Writing at Everglade School
Transcript of Writing at Everglade School
WRITING @ EVERGLADE
Expectations for children’s writing
How we help your child to become a better writer.
How you can help your child to become a better writer.
EXPECTATIONS
Our Goal: our students will leave our school as… CAPABLE LEARNERS, EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATORS and RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS
The NZ Curriculum indicates students will move through a series of ‘levels’ in their progress towards becoming competent writers
Students will work on and understand the key characteristics of each level of the Writing Progressions – they will be able to self-reflect, and communicate their ‘next steps’
We recognise and address differentiation in all aspects of writing, and our writing programmes reflect this
EXPECTATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
Children will write daily Children will experience writing different genre At different year levels there are different focuses Writing is not expected to be finished in one session Not everything is published We value the process, not necessarily the end product We encourage children to make changes to writing / to
endeavour to improve the message – to engage with their audience
Children are regularly given an opportunity to share their writing
THE CLASSROOM PROGRAMME
The classroom programme includes: Children being involved in some aspect of writing every day
Language experience activities
Shared Writing – planning and constructing (common text) together
Teacher Modelling
Guided writing sessions – ‘talk for writing’- teacher / group – focus on particular task
Independent Writing
Plenary – opportunity for individuals to share with an audience
Handwriting – taught as a response to identified needs
SMART WORDS – as a response to data analysis – we participate in the Smart Words programme to actively promote children’s knowledge of spelling, grammar and to extend knowledge of vocabulary
KEY IDEAS DR.ALISON DAVIS – EFFECTIVE WRITING
INSTRUCTION
Learning to write is a thinking process
Writers need to be self-reflective
Deliberate, planned and regular instruction of writing is essential
Multiple and varied opportunities are provided to create skilled and confident writers
Engagement and motivation are fundamental to developing effective writers
Skilled writers monitor and regulate their own writing
Quality talk – before, during, and after writing – enhances learning
There are direct links between reading, writing and oral language
Writing is used across the curriculum, to access and record real-life experiences and to write for authentic purposes
Writing development does not happen in isolation
DIFFERENT TYPES OF WRITING (GENRE)
In our programmes across the different year levels we explore different writing ‘genre’
Begin with the simple recount and move through a range of genre for children to use for different writing purposes
Recount
Procedural
Information Report
Narrative
Explanation
Persuasive Argument
HOW YOU CAN HELP ?
Prior knowledge – what the children know – what they bring to their writing
Reading helps promote interest and understanding of the world around them
Reading engages their imagination – picture book
‘Doing things together’– these provide rich experiences for writing Go for a drive – to the Zoo – to the Museum – to the Art Gallery – across the
Harbour Bridge
Walk on the beach – in the park – the Botanic Gardens – the Mall – the city water front
Talk about where you are going – look at maps – timetables – money exchange - clothing