ks2 moderation event january 2020 - nottingham schools€¦ · writing effectively (with cohesion)...

KS2 Moderation Event January 2020

Jane Gill

Agenda 1pm – 4pm

Welcome and introduction

The writing standards for end of KS2 statutory

assessment

Distinguishing between WTS and EXS

What do Y6 children have to do to achieve GDS?

Final messages

Writing standards for end of KS2 statutory assessment:

Working at greater depth

Working at the expected standard

Working towards the expected standard

Standard 6 (working at the KS1 expected standard)

Standard 5 (working towards the KS1 expected standard)

Standard 4

Standard 3

Standard 2

Standard 1

The standards are not a formative assessment tool: they should not be used to track progress throughout KS2. They are solely for summative assessment.

The use of cohesive devices / different verb forms / coordinating and subordinating conjunctions are no longer specified requirements of WTS.

A pupil’s handwriting does not now need to be joined to achieve WTS – it just has to be legible.

Exemplification documents

The (optional) exemplification materials for supporting teacher

judgements are unchanged:

WTS – Dani

‘Low’ EXS – Morgan

‘High’ EXS – Leigh

GDS – Frankie

STA standardisation training materials

The new materials for 2020 have been used by all LAs to train their moderation teams and address some of the issues from last year’s moderation visits:

Interpreting some of the statements from both the expected standard and the greater depth standard

Distinguishing between ‘high’ working towards the standard and working at the expected standard

Distinguishing between ‘high’ expected standard and greater depth

Working at the expected standard The national curriculum states:‘Effective composition involves forming, articulating and communicating ideas, and then organising them coherently for a reader. This requires clarity, awareness of the audience, purpose and context, and an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.’

EXS statement one: Write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, selecting

language that shows good awareness of the reader (e.g. the use of first person in a diary; direct address in instructions and persuasive writing)

The examples in brackets only show how the statement might be met.

Discuss how a pupil could demonstrate that they can write ‘effectively for a range of purposes’ (EXS) as opposed to simply writing ‘for a range of purposes’ (WTS).

Consider statements 4 and 5. How does effective writing achieve cohesion?

Writing effectively (with cohesion) for a range of purposes

• Chronological sequencing in a recount for clarity

• Informal, conversational style when appropriate for audience/task

• Formal language maintained when required (e.g. formal letter)

• Carefully chosen vocabulary to add specific details

• Repetition of key words or phrases for effect

• Use of synonyms and pronouns to avoid unnecessary repetition

• Making grammatical connections (e.g. adverbials)

• Making deliberate and appropriate tense choices

Training exercise: pupil B (WTS or EXS?)

Pupil B can write for a range of purposes and use paragraphs (WTS).

But can pupil B:

write effectively for purposes and audiences, selecting language that shows good awareness of the reader?

select appropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures that reflect what the writing requires?

use a range of devices to build cohesion?

Take some time to read the collection and then consider these 3 statements from the expected standard.

Pupil B (WTS)Although assessed as ‘working towards the expected standard’, pupil B is starting to show some aspects of ‘working at the expected standard’, but not consistently.

The purpose of the writing is not always sustained; therefore the pupil is not writing ‘effectively’ for purposes and audiences.

Despite an emerging range of vocabulary, there is a lack of awareness of the reader and choices do not always support the subject matter.

Noun phrases tend to be repetitive rather than enhancing description.

Grammatical structures are predominantly subject led and over repetitive, resulting in a lack of cohesion.

Spelling (WTS)

Spelling tests or exercises may be used as evidence.

If pupils do not use any of the words from the statutory lists in their day-to-day writing, evidence from tests and exercises alone is sufficient.

If there is no evidence that pupils can spell words from the statutory word lists, in accordance with the relevant qualifiers, the ‘pupil can’ statement would not be met.

Spelling (EXS)

STA's KS2 exemplification: Morgan (low EXS)

This collection is useful as it just meets all of the statements for the EXS.

Purposeful tasks enable Morgan to demonstrate an awareness of the intended audience and there is a clear attempt to adopt vocabulary and grammatical structures that reflect what the writing requires.

Verb tenses are used consistently and correctly across the collection.

Some writing is particularly ambitious – Morgan uses repetition effectively to support cohesion in longer pieces/descriptions.

The range of KS2 punctuation is used mostly accurately.

Despite occasional errors/inconsistencies, spelling is mostly correct.

There are some areas that still need work – Morgan does not always manage to maintain formality (e.g. science investigation).

Reviewing your children's writing: WTS/EXS

Consider the different purposes of the pieces of writing and whether or not the pupil has selected appropriate language/grammatical structures.

Is there evidence of integrated dialogue in narratives that conveys character and advances the action?

Review the evidence for all the other ‘pupil can’ statements in the standard you are awarding.

What are the next steps for the pupil?What are the wider implications for your class?

How would a pupil's writing evidence the additional expectation required for greater depth?

The decision to award greater depth is often determined by the pupil’s ability to make careful, considered and deliberate choices about the purpose of their writing, their intended audience and how the composition of their writing (vocabulary, grammar and form) will ultimately impact on the reader.

Read the 'short adventure story' with this statement in mind.

Whilst the language shows good awareness of the reader, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the pupil is drawing independently on what they have read to support the composition of this form of narrative. Discuss why this is the case.

Why does the story not meet statement 1 for GDS?

