B1 ENGLISH COURSE: 2ND LECTURE
Cooperative Learning
and creating
Positive Classroom Dynamics
Contents:
• What is cooperative learning? Why use it?
• How do we apply cooperative learning to the classroom?
• Learning to work together: Classroom management and dynamics
• Practical activities: useful vocabulary and classroom expressions.
• Working all the skills through cooperative learning
• Different learning styles. What are you
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment or activity until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Source: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm
Why use it in class?
Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques:
• promote student learning and academic achievement
• increase understanding of subjects
• enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
• help students develop skills in oral communication
• develop students' social skills
• promote student self-esteem
• help to promote positive relations among students
Speaking task:
How can we apply this to the classroom? Think of 5 ways to organise your class so that you create a more cooperative atmosphere:
1. ……………………………………..
2. ……………………………………...
3. ……………………………………..
4. …………………………………….
5. ……………………………………..Mingling activity:
Do you agree with the following statements? Discuss your opinions in groups.
√ X
1 Always strive to make your lessons fun and enjoyable.
2 Make your students responsible for their own learning.
3 Never tell your students what you’re going to do. Keep it secret. It’s more fun that way.
4 Take different learning styles into account.
5 Be prepared to change the pace and content of your lesson at any time.
6 Doing problem solving tasks is a good approach.
7 Tell your students what you expect of them. They need to have clear goals and signposts.
8 Losing control is a natural part of every lesson.
9 Group activities are slower but more productive.
10 Aim to make your lessons as interactive as possible.
11 Try not to rearrange the furniture. It creates chaos.
12 Don’t expect too much of your students if it’s raining.
What do good dynamics achieve? What should you see in your students having adopted these strategies?
• Increased motivation & confidence
• Better communication amongst students and between T & Stds
• A dynamic classroom atmosphere (& sometimes more chaotic)
• A more positive and cooperative learning environment
• Increased understanding of why we do certain things at certain times
Examples of Cooperative Activities and Positive Group Dynamics
1. The Family Tree Game
2. Find Someone Who
3. A Drawing Dictation
4. Line up Categories
5. Problem Solving Role Plays
6. Multiple Intelligences
7. Adapting Textbook Activities
8. Random Elements Scenes
The Family Tree Game
Person 1
1. Tom's grandfather is called Douglas.
2. Sally's husband is an electrician.
3. Anne has 2 boys.
4. Rebecca is Amanda's cousin.
5. Joanna's father is a teacher.
6. Sylvia is a grandmother. Person 3
1. The editor is married to David.
2. Mark is Amanda's father.
3. Joanna and Rebecca are sisters.
4. Douglas has 2 sons and a daughter.
5. Nina is Peter's wife.
6. Peter is Sylvia's son.
Person 2
1. Amanda's mother is a nurse.
2. Peter has 2 daughters.
3. Sylvia's daughter-in-law is a doctor.
4. David and Peter are brothers.
5. Sally has 2 brothers. Person 4
1. Sally is Bob's aunt.
2. One of Peter's nephews is called Bob.
3. David married Anne.
4. Amanda is an only child.
5. The accountant is called David.
Please only look at your section! It's a communication
The James Family Tree
Find someone who
NAME
1.
…is a twin or has twins in the family.
2.
…has a better half!
3.
…has a profession that runs in the family.
4.
…is a godparent
5.
…has more than 3 siblings.
6.
…is the black sheep of the family!
7.
…can tell you an old wives’ tale.
8.
…has relations living abroad.
9.
…is an only child.
10.
…knows a confirmed bachelor or spinster.
Drawing Dictation
Comparing Pictures
Use: “er” with one syllable adjectives.
Example: The sun is bigger in your picture than in the original drawing.
Use: “ier” with 2 syllable adjectives that end in “y”
Example: The sofa is prettier in the original painting.
Use: “more” with adjectives of 2 or more syllables
Example: The comb is more dominant in your picture than in the original drawing.
For comparing things that are equal, use “as_________as”
Example: The walls in your drawing are not as green as the walls in the original.
Don't forget adverbs!
The man is much/ a lot/slightly/a bit/a little bit smaller than he is in the original painting.
Problem Solving Role Play
A role-play involving different objectives
1. Separate students into 3 groups:
A = Travel Agent
B = A group of friends
C = A family
2. First give groups a role to prepare.
Group A - Prepare 3 different holidays with destinations and costs.
Objective: to sell the most expensive holiday on your list.
Group B - Decide what sort of holiday you want. Prepare questions and to get information about a holiday regardless of cost.
Objective: You want a relaxing holiday
Group C – Decide what sort of holiday you want and where you want to go. Prepare questions. You want a holiday that doesn’t cost too much money.
Objective: To get the cheapest possible holiday for your family
What are learning styles?
Learning styles are simply different approaches or ways of learning.
What are the types of learning styles?
Visual Learners:
learn through seeing... .
These learners need to see the teacher's body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs. During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.
Auditory Learners:
learn through listening...
They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners:
learn through , moving, doing and touching...
Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration.
Source: http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
Textbook Activities
Miguel went into his local bar.
He bought a lottery ticket from a blind vendor.
Miguel put his trousers in the washing machine.
He found the wet lottery ticket in his pocket.
Miguel won the lottery!
The organisers refused to pay Miguel the money.
An expert analysed the ticket.
Finally, Miguel received 36, 000 Euros
Random Elements Role Play
Group 1.
Time: midnight
Place: by the river
Character: a teenager
Atmosphere/Emotion: jealousy
Group 2.
Time: dinner time
Place: on a bus
Character: a nurse
Atmosphere/Emotion: very hot
Group 3
Time: Summer
Place: on top of a mountain
Character: a gardener
Atmosphere/Emotion: sadness
Group 4
Time: 3pm
Place: in the doctor’s waiting room
Character: a spy
Atmosphere/Emotion: in a ru
miércoles, 21 de abril de 2010
jueves, 15 de abril de 2010
B1 ENGLISH COURSE: 2ND LECTURE
Cooperative Learning
and creating
Positive Classroom Dynamics
Contents:
• What is cooperative learning? Why use it?
• How do we apply cooperative learning to the classroom?
• Learning to work together: Classroom management and dynamics
• Practical activities: useful vocabulary and classroom expressions.
• Working all the skills through cooperative learning
• Different learning styles. What are you?
•
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment or activity until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Source: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm
Why use it in class?
Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques:
• promote student learning and academic achievement
• increase understanding of subjects
• enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
• help students develop skills in oral communication
• develop students' social skills
• promote student self-esteem
• help to promote positive relations among students
Speaking task:
How can we apply this to the classroom? Think of 5 ways to organise your class so that you create a more cooperative atmosphere:
1. ……………………………………..
2. ……………………………………...
3. ……………………………………..
4. …………………………………….
5. ……………………………………..
Mingling activity:
Do you agree with the following statements? Discuss your opinions in groups.
√ X
1 Always strive to make your lessons fun and enjoyable.
2 Make your students responsible for their own learning.
3 Never tell your students what you’re going to do. Keep it secret. It’s more fun that way.
4 Take different learning styles into account.
5 Be prepared to change the pace and content of your lesson at any time.
6 Doing problem solving tasks is a good approach.
7 Tell your students what you expect of them. They need to have clear goals and signposts.
8 Losing control is a natural part of every lesson.
9 Group activities are slower but more productive.
10 Aim to make your lessons as interactive as possible.
11 Try not to rearrange the furniture. It creates chaos.
12 Don’t expect too much of your students if it’s raining.
What do good dynamics achieve? What should you see in your students having adopted these strategies?
• Increased motivation & confidence
• Better communication amongst students and between T & Stds
• A dynamic classroom atmosphere (& sometimes more chaotic)
• A more positive and cooperative learning environment
• Increased understanding of why we do certain things at certain times
Examples of Cooperative Activities and Positive Group Dynamics
1. The Family Tree Game
2. Find Someone Who
3. A Drawing Dictation
4. Line up Categories
5. Problem Solving Role Plays
6. Multiple Intelligences
7. Adapting Textbook Activities
8. Random Elements Scenes
The Family Tree Game
Person 1
1. Tom's grandfather is called Douglas.
2. Sally's husband is an electrician.
3. Anne has 2 boys.
4. Rebecca is Amanda's cousin.
5. Joanna's father is a teacher.
6. Sylvia is a grandmother. Person 3
1. The editor is married to David.
2. Mark is Amanda's father.
3. Joanna and Rebecca are sisters.
4. Douglas has 2 sons and a daughter.
5. Nina is Peter's wife.
6. Peter is Sylvia's son.
Person 2
1. Amanda's mother is a nurse.
2. Peter has 2 daughters.
3. Sylvia's daughter-in-law is a doctor.
4. David and Peter are brothers.
5. Sally has 2 brothers. Person 4
1. Sally is Bob's aunt.
2. One of Peter's nephews is called Bob.
3. David married Anne.
4. Amanda is an only child.
5. The accountant is called David.
Please only look at your section! It's a communication exercise.
The James Family Tree
…………….. accountant …………………. …………………..
Family &
Find someone who
NAME
1.
…is a twin or has twins in the family.
2.
…has a better half!
3.
…has a profession that runs in the family.
4.
…is a godparent
5.
…has more than 3 siblings.
6.
…is the black sheep of the family!
7.
…can tell you an old wives’ tale.
8.
…has relations living abroad.
9.
…is an only child.
10.
…knows a confirmed bachelor or spinster.
Drawing Dictation
Comparing Pictures
Use: “er” with one syllable adjectives.
Example: The sun is bigger in your picture than in the original drawing.
Use: “ier” with 2 syllable adjectives that end in “y”
Example: The sofa is prettier in the original painting.
Use: “more” with adjectives of 2 or more syllables
Example: The comb is more dominant in your picture than in the original drawing.
For comparing things that are equal, use “as_________as”
Example: The walls in your drawing are not as green as the walls in the original.
Don't forget adverbs!
The man is much/ a lot/slightly/a bit/a little bit smaller than he is in the original painting.
Problem Solving Role Play
A role-play involving different objectives
1. Separate students into 3 groups:
A = Travel Agent
B = A group of friends
C = A family
2. First give groups a role to prepare.
Group A - Prepare 3 different holidays with destinations and costs.
Objective: to sell the most expensive holiday on your list.
Group B - Decide what sort of holiday you want. Prepare questions and to get information about a holiday regardless of cost.
Objective: You want a relaxing holiday
Group C – Decide what sort of holiday you want and where you want to go. Prepare questions. You want a holiday that doesn’t cost too much money.
Objective: To get the cheapest possible holiday for your family
What are learning styles?
Learning styles are simply different approaches or ways of learning.
What are the types of learning styles?
Visual Learners:
learn through seeing... .
These learners need to see the teacher's body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs. During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.
Auditory Learners:
learn through listening...
They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners:
learn through , moving, doing and touching...
Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration.
Source: http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
Textbook Activities
Miguel went into his local bar.
He bought a lottery ticket from a blind vendor.
Miguel put his trousers in the washing machine.
He found the wet lottery ticket in his pocket.
Miguel won the lottery!
The organisers refused to pay Miguel the money.
An expert analysed the ticket.
Finally, Miguel received 36, 000 Euros
Random Elements Role Play
Group 1.
Time: midnight
Place: by the river
Character: a teenager
Atmosphere/Emotion: jealousy
Group 2.
Time: dinner time
Place: on a bus
Character: a nurse
Atmosphere/Emotion: very hot
Group 3
Time: Summer
Place: on top of a mountain
Character: a gardener
Atmosphere/Emotion: sadness
Group 4
Time: 3pm
Place: in the doctor’s waiting room
Character: a spy
Atmosphere/Emotion: in a rush
and creating
Positive Classroom Dynamics
Contents:
• What is cooperative learning? Why use it?
• How do we apply cooperative learning to the classroom?
• Learning to work together: Classroom management and dynamics
• Practical activities: useful vocabulary and classroom expressions.
• Working all the skills through cooperative learning
• Different learning styles. What are you?
•
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment or activity until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Source: http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm
Why use it in class?
Research has shown that cooperative learning techniques:
• promote student learning and academic achievement
• increase understanding of subjects
• enhance student satisfaction with their learning experience
• help students develop skills in oral communication
• develop students' social skills
• promote student self-esteem
• help to promote positive relations among students
Speaking task:
How can we apply this to the classroom? Think of 5 ways to organise your class so that you create a more cooperative atmosphere:
1. ……………………………………..
2. ……………………………………...
3. ……………………………………..
4. …………………………………….
5. ……………………………………..
Mingling activity:
Do you agree with the following statements? Discuss your opinions in groups.
√ X
1 Always strive to make your lessons fun and enjoyable.
2 Make your students responsible for their own learning.
3 Never tell your students what you’re going to do. Keep it secret. It’s more fun that way.
4 Take different learning styles into account.
5 Be prepared to change the pace and content of your lesson at any time.
6 Doing problem solving tasks is a good approach.
7 Tell your students what you expect of them. They need to have clear goals and signposts.
8 Losing control is a natural part of every lesson.
9 Group activities are slower but more productive.
10 Aim to make your lessons as interactive as possible.
11 Try not to rearrange the furniture. It creates chaos.
12 Don’t expect too much of your students if it’s raining.
What do good dynamics achieve? What should you see in your students having adopted these strategies?
• Increased motivation & confidence
• Better communication amongst students and between T & Stds
• A dynamic classroom atmosphere (& sometimes more chaotic)
• A more positive and cooperative learning environment
• Increased understanding of why we do certain things at certain times
Examples of Cooperative Activities and Positive Group Dynamics
1. The Family Tree Game
2. Find Someone Who
3. A Drawing Dictation
4. Line up Categories
5. Problem Solving Role Plays
6. Multiple Intelligences
7. Adapting Textbook Activities
8. Random Elements Scenes
The Family Tree Game
Person 1
1. Tom's grandfather is called Douglas.
2. Sally's husband is an electrician.
3. Anne has 2 boys.
4. Rebecca is Amanda's cousin.
5. Joanna's father is a teacher.
6. Sylvia is a grandmother. Person 3
1. The editor is married to David.
2. Mark is Amanda's father.
3. Joanna and Rebecca are sisters.
4. Douglas has 2 sons and a daughter.
5. Nina is Peter's wife.
6. Peter is Sylvia's son.
Person 2
1. Amanda's mother is a nurse.
2. Peter has 2 daughters.
3. Sylvia's daughter-in-law is a doctor.
4. David and Peter are brothers.
5. Sally has 2 brothers. Person 4
1. Sally is Bob's aunt.
2. One of Peter's nephews is called Bob.
3. David married Anne.
4. Amanda is an only child.
5. The accountant is called David.
Please only look at your section! It's a communication exercise.
