The Writing Treasure Trove

Mackay Memorial College is an urban secondary school in Nateete, a suburb of Kampala, with an enrolment of over 1,500 students. Most parents from the surrounding community prefer the government-subsidised secondary school system, but frequent fee-related absenteeism still affects learning.

The dominant community language is Luganda, making English usage outside school limited and requiring teachers to use highly engaging strategies to support English proficiency. Despite these constraints, the school has a growing reputation in public speaking, poetry, and debate.

Baseline assessments across three Senior Two streams (275 students) showed that while learners performed reasonably well in listening, speaking, and reading, they struggled significantly with writing.

Their work showed:

• shallow or vague descriptions
• very short responses
• repetitive vocabulary
• limited detail and poor elaboration

Interviews revealed learner boredom and disengagement during writing lessons, which relied heavily on conventional methods. Teachers needed a more interactive, motivating, and structured approach that could help students produce vivid, descriptive writing

The Writing Treasure Trove is an interactive, multi-stage pedagogy designed to make descriptive writing lively, structured, and enjoyable. It is best suited for 15-year-old Senior Two learners who already possess foundational English skills.

It includes several sequential stages:

• Pseudonyms: learners begin under temporary “hidden identities” to protect less confident students and allow equal participation.
• The Spark: the first spontaneous thought or reaction to an object or image; this becomes the seed for description.
• Sojourn the World in One Moment: a guided thinking exercise where learners expand and explore ideas sparked by the initial reaction.
• The Storyboard Corner: learners refer to sample descriptive pieces displayed in class for inspiration and modelling.
• Wave the Magic Wand: a consolidation stage where ideas are organised into a plan before composition.
• I Can Better It Moment: peer editing, improvement, and extension activities. This stage includes interactive vocabulary games such as the Vocabulary Bungalow and the Tree of Synonyms.

Regular follow-up activities, group games, and reading tasks help learners practise vocabulary, improve expressive detail, and strengthen confidence in writing.

The Writing Treasure Trove has produced strong and sustained improvements in student writing since its first implementation in 2022. Learners from the pioneer Senior Two class went on to excel not only in creative writing, but also in essay work across multiple subjects, continuing their strong performance up to Senior Four.

The school has since gained broader recognition in:

• poetry slams
• debate and speech competitions
• essay writing contests

The innovation is now part of the school’s UNEB Senior Four preparatory support, and has grown into a fully fledged writing club. Mackay’s school magazine is now produced through the Writing Treasure Trove, with Ms. Nakyanzi as chief editor. Parents have also affirmed the value of the innovation after observing student work during school exhibitions.

Overall, the initiative has strengthened descriptive writing, enriched vocabulary use, built learner confidence, and improved expressive skills across academic and co-curricular domains.

Download the story of this innovation in PDF form below.