The transition from primary to secondary school can be difficult to navigate. Your learners will be adjusting to higher expectations, a more challenging curriculum and less adult support.

Now that your new starters have completed the first few months of term, you may have noticed that some of them are having trouble bridging the gap.

If you’ve noticed learners who…

• Struggle to translate their thoughts into written output
  
  
• Find it difficult to capture and organise their ideas

Then DocsPlus is here to help!

Encouraging writing independence

The secondary school curriculum involves more long-form writing than learners will have encountered at primary school. So, learners who find writing tough will need support to succeed in written assignments.

Reduce spelling anxiety with Spell Check

Difficulty spelling can leave some learners feeling anxious or frustrated when completing literacy tasks. With our speech-supported Spell Check, learners can easily identify a misspelt word and choose the correct spelling from the drop-down list. The Spell Check also takes phonetic spellings into account and offers phonetically plausible suggestions.

Solve ‘blank page syndrome’ with the Predictor

Your new Year 7s might find themselves stuck and struggling for the next word when completing a piece of written work. The Predictor helps with this by offering learners context-appropriate and grammatically correct suggestions for the next word in the sentence.

Give learners a head start with Wordbars

LearningGrids includes hundreds of ready-made resources for a variety of different topics. Wordbars in particular are a great way to give learners a boost with writing. They can have the key words for the task at the bottom of the Document and click the cell to insert it. This keeps the core components of the task in mind and works with the Predictor to keep up writing momentum.

Encouraging reading independence

Reading is another area where learners are met with higher expectations. From more advanced texts in English Literature, to primary and secondary sources in History, to even just more in-depth class instructions. With DocsPlus, there’s no need for trouble with reading to hold your learners back.

Improve access to class materials with the DocReader

Using the DocReader means that learners can read and respond to classroom materials at their own pace. For example, they can have a PowerPoint of the lesson plan open in the Dual View so they can easily refer back to it as they complete their tasks. They can then choose if they want to use speech feedback, and if they need to listen to the whole document or just specific sections. This self-directed support can be a huge help for learners who are hesitant to raise their hands in class. It also comes with the added bonus of cutting down on printing.

Use the speech feedback tool for proofreading

Speech feedback is a great tool learners can use to read and edit their work. With the default settings, DocsPlus will read a sentence out loud once the learner has added any end-of-sentence punctuation. When learners hear their writing read back, they’re prompted to self-edit. It also encourages the use of punctuation, as learners can clearly hear where they have not used it correctly.

Developing subject-specific vocabulary

Your new Year 7s will be taking on a lot of new vocabulary that they will need to use in their writing. Here are some ways you can help them get to grips with it.

Use Wordbars to embed vocabulary

As mentioned above, Wordbars are a fantastic tool to promote the use of key vocabulary. Having the words at the bottom of the Document makes it easier for learners to correctly use the key words, as it removes the barrier of both recalling the words and remembering how to spell them. This means they can instead focus on using the words correctly in their writing. If there isn’t a pre-made Wordbar that includes all the words you need, it’s easy to add to an existing one or create your own. You could even have the learners create their own Wordbars as an exercise to embed important terminology.

Include key words in planning with WorkSpaces

WorkSpaces are a fantastic way for learners to organise key information visually. Teachers can pre-load vocabulary into WorkSpaces for learners. Or learners could create their own WorkSpaces with key vocabulary and ideas.

Use the DocReader in Dual View

Having any resource open in Dual View enables learners to easily retrieve key information and vocabulary by either reading or listening to it with speech feedback. This can be a real game-changer for learners who struggle to move between physical documents or who usually have a reader.

Reinforce vocabulary with the Predictor

When a learner has topic-relevant resources such as a WorkSpace open, the Predictor prioritises those key words in the suggestions list.  Perfect for reinforcing key vocabulary, motivating writing and supporting spelling!

Check learners’ understanding of the key words with Cloze activities

Within DocsPlus, you can create Cloze documents (sometimes known as ‘fill in the blank’ activities). To start, simply copy the information from the relevant resource into the text box. You can then ‘express remove’ words to create a speedy starter activity to encourage retrieval or teach new vocabulary.

Promoting independent thought and organisation of ideas

When learners transition from primary to secondary school, they are expected to explore ideas and write in more depth than before. That process requires planning, which can be tricky for some learners to master.

Support visual thinkers with WorkSpaces

Many learners work better when they have a visual way to organise and structure their ideas. WorkSpaces are visually stimulating and easy to create and edit. Learners can choose the style that works best with their thinking, or create their own from scratch if preferred, meaning they can plan without relying on handwritten notes.

Turn WorkSpaces into Wordbars or diagrams

There is no need for learners to flick back and forth between their plans, exercise books, and writing tasks. Once they have created their plan in a WorkSpace, they can turn it into a Wordbar in a few easy clicks. This means they can simply select a cell to insert vocabulary, key quotes, sentence starters or important analysis into their Document. The same WorkSpace can also be turned into a diagram, which they can add to the Document to aid writing.

Use Voice Notes to provide feedback and encourage thoughtful planning

Voice Notes are a fantastic opportunity for learners to verbally capture their initial thoughts before they start writing. They can aid those with poor working memory or those who struggle with information overload. You can also use the Voice Note tool to pre-record instructions or provide feedback.

Want to learn more about using DocsPlus to support students with the transition from primary to secondary school, and beyond? Read our recommended posts:

• 5 Top tips for supporting struggling writers
  
  
• Supporting struggling readers to access the secondary curriculum
  
  
• Extended writing: its importance for SEND learners, common barriers and how DocsPlus overcomes them

For specific advice about your classroom, you can book a meeting with your Partnership Consultant if you’re a DocsPlus user.

Or, if you’re considering purchasing a DocsPlus subscription, you can book a free discovery call.