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Expected time frame: 1-2 lessons
These learning activities are designed to share language learning outcomes with students, to find out what they already know and to activate prior knowledge to enhance comprehension. The pre-reading activities build background knowledge about the historical context and what an idiom is and facilitate the use of prediction. It is important to be explicit about the purpose of each task with students.
Ensuring learners know the content and language learning outcomes
Finding out about learners’ prior knowledge
Classroom resources
Spelling City: This US site is designed to help children improve their spelling skills. It uses both visual and auditory (a human voice) input to improve retention. Teachers and parents can enter and save their own spelling lists that students can use to play games. The use of this site requires a paid subscription.
Professional readings
Combining dictogloss and cooperative learning to promote language learning (PDF)
Generation 1.5 students and college writing: Linda Harklau’s 2003 article discusses some of the special writing needs of generation 1.5 students (so called because they share the characteristics of both first- and second-generation immigrants).
Looking for quality in student writing: this article gives suggestions for analysing the good things a writer does. Learning to see the things students can do so we can teach them to do the things they can't. Levels 1 to 8.
An Approach to Factual Writing: Wray and Lewis on text types and writing frames, with clear explanations and exemplifications.
Sentence Combining: 2004 report on the role sentence combining can play in improving writing quality (The Institute of Education, University of London).
Knapp, P. and Watkins, M. (1994). Context–Text–Grammar: Teaching the Genres and Grammar of SchoolWriting in Infant and Primary Classrooms: This resource provides a detailed discussion of the concepts involved in learning about language, including functional grammar based on the genres of school writing.
Knapp, P. and Watkins, M. (2005). Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing: This resource examines how the three aspects of language (genre, text and grammar) can be used as resources in teaching and assessing writing.
An approach to scaffolding children's non-fiction writing: the use of writing frames (David Wray and Maureen Lewis)
Students’ ability to understand a written text is affected by how much prior knowledge they have about that subject. One of the simplest ways to help your students comprehend a more challenging text is by activating their prior knowledge.
As well as using prior knowledge activities routinely when introducing a next text or writing task, it is important that teachers:
Effective Literacy Practice in Years 5-8 has a useful section on prior knowledge that is just as relevant for secondary teachers.
Some activities that are useful for activating students’ prior knowledge:
Consider what you can do to help your students:
In Aneeta’s science class, students are encouraged to survey organisational features of text and think about their prior knowledge before closely reading any new text. She displays this poster in her room to remind students:
Click image to enlarge
Download the following Word document and create your own Skim and Predict poster.
skim and predict (Word 28KB)
Teaching literacy in a way that is responsive to the diversity in our classrooms has the most profound effect on our learners. Strong school–whānau relationships, culturally responsive classrooms, and the deliberate use of effective teaching strategies can help Pasifika learners achieve success.
The Pasifika effective teacher pedagogical practices
from Effecting change for Pasifika students (Word 39KB)
There are a range of resources and readings to help us begin to understand and use appropriate pedagogies that will enhance learning for Pasifika learners, and all learners, when engaging with the English Learning area in The New Zealand Curriculum.
Building relationships with Pasifika students and fanauMalae Aloali’i has taught English at Aorere College for over 10 years and establishes caring relationships with her students and fanau, and this impacts positively on student achievement. In this interview with Togi Lemanu, Malae shares her approaches to academic mentoring.
Strategies at workTeachers use many different strategies to engage their Pasifika learners and help them to achieve. Their strategies work best when they are grounded in responsive and caring relationships with their Pasifika students and the focus on their learning is clear.
‘I Get It Now’ Enhancing pasifika writing achievementA power point presentation from Natalie Cowie and Julie Luxton, examining the writing achievement of secondary Pasifika students, and how it could be improved.
What factors promote and support Pasifika students in reading and writing?This investigation attempts to identify what literacy practices are perceived as contributing to success by Year 6–8 Pasifika students who are achieving at their age levels or above in reading and writing in English. It explores the Pasifika community's perceptions of the relationship between home–school partnerships and success as a literacy learner.