The James Family Tree
…………….. accountant …………………. …………………..
Family &
Find someone who
NAME
1.
…is a twin or has twins in the family.
2.
…has a better half!
3.
…has a profession that runs in the family.
4.
…is a godparent
5.
…has more than 3 siblings.
6.
…is the black sheep of the family!
7.
…can tell you an old wives’ tale.
8.
…has relations living abroad.
9.
…is an only child.
10.
…knows a confirmed bachelor or spinster.
Drawing Dictation
Comparing Pictures
Use: “er” with one syllable adjectives.
Example: The sun is bigger in your picture than in the original drawing.
Use: “ier” with 2 syllable adjectives that end in “y”
Example: The sofa is prettier in the original painting.
Use: “more” with adjectives of 2 or more syllables
Example: The comb is more dominant in your picture than in the original drawing.
For comparing things that are equal, use “as_________as”
Example: The walls in your drawing are not as green as the walls in the original.
Don't forget adverbs!
The man is much/ a lot/slightly/a bit/a little bit smaller than he is in the original painting.
Problem Solving Role Play
A role-play involving different objectives
1. Separate students into 3 groups:
A = Travel Agent
B = A group of friends
C = A family
2. First give groups a role to prepare.
Group A - Prepare 3 different holidays with destinations and costs.
Objective: to sell the most expensive holiday on your list.
Group B - Decide what sort of holiday you want. Prepare questions and to get information about a holiday regardless of cost.
Objective: You want a relaxing holiday
Group C – Decide what sort of holiday you want and where you want to go. Prepare questions. You want a holiday that doesn’t cost too much money.
Objective: To get the cheapest possible holiday for your family
What are learning styles?
Learning styles are simply different approaches or ways of learning.
What are the types of learning styles?
Visual Learners:
learn through seeing... .
These learners need to see the teacher's body language and facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in pictures and learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and hand-outs. During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.
Auditory Learners:
learn through listening...
They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written information may have little meaning until it is heard. These learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape recorder.
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learners:
learn through , moving, doing and touching...
Tactile/Kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on approach, actively exploring the physical world around them. They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become distracted by their need for activity and exploration.
Source: http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm
Textbook Activities
Miguel went into his local bar.
He bought a lottery ticket from a blind vendor.
Miguel put his trousers in the washing machine.
He found the wet lottery ticket in his pocket.
Miguel won the lottery!
The organisers refused to pay Miguel the money.
An expert analysed the ticket.
Finally, Miguel received 36, 000 Euros
Random Elements Role Play
Group 1.
Time: midnight
Place: by the river
Character: a teenager
Atmosphere/Emotion: jealousy
Group 2.
Time: dinner time
Place: on a bus
Character: a nurse
Atmosphere/Emotion: very hot
Group 3
Time: Summer
Place: on top of a mountain
Character: a gardener
Atmosphere/Emotion: sadness
Group 4
Time: 3pm
Place: in the doctor’s waiting room
Character: a spy
Atmosphere/Emotion: in a rush
B1 ENGLISH COURSE
COURSE DOCUMENTS
1ST LECTURE
Introducing CLIL:
English Across the Curriculum
CLIL is an “umbrella” term which means using a second language to learn content material (Science, Geography, Art, PE, Music) AND using content to learn a second language.
CLIL aims to:
Develop intercultural communication skills
Prepare for internationalisation
Provide opportunities to study content through different perspectives
Access subject-specific target language terminology
Improve overall target language competence
Develop oral communication skills
Increase learner motivation
Diversify methods & forms of classroom practice
It´s not so much what we know but how we use it.
David Marsh
CLIL teachers are both second language teachers who teach other subject areas through English, and specialist teachers who use English to teach their subjects. In CLIL, every teacher is a language teacher, and every teacher learns along with the students.
In class, CLIL teachers need to:
Emphasize the development of oral language.
Use a variety of activities (Learner preferences, Multiple Intelligences)
Written work: Use guided practice.
Use cooperative learning activities.
Teach using visuals.
Get students thinking.
In the next few days, we will be looking at ways to do these things in class.
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) works because skills and knowledge transfer from one language to the other. Languages and language skills, thinking skills, and what we learn in subjects in school all support one another in learning. However, we can use specific techniques to help the process of transfer.
Dr. Jim Cummins compares two languages in the brain to two icebergs. They appear very different and completely separate on the surface (different sounds, grammar, and spelling). However, languages share common elements (parts of speech, story structure, rules of conversation and many more) below the surface. This is similar to the bottom of an iceberg, which joins what appear to be two or more smaller icebergs. Because of this common base, what is learned in one language (concepts and skills) and about language can transfer to other languages we learn.
CLIL in the Classroom:
Planning for CLIL
For more information:
• www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/ Dr. Jim Cummins’s web site about second language acquisition
www.aprendemas.com/Noticias/DetalleNoticia.asp?Noticia=525 Spanish article about language interdependence
• www.onestopclil.com/section.asp?theme=mag&docid=453&catid=238 article: “What is CLIL?”
• www.isabelperez.com/clil.htm lots of information about CLIL in English and Spanish
• www.factworld.info/clil/cafe/090122/index.htm (Podcast about characteristics of CLIL teachers)
• www.ub.es/filoan/CLIL/padres.pdf (article in Spanish about CLIL)
• www.soniacasal.es (Integrated Curriculum in Bilingual Programs)
• www.onestopclil.com Onestopclil (Resource bank for teachers)
• www.factworld.info/ Factworld (Worldwide forum for CLIL teachers)
• http://bilingualeduc.ning.com/ Bilingual education platform (sharing space for teachers)
• Material for BL primary classes www.booksandmore.es/catalog/index.php
www.treehouse.es/productos.htm
• CLIL blog: http://robseville.blogspot.com/
• www.teachingbilingual.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=22 (This site says it is for Primary, but much of the material is appropriate for Secondary)
• www.iessierramorena.es/ (Bilingual secondary school with examples from integrated units)
• CPR Oviedo: Recursos: Actividades para la enseñanza de inglés a través de contenidos en secundaria (available in PDF on the CPR web site)
http://web.educastur.princast.es/cpr/oviedo/web/index.php
Thank you for your attention and interest.
Patti
1ST LECTURE
Introducing CLIL:
English Across the Curriculum
CLIL is an “umbrella” term which means using a second language to learn content material (Science, Geography, Art, PE, Music) AND using content to learn a second language.
CLIL aims to:
Develop intercultural communication skills
Prepare for internationalisation
Provide opportunities to study content through different perspectives
Access subject-specific target language terminology
Improve overall target language competence
Develop oral communication skills
Increase learner motivation
Diversify methods & forms of classroom practice
It´s not so much what we know but how we use it.
David Marsh
CLIL teachers are both second language teachers who teach other subject areas through English, and specialist teachers who use English to teach their subjects. In CLIL, every teacher is a language teacher, and every teacher learns along with the students.
In class, CLIL teachers need to:
Emphasize the development of oral language.
Use a variety of activities (Learner preferences, Multiple Intelligences)
Written work: Use guided practice.
Use cooperative learning activities.
Teach using visuals.
Get students thinking.
In the next few days, we will be looking at ways to do these things in class.
CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) works because skills and knowledge transfer from one language to the other. Languages and language skills, thinking skills, and what we learn in subjects in school all support one another in learning. However, we can use specific techniques to help the process of transfer.
Dr. Jim Cummins compares two languages in the brain to two icebergs. They appear very different and completely separate on the surface (different sounds, grammar, and spelling). However, languages share common elements (parts of speech, story structure, rules of conversation and many more) below the surface. This is similar to the bottom of an iceberg, which joins what appear to be two or more smaller icebergs. Because of this common base, what is learned in one language (concepts and skills) and about language can transfer to other languages we learn.
CLIL in the Classroom:
Planning for CLIL
For more information:
• www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/ Dr. Jim Cummins’s web site about second language acquisition
www.aprendemas.com/Noticias/DetalleNoticia.asp?Noticia=525 Spanish article about language interdependence
• www.onestopclil.com/section.asp?theme=mag&docid=453&catid=238 article: “What is CLIL?”
• www.isabelperez.com/clil.htm lots of information about CLIL in English and Spanish
• www.factworld.info/clil/cafe/090122/index.htm (Podcast about characteristics of CLIL teachers)
• www.ub.es/filoan/CLIL/padres.pdf (article in Spanish about CLIL)
• www.soniacasal.es (Integrated Curriculum in Bilingual Programs)
• www.onestopclil.com Onestopclil (Resource bank for teachers)
• www.factworld.info/ Factworld (Worldwide forum for CLIL teachers)
• http://bilingualeduc.ning.com/ Bilingual education platform (sharing space for teachers)
• Material for BL primary classes www.booksandmore.es/catalog/index.php
www.treehouse.es/productos.htm
• CLIL blog: http://robseville.blogspot.com/
• www.teachingbilingual.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=22 (This site says it is for Primary, but much of the material is appropriate for Secondary)
• www.iessierramorena.es/ (Bilingual secondary school with examples from integrated units)
• CPR Oviedo: Recursos: Actividades para la enseñanza de inglés a través de contenidos en secundaria (available in PDF on the CPR web site)
http://web.educastur.princast.es/cpr/oviedo/web/index.php
Thank you for your attention and interest.
Patti
martes, 23 de marzo de 2010
lunes, 22 de marzo de 2010
How to Encourage Student Reading and Literacy
How to Encourage Student Reading and Literacy
In this video we look at what the research says and also offer a great number of tips for Parents and Teachers.
What the research says:
1. Reading ability and feelings toward reading are related.
2. Forcing children to read yields poor results.
Tips for parents to encourage reading:
1. Be Role Models- Read often with children and on your own.
2. Book Allowances- You can use the library or purchase new books for your children to their liking.
3. Assure Kids That Read Has a Purpose- Reading is not a chore. We read to gain insight into things we don't understand.
4. Read Aloud- Family reading nights are great!
5. Create a family newsletter, web site, and/or blog- Kids love to use technology. Technology requires a great deal of reading.
Tips for teachers to encourage reading:
1. Encourage Student Pen Pal Exchanges- Check our message board. Teachers are constantly meeting other Pen Pal classes that way.
2. Reading Scavenger Hunt- When students read in a competitive setting, you would be surprised how fast they retain information.
3. Read & Share- Have students share their thoughts with the class.
4. Class Newspaper- This allow students to further explore their interests.
5. Class Web Site- Have students manage an updated record of what is going on in your class. If anyone is absent, it really helps.
6. Organize a Book Exchange- Week 1: Students bring in as many used books as they would like. They receive 1 credit for each book they bring in. Week 2: For every credit the students have they can take one book from the exchange.
In this video we look at what the research says and also offer a great number of tips for Parents and Teachers.
What the research says:
1. Reading ability and feelings toward reading are related.
2. Forcing children to read yields poor results.
Tips for parents to encourage reading:
1. Be Role Models- Read often with children and on your own.
2. Book Allowances- You can use the library or purchase new books for your children to their liking.
3. Assure Kids That Read Has a Purpose- Reading is not a chore. We read to gain insight into things we don't understand.
4. Read Aloud- Family reading nights are great!
5. Create a family newsletter, web site, and/or blog- Kids love to use technology. Technology requires a great deal of reading.
Tips for teachers to encourage reading:
1. Encourage Student Pen Pal Exchanges- Check our message board. Teachers are constantly meeting other Pen Pal classes that way.
2. Reading Scavenger Hunt- When students read in a competitive setting, you would be surprised how fast they retain information.
3. Read & Share- Have students share their thoughts with the class.
4. Class Newspaper- This allow students to further explore their interests.
5. Class Web Site- Have students manage an updated record of what is going on in your class. If anyone is absent, it really helps.
6. Organize a Book Exchange- Week 1: Students bring in as many used books as they would like. They receive 1 credit for each book they bring in. Week 2: For every credit the students have they can take one book from the exchange.
domingo, 14 de marzo de 2010
WRITING
GENRE LESSONS
DESCRIPTIONS
EXPOSITORY
a genre of writing that informs, describes, or explains with text types that include: autobiography, biography, descriptive, essay, informational report, and media article
NARRATIVE
a genre of writing that entertains or tells a story with text types that include: adventure, fairy tale, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, personal narrative, realistic fiction, and science fiction
PERSUASIVE
a genre of writing that attempts to convince readers to embrace a particular point of view with text types that include: advertisement, editorial, essay, political cartoon, pro/con, and review
PROCEDURAL
a genre of writing that explains the instructions or directions for completing a task with text types that include: experiment, how to, and recipe
TRANSACTIONAL
a genre of writing that serves as a communication of ideas and information between individuals with text types that include: blog, business letter, friendly email, friendly letter, interview, invitation, and postcard
DESCRIPTIONS
EXPOSITORY
a genre of writing that informs, describes, or explains with text types that include: autobiography, biography, descriptive, essay, informational report, and media article
NARRATIVE
a genre of writing that entertains or tells a story with text types that include: adventure, fairy tale, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, personal narrative, realistic fiction, and science fiction
PERSUASIVE
a genre of writing that attempts to convince readers to embrace a particular point of view with text types that include: advertisement, editorial, essay, political cartoon, pro/con, and review
PROCEDURAL
a genre of writing that explains the instructions or directions for completing a task with text types that include: experiment, how to, and recipe
TRANSACTIONAL
a genre of writing that serves as a communication of ideas and information between individuals with text types that include: blog, business letter, friendly email, friendly letter, interview, invitation, and postcard
jueves, 11 de marzo de 2010
lunes, 8 de marzo de 2010
INVICTUS
INVICTUS
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul. -
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. -
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul. -
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul. -
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. -
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul. -
Learning Science Skills
Learning skills for science
What is LSS?
Learning Skills for Science (LSS) is a programme of activities designed to teach learning skills explicitly within the context of a science course.
Learning Skills for Science aims to enhance the quality of science learning and so improve student attainment by providing teachers with:
1. Strategies to identify and deconstruct learning skills relevant to science education
2. Activities which develop students’ learning skills in the context of science
3. Resources that can be integrated into a variety of scientific subjects.
Why is LSS relevant for Science in Society?
Science in Society A level emphasises the applications and implications of science. Student-centred teaching and learning approaches are also encouraged in the activities and style of assessment, and high-order skills are crucial for these more active processes.
