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Learning task 1: Starter activities

Learning task 2: Exploratory activities A

Oral Anecdotes

Before:
Let the students know in advance that they will be telling an anecdote about an interesting and memorable camp experience to a small group of other students and will later be writing about one memorable experience. They need time to think about one that they would like to work on in some depth in both speaking and writing.

Discuss - What is an anecdote? Why do people tell anecdotes? (To entertain or inform...) Who do they tell them to? (Identify audience) How do they tell them? (Language style, register) Is it formal or informal? What would be a good camp anecdote to tell? Why? How could the speaker make it interesting for those listening? (Verbal and non-verbal techniques: tone, volume, pace, facial expressions, gestures, pauses)

The modelling (RTF 8KB) the oral retelling of an anecdote to the class using a variety of techniques.

Display the peer_assessment_oral (RTF 39KB) form enlarged to an A3 chart size. Discuss the assessment criteria. Talk about group assessment: cooperation and collaboration, reaching a consensus, sensitivity to other's feelings, no put-downs, how to give positive advice, how to accept positive advice...

Assess the teacher's modelled oral anecdote together with the class, filling in the form as you go. This will communicate guidelines on how it is done and give expectations for when the students do this in small groups independently.

During:
Group the students into small groups of three or four. Sit in a sharing circle to facilitate active listening by the audience.

Each student in the group tells an anecdote about a personally significant and/or challenging camp experience to their small group. One student tells an anecdote, while the other group members listen. Do not use the assessment form at this point; focus on the speaking and listening interaction. Sit back and enjoy it!

Possible drama variations:

1.  Listening and Speaking Variation - students could form new groups and relate one of the stories to the new group members who have not heard it. Then groups could be reassembled with the orginal story-teller checking how accurately their story had been re-told.
2.  Presenting Extension - the story-teller becomes the director of a short drama based on their story. S/he casts other group members to adopt key roles, informs them clearly of the sort of person they are to play, provides explicit details of the story and rehearses the group through the drama prior to a sharing with the whole class.

After:
Assess each student, one at a time, directly after his or her retelling, using the peer assessment form. The whole group, (including the speaker being assessed), discusses the assessment criteria together and fills out the assessment form. All members then sign the assessment form.

Rotate:
The next student now tells their anecdote, continuing in this way until all members of the group have had their turn.

Word Bank: Five Senses

Building vocabulary in preparation for writing. Select one camp experience to make a using the five senses: what did you see? hear? smell? feel? taste? during your chosen activity. Model how to make a word_bank (RTF 10KB) with the class before the students make their own in small groups.

Using a thesaurus and 'thinking aloud', model how you take care to choose just the right words to describe exactly what you saw, heard, felt, smelt and tasted in detail - eg. don't say the air stunk when the air smelt of musty clothes and mouldy fruit. Model how to be specific in your choice of nouns and verbs - eg. don't say the bird flew when it darted, circled or swooped.

Students get into small groups of two or three who have chosen the same camp activities, and record on their own word banks, sharing ideas, "hitchhiking" off each other, extending and learning from each other.

Record the name of the activity and draw a small picture in the blank square on their word bank. The word bank does not have to be completely filled in, it can be added to as you read and talk about model recounts or conference writing during the unit.

Students glue stick these word banks into their writing books ready for draft writing. Display modelled word bank in the display area with the photos, and Feelings and Bus Stop Charts already completed. These will then provide scaffolding for students during the process of writing their own personal recounts.

Teachers need to provide students with "scaffolding". This means temporary support: teaching students in such a way that what they can do with help today, they can do by them selves tomorrow. Focusing on the reading skills each student already has, with a clear understanding of what the student needs to learn next, the teacher can give the student just the right amount of modelling, support, and guidance.

Material from The Learner as a Reader is reproduced by permission of the publishers Learning Media Limited on behalf of Ministry of Education, P O Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand, © Crown, 1996.