LEAP (Language Enhancing the Achievement of Pasifika)LEAP is a web-based guideline for teachers that supports the learning of bilingual Pasifika students in mainstream (English-medium) classrooms in New Zealand schools.
Pasifika strategy NZQAThe Pasifika Strategy outlines NZQA’s strategic framework to support the aspiration that Pasifika learners become highly skilled and highly qualified, and thereby contribute to their own, and to New Zealand’s, economic and social prosperity.
Effective literacy strategies Pasifika focus (PDF 192KB) Summary of findings from the 2006 professional development project.
Light the Fire is an Auckland based group of teachers and leaders who are passionate about Pasifika ākonga and giving Pasifika students voice and mana within their school.
Each term they meet for a celebration of learning and talanoa about 'Pasifika enjoying success as Pasifika'. Guest speakers and Pasifika students share their educational journeys.
"You can make a difference – one by one – but together we can make a TIDAL wave of difference!"
At the latest Light the Fire hui, guest speaker David Riley shared useful tips on how to engage Pasifika boys in literacy. He also discussed ways that we can be more culturally responsive in our teaching.
Writer: Linda Todd
Achievement standard being assessed
AS90381 (English 2.8):
Achievement criteria
Language learning outcomes
Students will:
In this task, students critically read several fictional and factual texts that deal with immigration issues. Students interpret their significance and value to the research task, noting how visual and verbal features are organised for effect, where appropriate. The class present considered, structured, and coherent reports based on their findings.
This achievement standard is derived from written and oral language achievement objectives up to and including Level 7:
Students are guided through the research process using the contexts of immigration and settlement issues, examining the ways writers and speakers use particular words and expressions and their effects. They also study exemplars researching the language of travel to develop their understandings about the how to present research. Students then select their own language research topics. They develop research questions to guide their research, record relevant information, then write up their findings in report form.
This activity should be worked on in the classroom under teacher supervision as much as possible to ensure authenticity. Once students are working on their own particular topics they may collect information at school and at home but the teacher must check student progress on a regular basis. Teachers may show how the techniques used in exemplars can be applied to the students' own work. Students should write their research reports in class.
Between drafts of the written reports, teachers can advise students that their writing may need further work on ideas, language, structure or accuracy in spelling, punctuation or paragraphing but not correct errors. Students should have access to dictionaries to check their writing. Word processing is acceptable provided it is done under teacher supervision.
Teachers are directed to the Assessment Notes contained in the Achievement Standard 2.8.
Information used in this research report could be incorporated into a related topic to fulfil the requirements of English Achievement Standard 2.2
NB: Teachers using this unit will need to check that it accords with their school assessment policy.
Where local adaptations are made, teachers and schools should ensure that they have:
It is intended that the subject of research should be related to a student's study of language texts. It may include information from primary sources (written, visual or oral) relevant to the topic/issue and secondary sources such as commentaries, articles, reviews etc.
Learning task 1
Learning task 2
Learning task 3
Refer to the instructions in the student assessment activity [Eng/2/8].
As this unit of work is assessed internally, moderation should be through the English department in your school.
Useful websites:
What do you know about your students' language skills? What do you know about their prior knowledge? How will you find out this information? How will it affect your planning?
Watch these examples of ESOL principle 1 in the classroom
Primary level: Year 7 technology focus
Secondary level: Year 10 social studies
Learn how to build a cultural village with your students. A collaborative way for teachers to discover more about their learners and their backgrounds. This resource can be used in a variety of ways, and enables students to share information about their country with classmates.