Specific development of these skills recognises the need to prepare students for higher education and employment, by supporting their development as independent learners.
Previously, learning skills for science were acquired through trial and error. The Learning Skills for Science programme helps teachers to integrate these skills into the teaching of scientific content. It provides activities to facilitate explicit, guided, and well-planned learning opportunities that foster skills development.
LSS activities develop skills which will be useful for SiS Unit 2. Tackling some of the LSS activities in the early topics of the course is good preparation for the coursework tasks.
Six skill areas
LSS activities focus on six ‘Learning Skills Areas’:
Skill area 1: Information retrieval
Skill area 2: Listening and observing
Skill area 3: Scientific reading
Skill area 4: Data representation
Skill area 5: Scientific writing
Skill area 6: Knowledge presentation.
Each skill area is further divided into sub-skills. For example, scientific writing provides practice in how to prepare a summary, write an article and construct a bibliography.
Activities are available here to develop all of these skill areas as an integrated part of the Science in Society course.
Learning Skills for Science resources
Originally developed at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, the UK LSS programme for KS4 was funded by the Science Enhancement Programme in collaboration with the Nuffield Curriculum Centre. The post-16 LSS resource is available through a training programme delivered by the national network of Science Learning Centres. A sample of the activities have been specifically modified for SiS. These are integrated into the topic activities.
What is LSS?
Learning Skills for Science (LSS) is a programme of activities designed to teach learning skills explicitly within the context of a science course.
Learning Skills for Science aims to enhance the quality of science learning and so improve student attainment by providing teachers with:
1. Strategies to identify and deconstruct learning skills relevant to science education
2. Activities which develop students’ learning skills in the context of science
3. Resources that can be integrated into a variety of scientific subjects.
Why is LSS relevant for Science in Society?
Science in Society A level emphasises the applications and implications of science. Student-centred teaching and learning approaches are also encouraged in the activities and style of assessment, and high-order skills are crucial for these more active processes.
Specific development of these skills recognises the need to prepare students for higher education and employment, by supporting their development as independent learners.
Previously, learning skills for science were acquired through trial and error. The Learning Skills for Science programme helps teachers to integrate these skills into the teaching of scientific content. It provides activities to facilitate explicit, guided, and well-planned learning opportunities that foster skills development.
LSS activities develop skills which will be useful for SiS Unit 2. Tackling some of the LSS activities in the early topics of the course is good preparation for the coursework tasks.
Six skill areas
LSS activities focus on six ‘Learning Skills Areas’:
Skill area 1: Information retrieval
Skill area 2: Listening and observing
Skill area 3: Scientific reading
Skill area 4: Data representation
Skill area 5: Scientific writing
Skill area 6: Knowledge presentation.
Each skill area is further divided into sub-skills. For example, scientific writing provides practice in how to prepare a summary, write an article and construct a bibliography.
Activities are available here to develop all of these skill areas as an integrated part of the Science in Society course.
Learning Skills for Science resources
Originally developed at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, the UK LSS programme for KS4 was funded by the Science Enhancement Programme in collaboration with the Nuffield Curriculum Centre. The post-16 LSS resource is available through a training programme delivered by the national network of Science Learning Centres. A sample of the activities have been specifically modified for SiS. These are integrated into the topic activities.
10 Tips for Better Classroom Management
10 Tips for Better Classroom Management
Besides teaching a class of 20 to 30 students, a teacher also needs to have skills in keeping the classroom contained. Classroom management is a big part of a teacher's job, and having tips for maintaining a better classroom environment is key. So, take a look at the 10 tips mentioned below that are geared to help teachers in this way.
Tip #1
Develop a compliment chain. Start a chain of either paper or paper clips. Explain to your students that every time you notice someone in the class behaving extraordinarily, you will add a segment to the chain. When the chain reaches a certain point, you will reward the entire class with a prize or a special snack. You may even consider adding segments to the chain if another teacher compliments one of your students. You can start the students off with one or two segments to get them motivated to continue the chain.
Tip #2
Classroom setup option. Try arranging the chairs and tables in your classroom into a three-sided shape that forms a square. With this setup, every student is in the first row, and this means you can move around the room and keep your eye on the entire class at the same time. Studies have shown that with the more typical chair and table setups, the further back a student sits from the front of the room, the more likely bad behavior arises. If you need to set your chairs and tables up for a cooperative learning environment, you can do so easily within two minutes.
Tip #3
Classroom scavenger hunt. To help transition students into a new school year, invite parents and students to your classroom for an "Open House." Play a scavenger hunt game with the parents/children whereby they have to things around the room, such as a clock, a poem, their name on a desk, etc. Make yourself the last item they have to find. This will make the parents/children feel comfortable with where things are in the room and make the first day of school easier.
Tip #4
Establish rules upfront. Give your students the advantage to make good behavior practice decisions themselves by telling them the rules of your classroom upfront. Keep the rules short. Discuss with them why these rules are important.
Tip #5
Learn your students names quickly.The quicker you are able to remember the names of your students, the easier it will be to control classroom management. Play name games with your students in the beginning of they year, so you learn them quickly. Being able to call on a student who is disrupting the class will be much more effective, if you are not stumbling to remember what that student's name is.
Tip #6
Be firm and then let go. Some teachers find it much better to be firm and consistent at the beginning of the year, not letting students get away with much of anything. While some students will feel this is a mean teacher, other students will like the security that they feel when their teacher is able to keep the classroom in order. As the year progresses, you can certainly let down your guard a bit, but still be consistent with reinforcing your rules.
Tip #7
Red light/green light system. Set up a bulletin board with a traffic theme. Give each student a pocket on the bulletin board with their name on the pocket. In the pocket place a red, yellow, and green card, respectively. Let the students start off with a green card every morning. If a student misbehaves or is un-attentive in class, change their light to yellow. If bad behavior persists, turn it to red. If a child gets a red light on any given day, send a note home for the parents to sign and for the child to bring back the next day.
Tip #8
Use poster to make a point. Find retail posters that you can hang around your room that point out positives. Rules are generally made to react to undesired behaviors. With the use of positive posters, your students will be reading things to build them. Rules are certainly necessary, and should be in every classroom, but sprinkle some positives around your room, too!
Tip #9
Create an "All About Me" board. Each week pick a handful of students who have displayed exceptionally good behavior in class. Tell these students to bring in pictures of themselves and of anything that they want to show-off to the class. Hang these pictures on this special board that showcases them. This will make every student in the class want to get their name and pictures on the board, so they will all try to display good behavior at one point or another.
Tip #10
Use points to make a point. If your class is having a hard time staying quiet, try using this point system. Make a chart and give each student 20 points to start the day off with. If a student is having a hard time staying quiet, subtract points in increments of 5 points. If a student is left with 0 points, then you can send a note home to the parents. At the end of the class each day, add up all of the student points as one number. Set a goal for students to reach a given number of points for the week. If they meet the goal, hand out small prizes like stickers or candy. If they do not meet the goal for the week, the entire class gets nothing.
Besides teaching a class of 20 to 30 students, a teacher also needs to have skills in keeping the classroom contained. Classroom management is a big part of a teacher's job, and having tips for maintaining a better classroom environment is key. So, take a look at the 10 tips mentioned below that are geared to help teachers in this way.
Tip #1
Develop a compliment chain. Start a chain of either paper or paper clips. Explain to your students that every time you notice someone in the class behaving extraordinarily, you will add a segment to the chain. When the chain reaches a certain point, you will reward the entire class with a prize or a special snack. You may even consider adding segments to the chain if another teacher compliments one of your students. You can start the students off with one or two segments to get them motivated to continue the chain.
Tip #2
Classroom setup option. Try arranging the chairs and tables in your classroom into a three-sided shape that forms a square. With this setup, every student is in the first row, and this means you can move around the room and keep your eye on the entire class at the same time. Studies have shown that with the more typical chair and table setups, the further back a student sits from the front of the room, the more likely bad behavior arises. If you need to set your chairs and tables up for a cooperative learning environment, you can do so easily within two minutes.
Tip #3
Classroom scavenger hunt. To help transition students into a new school year, invite parents and students to your classroom for an "Open House." Play a scavenger hunt game with the parents/children whereby they have to things around the room, such as a clock, a poem, their name on a desk, etc. Make yourself the last item they have to find. This will make the parents/children feel comfortable with where things are in the room and make the first day of school easier.
Tip #4
Establish rules upfront. Give your students the advantage to make good behavior practice decisions themselves by telling them the rules of your classroom upfront. Keep the rules short. Discuss with them why these rules are important.
Tip #5
Learn your students names quickly.The quicker you are able to remember the names of your students, the easier it will be to control classroom management. Play name games with your students in the beginning of they year, so you learn them quickly. Being able to call on a student who is disrupting the class will be much more effective, if you are not stumbling to remember what that student's name is.
Tip #6
Be firm and then let go. Some teachers find it much better to be firm and consistent at the beginning of the year, not letting students get away with much of anything. While some students will feel this is a mean teacher, other students will like the security that they feel when their teacher is able to keep the classroom in order. As the year progresses, you can certainly let down your guard a bit, but still be consistent with reinforcing your rules.
Tip #7
Red light/green light system. Set up a bulletin board with a traffic theme. Give each student a pocket on the bulletin board with their name on the pocket. In the pocket place a red, yellow, and green card, respectively. Let the students start off with a green card every morning. If a student misbehaves or is un-attentive in class, change their light to yellow. If bad behavior persists, turn it to red. If a child gets a red light on any given day, send a note home for the parents to sign and for the child to bring back the next day.
Tip #8
Use poster to make a point. Find retail posters that you can hang around your room that point out positives. Rules are generally made to react to undesired behaviors. With the use of positive posters, your students will be reading things to build them. Rules are certainly necessary, and should be in every classroom, but sprinkle some positives around your room, too!
Tip #9
Create an "All About Me" board. Each week pick a handful of students who have displayed exceptionally good behavior in class. Tell these students to bring in pictures of themselves and of anything that they want to show-off to the class. Hang these pictures on this special board that showcases them. This will make every student in the class want to get their name and pictures on the board, so they will all try to display good behavior at one point or another.
Tip #10
Use points to make a point. If your class is having a hard time staying quiet, try using this point system. Make a chart and give each student 20 points to start the day off with. If a student is having a hard time staying quiet, subtract points in increments of 5 points. If a student is left with 0 points, then you can send a note home to the parents. At the end of the class each day, add up all of the student points as one number. Set a goal for students to reach a given number of points for the week. If they meet the goal, hand out small prizes like stickers or candy. If they do not meet the goal for the week, the entire class gets nothing.
Writing
Using nursery rhymes, jingles, songs and poems as a way into
writing
Janet Evans
This chapter investigates children’s interest in the nursery rhyme genre whilst at the
same time considers how children can be encouraged to write reflectively if they are
working on something that both stimulates and motivates them to want to write. After
reading a story book of nursery rhymes, a group of 6 and 7 year old children were
encouraged to consider what other adventures some of the main rhyme characters
might have. By talking about the rhymes, seeing an expert writer modelling the
writing process and writing collaboratively with the teacher and with each other, the
children wrote an “alternative” nursery rhyme book. They began to see writing as a
long term process which is recursive, takes time and effort but which is also very
rewarding especially when published in the form of a book.
Nursery Rhymes as a popular genre
Nursery rhymes have always been popular with children ... but why? Very often they
don’t relate to our contemporary life and frequently they seem to make no sense at all.
Yet the rhythm and rhyme of the sentences, the simple story lines, humorous
innuendoes and play on words make them good fun not only to recount but also to
sing along with other people. Books of nursery rhymes, poems and jingles have often
been given as presents on the birth of a child or on a baby’s christening day. Now
more than ever there is a tremendous choice on offer and rhyming poetry, verse and
books of songs to sing are all available for parents to purchase. Many adults have
pleasurable memories of sharing books when they were young children and are able to
go straight to a bookshelf and pick up an old, battered copy of their much loved
childhood nursery rhyme book.
Some of the original nursery rhymes were never written down but were passed from
generation to generation by word of mouth. Indeed many are extremely old, some
dating as far back as 500 BC e.g. Rain, rain, go away come again another day. The
apparent nonsense and innocence of some of these verses can sometimes belie more
sombre origins, as the words of Ring -a- ring o Roses show:
Ring a ring o roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
This popular rhyme - ostensibly quite innocuous - describes the sudden deaths of
people succumbing to the Great Plague. The tell tale red circle on the skin or “ring of
roses”, and the sneezing, “A-tishoo! A-tishoo!” signified that the disease had been
caught. Carrying special herbs, “ the pocket full of posies” was thought to keep the
plague at bay but it infrequently worked. The effects of the Plague were so rapid and
severe that people often dropped dead in the street as they walked - hence the final
line, “we all fall down”. (Trussell-Cullen, 1989).
2
We are often led to believe that in Victorian times fortunate youngsters went to sleep
whilst nursery rhymes and songs were being read and sung to them in bed. Indeed
some of the first books of nursery rhymes, rhyming verse, traditional stories and
poetry, often illustrated by such acclaimed illustrators as Kate Greenaway, Norman
Caldecott and Leslie Brookes were the ones which popularised the idea of sharing
such books with young children.
Iona and Peter Opie (1987) in their comprehensive documentation of children and
their playground rhymes and jingles also did a great deal to promote the importance of
exposing young children to nursery rhymes, jingles and songs. Originally much of this
exposure was for the pure pleasure of listening to stories and rhymes being told and
sung out loud; however the simple, ubiquitous nursery rhyme has more recently been
attracting attention in education circles for other, quite different reasons.
Linking nursery rhymes with writing
My personal interest in using nursery rhymes and jingles to teach reading to young
children, coupled with an awareness of the ongoing research into how educators can
effectively teach the process of writing, led me to link these two areas in some work I
was doing with 6 and 7 year old children. My aim was to share an enlarged text book
with the whole class of children followed by some written work to be done with a
mixed ability group of ten girls and boys. I wanted to examine their knowledge of
traditional nursery rhymes and jingles; would they know a lot of them and be able to
chant them or would they think that nursery rhymes were too babyish for children of
their age? I also wanted them to choose one of their favourite rhymes, and, taking the
main character(s) in the original rhyme, write a sequel, maybe in the form of the
further adventures of Jack and Jill, or Mary and her little lamb, or which ever rhyme
character they chose. My third intention was to observe the children organising their
narrative writing, offering structured help where applicable to enable the children to
become more effective writers.
