Trip to the zoo boosts pupils' writing skills by nine months

A study found that providing pupils with “memorable experiences” – including listening to stories from Second World War veterans – can boost skill levels by the equivalent of nine months.The research said that giving children inspirational material and showing them how to write about them in a structured way worked particularly well for those who struggle the most in the subject.The conclusions – published by the Education Endowment Foundation, a Government-funded charity – come amid concerns that large numbers of pupils currently start secondary education struggling to construct an essay or properly express their feelings on paper.Last summer, some 85,000 pupils – around one-in-six – left primary school without reaching the expected level for the average 11-year-old in writing.As part of the study, pupils who failed to get good results in SATs tests were enlisted onto a writing programme just before the summer holidays.It began by giving all children a memorable experience to write about, including a session listening to a war veteran or an outing to the zoo, a castle or visit to some local caves.They were also given tuition in a US-style writing technique, providing them with “scaffolding” that can improve the composition of expressive writing. This includes examining a question, brainstorming, organising text, sequencing ideas and properly evaluating.The study – involving 842 pupils across 23 primary schools in West Yorkshire – subjected pupils to a standardised test at the end of the programme.It said that children taking part in the scheme, which costs around £52 per pupil, performed “considerably better” than those in a control group who were not included.An official evaluation, by academics from York and Durham universities, found that pupils who were struggling to reach the level for their age in literacy made an extra nine months progress if they took part in the project compared with their peers.Kevan Collins, chief executive of the EEF, which was set up with a £125m grant from the Department for Education to drive innovative ideas in schooling, said: "We probably all remember being asked to write about an exciting day out at primary school.“This project starts by giving all children access to an enjoyable experience, and then uses a structured approach to writing and reviewing to significantly improve their skills."It's rare to find schemes that demonstrate such a large impact when they are rigorously tested. That's why we are excited about the potential this project could have in helping struggling students significantly improve their writing skills."Carlton Midgley, director of the Calderdale Excellence Partnership, the group of schools behind the writing programme, said: “This project shows what schools can achieve when they come together to develop and test new ideas to improve pupils’ learning. From our monitoring visits, we knew that pupils and teachers found the scheme enjoyable and useful, and we saw many examples of high quality writing.”(telegraph.co.uk)Bakudaily.az