4-3-2 (or 3, 2, 1)
Ask and answer
Concept star
Consensus round/Reaching a consensus
Finding out tables
Graphic organisers
Listening round/Round-robin
New ideas/Novel ideas
Think, pair, share
Anticipatory reading guides
Before and after vocabulary grids
Differentiated texts
Freeze frame
Interactive cloze
Preview/Simplified text summary
Structured overviews
Creative cloze
Guided writing
Quick writing
Writing frames or text frames
Concept map
Dominoes
Loopy
Matching exercises
Venn Diagrams
Vocabulary jumble
Vocabulary revision activities
Walking words
Word clusters/maps
Activating prior knowledge
Brainstorming: (Mind Tools website)
Concept circles
Consensus: Co-operative learning
Hot potato
KWL chart
Learning grid
RIQ (321)
Adapted from The Arts/Nga Toi Materials Unit - Being Eve
Adaptations for ESOL students: Christine Jones
Year: 8-10
Level: 4-5
Achievement objectives
Level 4
Level 5
An Arrest is short story written by Ambrose Bierce, a celebrated American writer. It has used all the rules for a short story very effectively and in such a way that the reader "knows" a lot about the characters and the story teller's attitudes without long descriptions and comment.
Activity:
A short story has elements of the poem and the letter. Its "rules" have been "set" since the first short stories began to appear in popular magazines in the nineteenth century.
These rules were developed by Edgar Allan Poe who said that a Short Story should:
What is in a short story? A short story is made up of several aspects. These are:
The whole story is given tone by the way the writer chooses to tell the story. This involves both point of view and style.
Review activity: Read An Arrest.
Choose one of the other stories from the Horror Masters - Short Stores website and use these questions to analyse the story.
Why Does a Writer Write a Short Story?
When a writer creates a short story s/he has several possible purposes available. These can be to:
A short story can have more than one purpose which becomes clear to the reader through the tone and style of writing used by the author, as well as what happens.
Activity: Access short stories from one of these websites:
Note: These sites are essentially web-based libraries or archived publications which means that students should be given a list of Short Story writers they could search for on these sites to access possible stories for this exercise.
Each story has been written with a different purpose in mind. Read at least two of the stories carefully. Decide what the writer's purpose was in writing each story. Discuss your reasons and supporting evidence (quotations from the story or references to incidents, characters, aspects of setting, style, in the story.) with your teacher. Build up a list of purposes on the board.
Note: These urls and text references can be used to develop responses for Independent Research (Achievement Standard 3.7) later in this study.
Use this to help you work out your answers.
When you read a short story you should ask yourself:
The answers to these questions will help you understand the story and the writer's reason for writing it.
The Title: Short Story writers will often "load" the title of the story to direct the reader to a particular reading of the content or to focus on a significant image or symbol within the story. For example: Owen Marshall uses the title "Cabernet Sauvingon with my Brother" to draw attention to the wine as a symbol of friendship, of unity between the narrator and his brother.
In doing a close reading of a short story it is worth while examining the relevance of the title to the action and exchanges that occur in the story. Consider the use of irony, symbolism, allusion and humour in the title as you read the story.
The beginning will introduce you to the important aspects of the story such as the setting or background or characters. In An Arrest the writer uses the ideas he associates with the woods at night, to introduce the feeling of fear and suspense, the things he feels the reader should know about and understand.
Check out what authors think about the importance of beginnings at: How to Open Without a Bang
The way the story is developed allows the writer to create a feeling of suspense, or surprise or tension. S/he can do this by choosing a particular way of telling the story. A simple way is by organising the events as they happen... first this... then this... then this... then that... then this... which led to the end.
Another way is by using a rapid series of scenes that shift from place to place or time to time but are still obviously connected.
Some writers tell the story as though the story-teller is playing the events through his mind. This can create a story that does not seem to have any organisation at all. This is a "free association" story..
The Ending As you read short stories you will realise that the ways writers choose to end the stories will have different effects on you.
Some writers will tie up all the strands of the story so that the reader "sees" all that happens to the characters and can recognise the purpose of the story reasonably easily.
Other writers, like Roald Dahl, will end the story with a twist ending that makes you smile or recoil in disgust.
Another way to end a story is to leave the ends loose so that the reader has to provide the ending based on the clues and hints left by the writer throughout the story. This is a favourite ending for TV programmes like The Bill or Casualty.
ACTIVITY Class activity:
EXTENSION: Find, in the library or on the World Wide Web, examples of stories that use the different types of beginnings and different types of endings. Write the title and author of the story and identify the type of beginning and ending. Provide evidence from the story to support your decision.