To be able to write an adventure sequel the children needed to respond to the narrative
element of the rhymes and to explore their structure. I wondered if the rhymes would
be seen as short stories, some with very clear structures in terms of characters, setting,
plot, events and resolution, or if they would just be listened to, chanted and regarded
as simple verses for babies. I knew that I would need to talk with the children about
their favourite rhymes and the personalities of the characters in the rhymes. I also
knew that I would need to model each stage of the writing process for the children as
we progressed from our initial ideas to a finished book which the other infant children
could read.
Nursery Rhymes as a Stimulus
The book which became the stimulus for many of their ideas was called Times and
Rhymes (Davidson, 1997). Written in rhyming verse, it is really good to read to young
literacy learners because of the way it guides them into using all of the cueing
systems: syntactic, semantic and graphophonic. It specifically encourages the use of
picture cues, predicting, guessing, reading on, reading back, initial and final letter
sounds, patterns of letters in words and the use of onset, rime and analogy in rhyming
3
words. It is also wonderful in the way it alludes to the nursery rhymes to come, giving
clues of all kinds before eventually, as one turns each page, exposing the full version
of the nursery rhyme to the reader. Ten familiar and not so familiar nursery rhymes are
referred to throughout the story.
This book was shared with the class of 6 and 7 year old children along with some
other books about nursery rhymes and traditional stories such as The Nursery Rhyme
Picnic (Wignell, 1990), Goodnight, Goodnight (Parkes, 1989), The Enormous
Watermelon (Parkes & Smith, 1986), Each Peach Pear Plum. (Ahlberg 1996), Mr.
Wolf’s Pancakes (Fearnley, 1999) and Little Bo Peep’s Library Book (Cowell, 1999).
The children started to consider what kind of personalities the rhyme characters had
when they were not “in role” in their story. The idea of writing about the further
adventures of some of these characters came later, after listening to the story of
Struwwelpeter, (Hoffman, 1845) the boy who had his fingernails cut off. The children
questioned how Struwwelpeter could carry on in life without fingernails. This led
them to relate back to the nursery rhyme characters and to consider what would
happen to some of them after their adventures. Some of which were quite traumatic,
such as Humpty Dumpty, who was shattered, and Rock a bye Baby who fell from a
tree in a cradle when one of the branches broke. We re-read the original book and
started to discuss each of the main characters in even more detail. As well as Humpty
Dumpty and Rock-a-bye baby, what further adventures would Jack and Jill get up to?
What about Jack, who was nimble and quick and who jumped over the
candlestick...what would he do? Contrary Mary: what other things could she do as
well as having silver bells, cockle- shells and pretty maids all in a row in her garden ?
Polly with her kettle, the old woman who lived in a shoe and the baby who fell from
the tree top complete with cradle, were all subjects for discussion.
John, a very insightful child, commented, “With no fingernails, Struwwelpeter
wouldn’t be able to hold his knife and fork, or draw and colour in ...... he wouldn’t be
able to pick his nose either would he!?”
Sean, who went on to write about Humpty Dumpty, said, “Perhaps every broken bit
of Humpty’s shell will grow other body bits and become complete eggs like worms
when they get chopped in half.”
Chris, who didn’t always find it easy to contribute to class discussions, said in relation
to Hickory Dickory Dock, “That mouse will be well shattered running up and down
the clock everytime it rings.”
The children talked eagerly and thoughtfully about their ideas and each child chose
the rhyme and character they wanted to work with. Having worked with them before I
knew they were certainly not afraid of putting their ideas down on paper and they were
used to doing shared writing followed by guided writing. However at this point I was
mindful of the recent Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) interim report on the
National Literacy Strategy (1999) which states that greater emphasis needs to be given
to the teaching of writing. With both girls and boys, writing expertise seems to be
lagging behind reading. The whole process of writing needs teaching more explicitly
right across the 5 to 11 age range. I started to question myself. Was I doing enough to
help these children organise their narrative writing?
Research- Past and Present
4
What impact has research on writing from the last two decades had on classroom
practice? I think back to the eighties when a great deal of international research,
(Calkins, 1986; Calkins & Harwayne, 1991; Clay, 1991; Graves, 1983, 1989 ; Hall,
1987, 1989; Parry & Hornsby, 1985; Temple et al, 1993), was conducted in relation to
children, learning and writing. In England action based research resulted in
newsletters which reported on the work of teachers during the period of The National
Writing Project (1985-1989). This project was set up to look at how writing was being
taught, to identify good practice in the teaching of young writers and to create
competent and confident writers who could write for a range of purposes. Many
teachers found that their personal and professional knowledge about how children
learn to write was augmented and broadened through the child centred research which
they conducted in their own classrooms. The research undertaken was wide ranging in
its content and fascinating in its findings; some teachers in the south of England
encountered disturbing and yet salutary viewpoints when they asked children a series
of questions about writing, including what makes a piece of writing good? The
majority of children said a good piece of writing must be long, have all words spelt
correctly, have correct punctuation to include capital letters and full stops and it must
be neat! The children were not considering the content, audience, purpose or
appropriateness of style when writing, indicating that much work needed to be done in
relation to changing children’s attitudes to writing.
It is evident that to develop as effective writers children need:
* the opportunity to try things out and to relate their previous knowledge
of print to their own personal situation
* to feel able to take risks without being frightened of making mistakes
* to be exposed to an adult role model who will share writing and the
whole writing experience with them
* to have something to write about and reasons to write
And incontrovertibly, children must have:
* exposure to top quality literature and books as children write what they read.
Much of the very relevant and creative international research of the eighties has
informed our current practice and is still influencing new research into the teaching of
writing. One such piece of teacher research, small scale in its range but still so
refreshingly relevant that it could almost have been written yesterday was by Chris
Rayers (1987). The article about shared, guided and independent writing, outlines a
methodology for modelling the process of writing with 5 to 11 year old children. It is
evident however that Rayer’s main aim was for teachers to teach children how to write
through acting as role models and encouraging the children to “have a go” in a
relaxed, child friendly atmosphere where they were expected to succeed when they
were scaffolded by the teacher. Rayers alluded to some of the problem areas that
children faced when trying to become writers, from tired hands for the very youngest
children, through to a lack of knowledge of the conventions of print and the inability
to spell new words with older children. He stated that instead of learning writing in a
piecemeal, bit by bit manner where the skills are focused on to the exclusion of the
meaning of the whole text, the young child:
“needs to experience the whole writing process as soon as possible, and shared
writing with an adult is an ideal method of providing such early writing success. The
5
shared writing technique immediately involves the children in talking about writing
and in redrafting at a very early age”. p118
With Rayer’s ideas in mind it is interesting to read what the training details from the
National Literacy Strategy (Department for Education and Employment, 1998) have to
say about shared writing:
“In Shared Writing sessions, you will be using known texts to create new ones,
demonstrating different aspects of the writing process and helping pupils to
understand purpose, organisation and conventions of different genres. In their group
activities, pupils will be encouraged to write collaboratively and be taught how to
respond helpfully to others’ work. They will be asked to write parts of whole texts - an
opening, or a paragraph of dialogue, or an outline plan - which is not necessarily
developed into a full blown novel. These activities develop out of reading and should
involve pupils in returning to the text rather than departing further and further away
from it. They will use the original as a model, but change one or more ingredients -
perhaps the setting, or author’s viewpoint, characters, or outcome. Further revision
of pupils’ own writing will be going on in guided group work at Text, Sentence or
Word level. At these times they will be concerned with further crafting and refining,
rather than correcting spelling mistakes.” (DfEE, 1998)
It is evident that the issues have not changed despite the passage of time. Children and
their educators need to know that writing is not simply a process of thinking about an
idea, jotting it down and then tidying it up. As the Ministry of Education for New
Zealand consider in their book, Dancing with the Pen (1996), writing is recursive in
that the writer can move from one stage to another depending on what has already
been written and what is yet to be written. The audience and purpose will affect
whether drafting and proof reading are needed, whilst the desired outcome will
determine how the piece of writing is eventually presented, if at all.
The Process of Writing
The small group of children with whom I was working, although eager, enthusiastic
writers, were not always aware of all the stages in relation to the process of writing so
as they worked their way towards their completed book I carefully guided them
through each stage.
Diagram of “The Process of Writing” to go here.
1. Initially we related to our personal experiences of reading and responding to the big
book, Times and Rhymes.
All writers must have reasons to write and something to write about; an experience,
preferably first hand but more usually a second hand experience relating to a book
which has been shared with the children. Nigel Hall (1989) wrote extensively about
the need for children to write in purposeful ways, whilst Casbergue (1998) talks about
young children writing about authentic purposes in real situations.
6
2. We talked about our responses to the book and started to jot down our ideas in a
random fashion for a shared write relating to one of the characters, this was the
brainstorming part of our writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Who is this writing for? (AUDIENCE)
* Why am I doing this writing? (PURPOSE)
* What is this writing about? (CONTENT)
* Is it necessary to do a brainstorm?
If so :
* What STYLE of writing will be APPROPRIATE in relation to the above questions?
3. We wrote our initial rough draft. At this point we were not in the least bit worried
about correctness in terms of grammar, punctuation, neatness, spelling and layout, we
were interested in placing some of the ideas from our brainstorming in a simple
written form.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Is a rough draft always needed?
* Do I need to do a rough draft to write a quick message to my best friend or to
write a shopping list?
* Do I need to do a rough draft to write an important letter or to write a story
to be read by the other children in school?
4. We then stopped to read what we had written and to talk about it , that is,
conference. Initially this was done with the teacher, then in small groups, then in
“response partner” pairs before “going it alone”.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Where does this adventure take place?
* Who are the characters in this story?
* What does that character look like, can you describe him/her?
* What else do I need to know about what is happening?
* How can I make this piece of writing better? Should I use more descriptive
language or take some bits out as they are repetitive?
The concept of conferencing as initiated by Donald Graves (1983) really allows
children to think about and reflect on their work in non threatening, helpful situations.
Hodgson (1995) feels that conferencing is a time when child and teacher get together
to discuss the child’s writing, whilst Mandel Morrow & Gambrel (1998) report on
some 5 and 6 year old children who write, then conference with partners:
“After writing, the partners read their stories to each other. Then they suggested
ideas for change or additions to their partner’s work. The partners made the
suggested revisions and then read their stories to each other again.” p156
5. We reviewed and revised our initial rough draft to include some of the ideas which
had come from our conferencing - amendments were made where appropriate.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Does my writing make sense?
* Does it need amending?
* How can I improve my writing?
* What else do I want to know?
* Do I need to add bits or take bits away?
7
* Should the writing be more descriptive?
6. We conferenced once again to reassure ourselves that the writing was appropriate
for the audience and any further additions and omissions were made to the content of
the writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Have I carefully considered how my audience will relate to this?
* Is the style appropriate for the purpose?
7. We started to edit the writing at this stage and began to give full attention to
spelling, punctuation, grammar i.e. the secretarial aspects of the writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Are the words spelled correctly?
* Does the punctuation help with reading the text?
* Are the capital letters and full stops in the right place?
* Are the adjectives, adverbs and pronouns being used properly?
8. Finally we decided on the layout as this writing was being written as a book for
readers of all ages.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Is the layout appropriate for the content of this piece of writing?
* Are the illustrations in the right place? Are there enough illustrations?
* Is there a title page, a contents page, an index, page numbers, acknowledgments,
ISBN, Bar Code etc.?
* Is the cover suitably designed? Have the authors and illustrators got their names in
place?
* Is the work neat?
9. How shall we publish our book?
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Should the text be typed or handwritten?
* Should it be bound between hard covers, spiral bound or placed in a ring file?
Each stage of the writing process was carefully considered, however it was the notion
of rough drafts that created most discussion with the most asked question being, “Are
rough drafts always necessary?”. It was through being involved in a piece of writing
which was going to be fully published for a particular audience (in this case the other
children in the class) that each child came to see that reviewing rough drafts was not
simply a case of copying the writing out neatly with correct spellings. The
conferencing aspect of the writing became important to this group of 6 and 7 year
olds; each child thought about his or her own idea but collaborated with the teacher
and then with a response partner when it came to conferencing. It was very evident
that by offering ideas, making suggestions for improvement and responding to each
other’s work the children’s writing was much improved as was their concept of
themselves as writers. The knowledge that writing is recursive is an important
concept for children and the notion of a piece of work being important enough to think
about, talk about and return to ... just as real authors do ... was a real support to them.
They realised that all stages in a writing process are important, from the initial stages
where they are composing and getting their ideas down without worrying about what
8
they look like, through to the later stages where finer adjustments to make the writing
better are made as part of the reviewing and editing process.
The Children’s Alternative Adventures
Out of the ten contributors to the book which they called Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes
four children in particular showed a real understanding of the purpose of doing the
writing and a growing ability to write humorously for an intended audience. Their
further adventures of the nursery rhyme characters kept the essence of the nursery
rhyme genre, the lightheartedness of which often has a hidden message. However one
or two of their adventures had a rather forlorn, darker side to them.
“Jack be nimble” and “Jack and the Burning house” (Figure 1)
It is very evident from this short narrative that John had fully understood the potential
danger in Jack’s athletic actions and he was more than able to weave this into an
interesting, humorous adventure. Jack and the Burning House. Jack jumped back
over the candlestick but oh no! He fell onto the candlestick, ow, he burned his botty he
landed on the table cloth, he had started a fire, it spread, it burnt the whole house
down .One day he was walking round the debris and he met some mice. The next day
Jack and the mice went to London.
“Polly Put the Kettle On” and “Polly Burnt her Thumb” (Figure 2)
Caroline used the simple action of Polly putting the kettle on as a stimulus for a
further adventure. In similar ways to John, she could evidently see the danger of
getting burnt in the original rhyme and she used this theme in her narrative about
Polly and Sukey.
Polly Burnt her Thumb. When Polly put the kettle on she had put too much hot water
in the kettle so she burnt her thumb. She touched the oven, suddenly the oven exploded
and made a great big fire. Instead of Sukey taking the kettle off she was in the garden
having a sunbathe suddenly Sukey saw the flames. So Sukey got a basket and started
filling it with water, soon the fire was out. Sukey and Polly moved to another cottage
and they all lived happily ever after.
“Humpty Dumpty” and “Sellotaped Dumpty” (Figure 3)
It was the idea of poor Humpty Dumpty shattering into a myriad of pieces that
inspired Sean to write his very comical piece. Sellotaped Dumpty Humpty Dumpty
sat on a wall then he cracked. The King’s men couldn’t put him together so they
sellotaped him to together then he watched Man.(Manchester)United, every time they
scored. Once when they scored he crashed and all the yolk came out then he died.
