How can I improve my practice to improve the writing of those children who are struggling to record their ideas?

WHAT?

As part of my PD around the teaching of writing I have been working with Verity. My journey is now looking at writing ‘All about Books’, these are informative texts and which is structured in parts. The ideas is to incorporate graphic organisers (planners) into the process of writing for the children as well as encouraging them to write more. I worked with Verity last week on what “all about books’ were and how I could expose my children to this type of informative text before she modelled a lesson for me.

 

To get the children primed and ready for her lesson, the class explored the parts of an “All about book’ and came up with a list – title, contents page, headings and sub-headings, pictures, how to do, diagrams, index and glossary. The children also had to think about topics that they know about and would like to write “All about’ on.

 

Verity was ready as the children came into class, she asked them to sit in a circle and have their writing books ready. The children were fairly quick to this as this has become part of our writing routine. She quickly did a recap of “All about books’ and that they teach us about a topic.

 

She quickly scanned the class for ideas on their topic. The children were very enthusiastic. She asked them to write down as many topics as they could possibility write about. She moved on to sharing her ideas, she had recorded 3, she discussed how she tried on a topic – she chose ‘Jet Packs” because they are cool and it would be great to have one, but soon realised that she didn’t know enough information on that topic so she went through her list using “Think aloud’. She then exclaimed, “I know what! You can help me. Let’s write about playtime. Everyone knows about playtime!”

 

She wrote on the board – Playtime and underneath, she put 4 bullet points and invited the children to share ‘chapters’ of what playtime is. The children contributed ideas. Once she had recorded 4 ideas , she showed them a contents page template. She told them what they needed to do – write down their chapters for their ideas, giving them 2 minutes. She stressed that these were their ideas so they would need to think and there wouldn't be any talking.

 

When children asked for help she politely turned them down and told them that they were writing their own ideas and chapters. Once they had written on the contents graphic organiser, she invited some of the children to share their points/chapters. This was done at pace and children were quick to respond. Verity used one of the children contents page to model what the children had to do next. She unpacked the different chapters and use a text about bugs to illustrate what she was after from the children. There was a ‘How to’ and page of snippets of different information under one heading. She made connections to the contents graphic organiser on what they need to do – fill in a different sheet if they had similar information like ‘famous football players’, ‘types of dolphins’, as well as the rules of the game are a ‘how to play’ using the how to graphic organiser.

 

The children were sent away from the mat/circle and asked to record their ideas, again she stressed that they were going to be thinking and that they needed to work without talking. She turned away children asking for help and told me that she was encouraging them to build stamina in the way that they recorded their ideas. During that time she roved, checking in using a very quiet voice. She worked with a couple of my ‘lost’ boys as did I. After 5- 10 minutes, she invited them back to the helping circle to review the learning – what graphic organisers were they going to use and why. 

 

To dismiss them, she asked the children to glue in the organisers they had used and put their books away.

 

SO WHAT?

What I noticed most was the pace of the lesson and how she responded to their ‘helplessness’. She used a faster pace than I do and she was able to cover more for my more ‘able’ children. Some of my struggling writers at the end of the lesson hadn’t completed their contents page. I also asked her about this when I unpacked my observation of the lesson. She did say that she was trying to show me as much as possible in a short amount of time. I asked how do I tend to my most needy and help the others to get on with the task when they know what they are doing. She suggested charts of where to next so that they can move ahead. I asked how to you keep them engaged when doing the teaching part of the mat – use their work as an examples or parts of a less able children to rattle them to produce a higher quality of work. Also she encouraged me to send them to be independent because that is where they are on the continuum.

When she asked the children to record their ideas, she set strict guidelines. “Now you are going to write and because you have great ideas that YOU need to get out, you are going to write without talking so the others around you can think too.” Once the children had begun the task, she told them that all noise needed to stop and that they should be writing and thinking hard, because we think better when it is quiet.” Some children approached her for help, she responded by saying “I am not helping you, you need to write.” Although she did rove closely to those if she could see that they hadn’t written anything.

 

NOW WHAT?

 

I need to make some sort of way to give those more capable writers the next chunks of learning and what is required next so that they can be more independent. Also scaffold the ‘where to’ for those who are falling behind. I am thinking of creating a slideshow using the templates from Verity so the children can use the information when needed. I will need to get this as soon as I can.