• Word choices are often bland, lacking the rich and diverse vocabulary that may be drawn from wider reading (dark, gloomy jungle… ever-densing mist… a dark shadow… two broad overgrown men)

• Events are under-developed/lacking sufficient detail for the reader (the unknown creatures lurking between the jungle leaves… Jonny let out a piercing scream)

• The frequent use of non-finite clauses to begin sentences becomes repetitive making it more difficult for readers to focus on events (Thinking this could be… Peering into… scanning the area… Trying not to)

Discuss your understanding of these two statements.

Distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register

Pupils working at greater depth should be able to consistently distinguish between speech (informal conversational language) and written language (used for stories, reports, persuasion…).

This statement does not relate to spoken dialogue; it is about pupils being able to avoid language inappropriate to the context and to select vocabulary and grammatical structures that are appropriate.


Read the formal letters (pupils X and Y) and briefly discuss the purpose and audience for these pieces.

What evidence would you use to explain why pupil X meets this statement and why pupil Y does not?


Pupil X

Adopts a formal and polite tone to introduce the purpose of the letter in the first paragraph

The register shows a respectful but firm argument, which appropriately reflects the relationship between the writer and the intended audience

Language choices appropriately reflect the formal tone of the letter and this is consistent throughout


Pupil Y

Although the tone is generally appropriately formal, word repetition in some sentences resembles speech-like qualities.

The quotation is attributed to ‘Bob’. This casual reference is inconsistent with the overall tone and weakens the formality.

The request for a response is too informal for the intended recipient (I look forward to hearing your reply).

Exercising an assured and conscious control over levels of formality, particularly through manipulating grammar and vocabulary.

Pupils working at greater depth need to be able to control the level of formality according to the effect they are trying to achieve. They need to evidence the ability to write for both formal and informal contexts (as well as those in between).

The emphasis on ‘assured and conscious control’ refers to the fact that the pupil can write with confidence and that their choices are deliberate and considered. (Editing may help evidence ‘conscious’ control.)


Look at the letters again.

What evidence would you use to explain why pupil X ‘exercises an

assured and conscious control’ and why pupil Y does not?


Pupil X

Choices of vocabulary are apt and considered (unnecessary pressure… required strategies… spiralling effect… valuable measure)

Grammatical constructions support the formal register, e.g. passive verb forms (are not equipped… has certainly been caused by) and the use of the perfect form (I have chosen to write… I have seen)

Contracted verb forms are avoided to sustain a measured and polite tone (I have personally coped… I am also concerned)

Occasional use of more informal expressions are deliberate to reflect the heartfelt nature of the topic

An appropriate level of formality is maintained throughout.


Pupil Y

Ambitious sentence structures are not always accurate reducing clarity

An imprecise pronoun use makes the subject of the sentence ambiguous (After interviewing members of the public, they reported)

Some grammatical choices demonstrate a loss of control over the levels of formality across the letter as a whole. The inappropriate inclusion of a quotation and the direct address to the recipient for a response, for example, cause an over familiarity.

Standardisation exercise 2: pupil B (EXS or GDS?)

This pupil can write effectively for a range of purposes (EXS)

But can they:

select the appropriate form and draw independently on what they have read as models for their own writing?

distinguish between the language of speech and writing and choose the appropriate register?

exercise an assured and conscious control over levels of formality, particularly through manipulating grammar and vocabulary?

Take some time to read the collection and then discuss your findings.

The pupil’s collection meets the requirements for greater depth.

Review the commentary.

You will see how the STA has applied the other ‘pupil can’ statements to this collection of writing.

All statements carry equal weight and they all need to be achieved for children to be awarded the standard.

Consider the text types and writing tasks that would support your advanced writers to achieve greater depth.

What opportunities do they have to choose their audience and how they structure their writing?

Looking for evidence of GDS in your children’s work

Final messages – unchanged from last year

Handwriting

The requirement for joined handwriting is at the expected standard.

Handwriting may be inconsistent – you can base your judgements on the strongest piece and use additional evidence from handwriting exercises.

Independent work

STA expects schools to be clear on the level of independence of the work presented. The provision of class learning aims and objectives does not constitute additional support, but over-scaffolding the expected outcome should be avoided.Teachers need to be able to identify independent work to moderators, and clarify the degree of support a pupil has received.

Ensuring children have the best opportunities to reach their potential in writing - advice from Nottingham’s moderators:

Cover several text types / different forms of writing with a balance of fiction and non-fiction:

- recounts (letter / diary / newspaper report)

- promotional leaflets / persuasive reports (e.g. school prospectus,

guide to Nottingham or a place visited)

- story openings and narrative poetry

- instructions / explanations

- narratives that move through time periods

- non-chronological reports (e.g. about a made-up creature)

- biographies (researched by the children)

Use quality texts as models

Future moderation workshop dates

KS1 moderation workshop: Wednesday 1st April, 1pm-4pm at the

DoubleTree Hotel (Y2 teachers – reading, writing and mathematics)

KS2 moderation workshop: Thursday 2nd April, 1pm-4pm at the

DoubleTree Hotel (Y6 teachers – writing)

Lower KS2 moderation workshop: Thursday 23rd April, 1pm-4pm at

the DoubleTree Hotel (Y4 teachers – writing and mathematics)

To book places via Eventbrite, please visit our website:

bit.ly/Primary TL

Primary Teaching & Learning: bit.ly/PrimaryTL

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© Copyright Primary Teaching and Learning, Nottingham City Council 2020

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ks2 moderation event january 2020 - nottingham schools€¦ · writing effectively (with cohesion)...

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