Photocopy of both versions of “Rock a bye baby” (Figure 4)
In Laura’s work we see another child who is able to relate the nursery rhyme incident
to real life. She included dialogue and a real sense of the here and now coupled with
the whimsical nature of the nursery rhyme setting. Laura read her story out with such
conviction, expression and enthusiasm that it was impossible to have anything other
9
than full respect for her work. She was already showing signs of being a competent
writer at the age of six. Rock a bye baby Waa! Waa! Mama! Mama! the branch
broke and I fell down onto the ground. Waa! Waa! be quiet because you won’t have
any dinner! OK. The baby was silent for a minute then said, “But I won’t have my
favourite baby food will I?”
“No you won’t will you?” said Mummy.
( You now realise this story has a lot of shouting going on).
Grandma came, “Shush! Listen to this rock a bye baby on the tree top, when the wind
blows the cradle will fall.”
That’s all I know up to now, sorry. Come on let’s go to Bolton”.
When they got there they had lots of fun.
The children in the group immensely enjoyed their work, they were enthusiastic and
motivated -- noted by their requests to work through playtimes during the mornings I
was able to spend with them! Their writing benefited as could be seen by their
increasing ability to plan, to jot their initial ideas down, to write their first draft, to
structure interesting short story lines in terms of plot and events and in their more
sophisticated use of words. However despite my encouragement to write more
stimulating endings they wrote rather mundane, uninspired and stereotyped endings. It
was evident that we needed to read and study the endings in many more stories, both
traditional and contemporary before considering the kinds of endings which would be
suitable for our simple short stories. The children would also need exposure to more
teacher modelling focusing on resolutions in narratives. Many teachers find this a
problem area as Maureen Lewis (1999) noted in relation to her work on narrative
writing.
What have we learnt?
Despite the fact that this collaborative piece of work done with six and seven year old
children was small scale in terms of time, numbers and range of intentions, it was very
positive in terms of its outcomes. It was very encouraging to find that nursery rhymes
and traditional stories make excellent stimuli for narrative writing because of their
predictability and their ability to make children feel at ease with their apparent
simplicity. I was convinced that slightly older infant children would benefit from a
more detailed examination of the nursery rhyme genre and was pleased to confirm that
this was indeed the case; the nursery rhymes were humorous, witty and thought
provoking.
The children’s developing ability to organise and plan their written work confirmed
my thoughts that they need a role model at each stage of their journey towards full
competency as authors. Hornsby (2000) discusses five stages which he feels are
crucial components in the writing part of a comprehensive literacy programme: these
include modelled writing, shared and interactive writing, guided writing, independent
writing and language-experience which can fuel the other aspects of the programme.
These stages move from maximum support from the adult to a variety of different
levels of support depending on the children’s needs. Hornsby’s extra stages augment
the now recognised shared, guided and independent stages whilst also highlighting the
fact that the teacher’s role is crucial in the teaching of writing.
10
It was noteworthy that the children were now beginning to see their writing as a
process, something which couldn’t be done in one session but needed a longer period
of time. Their growing awareness of how each stage of the process fitted into the
whole was evident from their responses to the work as it developed and came together
as the finished book. With help from me these children had also begun to see writing
as recursive. They were more prepared to work on parts of it, re-reading, re-visiting,
adding bits, taking bits away, chatting about it and generally improving its fluency.
Time, exposure to a knowledgeable role model and many more opportunities to
practise, consolidate and continually apply their existing knowledge to new and
different writing situations will now be needed to allow these children to grow as
writers.
The whole writing process can be very difficult. It is time consuming, labour intensive
and often frustrating. Even professional writers find it difficult and really have to work
at it. If schools make the process of writing part of a whole school policy, starting with
4 and 5 year olds and leading up to 10 and 11 year olds in a cyclical, recursive fashion
then they are more likely to produce effective writers who find writing a rewarding
experience.
References
Ahlberg, J & A. (1996) Each Peach Pear Plum. London: Oliver & Boyd.
Calkins, L. (1986) The Art of Teaching Writing New Hampshire: Heinemann
Calkins, L. & Harwayne, S. (1991) Living Between the Lines New Hampshire:
Heinemann
Casbergue, R.(1998) How do we foster young children’s writing development? in
Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (1998) (eds.) Children Achieving: Best Practices in Early
Literacy Delaware: International Reading Association
Cowell, C. (1999) Little Bo Peep’s Library Book London: Hodder Headline
Clay, M. (1991) Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control New
Hampshire: Heinemann
Davidson, A. (1997) Times and Rhymes London: Kingscourt
DfEE (1998) The National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching London: DfEE
Fearnley, J. (1999) Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes London: Methuen Children’s Books
Graves, D. (1983) Writing: Teachers and Children at Work New Hampshire:
Heinemann
Graves, D. (1989) Experiment With Fiction New Hampshire: Heinemann
11
Hall, N. (1987) The Emergence of Literacy London: Hodder & Stoughton
Hall, N. (1989) Writing with Reason: The Emergence of Authorship in Young
Children Sevenoaks: Hodder & Stoughton
Hodgson, M. (1995) Show Them How To Write: The Writing Process For Children
From Seven Years On New Zealand: Lands End Publishing Ltd.
Hornsby, D. (2000) A Closer Look at Guided Reading Melbourne: Eleanor Curtain
Publishing
Hoffman, H. (1845) Strewwelpeter Belitha Press
Lewis, M. (1999) Developing Children’s Narrative Writing using Story Narratives in
Goodwin, P. (1999) (ed.) The Literate Classroom London: David Fulton Publishers
Mandel Morrow, L. & Gambrell, L. (1998) How do we Motivate Children Toward
Independent Reading and Writing? in Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (1998) (eds.)
Children Achieving: Best Practices in Early Literacy Delaware: International Reading
Association
Ministry of Education (1996) Dancing with the Pen: The Learner as a Writer New
Zealand: Learning Media Limited
Ofsted (1999) The National Literacy Strategy: An Interim Evaluation London: Ofsted
Opie, I. & Opie, P. (1987) The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Parkes, B. (1989) Goodnight, Goodnight London: Kingscourt
Parkes, B. & Smith, J. (1986) The Enormous Watermelon London: Kingscourt
Parry, J. & Hornsby, D. (1985) Write On: A Conference Approach to Writing New
Hampshire: Heinemann
Rayers, C. (1987) Writing Should be Sharing Reading (1987) (21) (2)
Temple, C., Nathan, R., Temple, F., & Burris, N. (1993) The Beginnings of Writing
Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon
The National Writing Project (1989) Walton-on-Thames: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Trussell-Cullen, A. (1989) A Pocket Full of Posies: A History of Nursery Rhymes
London: Kingscourt
Wignell, E. (1990) The Nursery Rhyme Picnic London: Kingscourt
12
Janet Evans
Senior Lecturer in Education
Liverpool Hope University College
writing
Janet Evans
This chapter investigates children’s interest in the nursery rhyme genre whilst at the
same time considers how children can be encouraged to write reflectively if they are
working on something that both stimulates and motivates them to want to write. After
reading a story book of nursery rhymes, a group of 6 and 7 year old children were
encouraged to consider what other adventures some of the main rhyme characters
might have. By talking about the rhymes, seeing an expert writer modelling the
writing process and writing collaboratively with the teacher and with each other, the
children wrote an “alternative” nursery rhyme book. They began to see writing as a
long term process which is recursive, takes time and effort but which is also very
rewarding especially when published in the form of a book.
Nursery Rhymes as a popular genre
Nursery rhymes have always been popular with children ... but why? Very often they
don’t relate to our contemporary life and frequently they seem to make no sense at all.
Yet the rhythm and rhyme of the sentences, the simple story lines, humorous
innuendoes and play on words make them good fun not only to recount but also to
sing along with other people. Books of nursery rhymes, poems and jingles have often
been given as presents on the birth of a child or on a baby’s christening day. Now
more than ever there is a tremendous choice on offer and rhyming poetry, verse and
books of songs to sing are all available for parents to purchase. Many adults have
pleasurable memories of sharing books when they were young children and are able to
go straight to a bookshelf and pick up an old, battered copy of their much loved
childhood nursery rhyme book.
Some of the original nursery rhymes were never written down but were passed from
generation to generation by word of mouth. Indeed many are extremely old, some
dating as far back as 500 BC e.g. Rain, rain, go away come again another day. The
apparent nonsense and innocence of some of these verses can sometimes belie more
sombre origins, as the words of Ring -a- ring o Roses show:
Ring a ring o roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
This popular rhyme - ostensibly quite innocuous - describes the sudden deaths of
people succumbing to the Great Plague. The tell tale red circle on the skin or “ring of
roses”, and the sneezing, “A-tishoo! A-tishoo!” signified that the disease had been
caught. Carrying special herbs, “ the pocket full of posies” was thought to keep the
plague at bay but it infrequently worked. The effects of the Plague were so rapid and
severe that people often dropped dead in the street as they walked - hence the final
line, “we all fall down”. (Trussell-Cullen, 1989).
2
We are often led to believe that in Victorian times fortunate youngsters went to sleep
whilst nursery rhymes and songs were being read and sung to them in bed. Indeed
some of the first books of nursery rhymes, rhyming verse, traditional stories and
poetry, often illustrated by such acclaimed illustrators as Kate Greenaway, Norman
Caldecott and Leslie Brookes were the ones which popularised the idea of sharing
such books with young children.
Iona and Peter Opie (1987) in their comprehensive documentation of children and
their playground rhymes and jingles also did a great deal to promote the importance of
exposing young children to nursery rhymes, jingles and songs. Originally much of this
exposure was for the pure pleasure of listening to stories and rhymes being told and
sung out loud; however the simple, ubiquitous nursery rhyme has more recently been
attracting attention in education circles for other, quite different reasons.
Linking nursery rhymes with writing
My personal interest in using nursery rhymes and jingles to teach reading to young
children, coupled with an awareness of the ongoing research into how educators can
effectively teach the process of writing, led me to link these two areas in some work I
was doing with 6 and 7 year old children. My aim was to share an enlarged text book
with the whole class of children followed by some written work to be done with a
mixed ability group of ten girls and boys. I wanted to examine their knowledge of
traditional nursery rhymes and jingles; would they know a lot of them and be able to
chant them or would they think that nursery rhymes were too babyish for children of
their age? I also wanted them to choose one of their favourite rhymes, and, taking the
main character(s) in the original rhyme, write a sequel, maybe in the form of the
further adventures of Jack and Jill, or Mary and her little lamb, or which ever rhyme
character they chose. My third intention was to observe the children organising their
narrative writing, offering structured help where applicable to enable the children to
become more effective writers.
To be able to write an adventure sequel the children needed to respond to the narrative
element of the rhymes and to explore their structure. I wondered if the rhymes would
be seen as short stories, some with very clear structures in terms of characters, setting,
plot, events and resolution, or if they would just be listened to, chanted and regarded
as simple verses for babies. I knew that I would need to talk with the children about
their favourite rhymes and the personalities of the characters in the rhymes. I also
knew that I would need to model each stage of the writing process for the children as
we progressed from our initial ideas to a finished book which the other infant children
could read.
Nursery Rhymes as a Stimulus
The book which became the stimulus for many of their ideas was called Times and
Rhymes (Davidson, 1997). Written in rhyming verse, it is really good to read to young
literacy learners because of the way it guides them into using all of the cueing
systems: syntactic, semantic and graphophonic. It specifically encourages the use of
picture cues, predicting, guessing, reading on, reading back, initial and final letter
sounds, patterns of letters in words and the use of onset, rime and analogy in rhyming
3
words. It is also wonderful in the way it alludes to the nursery rhymes to come, giving
clues of all kinds before eventually, as one turns each page, exposing the full version
of the nursery rhyme to the reader. Ten familiar and not so familiar nursery rhymes are
referred to throughout the story.
This book was shared with the class of 6 and 7 year old children along with some
other books about nursery rhymes and traditional stories such as The Nursery Rhyme
Picnic (Wignell, 1990), Goodnight, Goodnight (Parkes, 1989), The Enormous
Watermelon (Parkes & Smith, 1986), Each Peach Pear Plum. (Ahlberg 1996), Mr.
Wolf’s Pancakes (Fearnley, 1999) and Little Bo Peep’s Library Book (Cowell, 1999).
The children started to consider what kind of personalities the rhyme characters had
when they were not “in role” in their story. The idea of writing about the further
adventures of some of these characters came later, after listening to the story of
Struwwelpeter, (Hoffman, 1845) the boy who had his fingernails cut off. The children
questioned how Struwwelpeter could carry on in life without fingernails. This led
them to relate back to the nursery rhyme characters and to consider what would
happen to some of them after their adventures. Some of which were quite traumatic,
such as Humpty Dumpty, who was shattered, and Rock a bye Baby who fell from a
tree in a cradle when one of the branches broke. We re-read the original book and
started to discuss each of the main characters in even more detail. As well as Humpty
Dumpty and Rock-a-bye baby, what further adventures would Jack and Jill get up to?
What about Jack, who was nimble and quick and who jumped over the
candlestick...what would he do? Contrary Mary: what other things could she do as
well as having silver bells, cockle- shells and pretty maids all in a row in her garden ?
Polly with her kettle, the old woman who lived in a shoe and the baby who fell from
the tree top complete with cradle, were all subjects for discussion.
John, a very insightful child, commented, “With no fingernails, Struwwelpeter
wouldn’t be able to hold his knife and fork, or draw and colour in ...... he wouldn’t be
able to pick his nose either would he!?”
Sean, who went on to write about Humpty Dumpty, said, “Perhaps every broken bit
of Humpty’s shell will grow other body bits and become complete eggs like worms
when they get chopped in half.”
Chris, who didn’t always find it easy to contribute to class discussions, said in relation
to Hickory Dickory Dock, “That mouse will be well shattered running up and down
the clock everytime it rings.”
The children talked eagerly and thoughtfully about their ideas and each child chose
the rhyme and character they wanted to work with. Having worked with them before I
knew they were certainly not afraid of putting their ideas down on paper and they were
used to doing shared writing followed by guided writing. However at this point I was
mindful of the recent Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) interim report on the
National Literacy Strategy (1999) which states that greater emphasis needs to be given
to the teaching of writing. With both girls and boys, writing expertise seems to be
lagging behind reading. The whole process of writing needs teaching more explicitly
right across the 5 to 11 age range. I started to question myself. Was I doing enough to
help these children organise their narrative writing?
