WRITING CONVENTIONSP-12Loddon Mallee Region

Our purpose as teachers-

to teach the writer not the writing Lucy McCormick Calkins

Session Outline• What are Writing Conventions• Are they important?• Writing conventions in context of AusVels

frameworks and standards• Delving deeper

Two rows of chairs facing each other.

Sitting opposite

One person moves after each question

What are writing conventions?Why are they important?

What are some concerns about teaching

grammar?

What have you done with writing conventions since last time we met? –staffStudents

Writing provides spelling with its context: without writing spelling has no purpose and no audience (Talk about)

Does texting impact on spelling?

Which forms of punctuation are taught at each year

level?

Talk about the value of teaching efficient keyboarding skills instead of handwriting

What explicit teaching happens in your school on layout?

Talk about something that your school is doing really well with writing conventions.

• How can I use this activity with my staff?

Teaching Writing Conventions

Effective Writers Think about:• What to say and how to say it clearly

• How to write so the reader is interested and engaged

• Real life purposes for writing

• The important role of conventions

Need someone to talk to?• Using grid, network resource

Scope and Sequence Resources being used for Writing Conventions in our Schools

School Di Snowball

Student book

Literacy Frameworks

It is the teacher’s role to know what writing conventions the students have control over and what they need to learn through explicit teaching

Make informed decisions about learning needs of group and individuals

Check data against VELS

Writing conferences and guided writing groups personalise learning

20

GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY

MODELLINGThe teacher

demonstrates and explains the literacy focus being taught. This is achieved by thinking aloud the

mental processes and modelling the

reading, writing, speaking and

listening

The student participates by

actively attending to the demonstrations

SHARINGThe teacher continues

to demonstrate the literacy focus,

encouraging students to contribute ideas

and information

Students contribute ideas and begin to

practice the use of the literacy focus in

whole class situations

GUIDINGThe teacher provides scaffolds for students

to use the literacy focus. Teacher

provides feedback

Students work with help from the teacher and peers to practice the use of the literacy

focus

APPLYINGThe teacher offers

support and encouragement when

necessary

The student works independently to apply the use of

literacy focus

Role of the teacher

Role of the student

Pearson & Gallagher

DEG

REE

OF

CO

NTR

OL

LITERACY ELEMENTS

• Read Aloud

• Shared Reading

• Guided Reading

• Independent Reading

SPEAKING & LISTENING

OBSERVATION&

ASSESSMENT

• Write Aloud

• Shared Writing

• Guided Writing

• Independent Writing

Reading around Grammar• A systematic approach to Grammar Instruction Joan

Berger

• Integrated Word study: Spelling grammar and Meaning in the Language Arts Classroom Marcia Invernizzi et.al

• To Grammar or not to Grammar: that is not the question Weaver et.al Part 1

• Putting conventions into perspective and helping students edit Weaver et.al Part 2

Process for Readings• Form a group of 4• Choose text• Expert group20 minutes to read• What is the text mostly about?• How is Grammar taught in the article? • Implications for different year level teaching?(15 minutes)Home groupShare a synthesis of your expert group discussion(20mins)

Discussion to report back to home group

• What is the text mostly about?• How is Grammar taught in the

article? • Implications for different year

level teaching?

The big question…

What aspects of grammar…enhance and improve student writing and when and how can we best teach them?

Text to self – What will I take back to my school?

How do you take information back to school?

• Talk at table• Report back to whole group• Record on chart

What are the challenges?What could help?

2013 Time to Start Planning• There will be not external driver for Literacy

development beyond 2012

• What will our schools need from a network

Make a list

• Have us for one term• What would you like us to do to support the transition

2013 and Beyond

• History of network?• What could/should happen?• How can we get it to happen?

The future• What do we have now as a collegiate group?• In moving forward what is our goal?• What method/approach will we use?• Resources available to us• How do you picture achieving dynamic equilibrium?

(sustainability)?

After School Sessions• 3/4 at Newham – 22nd August• P-2 at Riddell  - 29th August• 5/8 at Malmsbury – 5th Sept –

probably need to be changed as pending strike!

•FOCUS?????

GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

As we work through these

Think about yourself as a learner – what knowledge you need

Think about a year level each activity could be used for

Think about a text that you know that could be used at different level

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/word_mover/words.01.html

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/multigenre-mapper/

One way of publishing

Activity 1.

Think about yourself as a learner – what knowledge did you need?

What year level this could be used for?

Think about a text that you know that could be used at different level

Activity 2.

Think about yourself as a learner – what knowledge did you need?

What year level this could be used for?

Think about a text that you know that could be used at different level

THE VANISHING GLASS

Chapter 2

Quickly skim the chapter to orient yourself to the text

USING VERB GROUPS TO BRING TO LIFE THE ACTIVITIES IN THE STORY

• Action verbs• Action verbs tell about something a person,

animal, force of nature or thing can do or be

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man‐crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can‐‐but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. "This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.

After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man‐crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can‐‐but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. "Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. "This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.

What next?Think about yourself as a learner – what knowledge did you need

Think about a VELS level this could be used for

Think about a text that you know that could be used at different level

Activity 3

Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.

Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.

Activity 4

Underline some good examples of adverbialsUse excerpt on page 25

Let’s remind ourselves

Think about yourself as a learner – what knowledge did you need

Think about a VELS level this could be used for

Think about a text that you know that could be used at different level

Activity 6

Year 5 Year 7

Resources• ACARA- AustralianCurriculumwww.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Australian_Curriculum_-_English.pdf

• AUSVELS http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/

• LATL First Steps• VCE http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/english/English-ESL-SD-2007.pdf

• VELS- Writing Continuum http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/english/englishcontinuum/writing/default.htm

• Writing Essentials, Regie Routman• Language conventions P-10 planning & teachingDiane Snowball and Faye Bolton• NAPLAN marking guide

Reflect• FEEDBACK- please complete the feedback form

EMBRACE

• One thing I will do tomorrow!

Conferencing Student Writing1.content 2.text structure and sequence 3.sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary4.spelling,handwriting, punctuation

Deb Sukarna