Telling the story:
Just as the endings of stories can be different and create different effects on a reader, the writer can also change the way s/he chooses to "tell " the story. This is referred to Point of View.
There are several ways that a story can be told. The writer can decide to become a character in the story and tell of the events as they affect him or her. The character could act as a reporter and comment on the action and the way it affects another character or characters.
The character will refer to him or herself as "I" and those involved with them as "we". This is called First Person Narrative.
Another way is to tell the story with the author sitting outside the action and observing everything that goes on. The author will "know" what will and has happened to all the characters. The author will refer to the characters as he, she, her, him, they, their, them. This is called Eye of God narration.
Stories can be developed so that the writer can "free associate" ideas to spin off events and thoughts to create the story. This technique can be used to tell the story as if the character is thinking. Because the story can go in many directions with the ideas linked by the narrator's thoughts this is called the stream of consciousness narration.
Each method will create a different type of story and cause the reader to react in a different way.
ACTIVITY Look back at the stories you found for the previous activity that use different ways of telling a story. How did you react to the different ways the stories were told? Which way of telling the story held your attention? Why? Discuss your answers with your teacher.
Characters and Point of View: The way the writer chooses to tell the story will also change the way the characters appear. Short stories show the reader a particular side of a person or his or her relationship to another person. If you look at Frank Sargeson's you will see the story is told by the boy as though he was talking to he reader.
Because Sargeson has told the story in the first person we are told nothing about what the boy looked like, what his parents looked like or the sort of place they lived in. The boy does not think that that information is important because he "wants to tell" about his concentration on his birthday and how he sees his parents' reactions to his behaviour.
A story told by a writer as an observer will often give more detail and information because the observer-author "knows" more than the author as a character.
ACTIVITY: Re-read Patricia Grace's Flies (Electric City. Penguin 1987). Is the author an observer or is she a character in the story? How do you know?
When the story is told through the character's thoughts (stream of consciousness) the reader builds up a picture of the character and his/her concerns from the many clues that develop from the way her/his mind flicks from idea to idea.
ACTIVITY: Re-read James Joyce's Eveline.
Who is telling the story? How do you know?
The point of view of this story seems to vary from that of an outsider observing Eveline to an impression that Eveline is "sitting outside herself" observing and analysing her behaviours and decisions. How does James Joyce do this? Offer a reason for the choice of such an ambiguous point of view in this short story.
Some of the most important things a writer must remember are the words that are used and the way the characters speak, as these will create the moods and impressions necessary to impact on the reader.
Sargeson's Boy talks as if he was a twelve year old. He talks about the things a twelve year old might do in the language of a twelve year old. For example: "I didn't say anything. Instead I gave one of my famous sniff in sniffs. It was a case of urgent necessity." "Any how years and years went by and one morning I woke up and found I was twelve years old. It was all too marvellous for words." "I felt like telling her it was only twenty-five minutes, but I somehow thought with my father there I'd better not. But it was only the next day that my father heard me answering my mother back, and oh gee if he didn't lay it on."
Patricia Grace tells the story Flies in the way small children would by using short sentences and concentrating on the sounds, smells and actions that fascinate children. For example: "Lizzie and Nereana had just finished their jobs when Macky came with his fly.
The fly was on a short piece of cotton, which was all Macky had been able to find. "Get some of Aunty's cotton," he said, "and I'll give you some of my flies." He showed them the matchbox with the flies in it.""The dunny seat and floor were still wet and stank of jeyes, and the flies, once disturbed, buzzed and circled and zoomed."
A good writer tries to build the story and its characters by making sure that the language used sounds like it would be used by the people involved in the situation being written about. If it doesn't the characters won't seem real to the reader and the story won't "work."
This means that if your character is a woman about your mother's age she would not normally speak in the same way as a school-aged person. The differences between people of varying ages and backgrounds can be shown in a story by the words they use and the way their sentences are constructed.
While style can create and develop characters it can also develop the mood and atmosphere in the story.