Learning task 3: Exploratory activities B

Learning task 4: Application activities

Producing quality writing

Allow and plan enough time for students to be able to produce quality work. This means times to talk, collaborate, reflect, share, as well as time for shared, guided and independent writing and times for conversing and times for quiet uninterrupted writing.

•  Shared Writing
   This is where the teacher does most of the work. She helps the children to work out what they want to say and then writes it for them either on a whiteboard, chart, book or whatever is appropriate. During this opportunities are taken for teaching points to be made.
•  Guided Writing
   Here the children are doing a lot of the work and have far more control, the teacher being there to guide and help. In 1 to 1 situations the child is writing. In group situations the teacher can record for the children what they say or the teacher can dictate the text to the children for them to write into their books while they are in a group. As above the teacher steps in where appropriate for teaching points and to help children solve problems.
•  Independent Writing
   This is where the children write by themselves and the teacher acts as the editor to check their work and do what they are unable to do.

 A piece of quality writing is rarely produced in one session and within strict time limits. Use your professional judgement when setting time allowances, if the children are younger or are new to this genre, take time to get control of the structure of the genre, and its language features. Time taken now is well spent building a solid foundation for future writing, and allows students to achieve success and get satisfaction from their writing.

 Aim to have all students complete a minimum of one personal recount, from planning to publishing

 Follow this sequence, making use of one or several throughout the process:

Planning

Students select one significant camp activity to write about. For many it will be the activity they have told an anecdote on and made a wordbank about, but do not restrict them to this, they may have changed their mind as their knowledge and ideas have developed.

Individually brainstorm ideas for their writing, listing as many ideas and vocabulary as they can in a free flow mind map in their draft writing books.

Share their ideas with a partner, and then give an opportunity to make additions or alterations to their brainstorm.

Composing and drafting

1. Next organise these ideas ready for writing. This could be done in note form on a planner or on a flow chart or cluster diagram. Model how to use the planner or flowchart or cluster diagram, organising ideas into sequential order, thinking carefully how you will start and end the recount, and what events will come in the middle. Model how to select the best and most relevant ideas from their brainstorm, not trying to use everything. Constantly refer to text features discussed during the close reading of writing models in your "teacher talk" as you model the planning process. Ask students for ideas, encouraging them to participate in the modelling process as well as observe. Talk about the audience for their writing. Who will read it? How will this affect your planning? Planning may take one or two sessions.
2. Display an A3 size copy of the self-assessment form near the teaching centre. This can then be referred to during the modelling, shared writing, conferencing and sharing times with the students throughout the writing unit, so that all students are familiar with the criteria and writing language before they begin independent writing of their own personal recount.
   • Give each student his or her own copy of the , at the beginning of the independent writing time. This needs to be glued into their draft writing books alongside their writing, eg. the form is on the left page and they write on the right page.
   • Talk explicitly about the criteria, "thinking out aloud" throughout the unit, eg. "I can see why Jack has ticked ... on his checklist, as he put this ... in his writing. Well done Jack"
   • Encourage and praise students for checking their self-assessment form as they go.
   • Some days have a class session "checking our progress" at the end of the writing time, where all students bring their writing books to the mat area and share their progress with reference to their checklists.
   • Monitor their progress, with roving observations as they write and by taking in student books to check later, noting individual children's progress, and establishing an overview of the class' progress. Taking in books allows for quiet uninterrupted teacher reflection and during this time the teacher can use a sticky note pad to record future teaching points for the whole class and/or individuals. These notes can then be stuck to the teacher's workplan or on the teaching station as a reminder for the next day's writing session.
   • Begin each day by modelling a part of the recount, eg. the introduction or opening. Refer to a writing model, including features that have already been discussed in close reading, and write an opening on the whiteboard with the students in a shared writing session. Students now go and draft their own opening in their draft writing books writing on every second line. Set a predetermined time for quiet independent writing, where students have an opportunity to write uninterrupted.