Research- Past and Present
4
What impact has research on writing from the last two decades had on classroom
practice? I think back to the eighties when a great deal of international research,
(Calkins, 1986; Calkins & Harwayne, 1991; Clay, 1991; Graves, 1983, 1989 ; Hall,
1987, 1989; Parry & Hornsby, 1985; Temple et al, 1993), was conducted in relation to
children, learning and writing. In England action based research resulted in
newsletters which reported on the work of teachers during the period of The National
Writing Project (1985-1989). This project was set up to look at how writing was being
taught, to identify good practice in the teaching of young writers and to create
competent and confident writers who could write for a range of purposes. Many
teachers found that their personal and professional knowledge about how children
learn to write was augmented and broadened through the child centred research which
they conducted in their own classrooms. The research undertaken was wide ranging in
its content and fascinating in its findings; some teachers in the south of England
encountered disturbing and yet salutary viewpoints when they asked children a series
of questions about writing, including what makes a piece of writing good? The
majority of children said a good piece of writing must be long, have all words spelt
correctly, have correct punctuation to include capital letters and full stops and it must
be neat! The children were not considering the content, audience, purpose or
appropriateness of style when writing, indicating that much work needed to be done in
relation to changing children’s attitudes to writing.
It is evident that to develop as effective writers children need:
* the opportunity to try things out and to relate their previous knowledge
of print to their own personal situation
* to feel able to take risks without being frightened of making mistakes
* to be exposed to an adult role model who will share writing and the
whole writing experience with them
* to have something to write about and reasons to write
And incontrovertibly, children must have:
* exposure to top quality literature and books as children write what they read.
Much of the very relevant and creative international research of the eighties has
informed our current practice and is still influencing new research into the teaching of
writing. One such piece of teacher research, small scale in its range but still so
refreshingly relevant that it could almost have been written yesterday was by Chris
Rayers (1987). The article about shared, guided and independent writing, outlines a
methodology for modelling the process of writing with 5 to 11 year old children. It is
evident however that Rayer’s main aim was for teachers to teach children how to write
through acting as role models and encouraging the children to “have a go” in a
relaxed, child friendly atmosphere where they were expected to succeed when they
were scaffolded by the teacher. Rayers alluded to some of the problem areas that
children faced when trying to become writers, from tired hands for the very youngest
children, through to a lack of knowledge of the conventions of print and the inability
to spell new words with older children. He stated that instead of learning writing in a
piecemeal, bit by bit manner where the skills are focused on to the exclusion of the
meaning of the whole text, the young child:
“needs to experience the whole writing process as soon as possible, and shared
writing with an adult is an ideal method of providing such early writing success. The
5
shared writing technique immediately involves the children in talking about writing
and in redrafting at a very early age”. p118
With Rayer’s ideas in mind it is interesting to read what the training details from the
National Literacy Strategy (Department for Education and Employment, 1998) have to
say about shared writing:
“In Shared Writing sessions, you will be using known texts to create new ones,
demonstrating different aspects of the writing process and helping pupils to
understand purpose, organisation and conventions of different genres. In their group
activities, pupils will be encouraged to write collaboratively and be taught how to
respond helpfully to others’ work. They will be asked to write parts of whole texts - an
opening, or a paragraph of dialogue, or an outline plan - which is not necessarily
developed into a full blown novel. These activities develop out of reading and should
involve pupils in returning to the text rather than departing further and further away
from it. They will use the original as a model, but change one or more ingredients -
perhaps the setting, or author’s viewpoint, characters, or outcome. Further revision
of pupils’ own writing will be going on in guided group work at Text, Sentence or
Word level. At these times they will be concerned with further crafting and refining,
rather than correcting spelling mistakes.” (DfEE, 1998)
It is evident that the issues have not changed despite the passage of time. Children and
their educators need to know that writing is not simply a process of thinking about an
idea, jotting it down and then tidying it up. As the Ministry of Education for New
Zealand consider in their book, Dancing with the Pen (1996), writing is recursive in
that the writer can move from one stage to another depending on what has already
been written and what is yet to be written. The audience and purpose will affect
whether drafting and proof reading are needed, whilst the desired outcome will
determine how the piece of writing is eventually presented, if at all.
The Process of Writing
The small group of children with whom I was working, although eager, enthusiastic
writers, were not always aware of all the stages in relation to the process of writing so
as they worked their way towards their completed book I carefully guided them
through each stage.
Diagram of “The Process of Writing” to go here.
1. Initially we related to our personal experiences of reading and responding to the big
book, Times and Rhymes.
All writers must have reasons to write and something to write about; an experience,
preferably first hand but more usually a second hand experience relating to a book
which has been shared with the children. Nigel Hall (1989) wrote extensively about
the need for children to write in purposeful ways, whilst Casbergue (1998) talks about
young children writing about authentic purposes in real situations.
6
2. We talked about our responses to the book and started to jot down our ideas in a
random fashion for a shared write relating to one of the characters, this was the
brainstorming part of our writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Who is this writing for? (AUDIENCE)
* Why am I doing this writing? (PURPOSE)
* What is this writing about? (CONTENT)
* Is it necessary to do a brainstorm?
If so :
* What STYLE of writing will be APPROPRIATE in relation to the above questions?
3. We wrote our initial rough draft. At this point we were not in the least bit worried
about correctness in terms of grammar, punctuation, neatness, spelling and layout, we
were interested in placing some of the ideas from our brainstorming in a simple
written form.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Is a rough draft always needed?
* Do I need to do a rough draft to write a quick message to my best friend or to
write a shopping list?
* Do I need to do a rough draft to write an important letter or to write a story
to be read by the other children in school?
4. We then stopped to read what we had written and to talk about it , that is,
conference. Initially this was done with the teacher, then in small groups, then in
“response partner” pairs before “going it alone”.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Where does this adventure take place?
* Who are the characters in this story?
* What does that character look like, can you describe him/her?
* What else do I need to know about what is happening?
* How can I make this piece of writing better? Should I use more descriptive
language or take some bits out as they are repetitive?
The concept of conferencing as initiated by Donald Graves (1983) really allows
children to think about and reflect on their work in non threatening, helpful situations.
Hodgson (1995) feels that conferencing is a time when child and teacher get together
to discuss the child’s writing, whilst Mandel Morrow & Gambrel (1998) report on
some 5 and 6 year old children who write, then conference with partners:
“After writing, the partners read their stories to each other. Then they suggested
ideas for change or additions to their partner’s work. The partners made the
suggested revisions and then read their stories to each other again.” p156
5. We reviewed and revised our initial rough draft to include some of the ideas which
had come from our conferencing - amendments were made where appropriate.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Does my writing make sense?
* Does it need amending?
* How can I improve my writing?
* What else do I want to know?
* Do I need to add bits or take bits away?
7
* Should the writing be more descriptive?
6. We conferenced once again to reassure ourselves that the writing was appropriate
for the audience and any further additions and omissions were made to the content of
the writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Have I carefully considered how my audience will relate to this?
* Is the style appropriate for the purpose?
7. We started to edit the writing at this stage and began to give full attention to
spelling, punctuation, grammar i.e. the secretarial aspects of the writing.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Are the words spelled correctly?
* Does the punctuation help with reading the text?
* Are the capital letters and full stops in the right place?
* Are the adjectives, adverbs and pronouns being used properly?
8. Finally we decided on the layout as this writing was being written as a book for
readers of all ages.
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Is the layout appropriate for the content of this piece of writing?
* Are the illustrations in the right place? Are there enough illustrations?
* Is there a title page, a contents page, an index, page numbers, acknowledgments,
ISBN, Bar Code etc.?
* Is the cover suitably designed? Have the authors and illustrators got their names in
place?
* Is the work neat?
9. How shall we publish our book?
At this stage we asked ourselves:
* Should the text be typed or handwritten?
* Should it be bound between hard covers, spiral bound or placed in a ring file?
Each stage of the writing process was carefully considered, however it was the notion
of rough drafts that created most discussion with the most asked question being, “Are
rough drafts always necessary?”. It was through being involved in a piece of writing
which was going to be fully published for a particular audience (in this case the other
children in the class) that each child came to see that reviewing rough drafts was not
simply a case of copying the writing out neatly with correct spellings. The
conferencing aspect of the writing became important to this group of 6 and 7 year
olds; each child thought about his or her own idea but collaborated with the teacher
and then with a response partner when it came to conferencing. It was very evident
that by offering ideas, making suggestions for improvement and responding to each
other’s work the children’s writing was much improved as was their concept of
themselves as writers. The knowledge that writing is recursive is an important
concept for children and the notion of a piece of work being important enough to think
about, talk about and return to ... just as real authors do ... was a real support to them.
They realised that all stages in a writing process are important, from the initial stages
where they are composing and getting their ideas down without worrying about what
8
they look like, through to the later stages where finer adjustments to make the writing
better are made as part of the reviewing and editing process.
The Children’s Alternative Adventures
Out of the ten contributors to the book which they called Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes
four children in particular showed a real understanding of the purpose of doing the
writing and a growing ability to write humorously for an intended audience. Their
further adventures of the nursery rhyme characters kept the essence of the nursery
rhyme genre, the lightheartedness of which often has a hidden message. However one
or two of their adventures had a rather forlorn, darker side to them.
“Jack be nimble” and “Jack and the Burning house” (Figure 1)
It is very evident from this short narrative that John had fully understood the potential
danger in Jack’s athletic actions and he was more than able to weave this into an
interesting, humorous adventure. Jack and the Burning House. Jack jumped back
over the candlestick but oh no! He fell onto the candlestick, ow, he burned his botty he
landed on the table cloth, he had started a fire, it spread, it burnt the whole house
down .One day he was walking round the debris and he met some mice. The next day
Jack and the mice went to London.
“Polly Put the Kettle On” and “Polly Burnt her Thumb” (Figure 2)
Caroline used the simple action of Polly putting the kettle on as a stimulus for a
further adventure. In similar ways to John, she could evidently see the danger of
getting burnt in the original rhyme and she used this theme in her narrative about
Polly and Sukey.
Polly Burnt her Thumb. When Polly put the kettle on she had put too much hot water
in the kettle so she burnt her thumb. She touched the oven, suddenly the oven exploded
and made a great big fire. Instead of Sukey taking the kettle off she was in the garden
having a sunbathe suddenly Sukey saw the flames. So Sukey got a basket and started
filling it with water, soon the fire was out. Sukey and Polly moved to another cottage
and they all lived happily ever after.
“Humpty Dumpty” and “Sellotaped Dumpty” (Figure 3)
It was the idea of poor Humpty Dumpty shattering into a myriad of pieces that
inspired Sean to write his very comical piece. Sellotaped Dumpty Humpty Dumpty
sat on a wall then he cracked. The King’s men couldn’t put him together so they
sellotaped him to together then he watched Man.(Manchester)United, every time they
scored. Once when they scored he crashed and all the yolk came out then he died.
Photocopy of both versions of “Rock a bye baby” (Figure 4)
In Laura’s work we see another child who is able to relate the nursery rhyme incident
to real life. She included dialogue and a real sense of the here and now coupled with
the whimsical nature of the nursery rhyme setting. Laura read her story out with such
conviction, expression and enthusiasm that it was impossible to have anything other
9
than full respect for her work. She was already showing signs of being a competent
writer at the age of six. Rock a bye baby Waa! Waa! Mama! Mama! the branch
broke and I fell down onto the ground. Waa! Waa! be quiet because you won’t have
any dinner! OK. The baby was silent for a minute then said, “But I won’t have my
favourite baby food will I?”
“No you won’t will you?” said Mummy.
( You now realise this story has a lot of shouting going on).
Grandma came, “Shush! Listen to this rock a bye baby on the tree top, when the wind
blows the cradle will fall.”
That’s all I know up to now, sorry. Come on let’s go to Bolton”.
When they got there they had lots of fun.
The children in the group immensely enjoyed their work, they were enthusiastic and
motivated -- noted by their requests to work through playtimes during the mornings I
was able to spend with them! Their writing benefited as could be seen by their
increasing ability to plan, to jot their initial ideas down, to write their first draft, to
structure interesting short story lines in terms of plot and events and in their more
sophisticated use of words. However despite my encouragement to write more
stimulating endings they wrote rather mundane, uninspired and stereotyped endings. It
was evident that we needed to read and study the endings in many more stories, both
traditional and contemporary before considering the kinds of endings which would be
suitable for our simple short stories. The children would also need exposure to more
teacher modelling focusing on resolutions in narratives. Many teachers find this a
problem area as Maureen Lewis (1999) noted in relation to her work on narrative
writing.
What have we learnt?
Despite the fact that this collaborative piece of work done with six and seven year old
children was small scale in terms of time, numbers and range of intentions, it was very
positive in terms of its outcomes. It was very encouraging to find that nursery rhymes
and traditional stories make excellent stimuli for narrative writing because of their
predictability and their ability to make children feel at ease with their apparent
simplicity. I was convinced that slightly older infant children would benefit from a
more detailed examination of the nursery rhyme genre and was pleased to confirm that
this was indeed the case; the nursery rhymes were humorous, witty and thought
provoking.
The children’s developing ability to organise and plan their written work confirmed
my thoughts that they need a role model at each stage of their journey towards full
competency as authors. Hornsby (2000) discusses five stages which he feels are
crucial components in the writing part of a comprehensive literacy programme: these
include modelled writing, shared and interactive writing, guided writing, independent
writing and language-experience which can fuel the other aspects of the programme.
These stages move from maximum support from the adult to a variety of different
levels of support depending on the children’s needs. Hornsby’s extra stages augment
the now recognised shared, guided and independent stages whilst also highlighting the
fact that the teacher’s role is crucial in the teaching of writing.
10
It was noteworthy that the children were now beginning to see their writing as a
process, something which couldn’t be done in one session but needed a longer period
of time. Their growing awareness of how each stage of the process fitted into the
whole was evident from their responses to the work as it developed and came together
as the finished book. With help from me these children had also begun to see writing
as recursive. They were more prepared to work on parts of it, re-reading, re-visiting,
adding bits, taking bits away, chatting about it and generally improving its fluency.
Time, exposure to a knowledgeable role model and many more opportunities to
practise, consolidate and continually apply their existing knowledge to new and
different writing situations will now be needed to allow these children to grow as
writers.
The whole writing process can be very difficult. It is time consuming, labour intensive
and often frustrating. Even professional writers find it difficult and really have to work
at it. If schools make the process of writing part of a whole school policy, starting with
4 and 5 year olds and leading up to 10 and 11 year olds in a cyclical, recursive fashion
then they are more likely to produce effective writers who find writing a rewarding
experience.
