Explicitly Teaching Children to Write
Stephen Graham
Monday 11th May
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Session 1:
Example text:
The eye is the mot important sense organ for humans. I detects light and together with the brain it allows us to see. It is shaped like a ball and is about 3cm in diameter. They eye has several parts.
What comes next?
What would you do as writer?
What wouldn't you do as writer?
What do we have to know about the literacy?
Macro into micro (We have the big theme (eyes), now break it down into sub groups)
You must remain in the passive voice
You will avoid personal pronouns
You will use generalized nouns instead
You must write in the present tense
Sentence starters: Noun, pronoun, pronoun, noun
You need to use short sentences
You need to be able to describe
Describing
The building block/foundation to writing
Get students to describe themselves first
If they can do this then have got description perfectly
Ways we need to look at description
These are the building blocks of describing. There are many more ways to describe.
Toby
Toby has four legs.
He is multicoloured.
He is soft.
Toby lives with Stephen.
"We have to make sure we have the noun, pronoun order correctly"
"We now want to build this into compound and complex sentences"
Now we need to use conjunctions
Coordinating conjunction = and
Subordinating conjunction = with
Modal connective (this is where you can change your mind) = but, although, however
Toby has four legs and two ears.
He is mulitcoloured with a blue scarf.
He is soft however he has hard eyes.
Toby lives with Stephen.
Note: Keep the perspective the same: Toby has four legs and loves to jump (this is two different perspectives)
"Now to add an important sentence - the macro sentence"
Toby
Toby is a stuffed dog.
He has four legs and two ears.
He is mulitcoloured with a blue scarf.
Toby is soft however he has hard eyes.
He lives with Stephen.
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Writing scaffold to write an information report
With younger children any sorting activity will prepare them for the literacy of an information report. Such as inside toys and outside toys.
Start an information report by getting students to sort.
The information report is all about the the macro being broken into micro.
"I will never let any student begin their information report if they couldn't tell me what their macro group is and what their micro groups are"
"Your micro groups have to be on a consistent theme"
"If you haven't written A380 before the dotted line you haven't given me a good topic sentence"
"Get your micro group as close as you can get it to the beginning of the sentence"
Commercial Aircraft
The A380 carries 480 passengers. (Number)
The 747 is the second largest aircraft. (Size)
The 737 does short haul flights.
Topic sentences have to all be from different perspectives. They can not go number, number, number.
Now we have all the sentence starters we need:
Commercial Aircraft
The A380 carries 480 passengers. (Number)
It is manufactured in France. (Position)
It can carry a large number of passengers over long distances more economically. (Doing)
The A380 is a comfortable passenger aircraft (Texture)
Paragraph one:
The A380 carries 480 passengers. It is manufactured in France. It can carry a large number of passengers over long distances more economically. The A380 is a comfortable passenger aircraft.
For older students - "With each of your core sentences you are now going to add in a supplementary sentences"
"Just start with adding to the core sentences first"
Example: The A380 carries 480 passengers. 12 passengers traveling in first class, 48 traveling in business and 420 travel in economy.
"You would now go through your piece and add in supplementary sentences"
Example: The A380 carries 480 passengers with 12 passengers traveling in first class, 48 traveling in business and 420 travel in economy.
Example: It is manufactured in France. The city of Toulouse provides the factory and workforce.
"Now you need to go back and readjust your noun, pronoun, pronoun, noun links/pattern"
"You may now what students to add visual literacy to their information reports, I would want some visual literacy for each aircraft"
"I don't want a picture today, I want a labelled diagram"
"The key to getting good visual literacy, get students to go back and underline a sentence. If they underline the sentence that the A380 is manufactured in France. Get students to get a map"
"We have go back and write macro sentences, we have to back and write three sentences about every commercial aircraft in the world"
Commercial aircraft transport passengers and freight.
They are found all over the world.
They are flown by highly qualified staff.
Commercial aircraft come in a number of models. (Linking Sentence)
The linking sentence tells the reader how you broke up the macro group.
A concluding statement could be: Commercial aircraft's are good for economies all over the world.
Most information reports do not need concluding statements.
Editing our piece of writing
1. Does the macro go into the micro?
2. Are there any personal pronouns?
3. Does each Micro group have a topic sentence?
4. Did you write a linking sentence? - How as reader did break up your macro group
5. Circle your first relating verb - now go through and circle every rekating verb to check the text is in the present tense
Is, are, does, were, has (Present)
Was, were, have, had (Past)
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Session 2:
"All 9 writing genre can be pulled apart and broken down just like the information report from session 1"
1. Description
2. Procedure
3. Discussion
4. Response
5. Exposition
6. Report
7. Explanation
8. Recount
9. Narrative
There is a difference between text types and text forms.
Letter writing it not a text type. It is a text form. You could write a letter that is a recount, exposition and/or response.
What we know about writing an information report:
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Exposition
Decide on the sequencing words (play around with this and look up synonyms)
Repeat the noun or the verb (Cellphones)
Complete the arguments.
"If these three sentences are not correct than they will not have success and the text can not be rescued. Don't let a child begin writing before checking their arguments and ensuring they are clear and concise topic sentence"
Define the noun
- A cellphone is a portable communication device.
Modal = Verbs that carry strength
In the third introductory sentence make the argument as big as possible. Who does this affect? (You, Family, Community, Global, National etc...)
Concluding statement:
The best way to teach students to write concluding statements.
Up to this point we have avoided the use of personal pronouns.
Start your concluding statement with a personal pronoun.
Include a mid-high modal statement of claim (I definitely believe... I am completely convinced...).
Use the high modal word from your linking sentence and bring it down to the concluding statement (I am completely convinced that children should have cellphones)
Now add the connective - Because
I am completely convinced that children should have cellphones because...
Now steal the last box of each of your arguments.
I am completely convinced that children should have cellphones because they help keep children safe, let children communicate with others and teach children how to budget.
What we know about Exposition Writing
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Session Three:
What do we notice from this piece of writing?
1. Does it instruct
2. Is the theme consistent?
3. Does the student use verbs correctly?
4. Are the verbs in the simple present tense?
5. Has the student avoided the use of personal pronouns?
6. Structure
- Aim
- Materials
- Steps
7. Qualifies the command (e.g. Sift the sugar and flour until it is fully incorporated)
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Tweets from the course
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Takeaways:
- When you can say it, you are ready to write it.
- Noun, pronoun, pronoun, noun (Pattern)
- Information reports do not need a concluding statement
- Literacy and Content should not be taught together
- Get the content first!
- Once you know and understand the literacy the writing becomes easier
- If you can identify a point of view then it is an active voice text
- Our students need to know what makes a good piece of writing, how to achieve success across a range of different contents
