How to write dialogue

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By Celia Warren— poet and author

The latest edition in the series of How to… posters covers punctuating and setting out dialogue correctly. It gives examples of different styles of dialogue used in both fiction and non-fiction and contains plenty of tips for ensuring children use dialogue effectively.

Shared learning and teaching

Before reading

Show the quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Allow the children to discuss this idea with a partner or in a small group before collating ideas and drawing conclusions as to the importance of dialogue in texts.
Do writers only use dialogue in stories? Brainstorm different texts in which dialogue is used – graphic novels and comics, quotations, direct and reported speech in newspapers, etc.