Unit 4: Composing text Task sheet

Sheet 4.1
Planning devices
1. Keeping a writing or ideas journal is a useful way for learners to record their thoughts, feelings, observations and preferences regarding issues, authors, stories, interesting words, phrases or facts, etc. This can become an ongoing planning document and may be used as the stimulus for future writing. 2. Part of planning is the identification of appropriate success criteria for the piece of work. These will be linked to the purpose, audience, e pected length and accuracy of the work. The success criteria should be discussed by learners as part of their planning. !or e ample, they might include" producing writing that makes sense keeping the interest of the reader#s$ using language that can be understood by the intended reader #for e ample a younger learner in the !oundation Phase$ using the correct punctuation marks using correct spelling writing clearly and legibly%presenting the work effectively using information and communication technology #&'T$. !or non(fiction writing, the success criteria will be linked to the task in the same way. There are, however, generic success criteria that a learner should consider for each piece of written work undertaken, in both primary and secondary phases.

These are outlined below. )fter completing all pieces of work check that & have" used full stops and capital letters used legible handwriting presented my work appropriately read the success criteria. ) reminder such as this might helpfully be part of classroom display. *uccess criteria for +riting , check that & have" written in sentences used full stops and capital letters not mi ed capital letters and lower(case letters used words that are appropriate for the purpose and audience used a range of sentence structures where appropriate used speech marks if people are talking in my article%advertisement%story.

Sheet 4.1 (continued)

-. Planning devices will inevitably reflect the age of the learners. .arly in Key *tage 2, for e ample, they might include" lucky dip , three bo es that include, on separate cards, a collection of people, a collection of places and a collection of events. /earners take one item from each bo and use them to form the basis of a story roll the dice , make a paper dice with relevant 0uestions of statements on each face. /earners roll the dice and respond to what comes up1 then repeat the process until each face has been used. They can then se0uence the information they have collected to form their piece of writing storyboards #with or without illustrations$ where key events in a story or a process are noted in se0uence. .ach section might then become a paragraph

and learners should identify what will be the main or topic sentence within it writing frames, discussed and generated as a shared class activity or provided by the teacher speaking frames, as above prompt cards with a 0uestion or statement, or alternatively an image or artefact related to subjects such as history or science, that would prompt discussion #group or whole class$ or writing. 2uestions might include" 3+hat could be in the parcel%bo 45 3+here did it come from45 3/ook at this path, who made it and where does it go45 3&f you were to travel back to any time or place in history where would you go and why45 )t later stages, learners might" brainstorm ideas, probably as a group activity1 linking these ideas and organising them in a logical se0uence to match the purpose of the intended writing e plore ideas through drama(based activities, e.g. role(play, tableau or free6e(frame hot seat an appropriate character when preparing to put forward a point of view use graphic organisers such as spider or tree diagrams, or mindmaps, where the main idea is central and subsidiary ideas radiate out produce timelines, flow charts or maps showing the se0uence of what happens so that they have to think their subject through and consider the overview work with a talk partner to discuss ideas and practise language use. ) range of booklets looking at talk%speaking frames and other strategies linked to specific subjects of the curriculum has been published by 7asic *kills 'ymru , see )ppendi 2 for details.

Sheet 4.2
Talking partners
How to be a good talking partner 8ake sure your comments are constructive and help your partner to improve his%her work. /et your partner e press his or her views. Think about what your partner is saying. /ook at your partner when your partner is talking. *how an interest in your partner5s ideas%work. 9on5t let other people%things distract you. *tay focused and keep on task. How N T to be a talking partner 8ake unconstructive%silly comments about your partner5s work. 9on5t listen to what your partner is saying. Keep interrupting. )void making eye contact. *how a lack of interest, e.g. by looking bored. !idget and distract others. 9istract your partner, e.g. by talking about other things or making silly comments%jokes that encourage you both to go off task. Pretend to listen and then 3butt in5 when there5s a gap so you can say what you want. /et your ideas just come out in a rambling way without thinking them through. *ay only one or two words. 7oss or bully your partner into just accepting your answers.

&f you think your partner5s ideas are more interesting, be prepared to 3let go5 of some of your own ideas. Try to be clear about what you mean when you speak. *ay more than one or two words. 7e ready to adapt, compromise or constructively persuade your partner.

