Using Authorship to promote better writers – Part 4

WHAT?

The children were asked about their Saturday morning as it had been foggy and wet damp. This was done as a prompt for the roll call. The children were asked to reply with a verb.

Before the lesson, the children’s books were laid out in the circle and the exemplars were glued into books. I read the extract to the class and asked what they to notice in the wrting and think about what the author was trying to tell us.

Some children were quick to tell me that the exemplar described a cold morning and that the author had ‘put a picture in the heads’. I asked questions, prompting the children to look how the author had activated the nouns.

There were some confused faces until I asked the children to read through the text once more and see if they could find some nouns, and are there any verbs that activate the nouns. 

After some time I asked the children to follow me as I read and stopped on the nouns. As I did this the children were encouraged to underline the nouns with blue pen and the verbs in red. This gave the children to see the pattern when nouns are asked to do something. This modelling the process of ‘chasing’ the perfect word to say precisely what we mean.

To connect with the children’s life, I introduced all the things they noticed on a cold morning.  I then asked the children to given me a word that shows me what a cold foggy mornig is like. As they gave me the word I created a word bank for the children to use during the writing time. I purposely wrote the verbs in red and the nouns and adjectives in blue.

The next part of lesson required the children to close their eyes and visualise a cold morning, maybe before their football game on Saturday morning. I used questions such as ‘What can you see?’, ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘What were you wearing and why?’ ‘Did you see your breathe as you walked across the grass?’

As a group, the children helped to create a success criteria – activate the nouns, use precise words to say what you mean, use a simile and write 5 sentences. Then the children were encouraged to write referring to the word bank, and write uninterrupted for a period of time before returning to the helping circle.

I directed the children to point to the nouns and how they activated them, I also chose random children to share and I continued the same routine with the other ideas in the success criteria. The children were just getting into the swing of things and the bell rang.

SO WHAT?

The children are needing more time to write. I feel that they are just getting into the writing and I am stopping them although the boys do like the shorter time. I do have some children who are still struggling to record more than one idea in the set time.

When reading Gail Loane’s ‘I’ve got something to say – leading young writers to authorship’ and looking in how helping circles and peer feedback works she says if this set up correctly then the children will do this continually during writing time without teacher intervention.

NOW WHAT?

How can I ensure that my class is giving feed back to each other? I need to make sure that they understand the success criteria and why – clarity in the classroom.

Using Sheena Cameron’s Partner check and 2 stars and a wish, I can scaffold the children’s feedback and how their partner can share what they are trying to achieve in their writing. I hope to observe this in action in another Year3/4 class and get a better picture in my head what this could look like.

This will need  explicit teaching and perseverance on my part to ensure that this works for my class.

In an effective classroom, students should not only know what they are doing, they should also know why and how.

― Harry Wong

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

Using Authorship to promote better writers - Part 2

WHAT?

 So I planned my first lesson using the framework from Verity. I copied out and wrote up the verse for ready for the children to glue in their books. The children were seated in the writing circle which is what I had been using previously. As they glued it in, I asked them questions about how they were feeling before the Cross country. Where their arms shaking because they were nervous. One child, said that they had butterflies in their tummy. I quickly recorded this onto the whiteboard.

The children read through the text as I read it aloud. Using the prompts, I asked them what they thought it means at each sentence – include Sharp reading scaffolding.  After we read it through I used the questions that I had written to prompt thinking around how the exemplar was written. Who was it written for? How did the author create a picture in your head? Is there a pattern in the text?

There were a range of thoughtful answers and a few lost faces. I lead the children to recognise the different body parts in the exemplar, as well as how the verbs were used to activate the nouns. One children realised that there was a metaphor to tell the reader how he was feeling as he faced the bowler.

Next, I made the children face a partner and share their feelings before the Cross country. This was a timed talk, I then recorded what some of them shared in regards to the body parts and verbs. I then asked the children to close their eyes and visualise what happened to them as they were getting ready to run.

The questions I had written were gold and I even saw one child jump as I shouted go.  To create the success criteria, the class gave me the usual full stops and capital letters but there were glimmers of  understanding when one child said my tummy was ‘full of butterflies’ – with prompting we created a set of bullet points.

·      Activate the nouns

·      Choose specific verbs

·      Decribe what is happening to your body

·      Include a metaphor.

The children were given time to write. As I walked around to individuals I could see that the children had missed the mark as far as activating the nouns although one child who taken herself away from others had ‘got it’ perfectly. I helped out a few who chose to stay in the workshop and used the whiteboard to record the spellings of words they needed.

After writing, the children were asked to return to the mat and share. I used the ice block sticks to ensure that I wasn’t sticking to same children each time. Finally I encouraged the one child who ‘got it’ to share her piece of writing with the class. The children  paid her high compliments and I specifically stated how she had used the success criteria successfully. Using the reflection sheet that I have in my class with numbers from 1 to 4, 1 being that I really need heaps more help to 4 being that I could help someone else do this, I asked the children to rate their performance. I recorded these.