References
Ahlberg, J & A. (1996) Each Peach Pear Plum. London: Oliver & Boyd.
Calkins, L. (1986) The Art of Teaching Writing New Hampshire: Heinemann
Calkins, L. & Harwayne, S. (1991) Living Between the Lines New Hampshire:
Heinemann
Casbergue, R.(1998) How do we foster young children’s writing development? in
Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (1998) (eds.) Children Achieving: Best Practices in Early
Literacy Delaware: International Reading Association
Cowell, C. (1999) Little Bo Peep’s Library Book London: Hodder Headline
Clay, M. (1991) Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control New
Hampshire: Heinemann
Davidson, A. (1997) Times and Rhymes London: Kingscourt
DfEE (1998) The National Literacy Strategy Framework for Teaching London: DfEE
Fearnley, J. (1999) Mr. Wolf’s Pancakes London: Methuen Children’s Books
Graves, D. (1983) Writing: Teachers and Children at Work New Hampshire:
Heinemann
Graves, D. (1989) Experiment With Fiction New Hampshire: Heinemann
11
Hall, N. (1987) The Emergence of Literacy London: Hodder & Stoughton
Hall, N. (1989) Writing with Reason: The Emergence of Authorship in Young
Children Sevenoaks: Hodder & Stoughton
Hodgson, M. (1995) Show Them How To Write: The Writing Process For Children
From Seven Years On New Zealand: Lands End Publishing Ltd.
Hornsby, D. (2000) A Closer Look at Guided Reading Melbourne: Eleanor Curtain
Publishing
Hoffman, H. (1845) Strewwelpeter Belitha Press
Lewis, M. (1999) Developing Children’s Narrative Writing using Story Narratives in
Goodwin, P. (1999) (ed.) The Literate Classroom London: David Fulton Publishers
Mandel Morrow, L. & Gambrell, L. (1998) How do we Motivate Children Toward
Independent Reading and Writing? in Neuman, S. & Roskos, K. (1998) (eds.)
Children Achieving: Best Practices in Early Literacy Delaware: International Reading
Association
Ministry of Education (1996) Dancing with the Pen: The Learner as a Writer New
Zealand: Learning Media Limited
Ofsted (1999) The National Literacy Strategy: An Interim Evaluation London: Ofsted
Opie, I. & Opie, P. (1987) The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Parkes, B. (1989) Goodnight, Goodnight London: Kingscourt
Parkes, B. & Smith, J. (1986) The Enormous Watermelon London: Kingscourt
Parry, J. & Hornsby, D. (1985) Write On: A Conference Approach to Writing New
Hampshire: Heinemann
Rayers, C. (1987) Writing Should be Sharing Reading (1987) (21) (2)
Temple, C., Nathan, R., Temple, F., & Burris, N. (1993) The Beginnings of Writing
Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon
The National Writing Project (1989) Walton-on-Thames: Thomas Nelson & Sons
Trussell-Cullen, A. (1989) A Pocket Full of Posies: A History of Nursery Rhymes
London: Kingscourt
Wignell, E. (1990) The Nursery Rhyme Picnic London: Kingscourt
12
Janet Evans
Senior Lecturer in Education
Liverpool Hope University College
domingo, 7 de marzo de 2010
50 Quick Report Card Comments For Assessing Elementary Student Writing Skills
50 Quick Report Card Comments For Assessing Elementary Student Writing Skills
These quick tips will help you accurately assess your student's writing skills for their report cards. Remember whenever you are writing these comments; feel free to customize them in order to accurately explain a particular student. Whenever you have to write a negative comment, always include a positive ending statement, if applicable, to show the student is improving or progressing in some ways. Customizing report card comments can be easy if you create notes for each student throughout the entire reporting period. Within these notes make sure that you include all important information regarding the student's writing skills.
1. _____ understands how to accurately use punctuation and easily comprehends the rules regarding punctuation.
2. Has a vocabulary that is substantially larger than most of the other students. Is interested in learning new words, and thus suggest having the child read and write at home.
3. Is able to compile complex sentences that are clear, precise and correct.
4. ____ is willing to learn new writing skills and quickly applies these skills within their writing.
5. Has the ability to copy sentences correctly and enjoys performing this assignment.
6. Needs to increase his or her placement of words. They are often misplaced throughout their writings.
7. Is not able to write clear and understandable sentences.
8. ____ is not willing to listen to direction concerning their writing skills.
9. Seems to be not interested in writing and is easily distracted from this school task.
10. Enjoys writing stories and can compile unique and interesting sentences.
11. Does not understand how to appropriately use commas.
12. Is not respectful of other students with their writing.
13. This student is having a hard time understanding cursive writing. My suggestion is to help him or her at home with their cursive writing skills.
14. _____ can remember most of cursive alphabet, but has a hard time with the following letters (put the letters here), I suggest working with him or her every night with these letters.
15. ____ is behind the rest of the class with his or her writing skills.
16. Is able to clearly write grammar, spelling and punctuation with little to no errors or failing to follow directions.
17. Shows the ability to instantly use spelling, punctuation and grammar rules that were just learned. Is able to quickly comprehend new skills and is eager to apply them to their writing.
18. This student requires extra attention concerning the application of previously learned skills and techniques. He or she is unable to comprehend directions quickly and usually requires further detailed directions.
19. Does not show enthusiasm sharing his or her writing projects with the rest of the classroom. Needs to gain confidence within their writing skills.
20. Rarely is involved in group writing assignments, and does not regularly contribute to the group.
21. Is able to write in a complete and easy-to-understand way. Has the ability to write complex thought patterns.
22. Enjoys writing to help improve their own writing skills. Is able to find his or her own mistakes within their writing.
23. This student utilizes a wide array of writing forms.
24. _____ is able to create clear and effective writing, which is interesting to read and easy to comprehend.
25. Has extremely difficult time remembering previously discussed writing skills and is often found making errors within punctuations, grammar, word usage and overall sentence structure. Needs improvement in basic writing skills.
26. Does not have the ability to edit written text by themselves; requires the assistance of the teacher to make the mildest revisions.
27. _____ is not willing to take part in group writing activities.
28. This student has a low self-confidence when it comes to his or her writing skills. He or she needs to continue practicing their writing skills at home in order to improve them.
29. Has shown great improvement with his or her writing skills and is consistently increasing their writing comprehension and techniques.
30. _____ frequently displays grammatical errors within their writing.
31. _____ needs to work on their handwriting skills. This student is behind the rest of the class concerning this technique, thus I suggest setting aside time at home to practice these skills.
32. Has a great understanding in writing non-phonic words. Is able to spell complex words with little to no errors.
33. This student is unable to write complex words and is frequently misspelling non-phonic words.
34. _____'s overall quality of work is quite poor and has not shown improvements.
35. Performs carelessly with his or her writing assignments.
36. Does not show interest in learning writing skills and is disinterested quickly.
37. _____ take's pride in their writing work, and exhibits confidence with their writing skills.
38. Is not afraid to showcase their writing skills in front of the class.
39. This student is conscious of putting neatness into their daily writing work, and is usually found going above-and-beyond the minimal requirements.
40. Is able to take directions well and instantly apply them to his or her writing skills.
41. Enjoys performing their writing assignments independently and is enthusiastic about all writing assignments.
42. Needs to work on handwriting skills.
43. Understands how to incorporate complex words into their sentences while still keeping the tone and flow natural.
44. ____ is strongly encouraged to engage in home writing activities to help improve his or her writing skills and overall quality of work.
45. Requires constant supervision and direct assistance with their writing assignments and is unable to complete an entire assignment without writing errors.
46. Highly suggest reviewing cursive writing skills at home to help improve their cursive writing skills.
47. Is able to write correct spelling, punctuation and language when writing short, simple sentences.
48. _____ needs improvement placing correct language and punctuation within simple sentences.
49. This student is unable to compose complex sentences that are clear and grammatically correct. I suggest reviewing writing skills and techniques at home to help improve writing quality and errors.
50. _____ is a great speller!
These quick tips will help you accurately assess your student's writing skills for their report cards. Remember whenever you are writing these comments; feel free to customize them in order to accurately explain a particular student. Whenever you have to write a negative comment, always include a positive ending statement, if applicable, to show the student is improving or progressing in some ways. Customizing report card comments can be easy if you create notes for each student throughout the entire reporting period. Within these notes make sure that you include all important information regarding the student's writing skills.
1. _____ understands how to accurately use punctuation and easily comprehends the rules regarding punctuation.
2. Has a vocabulary that is substantially larger than most of the other students. Is interested in learning new words, and thus suggest having the child read and write at home.
3. Is able to compile complex sentences that are clear, precise and correct.
4. ____ is willing to learn new writing skills and quickly applies these skills within their writing.
5. Has the ability to copy sentences correctly and enjoys performing this assignment.
6. Needs to increase his or her placement of words. They are often misplaced throughout their writings.
7. Is not able to write clear and understandable sentences.
8. ____ is not willing to listen to direction concerning their writing skills.
9. Seems to be not interested in writing and is easily distracted from this school task.
10. Enjoys writing stories and can compile unique and interesting sentences.
11. Does not understand how to appropriately use commas.
12. Is not respectful of other students with their writing.
13. This student is having a hard time understanding cursive writing. My suggestion is to help him or her at home with their cursive writing skills.
14. _____ can remember most of cursive alphabet, but has a hard time with the following letters (put the letters here), I suggest working with him or her every night with these letters.
15. ____ is behind the rest of the class with his or her writing skills.
16. Is able to clearly write grammar, spelling and punctuation with little to no errors or failing to follow directions.
17. Shows the ability to instantly use spelling, punctuation and grammar rules that were just learned. Is able to quickly comprehend new skills and is eager to apply them to their writing.
18. This student requires extra attention concerning the application of previously learned skills and techniques. He or she is unable to comprehend directions quickly and usually requires further detailed directions.
19. Does not show enthusiasm sharing his or her writing projects with the rest of the classroom. Needs to gain confidence within their writing skills.
20. Rarely is involved in group writing assignments, and does not regularly contribute to the group.
21. Is able to write in a complete and easy-to-understand way. Has the ability to write complex thought patterns.
22. Enjoys writing to help improve their own writing skills. Is able to find his or her own mistakes within their writing.
23. This student utilizes a wide array of writing forms.
24. _____ is able to create clear and effective writing, which is interesting to read and easy to comprehend.
25. Has extremely difficult time remembering previously discussed writing skills and is often found making errors within punctuations, grammar, word usage and overall sentence structure. Needs improvement in basic writing skills.
26. Does not have the ability to edit written text by themselves; requires the assistance of the teacher to make the mildest revisions.
27. _____ is not willing to take part in group writing activities.
28. This student has a low self-confidence when it comes to his or her writing skills. He or she needs to continue practicing their writing skills at home in order to improve them.
29. Has shown great improvement with his or her writing skills and is consistently increasing their writing comprehension and techniques.
30. _____ frequently displays grammatical errors within their writing.
31. _____ needs to work on their handwriting skills. This student is behind the rest of the class concerning this technique, thus I suggest setting aside time at home to practice these skills.
32. Has a great understanding in writing non-phonic words. Is able to spell complex words with little to no errors.
33. This student is unable to write complex words and is frequently misspelling non-phonic words.
34. _____'s overall quality of work is quite poor and has not shown improvements.
35. Performs carelessly with his or her writing assignments.
36. Does not show interest in learning writing skills and is disinterested quickly.
37. _____ take's pride in their writing work, and exhibits confidence with their writing skills.
38. Is not afraid to showcase their writing skills in front of the class.
39. This student is conscious of putting neatness into their daily writing work, and is usually found going above-and-beyond the minimal requirements.
40. Is able to take directions well and instantly apply them to his or her writing skills.
41. Enjoys performing their writing assignments independently and is enthusiastic about all writing assignments.
42. Needs to work on handwriting skills.
43. Understands how to incorporate complex words into their sentences while still keeping the tone and flow natural.
44. ____ is strongly encouraged to engage in home writing activities to help improve his or her writing skills and overall quality of work.
45. Requires constant supervision and direct assistance with their writing assignments and is unable to complete an entire assignment without writing errors.
46. Highly suggest reviewing cursive writing skills at home to help improve their cursive writing skills.
47. Is able to write correct spelling, punctuation and language when writing short, simple sentences.
48. _____ needs improvement placing correct language and punctuation within simple sentences.
49. This student is unable to compose complex sentences that are clear and grammatically correct. I suggest reviewing writing skills and techniques at home to help improve writing quality and errors.
50. _____ is a great speller!
Reading Learning Centers Aid Skills
Reading Learning Centers Aid Skills
Having Activities and Various Activities Boosts Learning
Mastering concepts is such an important skill. And it is one that is sometimes learned a little differently by each person. Having learning resource centers in your room to help boost the literacy and understanding for your students is an excellent method to increase success.
One method is using various tasks and learning centers to promote better comprehension and learning.
Using jobs and tasks help reinforce literacy in the classroom is something that is fairly easy to set up. Write the students assignments or jobs on the blackboard. These are the things that students will be working on when they are not actually reading. These jobs can be things like this, and should be done in the same order each day:
Daily Writing
Using books that you are involved in as a class write down a short section or paragraph on the blackboard. You can also use Classroom Charts instead of the board if you want. Have students write down the passage on paper in their very best writing.
This can be scaffolded for students that have special needs, some students will perhaps print, and others may be using cursive handwriting. Either way, students can also have the option to draw a picture or sketch to match the passage.
Daily Math
Have a short worksheet, perhaps a half page, dealing with the daily math lesson. Sometimes this will be an entire worksheet, depending, that accompanies the daily math lesson.
Quiet Self-Work
Students can work on unfinished work, or do something quietly at their desk after they complete their work. This can also be reading silently at their desk. This is meant as a quiet activity, other things they can participate in include drawing, or puzzles, or other free time materials you may have in your room for your students.
Centers
Here are some of the centers that can be used each day.
Listen And Follow Instructions
At this center directions are set up on a computer, or on a tape or CD. The assignment is to listen closely and then complete the task it speaks up verbally. Example: Draw a house and yard, and color in your family in it.
Record Yourself and Listen
This is a good way for students to hear how they sound when they read. Using a tape recorder and a blank tape for each student, have the students put the tape in, and begin with the date, speak aloud. Students can have an individual assignment, or there can be a common passage or poem that students read into and record on to their tape.
