Using Authorship to promote better writers – Part 3

WHAT?

I prepared the text exemplar for the children so they had a copy to glue into their books and to follow as I read it out loud. I had also asked the children to share with me  a noun that they could say they had seen on the field this morning. I did this during the roll call.

Again I followed the prescribed script in the plan, using the questions and prompts around what had the author, who was 7 years old, done to create picture in our minds.  This time as well as the language features I lead the children to notice the structure and to think why had it been written in this way.

The children were somewhat engaged but were more so when I asked then to underline the nouns using blue pen and then underline the verbs in red pen. There were ooes and arghs when the children notice the pattern. Lucky for me, one child even announced, “Mrs Harliwich, there is a metaphor!” So great effort analysing.

To provide a stimulus for this next bit of writing, I took the children outside. We made special note of the leaves tossed on the ground, the tress looking undressed and how the conkers were hiding amongst the grass. I deliberately selected vocabulary that may help some of the children with their experience so that they would be able to successfully write.

The visualisation was easier and the children were more relaxed and focussed during this activity. Together we created a success criteria and discussed in depth the purpose of activating the nouns and specific structure of the text.

The writing this time was a class of heads down and asking each other for ‘better’ words. During the workshop, I had the usual suspects although one had decided to write on her own before getting help.

During the helping circle the children, all the children shared on sentences that they were proud of and the results were very pleasing and satisfying for me as they had activated the nouns and following the correct structure.

SO WHAT?

When looking later at the work in their books I realised that I was proof reading their work and that this is an area I need to develop in my class. But all in all there has been an improvement in the children’s ability to activate the nouns to create a picture in the reader’s mind.

Spelling is still a big concern and I am developing a more comprehensive spelling programme in my planning for the children.

Being a quick piece of writing I found that I had high engagement from the boys in my class and that they are loving the structure of the lesson although I do need to ensure that I am sticking to the timeline need for each part of the plan.

To keep the class on task with the writing, I have introduced Keynote for the children to publish their writing. Taking pictures and overlaying text on top to create a first class published poem using the iPads.

NOW WHAT?

My next step to build on more of how to activate nouns by writing a vignette that describes and entertains. I have been reading through Gail Loane’s ‘I’ve got something to say – leading young writers to authorship’ and there is a chapter on describing the place – inside and outside.

I would like to plan a lesson around the lesson around fog and colder mornings. I have an exemplar from Gavin Bishop, that discusses the cold morning and getting out of bed. We have had some cooler mornings, so the children will be able to make connections to this.

So here goes, using Verity’s plan and her steps for planning I hope to build on what the children have achieved so far. I need to pay more attention to the Helping Circle and develop the role of writing buddies to improve the writing, making it more fit for purpose.

"A word after a word after a word is power." -Margaret Atwood