Opening Doors to Quality Writing 10–15

In Opening Doors to Famous Poetry and Prose, Bob Cox introduced teachers to engaging strategies which use literary heritage texts as the stimulus for excellent learning. This new companion book, Opening Doors to Quality Writing, for ages 10 to 13, puts the focus on pupils producing quality writing – developing their literacy skills and a love of reading in the process. In the course of his educational consultancy work, Bob has seen many teachers successfully use the scope and depth which literature can offer to inspire high standards, mastery learning and, above all, a love of language in its many forms. Schools using the ‘opening doors’ strategies told Bob they led to: more teacher empowerment and confidence; more knowledge building for pupils and teachers; a growing confidence with literature, including poetry; planning from the top becoming a norm; planning for mastery learning becoming a norm; improved comprehension skills; improved quality writing and associated excitement. They also asked Bob for further examples of inspiring, quality texts, and more ways in which all abilities can access them. Bob was only too happy to oblige. These 15 units of work cover poetry and prose: each unit provides exciting stimulus material, creative ideas for writing projects, and differentiation and support strategies, meaning all pupils can achieve the quality writing objectives. All the units should help teachers facilitate understanding of the challenging texts and maximise the huge potential for quality writing. Discover a multitude of ready-to-use ideas, inspired by classic literature and great writers’ works, along with plenty of new strategies and advice. Units include:

Part 1: Opening doors to prose
1. Night Encounter – The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
2. Spooky Scientists! – The Phantom Coach by Amelia B. Edwards
3. The Strongest Looking Brute in Alaska – That Spot by Jack London
4. Mr Knickerbocker’s Notes – Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
5. The Portrait of Doom – Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
6. The Hell Hound – The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
7. Sinister Spaces – Metamorphosis and The Castle by Franz Kafka
8. The Mirror and the Window – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Part 2: Opening doors to poetry
9. All in This House is Mossing Over – From ‘Mementos’ by Charlotte Brontë
10. Dancing the Skies – ‘High Flight’ by John Gillespie Magee, Jr 11. The Mystery of the Lonely Merman – ‘The Forsaken Merman’ by Matthew Arnold
12. Making Magic Talk – ‘The Magnifying Glass’ by Walter de la Mare
13. The Spirit in the Garden – ‘A Garden at Night’ by James Reeves
14. A Shropshire Lad – ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ by A. E. Housman
15. The Silver Heel – ‘I Started Early – Took My Dog’ by Emily Dickinson