Provide an area at the center labeled and marked with each students name to store their tape. As student progress through the year, they can listen and hear how they have improved in their ability to read and to be understood when they read aloud.
This is also an excellent way to document a student's progress and a wonderful evaluation tool.
Hear a Story and Sketch
Have each student listen to a selection from audiotape or CD, and then as they listen to draw and sketch what they think the passage represents. This is a good way to help students visualize what they hear.
Hear a Story and Write
Just as in Hear and Sketch, students will listen to a selection. In this exercise, have students write down key single words that seem to be important. This can also be an excellent way to scaffold an individual spelling list.
During this exercise, spelling is NOT important, but have students use a dictionary to correct the spelling on their own. Again, this can be completed separate from any spelling use, or combined for additional comprehension and learning.
Hear a Story and Read
Students sit at a table and listen to a story on audiotape or CD. The selection is also provided for the student to read along and sound out the reading silently as they hear the text read.
This is a good way to have students fully participate, and is easily scaffolded for various skill levels.
Another variation is to send a blank tape home with students and have them select a story and have a family member or loved one record the story, reading slowly and carefully. Sometimes even the student can read a story with supervision and then use their own voice as they follow along with the text selection.
Hear a Story and Remember.
Students hear a selection and then are asked to remember and list a series of numbers, or words. This is highly adaptable, and can be different levels for different reading ability.
Predict the Ending
Students listen carefully to the beginning of a story, and then the story ends abruptly. Students are then asked to write down what they think the ending should be, or what the ending is.
This is an activity center that really can stimulate a student's imagination.
Things I have Read
This can be done as a group activity using the same text or selection. Students read and then write in journal form about what they have read. Length can vary, and is a good way to promote reading-thinking-writing.
This activity can also be incorporated in a center with each student having his or her own book. When used in the individual manner, it is easily scaffolded for different reading ability.
Journal
This can be done as both a group activity and individual. Each student has their own journal that they write in during the Journal Center. Journal entries can be either directed, with suggested topics, or they can be at the student's choice.
It is a good thing to note that some direction is needed, and that students should be encouraged not to just list events in their day, but to write about what they think, feel, and observe. Tying journal efforts into a specific lesson or something that the class is working on is another way to help encourage students to write-think-read.
Having Activities and Various Activities Boosts Learning
Mastering concepts is such an important skill. And it is one that is sometimes learned a little differently by each person. Having learning resource centers in your room to help boost the literacy and understanding for your students is an excellent method to increase success.
One method is using various tasks and learning centers to promote better comprehension and learning.
Using jobs and tasks help reinforce literacy in the classroom is something that is fairly easy to set up. Write the students assignments or jobs on the blackboard. These are the things that students will be working on when they are not actually reading. These jobs can be things like this, and should be done in the same order each day:
Daily Writing
Using books that you are involved in as a class write down a short section or paragraph on the blackboard. You can also use Classroom Charts instead of the board if you want. Have students write down the passage on paper in their very best writing.
This can be scaffolded for students that have special needs, some students will perhaps print, and others may be using cursive handwriting. Either way, students can also have the option to draw a picture or sketch to match the passage.
Daily Math
Have a short worksheet, perhaps a half page, dealing with the daily math lesson. Sometimes this will be an entire worksheet, depending, that accompanies the daily math lesson.
Quiet Self-Work
Students can work on unfinished work, or do something quietly at their desk after they complete their work. This can also be reading silently at their desk. This is meant as a quiet activity, other things they can participate in include drawing, or puzzles, or other free time materials you may have in your room for your students.
Centers
Here are some of the centers that can be used each day.
Listen And Follow Instructions
At this center directions are set up on a computer, or on a tape or CD. The assignment is to listen closely and then complete the task it speaks up verbally. Example: Draw a house and yard, and color in your family in it.
Record Yourself and Listen
This is a good way for students to hear how they sound when they read. Using a tape recorder and a blank tape for each student, have the students put the tape in, and begin with the date, speak aloud. Students can have an individual assignment, or there can be a common passage or poem that students read into and record on to their tape.
Provide an area at the center labeled and marked with each students name to store their tape. As student progress through the year, they can listen and hear how they have improved in their ability to read and to be understood when they read aloud.
This is also an excellent way to document a student's progress and a wonderful evaluation tool.
Hear a Story and Sketch
Have each student listen to a selection from audiotape or CD, and then as they listen to draw and sketch what they think the passage represents. This is a good way to help students visualize what they hear.
Hear a Story and Write
Just as in Hear and Sketch, students will listen to a selection. In this exercise, have students write down key single words that seem to be important. This can also be an excellent way to scaffold an individual spelling list.
During this exercise, spelling is NOT important, but have students use a dictionary to correct the spelling on their own. Again, this can be completed separate from any spelling use, or combined for additional comprehension and learning.
Hear a Story and Read
Students sit at a table and listen to a story on audiotape or CD. The selection is also provided for the student to read along and sound out the reading silently as they hear the text read.
This is a good way to have students fully participate, and is easily scaffolded for various skill levels.
Another variation is to send a blank tape home with students and have them select a story and have a family member or loved one record the story, reading slowly and carefully. Sometimes even the student can read a story with supervision and then use their own voice as they follow along with the text selection.
Hear a Story and Remember.
Students hear a selection and then are asked to remember and list a series of numbers, or words. This is highly adaptable, and can be different levels for different reading ability.
Predict the Ending
Students listen carefully to the beginning of a story, and then the story ends abruptly. Students are then asked to write down what they think the ending should be, or what the ending is.
This is an activity center that really can stimulate a student's imagination.
Things I have Read
This can be done as a group activity using the same text or selection. Students read and then write in journal form about what they have read. Length can vary, and is a good way to promote reading-thinking-writing.
This activity can also be incorporated in a center with each student having his or her own book. When used in the individual manner, it is easily scaffolded for different reading ability.
Journal
This can be done as both a group activity and individual. Each student has their own journal that they write in during the Journal Center. Journal entries can be either directed, with suggested topics, or they can be at the student's choice.
It is a good thing to note that some direction is needed, and that students should be encouraged not to just list events in their day, but to write about what they think, feel, and observe. Tying journal efforts into a specific lesson or something that the class is working on is another way to help encourage students to write-think-read.
How To Improve Reading Comprehension
How To Improve Reading Comprehension
Specific Strategy for Teaching Reading Vital
Teaching reading is at times difficult even when everything seems to make sense. For children, especially learning to read, at first is a big challenge. Much of the problem seems to be in helping children understand what they have read. Learning Comprehension about what is being read by the student is an important step.
One of the first steps to that end is learning to draw an inference.
Author Kylene Beers talks about this situation in her book "When Kids Can't Read". She believed at first that if a child could make an inference, if they were able to make an inference of any kind, then much of her problems teaching would be gone.
Much of the problem with achieving comprehension and understanding seems to be that children could not seem to form a basic inference. "It took many years for me to figure out how get around that concept" said Author Beers.
We have to keep in mind that students need to be able to answer the question:
What is it that we are talking about?
Much of the solution seems to be that while some children seem can't make inferences, we make inferences each and every day, and we draw conclusions and infer information based on a lot of different factors. What people appear like, the expression on someone's face, how articles are set up in a room, there are a lot of different things that we can comment on that we infer every day.
So how do we set out to transfer that skill to interacting with written words on a page? Ahh.. There is the challenge that confronts us.
What does it appear like or look like?
Ms. Beers talks about how to use resources to help both teachers and students. She speaks about resources that will assist in teaching these vital skills.
Some of the Inference types that skillful readers utilize:
-Use clues from context to figure out meanings of words unknown to them.
-Be able to identify and recognize pronouns, and their antecedents.
-Use clues to identify personalities, beliefs, motivations and beliefs of characters.
-Use the reading to provide clues and information about the setting or venue.
-Work to try to understand the relationships about one character to another
-Work to try to understand how the author views the word
-Figure out the bias if any that the author has.
-Offer alternate conclusions, and explore the conclusions made in the text.
How Can I adapt, Use, or set this fact apart?
As you demonstrate and model "inferential reading" to your students, try and illustrate things that they see each day. Use events and common things to help explain and achieve comprehension for your student. Try to show similarities to the inferences that students draw each day in their daily activity.
Find an event that happens in your student's lives, and help them to draw conclusions and inferences from it. Then try to help them see how they can do the same to an event or item that they have read.
Perhaps the first time you can do this as a whole class activity, using the computer or a classroom chart. Work through the steps for drawing an inference one by one, as a class as a group. Then, assign some sample events and ask the students to draw inferences individually,
As students accomplish this, then help them transfer this to their reading. Yes, this can be a challenge, but when modeled in a clear concise way it does not need to be necessarily mind-bending. As you work the process with your students, make each step clear and as real to them, using examples as you go.
Make a chart and list the steps as you go, with lots of class participation. Post the Chart when you are done in the classroom as a ready reference.
-Read Aloud Short Passage as a class
Have your students read, and read out loud yourself often. Separate students into small groups, or partners. Encourage students to "Think out loud" and to share what they see in the text as they read.
As you do this, try to zero in on what inferences are present in the text. Ask students to identify the inferences, using their reference list. -
What is the meaning of what the author wrote?
Show and model for students that making inferences is a step-by-step process. Authors do not think their readers will create inferences or have understanding out of the blue.
Demonstrate and model that authors use both implied information, and literal information. Show students that as a reader we will be the ones inferring. And that as authors, either information is actual and literal, or it is implied by what they write.
-Comments and Encouragement For students
As you move forward you can help students by helping encourage and comment on your student's progress. Some of the things that you can share with students to help them are:
"After reading what can you tell me about the character and how they act?"
"What are the pronouns in what you are reading, and what to they mean?"
"When your done reading, tell me why the character acted the way they did?"
"What is the setting, and how would you change it?"
"Why did the series of events happen the way that it did?"
"How did the characters act when (reference a specific area in the reading) and why did they act that way?"
"Write down words you don't know and see if you want figure out the meaning by the words around them?"
"What do you think the Author thought or felt about (Insert the name of a character or a topic in the reading"?
Memory
Have students sit and write down answers to specific questions after they read. Use the following as a guide: When? Where? How? Who? What? And perhaps the hardest for some students. Why?
As students progress, gradually make the questions harder.
Using these types of questions will assist your students to THINKING about their reading, and hopefully they will be able to grow to identify and come to their own conclusions, including drawing direct and implied inferences from the reading.
Specific Strategy for Teaching Reading Vital
Teaching reading is at times difficult even when everything seems to make sense. For children, especially learning to read, at first is a big challenge. Much of the problem seems to be in helping children understand what they have read. Learning Comprehension about what is being read by the student is an important step.
One of the first steps to that end is learning to draw an inference.
Author Kylene Beers talks about this situation in her book "When Kids Can't Read". She believed at first that if a child could make an inference, if they were able to make an inference of any kind, then much of her problems teaching would be gone.
Much of the problem with achieving comprehension and understanding seems to be that children could not seem to form a basic inference. "It took many years for me to figure out how get around that concept" said Author Beers.
We have to keep in mind that students need to be able to answer the question:
What is it that we are talking about?
Much of the solution seems to be that while some children seem can't make inferences, we make inferences each and every day, and we draw conclusions and infer information based on a lot of different factors. What people appear like, the expression on someone's face, how articles are set up in a room, there are a lot of different things that we can comment on that we infer every day.
So how do we set out to transfer that skill to interacting with written words on a page? Ahh.. There is the challenge that confronts us.
What does it appear like or look like?
Ms. Beers talks about how to use resources to help both teachers and students. She speaks about resources that will assist in teaching these vital skills.
Some of the Inference types that skillful readers utilize:
-Use clues from context to figure out meanings of words unknown to them.
-Be able to identify and recognize pronouns, and their antecedents.
-Use clues to identify personalities, beliefs, motivations and beliefs of characters.
-Use the reading to provide clues and information about the setting or venue.
-Work to try to understand the relationships about one character to another
-Work to try to understand how the author views the word
-Figure out the bias if any that the author has.
-Offer alternate conclusions, and explore the conclusions made in the text.
How Can I adapt, Use, or set this fact apart?
As you demonstrate and model "inferential reading" to your students, try and illustrate things that they see each day. Use events and common things to help explain and achieve comprehension for your student. Try to show similarities to the inferences that students draw each day in their daily activity.
Find an event that happens in your student's lives, and help them to draw conclusions and inferences from it. Then try to help them see how they can do the same to an event or item that they have read.
Perhaps the first time you can do this as a whole class activity, using the computer or a classroom chart. Work through the steps for drawing an inference one by one, as a class as a group. Then, assign some sample events and ask the students to draw inferences individually,
As students accomplish this, then help them transfer this to their reading. Yes, this can be a challenge, but when modeled in a clear concise way it does not need to be necessarily mind-bending. As you work the process with your students, make each step clear and as real to them, using examples as you go.
Make a chart and list the steps as you go, with lots of class participation. Post the Chart when you are done in the classroom as a ready reference.
-Read Aloud Short Passage as a class
Have your students read, and read out loud yourself often. Separate students into small groups, or partners. Encourage students to "Think out loud" and to share what they see in the text as they read.
As you do this, try to zero in on what inferences are present in the text. Ask students to identify the inferences, using their reference list. -
What is the meaning of what the author wrote?
Show and model for students that making inferences is a step-by-step process. Authors do not think their readers will create inferences or have understanding out of the blue.
Demonstrate and model that authors use both implied information, and literal information. Show students that as a reader we will be the ones inferring. And that as authors, either information is actual and literal, or it is implied by what they write.
-Comments and Encouragement For students
As you move forward you can help students by helping encourage and comment on your student's progress. Some of the things that you can share with students to help them are:
"After reading what can you tell me about the character and how they act?"
"What are the pronouns in what you are reading, and what to they mean?"
"When your done reading, tell me why the character acted the way they did?"
"What is the setting, and how would you change it?"
"Why did the series of events happen the way that it did?"
"How did the characters act when (reference a specific area in the reading) and why did they act that way?"
"Write down words you don't know and see if you want figure out the meaning by the words around them?"
"What do you think the Author thought or felt about (Insert the name of a character or a topic in the reading"?
Memory
Have students sit and write down answers to specific questions after they read. Use the following as a guide: When? Where? How? Who? What? And perhaps the hardest for some students. Why?
As students progress, gradually make the questions harder.
Using these types of questions will assist your students to THINKING about their reading, and hopefully they will be able to grow to identify and come to their own conclusions, including drawing direct and implied inferences from the reading.
Suscribirse a:
Entradas (Atom)
