How do you scaffold writing across a theme?

Scaffold writing across a theme by building knowledge first, then moving from talk → reading → modelling → shared writing → independent writing.

A simple, repeatable sequence

• Immerse in the theme: experiences, images, artefacts, vocabulary banks, short clips, drama/role play.
• Read like a writer: use high-quality texts linked to the theme; pull out features (sentence patterns, cohesion, punctuation, author choices).
• Sentence-level scaffolds: oral rehearsal, sentence stems, word banks, modelled sentences, sentence combining.
• Paragraph planning: boxed-up plans, story mountains, flow charts, paragraph frames, headings/subheadings.
• Model and co-construct: teacher model plus shared writing with explicit thinking (“I’m choosing this verb because…”).
• Gradual release: remove supports over time (from full frames → prompts → blank plan).
• Edit with purpose: short, focused edits (one or two targets) using checklists and examples, not endless marking.