Sheet 4.!
Starting to write
Teachers are well aware that some learners are reluctant to begin writing and will find many reasons to justify their delay so that time is wasted and little is produced. :nce the necessary planning has taken place and learners have established clearly the purpose and audience for their work, it is essential that some actual writing takes place on screen or on paper 0uickly and at an appropriate pace. Teachers must emphasise that ideas and content are the priority and that, unless something is written, it is impossible to improve the work. They should not provide correct spellings on demand but encourage learners to have a go at this time and get on with the main thrust of the writing. ;evising and editing #with its focus on improving organisation, spelling and punctuation$ comes later, even in an e amination setting where candidates are always advised to spend a few minutes checking their work for obvious errors. This sort of training has become even more essential now that <'*. 0ualifications are to contain controlled assessments, work that has to be completed under supervision in a limited time. The following strategies can be used to support learners. "ollecting e##ective writing starters /earners generally enjoy collecting things, so teachers can take advantage of this fact and organise a collection of effective starters , for te ts of all kinds. +hen learners are actively involved in putting together such a collection, they will take more interest than they would if they were merely

given e amples. The following list provides some ideas about the kind of starters that are used in writing" Posing a 0uestion , 3=ave you ever wondered ...45 <iving a strong opinion , 3The waste of good food in our society is a crime.5 :ffering an interesting fact or statistic , 3'hildren in +ales speak >? different languages.5 @sing a famous 0uotation , 3& have a dream.5 *tating an alarming fact , 3&n the ne t few weeks, hundreds of children will be injured on the roads.5 *howing an action , 3The bonfire bla6ed. !ireworks screamed through the air. The crowd gasped in ama6ement. &t was Aovember B and we were enjoying the spectacle.5 Presenting a short retelling , 3The boy slipped on the ice, went head over heels and ended up on the grass.5

Sheet 4.! (continued)

)ddressing the reader directly , 3&magine standing at the edge of a high diving board.5 Providing a vivid description , 3=e was red(faced, angry and shaking his fist violently.5 *tarting with direct speech , CDou will do as & say,E he said, Cor you will regret it.E *ee also the suggestions for prompting writing on *heet F.1. $ncouraging the use o# %"T !or many learners, this will motivate them to write as they have so many options

regarding font type, style, colour and layout. &t also takes away the fear of poor handwriting and presentation skills. !or less(able and low(attaining learners in particular, &'T is invaluable as a tool with which to carry out the initial writing task , often a laborious process , and, later on, to redraft and refine it. 8ore(able and high(attaining learners will take full advantage of the features offered by the software to produce and refine their work, combining information from research and generating new information to produce work that matches the needs of the audience. &iving a precise ti'escale )llow an appropriate period for everyone to produce, for e ample, an opening paragraph. This could be displayed on a whiteboard or could be reinforced by using an alarm clock. <ive a longer period, perhaps a one(hour lesson, for a complete piece of work and stick to it, e cept for learners who need e tra time for particular reasons. /earners need to be trained to work at pace so that they can deal with future e amination or workplace pressures.

Sheet 4.4
$ncouraging redra#ting
1. (esponse partners)sel#* and peer assess'ent /earners need to get into the habit of self(assessment, that is, by realising that their first attempt at a piece of writing is unlikely to be the best they can produce and then by formulating a se0uence through which they can work to improve their work. !irst drafts of writing are often completed carelessly though many learners have the capacity to self(correct when errors are pointed out to them either by a teacher or another learner. They need to achieve a situation where they can look 3with new eyes5 at their own work, ideally as they go along, and identify errors immediately instead of 3reading5 what they think they have written as opposed to what is actually there. &n helping learners to reach this situation, the following suggestions have been shown to work effectively. They fit well with the principles of assessment for learning #see @nit 1G$ and with the processes described in the progression for 9eveloping thinking in the Skills framework for 3 to 19-year-olds in Wales #+elsh )ssembly <overnment, 2GG?$. They assume that the learner is aware of the success criteria for the work in hand which should have been established at the outset as a class activity. +irst step, +or the writer - sel#*assess'ent +hen you have finished writing" i$ ;ead your work aloud to yourself. ii$ )sk yourself" )m & pleased with my writing4 9oes it match the success criteria in terms of audience, purpose and form4 &s there anything & want to add or change4 )re there any words missed out4 &s there any detail & could add4

 )re there any spellings &5m not sure about4 &s the punctuation right4

Sheet 4.4 (continued i)

Second step, Peer assess'ent)response partner work iii$ Aow read your writing to a friend%response partner, listen to his%her ideas and respond to them. &n some cases, where a learner5s self(assessment skills are poorly developed, the second step might be the only focus. *uch an activity, listening to a partner5s comments, can help a learner to improve their own self(assessment skills #see also @nit 1G$. 8eaningful self(assessment is often a direct by(product of peer assessment. Third step, +inal dra#t iv$ ;edraft your writing, including the changes you have discussed and which you think will improve your work. How to be a good response partner i$ /isten carefully as your partner reads his%her work. ii$ Tell your friend what you like about the writing , find at least one thing, more if possible.

