In this episode, Phil and Sharon return to Fairview Primary School in Collie, Western Australia, where Year 6 teachers Danielle and De reveal how they make their core belief a daily classroom reality: that every student can produce quality writing. Through structured planning tools, a richly resourced writing environment, staged editing processes, and relentlessly high expectations, they show exactly how confidence and quality are built — one student at a time. Student interviews with Riley and Kobi provide powerful, first-hand proof that the approach genuinely works.
In the second episode of their 2026 series, Phil and Sharon welcome back Danielle Monique and De Ludlum from Fairview Primary School in Collie, Western Australia, to explore the second of their five pillars of effective writing instruction: every student can produce quality writing.
De and Danielle open with the belief that underpins everything they do — that every child, regardless of ability or background, is capable of being a writer. This is not an aspiration. It is a daily operational reality, built through careful planning, consistent structures, and a classroom environment designed to support every student at every stage of the writing process.
The teachers walk listeners through the practical tools that bring this belief to life. Their word wall, Phrases We Love door display, anchor charts, graded writing samples, and critical features document work together to ensure that no student is ever left without a clear path forward. Plot in a Box provides a structured planning framework that students and teachers build together, with De and Danielle modelling every step before students attempt it independently. Plans are submitted and reviewed before drafting begins, and staged submission points throughout the unit keep every student on track.
Editing, the teachers reveal, has undergone the most significant transformation in their practice. Where once Danielle was rewriting student work in the early hours of the morning, editing now belongs to the students themselves — carried out in deliberate stages through a school-wide editing code, with teacher feedback focused on showing students not just what to fix, but how.
The episode concludes with interviews from two students, Riley and Kobi, whose candid, articulate reflections on what has helped them grow as writers provide the most compelling evidence of all: that when teachers build the right conditions and hold firm to high expectations, every child genuinely can produce quality writing.
RESOURCES WITH THIS PODCAST
RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THIS PODCAST
Plot in a Box A structured narrative planning framework. Danielle discovered it through a writing course and she and De adapted it for their classroom — adding character adjective boxes and adjusting the original structure.
Craft Lessons - Teaching Writing K-8 — Ralph Fletcher Sharon and De both reference this book. De describes it as their early go-to resource when they were changing the way they worked. The full title isn't stated but the author's name — Ralph Fletcher — is confirmed in the transcript.
School-Developed Resources
Tools and Platforms
READ THE BLOG - Every Student Can Produce Quality Writing
JOIN TEACHIFIC NOW AND SAVE!
FURTHER INFORMATION
Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
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