Conferencing and reflecting

1. As they complete their opening or that day's task, let them conference with each other. One way to do this without interrupting those still writing is to allow them to quietly come to the mat or some designated area where they partner up with someone else who has finished. Expect them to comment on and question each other's writing, modelling himself or herself on the teacher's example. They may conference with more than one partner in this time. Allow students to return to their desks to make alterations and additions to their writing after teacher or peer conferences. At the same time roam as a teacher, conferencing with individual students at the writing stage or small groups gathering on the mat. When most students have completed that day's task (eg. writing the opening) gather together for a sharing time, calling on some children to share their day's writing and ask for comments, eg. I like the part when ... because ... I didn't really understand where you were when... This is a good time to model conferencing questions.

    When most students are well on the way with writing their personal recounts, spend a writing session reworking their recounts with the teacher as a class. Follow this Guided Self-Assessment procedure:

   • Students bring their writing books, a highlighter and a pen to record on the activity form, to the mat or have these ready at their desk.
   • Give each student a copy of the form reworking (RTF 30KB) .
   • Together the teacher and students work their way through this form, taking time to discuss, locate, record on the form and share some aspects of their writing. You may decide to only to do selected parts of the form with this recount, and other parts with the next one, depending on their progress and needs.
   • This activity is designed to help students focus more on the deeper features of their own writing, guiding and scaffolding them in the editing process, before finishing with a brief proof reading check.
   • It will help them to reflect on ways that they may improve their own writing.
   • After the form is completed it can be glued into their books, and used in the next writing session to edit their own work independently.
2.  Set aside a time for editing and proof-reading at the end of the day's writing session or at the beginning of the next day's writing time, when students are fresh. For younger students this becomes an onerous task if it is all left to the end.

Editing and proof reading

Editing can involve:

• rewriting
• leaving out or adding bits to your early draft
• changing the order of material, words or sentences
• keeping your reader in mind
• reading aloud to listen for errors or things that could be improved
•  trying to make improvements to your writing so that it conveys your ideas as clearly and accurately as possible.

This means that you'll need to write on your draft, cross out bits, add bits, move bits. Don't worry if your draft looks messy. Your teacher needs to see the changes you have decided to make. If you need to, write a second draft before writing the final draft. If you are working on computer, you should still include your early draft with your editing changes marked on it, even though you can make the changes on the computer.

The final stage of the writing process is proof reading. Before completing your writing for assessment, it will need to be proof-read. This will ensure that your writing is accurate and free of small careless errors such as letters, words or punctuation accidentally left out. Use the proofreading (RTF 33KB) to help you check that your final draft is free from errors.

These processes will need to be modelled many times by the teacher. Praise students who are editing as they write, eg. crossing out and changing words or phrases, stopping to reread it at times, and students who are self-monitoring spelling as they write by underlining those they are not sure of for later checking. Neatness is not a priority at this stage; a well reworked text is the sign of a budding writer!

At the completion of the drafting of their personal recount do the peer_assessment_editing (RTF 96KB) . This is the final self-check when the student has finished draft writing their recount. Partner students (with teacher guidance), as they finish their draft writing. Share their recounts, first reading them aloud to each other, to entertain and inform. Next they focus closely on one of the written recounts at a time, together completing the peer assessment form, checking for editing and proofreading. This will guide focused peer discussion about their writing and highlight any areas that still need editing or correcting before publication of their work on the computer. A final check will need to be made by the teacher before publishing begins.

Who? What? When? Where?

Teacher Anne Girven

Teacher background reading

• Literary WebQuests: WebQuests are specifically designed to support students achieve such skills by providing a carefully structured activity that will engage and challenge them.
• Oral Language - English Exemplar Project

Teaching and learning activities

Select and adapt these learning activities to best meet the needs of your students, and to fit the time available:

Set up a learning (RTF 9KB) with a wide range of narrative texts. Provide books by authors that children enjoy and introduce new authors. Ensure that you cater for the needs of all students in your class. Provide a activities (RTF 107KB) that students can choose to work on.

Learning task 1

Learning task 2

Learning task 3

Learning task 4

Assessment

Assessment Task

 Students to select one narrative to read and complete one of the following activities:

• Write a synopsis of the book.
• Select two characters, describe and illustrate.
• Write a letter to the author. Write and give your opinion of the book and some ideas for a sequel.
• Make a dust jacket for your work, include the title, author, illustrator, publisher, and the date when the book was published.