SO WHAT?

During marking I also rated the children on the same scale, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all but 5 children had rated their writing skills accurately. What I did notice was that the children had been unable to activate the nouns.

Activation of the nouns is getting the noun to do something but also be more deliberate in the choice of verb so that reader is able to understand what you (the author) is trying to convey.

All in all I was happy with the structure of the lesson, how the children had wanted to write and the use of simles not metaphors to show how they were feeling before the race.

NOW WHAT?

Because the children had missed the mark in regards to how to activate the nouns I read through the folder that Verity had provided and looked carefully into how to activate the nouns. I had also remembered that Gareth ( a colleague using the same PD) had been successful with his Autumn lesson so I decided to incorporate some of these ideas as a stimulus for the next lesson.

Again I used the planning template and copied and redeveloped ideas that Verity had provided. I had also sent Verity an email asking if I was on the right track to use the poem “The Sea by Laura Ranger”. It is a four line poem that starts with a noun and the verb is next. She was very quick to confirm my thoughts.

I was looking forward to seeing how this would pan out with the class. I found the planning easier than the first time as I knew the direction I wanted to take the children.

"You can make anything by writing."- C.S. Lewis

Using Authorship to promote better writers

WHAT?

As part of the school’s strategic plan, we are aiming to raise student achievement in literacy, through increased engagement in writing and the development of thinking in literacy through authorship. So last Friday, I participated in a PD session run by Verity Short, on Light the Fire – turning theory into vibrant practice. I had been absent for the first session, I had the folder but didn’t get going at first.

The folder had the printed powerpoint presentation, some exemplars, lesson plans and graphic organisers – these having the planning process that is needed to create a lesson around authorship. In the second session with colleagues, we unpacked how the lessons had worked for them. Using the guided reflection sheet, we worked part by part, bit by bit, to see if they had been successful and which parts of the lesson they need to do better next time.

As part of this PD, Verity shared a range of text to find exemplars, directed us to TSM material available online and then shared out a number of poems that she had used before. She then made us read, The Game written by Louise Wallace. It is a poem written about the feelings of a batter going out on the cricket pitch, ready hit the first ball. Verity asked us to tell her what part we resonated with. She guided the group to share, adding in and confirming our ideas. I noticed that she was running us through the same process as used in the lesson plans.

The group around me scribbled notes and were stuck on every word. At the end of the session, Verity shared the next set of handouts, directing us to the poem written by a 7 year old and the lesson plan to go with it. Over the weekend, Verity also shared via the internet a range of exmplars and notes of possible text that we could use.

SO WHAT?

Verity has provided us with a scaffolding that helps us to plan a lesson around authorship. There are 7 stratgic parts to teaching an authorship lesson.

1.    It needs to start with a stimulus something that provokes a reaction and a connection.

2.    The analysis of the exemplar is where the children unpack and are directed to the parts that the teacher wants them to notice. It is important that children need to have some emotional response. As a teacher, I need to ensure that they all understand the point/s the author is trying to convey to the reader as well as the specific learning intentions.

3.    By making connections to personal experiences of the students, I am deliberately giving the children something they can connect to and then they will be more successful with their writing.

4.    By getting the children to close their eyes and visualise, I am encouraging them to bring the image to life in their minds before actually writing. This stage uses questions and wait time to encourage the children to roll their own movie in their heads.

5.    The success criteria is co-constructed with the class but you have already guided them through the exemplar to form ideas on what an effective piece of writing will look like. This stage needs the teacher to prompt the children  - How will you know if you have done a good job? What does this piece of writing need? What are you learning to do as a writer?

6.    Writing – the children then are given time to write. Some children will be independent but others will chose to be part of a writer’s clinic/workshop where the teacher is guiding and helping them to achieve success as writers.

7.    The next stage – Helping Circle – this is where the children unpack whether or not they are successful. They are also encouraged to edit and revise their writing. It is important to always refer back to what is recorded within the success criteria and what they were asked to focus on.

Now WHAT?

My first thoughts were how could I use ‘The Game’ with my own class to write a paragraph on their experience of the Cross country. Using the planning template provided from Verity and having my new white folder with me, I wrote up the lesson plan for ‘The Game’.

Initially I copied word for word what Verity had written in her example. But after reading through, I deliberately changed parts to make it more mine. I did this because I was thinking of the children in the class and how I could engage them specifically to get the best from them. I also only use one verse from the poem which had a metaphor in because the children have already had experience of using metaphors in their Mother’s Day poems.

I found this planning fairly straight forward and was looking forward to teach authorship in my class. Although I am not a writer, I am looking forward to giving this a good crack.

“You cannot kindle a fire in any other heart until it is burning in your own.” Ben Sweetland