ACTIVITY:
Choose three characters and situations from the lists that follow. For each character write a paragraph using words and sentence constructions that suit the person and the situation you place them in. Discuss your responses with your teacher and class.
What sort of sentences and words were used by the writers of the most realistic paragraphs?
If the reader's attention is to be kept the writer will have more than an exciting or interesting story to tell.
The Writer's Tools: Constructing the character using Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs
As you read the short stories in this unit you have seen how a writer develops characters by the way the person speaks or acts in a particular situation. These are techniques that develop from the story. At other times the author tells the reader what the character is like through the sorts of words and their functions in the sentence that the writer decides to use these can be adjectives used to describe the person, verbs used to state an action or adverbs used to change the meanings of the verbs. All of these are important tools in the writer's tool-box which you will use when you write your own short stories. While adjectives describe the characters or setting the actions that occur in the story are told through the verbs and adverbs
Editing the Story:Used well, adjectives, verbs and adverbs build an effective story. When they are over used the story can become difficult to read because the action takes too long to happen. A writer will always try to "tighten the writing up" by economising on his or her use of adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Here is an example where the writer has over written the description of the character. The writer could easily edit these four paragraphs into a less "over-written" style which would be more interesting for the reader as well as getting the action moving a lot faster. Here are the opening two paragraphs edited into a less wordy style:
THE GREAT DAYHe was an awkward kid. His eyes squinted from behind tortoiseshell circles, his ears jutted from his head and his hair, cut with a view to economy, a stubble over his moonlike face. He clutched his school cap in his sweaty hand.
You will notice that the editing has reduced the two paragraphs to one while keeping the description, and the writer's attitude to the character, obvious to the reader.
ACTIVITY:Discuss with your teacher the effectiveness of the rewriting. How has the writer's attitude to the character been kept in the rewritten paragraph? What words showed the author's attitude? Try your hand at editing. Rewrite the third and fourth paragraphs of THE GREAT DAY to reduce the over-written style of the writer.
As you edited the paragraphs you would have noticed that you removed many of the adjectives and adverbs that the writer used to fill out the description of the boy and the courtyard. You have seen that the writer could have created a believable scene which still let the reader know how s/he was to "see" the character. The skill in recognising where a writer has "over-written" by using too many adjectives or adverbs is one that every writer must learn. It is harder to do if it is your own writing that you are editing because you want to protect the words you have written. Professional writers will often use an editor to suggest possible rewrites or alterations to the story so that it arouses the reader's interest and keeps them reading. In the next activity you will analyse a short story to discover how the author uses the different elements to create a situation and tell a story.
Keep these notes beside you as you read Eudora Welty's Why I Live at The P.O.. They will act as a prompt as you do the analysis.
THE ELEMENTS OF THE STORY:
Like the novel and the play, the short story has the elements of:
Each element contributes to the overall effect of the story.
As you read and write a short story you should keep the following questions in mind:
Look at your own short short story... how much detail is supplied by the writer? How much is supplied by the reader? A good short story allows the reader to flesh out the details so that the writer can get on with exploring the situation he or she is concerned with.
Check the use of the pronoun... if it is I, me, my, our, we then the author is a character within the story. The story is being told in the first person. If the pronouns are: he, she, it, hers, his, they, them, their the author is outside of the action and observing as if he/she was God. This is known as the Eye of God technique.
Another way of telling a story is as a series of thoughts, each thought block building up an impression or action. The thoughts can be told in a logical order or as they seemingly occur to the character... at random. This is known as the stream of consciousness technique.
English 3.2: Respond critically to written text(s) studied.
The response will be expected to be in essay form which should include an introduction clearly stating the focus and scope of the argument, a range of points supported by accurate and relevant examples and evidence, and a reasoned conclusion. The essay would be expected to show accurate use and control of writing conventions. Students writing about the short story must refer to at least two of sufficient depth and complexity to enable students to respond at a level that will achieve the standard. The texts would be expected to have significant literary merit/worth/qualities - have an established critical reputation or acclaim.