The teacher assesses the students' personal assignments in terms of their understanding of how language features contribute to the effects of narrative texts.

Teacher observes and assesses the students' ability to recall the story-line and their awareness of the language features of the genre.

self_assessment (RTF 36KB)
assessment (RTF 17KB)

Resources

Resources from libraries
Student's own books

School journals

 Brith the Terrible - 1982 P2 N1
 Carlos Comes to Stay - 1988 P2 N1
 Chimney Sweep - 1992 P1 N3
 Dodgeball - 1985 P3 N3
 Free as a Bird - 1989 P4 N2
 Locked Room - 1983 P1 N2
 Night Rescue - 1983 P3 N1
 Rescuing Mum - 1989 P1 N1
 Alien - 1995 P2 N2
 Bow Down Shadrach - 1993 P3 N1
 Ghost - 1993 P2 N4
 Girl who Washed in Moonlight - 1984 P3 N1
 The Snapper - 1982 P3 N1
 

 Other journal resources can be found in the School Journal Catalogue under the following headings:
 challenge
 dilemma
 predicament
author's names

Web Resources

Assessment Resource Banks

Speech Bubbles 2 (ARB username and password required to view this resource)

Taniwha (ARB username and password required to view this resource)

Follow up

Share and read booklets produced by students in the class.

Learning task 3: Writing

1. Teacher and children work together to construct a fairy tale. encouraging the children to contribute ideas.
2. Make available boxes with a range of settings, characters, events, problems and solutions so that the children are able to access these if they cannot think of ideas of their own. It gives children a starting point when planning and writing their story.
3. The children will plan and write their own fairy tale using a narrative planning sheet (see learning task 2).
4. Children will write their own fairy tale, stopping to share, review and rewrite as they are in the process of writing.
5. Children will publish stories to be presented in a booklet for sharing with peers and junior school children.
6. Illustrations to be used to enhance the fairy tale.

Learning task 3: Editing and publishing

1. Model how to revise your work. Discuss with the students how you chose to revise and why you made the decisions to change your work. Ask for their input and incorporate some of their ideas.
    Give the students the revising form and ask them to work through it with all work.

2. Model proofreading (RTF 37KB) your work. Discuss that proof reading requires the author to look at

   • Spelling
   • Punctuation
   • Grammar
   • Sentence structure
   • Vocabulary usage

   Give each student a proof reading checklist. Ask them to use the checklist to check their work. 

3. Students will be encouraged to publish work in many different formats, eg. Word-processed, hand written, in shapes using publishing or presentation software . Published work needs to be valued and should be shared with peers, other classes, parents, teachers etc.
4. Ask the pupils to fill in writing self-evaluation sheets.

Learning task 2: Teddybear activities

• Visit a maker of teddybears. Record the visit with a digital camera and write a recount with the class.
• Invite an author of a teddybear book to visit the class.
• Compare the traditional story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with the poem/song poems (RTF 6KB) . Talk about recount (RTF 8KB) writing and list the features. Shared writing – rewrite as a recount.
• Teddybears Picnic.
   Use the digital camera to record events – each child takes 3 photos. Later, write up the event as a recount, either individually or as shared writing task.
• Using publishing software, have the students draw and write a caption or story about their bear to create a slide show.
• Students write a teddy story. They create their own bear story book design, showing the placement of the text and the illustrations. They can publish their stories, choosing their own ways of illustrating them (for example, by using a scan and paint programme, photographs, or their original art work).