I need to respond to the ‘helplessness’ – tell the children that I will work with them when they have started writing and have something to work with. Deliberately put these children next to me in the helping circle time so I can support them with their next steps. Hold myself in account for responding too quickly – give them time to problem solve themselves and build up their writing stamina. Rove more – spray and walk away!

 

“Sometimes I just stop talking, and that solves everything.” Anonymous

How can I use poetry writing to encourage success in my emergent writers? Part 1

WHAT?

As part of my writing development, I took part in the PD from Terry Locke provided during the Lockdown. I was very apprehensive due to the quality of the other staff members who took part as well. I don’t consider myself a good writer although I know since doing blog posts and working with Verity Short, there has been some improvement.

 

We were given the Powerpoint and exemplars before the writing lessons with Terry at 7.30 – 9.30pm on a Thursday night via a Zoom conference. The team of teachers had some management, beginning teachers, and even the principal. We also were put into peer groups to discuss our thoughts and findings during the PD. The main aim of the sessions is that the teachers were to become the writers so that we could experience the feelings and anxieties that the children experience during writing.

In the first half of our first lesson, Terry asked us to complete a questionnaire about our own writing apprehension and asked us to share if we wished what sort of results we had. These were to include our positive and negative experiences (mainly from school) around our own experiences as developing writers. Terry asked us to connect our feelings about ourselves as writers to these experiences. I totally got it, not that I shared my experience I was able to align myself with the feeling of others in the group.

The next part of the lesson was where Terry asked and explained what poetry is and how it transforms the reader to ‘see’ what the author sees through their choice of words and create a picture for the reader. Terry explained that our central role as teachers had some aspects to think about:

·      Can we connect this issue with our previous sharings around our experiences of learning to write?

·      Most teachers don’t know how to respond to pupils’ writing, in part because they are not writers themselves.

·      They are insecure in their knowledge of what to say.

Terry then went on to say that he would facilitate our confidence in using metalanguage related to poetry over the next four sessions. He went on to discuss what ‘concrete and abstract’ vocabulary is and that we were to complete a writing task.

Concrete language refers to words that enable a reader to respond sensuously to an experience. Sensuous experience can be visual (sight images), aural (hearing images), tactile (touch images), gustatory (taste images) or olfactory (smell images).

 

Example: The old man lay huddled on the pitted surface of the dusty and rutted road. His skinny arms clasped a ragged and dirty child. Its head lolled back and its eyes had a marble stillness. Near its open mouth, buzzed a large, blue fly.

Abstract language: The language of ideas or concepts. Its main purpose is to reason through generalization and argument.

Example: There is no such thing as a just war. There may be just causes. But there can be no justification for the notion that arguments can be solved by force.

Our task was to write about a place, there weren’t any parameters but to write to describe for 20 minutes uninterrupted and then before sharing underline or highlight the concrete and abstract language we used. We were put into break out rooms to share with others in our teams. I wrote mine by hand out the swimming pool but I was awe struck by the cleverness of the others.

 

Our session finished with Terry outlining the homework task which was an outline a brief ( a set of instructions) to complete a writing task. My breakout team met on the Tuesday before to create a brief in preparation for the following Thursday session. Also as part of the small group meeting we had to decide who would share their writing with Terry for feedback.

 

SO WHAT?

I experienced some doubts and uncertainty of my abilities to write considering the calibre of my colleagues but Terry had set up guidelines for peer responses and how that we were to respond to the work of others. I found this easy as a responder as I was amazed what my colleagues could write in such a short time.

When it came for me to share, I feel that my piece was clunky compared and I had possibly missed the main intention of the writing task set by Terry. I was blown away by what the others could ‘see’ in my writing. I struggled with the rule – During these responses, for at least the first round, the writer does not say anything and should let the writing stand alone and speak for itself. The writer may take notes.  I really wanted to say “thank you”.

 

NOW WHAT?

 

This has made me think about my responses to my children’s writing and how simple but effective specific feedback can be. As part of the Lockdown I am swapped by the children’s work on Seesaw and now I need to use this platform to create writers who want to write.

 

Also I happier to share in my next session of writing with Terry. I do find his voice very droning but I will make myself listen. I really enjoyed the break out sessions where I could bounce back ideas with my colleagues.

 “I think it’s very important to have a feedback loop, where you’re constantly thinking about what you’ve done and how you could be doing it better.” Elon Musk