when asked to think of a story, ummm, err…. the mind goes blank. Especially if we feel under pressure. Our series of picture writing prompts helps students leap over that little hurdle and start writing. Ask them to describe it. Ask for details about the main person or people. What are…
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Turning Around Hearts, Minds and Writing Results
A remarkable school in Northern Queensland has taken tremendous strides in improving student writing. Since implementing the Seven Steps at the end of 2014, principal Claudine Moncur-White and the teachers of Rasmussen State School have transformed their school from one of the worst performing Queensland schools to significantly outperforming the state in writing improvement between…
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Write Like a Witness
Stepping Up Student Ideas
Teachers often tell us that one great pain they wish to change is how little their students have to say. Students’ writing, they tell us, is often curtailed by limited experience and a lack of observation, or by unformed opinions. We understand why teachers say this, but we don’t think it’s the whole story. Every…
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