Joint Construction

Teacher: So we’ve got our title, and we’ve talked about what’s going to happen. So how could it
begin?
S1: One day. (teacher scribes)
S2: No, once upon a time (teacher scribes underneath the previous suggestion)
S3: Once upon a time there was a witch (Teacher adds the additional words)
S4: And she lived in a dark wood (teacher scribes)
Teacher: Okay, let’s try another beginning, to see if we can make it more exciting. Remember
this is the orientation, so what do we need to do here?
S5: Make the person reading it … making them interested.
S6: And they want to go on reading.
S2: And we give details about who and what and where.
Teacher: Right, so what do you think we …?
S5: There was a witch who lived in a dark wood (Teacher scribes).
Teacher: Is there another way we could start from that sentence? Who’s got another idea?
S5: we could say, In a dark wood a witch lived (Teacher scribes underneath the previous
suggestion).
Teacher: Let’s read that together.
All: In a dark wood a witch lived.
Teacher: How does that sound? In a dark wood a witch lived… Does anyone want to change that
a little bit?
S4: There lived a witch.
Teacher: Let’s read it again.
All: In a dark wood there lived a witch.
Teacher: Which one sounds better: There was a witch who lived in a dark wood, or In a dark
wood there lived a witch?
Several students: The second one.
Teacher: Why do you say that?
S3: Because it sort of begin with where she lived, and it gives the idea of something scary.
Teacher: So starting with In a dark wood is more effective you mean?
Several student: Yes (Teacher crosses the earlier suggestions).
S5: A bad witch.
Teacher: Good. How else could we describe her? What’s another way of saying bad?
S7: An evil witch (Teacher adds evil).
S8: An evil witch with green eyes (teacher extends the sentence).
Teacher: Good, let’s reread that and see what it sounds like now.
All: In a dark wood there lived an evil witch with green eyes.
S7: We could say scary green eyes
Teacher: yes, and now what do we need at the end?
Several students: A period.

(Adapted from Gibbons, 2009, p. 68)

Use of Academic Language in Your Interactions with Students

(Gibbons, 2009, p. 61)