literacy for learning grammar for writing 01 june 2015 geoff barton

LITERACY FOR LEARNING

GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

18 April 2023

GEOFF BARTON


THE FORMAT OF THE SESSION

1: The Literacy Club

2: How much grammar do you need to know?

3: Teaching writing

Note:Please heckle!

www.geoffbarton.co.uk


BASICS - I

Think practically - what can I use in my own teaching?


BASICS - II

Visual … auditory … kinaesthetic learning styles

Attention-span

Stress-free

Frequent revision


Basic assumptions

We are part of the literacy club

Literacy today is different from when we were younger

Literacy is taught - it

doesn’t just happenEvery

teacher in English is a teacher OF

English (like it or

not)


We are part of the literacy club

Language oddities

Please don't smoke and live a more healthy life


PSE poster


DOGS MUST BE CARRIED

ON THE ESCALATOR

London Underground


Sign at Suffolk hospital:

Thieves operate in this area


ICI FIBRES

Churchdown parish magazine:

‘would the congregation please note that the

bowl at the back of the church labelled ‘for the sick” is for monetary

donations only’



GUESS THE TEXT TYPE


Proud mum in a million Natalie Brown hugged

her beautiful baby daughter Casey

yesterday and said: “She’s my double miracle.”I FIBRES

1


The blood vessels of the circulatory system,

branching into multitudes of very fine tubes (capillaries),

supply all parts of the muscles and organs with

blood, which carries oxygen and food necessary for life.

2


Ensure that the electrical supply is turned off. Ensure the existing circuit to which the fitting is to be connected has been installed and fused in accordance with current

L.L.L wiring regulations

3


KS3 results show that pupils:

•Are inclined to recount rather than explain

•Are stronger at narrative rather than non-narrative writing

•Have difficulties structuring writing

•Only 75% of sentences are properly demarcated using full stops

TEACHING WRITING


ACTIVELY TEACHING WRITING

TEACHING WRITING


How we’ve often (not) taught writing in the

past …

TEACHING WRITING


Read this opening from the novel “Bleak House” …

Now write your own opening of a novel.

TEACHING WRITING


Write the opening of a story about a major emergency.

‘Some people waste a lot of time and energy attempting difficult challenges, such as flying around the world in a hot-air balloon. Attempts like these are pointless, and benefit nobody.’ Write an article for your local newspaper arguing for or against this statement.

KS3 tests 2000

TEACHING WRITING

To be truth-full I am for the argument about wasting time and money trying to get around the world in a hot air balloon, when this time and money could be spent on working with medical difficulty or people who are homeless.

I feel it is very important to face challenges, as without challenges, the world would be a very dull place. I feel that the earlier challenges appear in a person’s life, the better, as there will undoubtedly be challenges in the workplace or in home life, and so I feel that the people who have faced challenges earlier in life get a head start over people who have not.

Level 4 Level 7

TEACHING WRITING


You don’t teach writing merely through:

•Reading aloud

•Showing models

•Highlighting genre features

•Correcting first drafts

•Lots of bullet-points after the task

Explore conventions

Demonstrate

Share composition

Scaffold

Independent writing

Draw out key learning

DEPENDENCEDEPENDENCE

INDEPENDENCEINDEPENDENCE

TEACHING WRITING


Explore conventions

Demonstrate

Share composition

Scaffold it

Independence

Key learning

Including ‘bad’ models

Show students the process of writing

Correct/change/improve

Make it collaborative

Move from small to larger sections

TEACHING WRITING


The Set-Up

BUILDING SUSPENSE

Write the opening of a mystery story. Set it at a funeral in a wintery churchyard.

√ √ √

TEACHING WRITING Using models

Before ….

It was a bitterly cold day. Everyone was in black. The cars were black too. There were people standing around in a group waiting for the coffin. Crows were flying in the sky. It was really eerie.

bad

TEACHING WRITING Using models

After ….

The undertaker's men were like crows, stiff and black, and the cars were black, lined up beside the path that led to the church; and we, we too were black, as we stood in our pathetic, awkward group waiting for them to lift out the coffin and shoulder it, and for the clergyman to arrange himself; and he was another black crow in his long cloak.

And then the real crows rose suddenly from the trees and from the fields, whirled up like scraps of blackened paper from a bonfire, and circled, caw-caw-ing above our heads. Susan Hill

TEACHING WRITING Useful stuff to teach writing

Writing techniques (fiction):

•Sentence variety for effect: simple, compound, complex*•Multiple narration•Plot - dialogue - description•Location of the speech verb•Direct / indirect speech•Figurative language•Descriptive detail•Point of view

TEACHING WRITING Useful stuff to teach writing

Writing techniques (Non-fiction):

•Topic sentences•Headlines / subheadings / puns•Paragraph organisation - main point … illustration … contrast•Connectives •Tense•Sentence functions: statement, command, question, exclamation•Formality / impersonal tones•Layout features•Building an argument: generalisation, supporting points, statistics, facts, quotation

TEACHING WRITING


•See things as a writer, not just a reader

•Explore texts actively - meddling, rewriting, editing

•Demonstrate the writing process yourself

•Relate everything to effect

•Talk about grammar where it helps, not as an end in itself

•Start with small units of writing … then build up

•Encourage experimentation, risk-taking, creativity

•Enjoy!

GB’s Final Thoughts

And finally …

•You’ll benefit from pupils’ increased confidence, self-esteem and motivation

•You’ll also, in the process, become a better writer yourself



GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

18 April 2023

GEOFF BARTON


literacy for learning grammar for writing 01 june 2015 geoff barton

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