Your school may already have a writing scheme, carefully planned curriculum or selection of texts that shape what students learn. Your teachers know which genres, skills and objectives they need to cover.
So where does Pobble fit?
Pobble is not another writing scheme to follow. It is a flexible collection of writing prompts, ready-made activities and editable lessons that teachers can use alongside the curriculum they already teach. You decide what your students need to learn. Pobble helps you find an engaging way into it.
Teachers do not need to change their writing objectives to use Pobble. You might already be planning:
Pobble can provide a strong visual stimulus, questions and activities to help students explore ideas and prepare to write. Search or explore the Pobble calendar to find a prompt that complements your existing plans, then use the elements that support your objective. Your curriculum remains the starting point.
Even when the lesson is carefully planned, students can still find it difficult to begin. Some struggle to imagine what might happen. Others have ideas but cannot organise or express them. A few immediately declare, “I don’t know what to write.” Pobble prompts give everyone a shared starting point. Each day, teachers with a free Pobble account can access an image, story starter and questions designed to spark curiosity and conversation.
Before writing, students can:
This does not replace the teacher’s lesson. It helps students arrive at the writing with something to say.
A shared image or idea can bring the whole class into the same discussion. However, students will not all need the same level of support when they begin writing. Pobble subscribers can access each Pobble 365 prompt at three levels: Easier, Original and Harder. This means students can work from the same image and explore the same broad writing focus while accessing activities that offer different levels of structure and challenge. One student might benefit from vocabulary suggestions and sentence starters. Another may be ready to make more independent choices or experiment with more ambitious language and sentence structures. Teachers can choose the level that best supports each student or group without finding a completely different stimulus for every learner.
You do not have to use every part of a Pobble lesson. If your scheme already provides a model text and planning structure, you might use Pobble simply to introduce the lesson and generate ideas. If students need additional sentence-level practice, you could use a sentence or punctuation challenge. If you want a short writing opportunity between longer pieces, a Quick Write can provide a focused task without beginning another full unit. Pobble can support:
Use the activities that help students move towards your intended outcome and leave out the ones you do not need.
A ready-made resource can save time, but it still needs to work for the students in front of you. With a Pobble subscription, teachers can save and edit lessons rather than having to use them exactly as they appear. You can:
Perhaps the image is perfect, but you want students to write for a different purpose. Maybe the questions are useful, but you need to adapt the final outcome. You might want to connect the prompt to a class text, current topic or particular area of the curriculum. Pobble gives you a starting point, not a script.
Even the most carefully planned writing curriculum cannot anticipate everything a class will need. You may notice that students need more practice with sentence construction. A lesson may finish earlier than expected. A particular topic might capture the class’s imagination, or students may need another opportunity to apply a skill before moving on. Pobble gives teachers flexible resources to respond to those moments without having to create something new from scratch.
You might use it for:
Having a bank of prompts and activities available does not change your curriculum. It gives teachers more options when they need them.
A shared writing scheme can help schools establish clear expectations and progression. Pobble can sit alongside that by giving teachers across the school access to a consistent bank of flexible writing resources. Classes can use the same type of image-led discussion, vocabulary work and sentence activities while teachers continue to make decisions based on their year group and students. This can help schools develop familiar writing routines without expecting every teacher to deliver an identical lesson. With a school subscription, staff can access the full calendar, differentiated versions, Topic Write lessons, Quick Writes and editing and sharing tools through their own accounts. Teachers retain control over how they use the content, while the school benefits from a shared resource designed specifically for teaching writing.
A free Pobble account gives you a different writing prompt each day, including:
A subscription gives you more choice and flexibility, including:
You do not need to change your writing scheme or start planning in a completely different way. Begin with what you are already teaching, find a prompt that fits and use as much or as little of the lesson as your class needs.
Pobble works alongside your curriculum, your teaching and the needs of your students.
Create your free account and explore today’s writing prompt.
Already using Pobble? Sign in, find a lesson that supports what you are teaching and save it for later.
Want to give your whole team access? Explore Pobble for Schools.