Teacher Only Day - Write that Easy

TOD 6/3

Write that essay programme – Sentence Workshop

Andrew - His job is to give us strategies to help our students demonstrate understanding on the page.

“Put the child at the centre of it”

What do our students struggle with?

-      Spelling – inventive or just terrible

-       Focus – disinterested

-      Confidence (giving up because they don’t feel like they get it -

-       Articulating – vocab – subject specific vocab

-      Structure – lack of grammar – surface or deeper

-      Retention

-      How to start – confidence and interest - fear of failure – task is too daunting.

-      Understanding – comprehension

-      Deeper thinking

-      Writing style

-      Organising ideas – paragraphs – blocks – sequencing information – logic

-      Repetition

-      Paraphrasing

We were given the task of writing for five minutes on any topic, and then share our writing with a partner. There were common experiences that our students go through - unsure what to write – change topics halfway through – terrible spelling.

Precision, focus, knowledge

Concentration of simple sentences – we want our students to have an arson to show they are fluent.

We analysed our own writing, putting a double line by full stops and counting how many words were in each sentence.

The best way to change a short sentence is to introduce different styles

-      A very short sentence – 5 words or less (use this in the middle or the end of their paragraph)

-      ‘W’ start sentence - Use a comma after the W phrase – the start of analytical writing.

-      Adverb Start Sentence – write the adverb then add a comma! ‘Interestingly, the chicken is not the smartest animal.’ This helps them bring their own voice to their writing. Adverb start: Interestingly, desperately, surprisingly, calmly, and solemnly.

-      Em-Dash sentence – use 5-6 words if not listing. Adds ‘colour’. The All Blacks – fierce, determined, unbeatable – had a bad day at the office. Helps you bring in your voice.

-      Explore the Subject Sentence – double comma rule. Introduce an idea: The road, which was a popular route with tourists, was only crossed by stupid chickens. This is an analytical sentence.

“It’s not just what you say, it is teaching your students how to say it…”

Recrafting – empower them with multiple opportunities

-      Read aloud

-      Count the words in isolated sentences

Conversation - communicate in phrases – complete thoughts.

The burden of content should be removed from the child – isolate the skill (application of different styles) – use a model and ask how they would recraft…

Collaborative Short Story – CJA, SWR, BMA, MMA

Federico Elf, who was the star football player for Melville United, was struggling because he had lost his “football undies”

Surprisingly, this agitated his mother Jayne on route to Gower Park.

Whilst arguing aggressively, Jayne’s inability to multi-task became evident.

She ran a red light.

“BANG”

With a sudden jolt, Frederico’s dreams of beating the Pink Flying Elephants team were shattered.

Calmly, Jayne – with a Y – rang an Uber and fled the scene, along with her screaming son.

Uber came through, along with Lone Star “Redneck Ribs”; successfully getting Frederico Elf to his game on time.

Moral of the story – there is no such thing as can’t!

RECAP
Providing strategies and the 12 ways will enable consistency across the board.

Encouraging student collaboration when writing is a useful starting strategy.

Break down habits in order to relearn new ones – high achieving students are less likely to fell failure.