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?
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Spelling – inventive or
just terrible
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Focus – disinterested
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Confidence (giving up because
they don’t feel like they get it -
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Articulating – vocab – subject specific vocab
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Structure – lack of
grammar – surface or deeper
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Retention
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How to start – confidence and
interest - fear of failure – task is too daunting.
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Understanding –
comprehension
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Deeper thinking
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Writing style
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Organising ideas –
paragraphs – blocks – sequencing information – logic
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Repetition
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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
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A very short sentence – 5 words
or less (use this in the middle or the end of their paragraph)
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‘W’ start sentence - Use a
comma after the W phrase – the start of analytical writing.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Read aloud
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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.