Learning task 1: Introductory activities

1. Teacher discussion with students - What do you know about the sun_shadows (RTF 5KB) ? Look for shadows in the classroom. Discuss what makes the shadow. Does the shadow look like the object? How is it different? Record on a KWL chart. Ask students what they want to find out about shadows. List three or four questions about shadows in the 'What we want to know' section of the KWL chart.
   Using the overhead projector demonstrate how to trace a shadow. Ask for a student volunteer. Turn on the lamp and turn off all classroom lights. Students observe the student's shadow being cast in the classroom. Ask the students where the light source is and where the shadow is cast. Explain that the sun is similar to the light. Demonstrate how to trace the shadow by following the outline of the student's shadow with your finger.
   Using the overhead projector, place a divider on it to keep students from seeing objects placed on the projector. Choose a student to pick an object from the bag and place it on the projector without the class seeing the object. Have them guess what the object is. Discuss the shadow that the object makes. Show the class the object. After all the objects have been used, choose a student to select one of the objects and put it back on the projector. One student can trace the shadow on a piece of paper on the board. Students compare the object to its shadow. Discuss the size and shape of the object and the shadow.

2.  Read What Makes A Shadow by Clyde Robert Bulla ( National Library) and discuss the shadows that were made in the story.

   1. Students make shadows on the wall with a partner. Students use flashlights and objects to make the shadow. Have them trace some of their shadows on paper.
   2. Hold up hand and ask students what kind of shadow they think it will it will make. Discuss other shadows that could be made using a hand. Make shadows of animals using hands. Choose students to make different shadows and have class guess what the shadow is.
   3. Share the story of Peter Pan and his Shadow. Teacher and students discuss shadows, and how they are different from the real object. Students use their imagination to suggest things that could happen to the shadows.

    

Learning task 3: Reading and writing

1. Read to the students Shadow Bear by Frank Asch, ( National Library). A delightful story of a little bear who attempts to escape a shadow that seems to be chasing him.

   Following the reading discuss:

   • What do you know about shadows that makes this book funny?
   • Why did Bear's shadow disappear when he hid behind a tree?
   • Why did the shadow disappear when he buried it?
   • What makes a sun shadow fall one direction at one time and another direction earlier or later in the day?
   • What other questions do you have about shadows?
   • What time of day do you think these events happened and where was Bear's shadow at these times?

   Reread Shadow Bear. Identify those aspects of the story that are purely fictional and those that "could happen" paying particular attention to how shadows change during the day.

   Add to KWL chart - have we found answers to our questions? What else have we found out about shadows? Do we have more questions?

2. Teacher and students work together to complete a questionnaire (RTF 17KB) .

3. Shared Reading - read a selection of appropriate texts and/or Junior Journals exploring the language and text features of explanations. Explain to the students that they will be writing an explanation about shadows.

   Use models of explanation writing from exemplars to read and discuss with students (see  Why do Shadows Happen?,  The Best Nest and  How a Spider's Web Forms).

    Read the explanation with the students. Talk about the explanation: How do we know this is an explanation? What impact does the explanation have on us as the readers? How would the author have gathered this information? List student responses on a chart.

   • Discuss and identify which explanations are about the "why" and which are about the "how". Talk about what it is in a sentence that tells us about these differences.
   • Identify action verbs and discuss their functions in organising explanations. Action verbs can be identified and discussed in terms of their function as part of a sequence of processes that explains how things happen or work, or which explain why one action causes another action.
   • Discuss use of conjunctions to link groups of processes, eg. first, next, then, when, because, so that, therefore. See Exploring Language - Complex Sentences.

   Continue to read closely a selection of explanations. Discuss explanations extensively before asking the students to write an explanation. Encourage students to include a reason and use words like "because" or "then" to join their ideas when talking about an explanation.

4. Discuss with the students:

   • What have we found out about shadows?
   • What is a shadow?
   • What makes a shadow? How?
   • What do we have to remember when we write an explanation?

   Teacher models how to brainstorm and then how to organise ideas into sequential order, thinking carefully how to start and end the explanation. Model how to select the best and most relevant ideas. Ask students for ideas, encouraging them to participate in the modelling process. Talk about the audience for their writing. Who will read it?

   Teacher models writing an explanation: How is a shadow made?

   Model how to complete the checklist (RTF 14KB) . Encourage students to identify the checklist points using the teacher modelled writing.