Teaching of Writing Masterclass – Misty Adoniou

The workshop will provide a platform for engagement in further high quality literacy professional learning in 2025 from the Academy’s Literacy Suite. 

Assessment data in Australia shows the majority of children in the early years of schooling make a great start to writing. But just when we have made it through the hard graft of helping our children learn the basics, the data shows a decline in writing growth that begins in the middle years of schooling. Why is it that just when we get to the fun bit of writing it all seems to head south? 

Is it a lack of skill, a lack of will or a lack of thrill about the act of writing – from both teachers and students? 

This masterclass introduces an integrated approach that uses high quality literature to teach high quality writing, based on the premise that you can only write as well as you have read.  

This approach not only teaches students complex vocabulary and sophisticated grammatical structures in context, it also empowers them to make intentional language choices in their own writing. It increases engagement and enjoyment and gives real purpose to writing.  

Schools can expect improved writing outcomes for all students – including their high performers who often stagnate on their high scores from Year 3.

Teachers can expect exciting and engaging new ways to tackle writing instruction. 

Students can expect to enjoy writing again. 

And our ultimate goal? To ensure our students leave school revelling in the most powerful and pleasurable invention of humankind – the written word.

Audience

Designed for classroom teachers, middle leaders, assistant principals and principals across all levels of our schools. 

Facilitator 

Misty Adoniou is an Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESOL. She holds an adjunct position with the University of Canberra, and is a Principal Fellow with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education.   

Dr Adoniou was also the lead writer for the national English as an Additional Language Teachers Resource which accompanies the Australian Curriculum, and a co-writer of the Literacy General Capability.  

She was an advisor on the newly published Australian Curriculum Language Learning Progressions, and the author of the International Literacy Association’s global Leadership brief on the teaching of spelling. 

Dr Adoniou researches and writes in the fields of literacy, teacher professional knowledge and teacher standards, and is a sought after speaker, nationally and internationally. She also works closely with schools and education systems around the country leading professional learning in spelling, grammar and writing.  

The 2nd edition of her popular book is Spelling it out – how words work and how to teach them, published by Cambridge University Press, was released this year. 

Structure of program

On-site workshop (2 full days) where participants will work on teaching narrative writing (day 1) and non-narrative writing (day 2).  

The presenter will model lessons that provide a high challenge, high support environment where particular attention is paid to teaching knowledge about language (grammar) in the context of well-written literature.  

Through close observation of authors’ choices, and discussion of the impact of those choices, students learn the craft of writing. The aim is to not only enhance student skills but to also ensure the thrill of writing remains. 

Participants will work with the presenter to construct a sequence of narrative and non-narrative writing lessons which they apply in their classrooms.  

These workshops will provide a platform for engagement in further high quality literacy professional learning in 2024 from the Academy’s Literacy Suite.

Learning outcomes

You will gain knowledge and understanding of: 

• what makes a quality written text – at text, sentence and word level 
• how to choose quality texts to use as a model for writing instruction 
• how to use a high expectation/high challenge framework for narrative writing instruction  
• how to analyse the intentional language choices an author makes and the impact those choices have on the hearts and minds of the reader 
• how to explicitly teach students to be similarly intentional in their own use of language, and similarly conscious of the impact they can have on the reader. 

Fees and financial support

Fully subsidised by the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership for Victorian government school participants.