iii$ Think about how they might improve the writing. )sk yourself" &s there anything missing4 &s there anything that is not clear or accurate4 )re the beginning and ending suitable4 &f not, could you suggest something better4 'ould anything be missed out4 &s the writing suitable for the intended audience #has it used the right te t type and language$4 +ill the audience understand it4 +ill they find it interesting and enjoyable4 &s it about the right length4 'an you suggest any helpful words or e pressions4 'an you help with any problems with spelling and punctuation4 iv$ Aow talk to your partner about your thoughts. +rite them down on a piece of paper if necessary. /earners work in pairs, probably of similar ability though this need not always be the case as an able learner working with a less(able learner can be productive for both. They revise their work, each in turn, using a se0uence similar to the above to structure their discussion. 2.The author.s chair This is an e tension of response partner work but uses the whole class to respond to a learner5s writing. +hen beginning to use this strategy with a class, choose first those learners who are confident enough to read their work aloud and to discuss ways of improving it in public. )sk the learner to come out and sit in a special chair, probably the teacher5s but appropriately labelled and adorned. Dou are reinforcing the idea that learners

are real writers and that writing re0uires an audience if it is to mean anything. :nce they have listened carefully to the piece"

Sheet 4.4 (continued ii)

ask the class to identify what they liked about the writing, keeping the atmosphere as positive as possible en0uire whether there were any further details they would have liked included

 encourage the writer to e pand on these details orally, ideally making a 0uick note on their writing to show where such details might be added, perhaps with just an asterisk to remind themselves that a section was not totally clear or fully enough described praise the writer but also encourage him%her to be appreciative of the class5 comments.

Sheet 4./

Teacher #eedback
Teachers5 marking can also help learners to improve their work if it identifies areas of possible improvement, but without giving the solutions. /earners need to do the work, not the teacher, but many learners will welcome some indicators of where to start, especially if response partner work is not able to take place for some reason. Teachers might use any of the following strategies" ;e0uiring learners to leave a free line in(between lines of writing so that there is space for revisions to be made. ;e0uiring learners to write their first draft on the left(hand page of an e ercise book so that a revised version can be written opposite of either sections or the whole piece. .ncouraging learners to use &'T where sections of writing can easily be amended and moved around as well as spelling and grammar checked, doing away with the element of physical rewriting and the untidiness of crossing out, adding words etc. Providing an encouraging comment at the end of the work indicating strengths and pointing out areas for improvement, for e ample identifying three strengths and an action. @sing a marking code , * for a spelling error, P for punctuation needed, etc. , but leaving the actual correction to the learner. &t will be most helpful if the same code is common to all teachers in a school, or cluster of schools, so that learners become familiar with consistent responses, across subjects and across time. Placing an asterisk in the margin beside an area that re0uires improvement, as a prompt for the learner.

 )dding improvement prompts in the body of the te t. These might include" , 0uestions to make learners justify or e plain their ideas #e.g. 3+hy ...45$ , comments that encourage learners to elaborate and e tend their ideas #e.g. 3&5d like to know more about ...5$ , adding a word or sentence #e.g. 3+hat else could you add here to ...5$ , changing the te t #e.g. to use a better word1 improve sentence structure1 correct errors in spelling%punctuation%grammar$.

Sheet 4.0
1udience and purpose
/earners will respond more enthusiastically if they feel their writing has a real purpose and audience. &f they constantly write purely for the teacher, there is little motivation to do their best as nothing really happens as a result of their writing and they therefore do not feel that it re0uires any particular effort. The advantages of writing for real are" it saves time setting conte ts it provides real purpose and real readers1 learners know their writing has to be effective there are opportunities for genuine feedback and review learners see their writing being used and appreciate the importance of crafting it well. Aon(literary writing, for e ample, can be planned to"

 e press an opinion through a letter in a school%local%national newspaper provide a list of criteria for making a toy in design and technology present an article or a report on a sports fi ture for a school maga6ine%newspaper present a report for the headteacher%school governors provide a list, e.g. of books about world religions in the school library organise and report on a survey of learners5 opinions about a school or local issue design and produce a programme%tickets%publicity material for a concert featuring the school orchestra and choir write a letter to a learner in an associated school, for e ample Dear H to Dear I or vice versa, about the process of transition1 or as part of whole school links to <lobal 'iti6enship projects #see 9'.//* website, www.wales.gov.uk, for further information$ write a letter of thanks to someone who has performed a service to the school, e.g. presenting information as part of personal and social education write a letter to complain or make an en0uiry, e.g. about the opening times of a local art gallery be part of a class display celebrating good writing in all subjects of the curriculum, e.g. a newspaper account of a famous battle in history, or discussion of an issue from two different viewpoints in science or geography, etc.

Sheet 4.0 (continued)

'reative writing can be planned as part of"

 a class storybook to include final drafts of learners5 stories a class display celebrating good work a transition project where secondary learners write for younger learners in their cluster primary schools the school maga6ine or newspaper a class%school anthology, on paper or '9(;:8, for publication for parents the school website an e(mail correspondence with another school%learner an entry for a local or national competition. &t is essential, however, that these tasks are actually carried out , that the letters are posted or passed on, that the entries to competitions are actually made, and that the opinions reach the intended audience. *ee also @nit > for discussion of the practicalities of publication.