Brainstorm ideas on why people write. Write down all the different types of writing they know, eg. shopping lists, notes, stories, reports etc. Beside each type of writing give a reason for the writing:
Look at the importance of the reader in all types of writing. Discuss and steer the children towards the idea that writing is communication between the author and the reader.
Write a list of favourite authors and books. Ask why do these authors write, eg. to tell stories, communicate, entertain. Ask what do we know about these authors? Can we find out about them and why they write? Would they have good ideas for helping us as "budding authors"?
The following book has many known New Zealand authors and has comments from the authors. Some are too difficult for the children to understand but others give a good insight into why and how they write, eg. Jennifer Beck, Margaret Mahy, Joy Cowley.
Fitzgibbon Tom, with Spiers Barbara (1993) Beneath Southern Skies New Zealand Children's Book Authors and Illustrators. Ashton Scholastic, Auckland
Getting started with journal writing will need the teacher to explain the difference between a diary and a journal (RTF 178KB) . A diary is a record of actions or what they have done. A journal is a record of reactions. A journal is mostly about the student and as such is writing about themselves, their ideas, thoughts, dreams and opinions.
Explain to the students they can write in prose, poetry or occasionally draw illustrations. As long as the journal entry reflects some thoughts or ideas of the writer it can be included.
Allow students ownership of their journal. It is private between them and the teacher. Sometimes they will have written about things they don't want anyone to read, [including the teacher] and the teacher must respect this. Students will label such writing.
Journals are never marked for spelling, punctuation etc. The teacher can comment by responding in some positive or constructive way to the student's writing eg sympathising with their feelings, suggesting other ideas or just commenting on the mood of the writing.
Provide students opportunities to write in their journals. It could be 10 mins of a writing lesson once a week or for a few minutes each day.
Students will be asked to evaluate their journal writing once or twice a term. From their journals they will select a piece of writing to present in their portfolio. This piece of writing will be reshaped so that it can be shared with others.
After discussing the concept of journal writing give each child a prompts (RTF 20KB) . Teacher models journal writing by recording in their own personal journal. Compare it with a pre-written diary entry. Discuss with the students the difference and discuss how well you, as the writer, have conveyed thoughts and ideas. For the first week attempt journal writing every day, with the teacher modeling and monitoring the student's progress. Students may want to share their journal writing with the class.
Over the next few weeks use journal writing when appropriate and allow the children opportunities to write in their journals in their own time. Use journal prompts for students who have difficulties coming up with ideas.
Refer the children to the revise (RTF 23KB) and self_assessment (RTF 390KB) sheet. Model initial reshaping of a journal entry. Talk aloud your thoughts so the children can see how you change your work.
Discuss changing names to protect the identity of people in the piece of writing. Let them see you work through the process changing your ideas and thoughts several times. Establish the idea that a piece of work full of editing changes is what we aim for, at this stage, not a perfect copy.
Allow latitude in presenting the work as the children try out different methods for publishing, eg. shaped pieces, small books, word processed etc.
When the work is published ask the child to fill in the self-evaluation sheet. Stress the importance of evaluating both the journal and the published piece of writing. The first part of the evaluation is asking the child to examine and analyse their journal writing over a period of time. The second is looking at just one piece of published work. The reason for choosing the portfolio piece will have been modelled first by the teacher. This will give the children ideas and help them choose their first piece.
Teacher Linda Chapman
Year
Level
Duration
Achievement Objective Being Assessed
Learning Outcomes
Processes
Supporting Achievement Objective
Select and adapt these learning activities to best meet the needs of your students, and to fit the time available:
Begin by giving the children an exercise book and a notebook. The exercise book becomes their personal journal and the notebook a "writing ideas" book. Explain that these will be used for the duration of the unit and should be kept close for jotting down ideas.
Publication of a piece of poetic writing, selected from journal entry, that has been drafted, reworked, proof read. Share with students, prior to writing, the assessment key indicators.
assessment (RTF 9KB) self_assessment (RTF 390KB) self_evaluation (RTF 250KB) English Exemplar Project: Personal Experience Writing levels 1-5
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