Hi Ross and Phil. We love your website! Do you have any advice on how we can teach nonfiction writing in the EYFS? We really want to inspire our children and give them lots of confidence. Thanks so much.
Yes! Here are some strategies that should hopefully inspire your youngest of writers and develop their writerly knowledge and confidence.
- Help children to choose their own writing topics: Invite children to write about their own ideas, capitalising on their ‘funds of knowledge and identity’ to increase their motivation and engagement [LINK].
- Use mentor texts: Mentor texts are texts that can teach children about great writing. Mentor texts can be commercially produced books or even texts written by writer-teachers or other children from previous years. Introduce children to different types of non-fiction, such as traditional, browseable, literary, ‘doing’, narrative and faction [LINK]. Help children identify the craft moves the writers have used so that they can use them in their own writing too [LINK].
- Encourage a social environment for writing: Let children share their ideas with each other through activities like Ideas Parties to stimulate their thinking and build a sense of community. Encourage talking before, during and after writing to rehearse ideas and hear the reactions of their readers [LINK].
- Make drawing an important part of the writing process: Recognise that drawing is a crucial way for children to plan their writing. Encourage drawing and colouring before asking children to write about those drawings [LINK]
- Teach mini-lessons: Mini lessons are short, direct instruction. Introduce children to one specific strategy or craft move at a time. These can be based on successful aspects of mentor texts, for example, how to use labels in an information book. They could also focus on overcoming specific challenges in writing. For example, a ‘New thing? New page!‘ mini-lesson would demonstrate how to structure non-fiction writing while a ‘Make a drawing – tell your drawing – write your sentence‘ mini-lesson would help children connect their ideas to written sentences. To find out more, see our eBook: How To Teach Non-Fiction In The EYFS.
- Help children to re-see and check their writing: Reassure children that writers like to make changes to their writing. Show them how you’ll often add details to your writing and drawings to improve them. You can produce developmentally appropriate checklists to help them check their writing with you too.
- End with a publishing party: Having a specific audience and purpose for their writing is so motivating for the youngest of writers. Help children to consider who they are writing for and how they will share their finished writing.
What’s important is that we build a Writing For Pleasure environment in the EYFS. This means making writing time a positive and social experience for children, allowing them to choose topics that interest them most. This approach not only leads to better outcomes but also cultivates a greater love for writing too.
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If you found this advice useful, you may want to consider purchasing a copy of our book: How To Teach Non-Fiction Writing In The EYFS. Alternatively, it’s free for our members.
