LITERACY FOR LEARNING

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LITERACY FOR LEARNING

• ? GRAMMAR FOR WRITING ?

GEOFF BARTON
15 August 2009
www.geoffbarton.co.uk
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TEACHING WRITING
How weve often (not) taught writing in the past

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TEACHING WRITING
Read this opening from the novel Bleak House
h ghgh ghgh ghght y ftrd rdgxkjahkjh kh sbagzj ws
asuwq wq qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h
u h asuwq wq qu iuu u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji
h u h asuwq wq qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz
loli3ji h u h ghgh ghgh ghght y ftrd rdgxkjahkjh
kh sbagzj ws asuwq wq qu iuu h u g
7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h asuwq wq qu iuu h
u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h asuwq wq qu iuu
h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h ghgh ghgh ghght
y ftrd rdgxkjahkjh kh sbagzj ws asuwq wq qu iuu
h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h asuwq wq qu
iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h asuwq wq
qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h ghgh
ghgh ghght y ftrd rdgxkjahkjh kh sbagzj ws asuwq
wq qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h u h
asuwq wq qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz loli3ji h
u h asuwq wq qu iuu h u g 7aijqm.1xz
loli3ji h u h Now write your own opening of a
novel.

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TEACHING WRITING
KS3 tests 2000
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.

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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 persons 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
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TEACHING WRITING

• You dont 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
DEPENDENCE
INDEPENDENCE

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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

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WRITING WITH POWER
Narrative-based writing
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TEACHING WRITING
The Set-Up
BUILDING SUSPENSE Write the opening of a
mystery story. Set it at a funeral in a wintery
churchyard.
v v v

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TEACHING WRITING
bad
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.
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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
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WRITING WITH POWER
Factual writing 8 practical hints
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Keep it brief. Aim for one side of A4. If you
must write more, provide a summary box of key
points
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
See everything from your readers viewpoint
what will help them to absorb your ideas as
efficiently as possible? Eg bold, boxes,
bullet-points, spacing, sub-headings
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Dont overload your sentences. Several short
sentences will do the job better than an
over-long one
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WRITING WITH POWER
2 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. The sight of some of the capitals most
exclusive business addresses languishing empty
when not long ago they were snapped up as
corporate headquarters brings home the impact
of the recession as financial controllers cut
costs by letting out spare space vacated by staff
who have been made redundant or exiled to less
costly locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
3 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. The sight of some of the capitals most
exclusive business addresses languishing empty
when not long ago they were snapped up as
corporate headquarters brings home the impact
of the recession. Financial controllers cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
4 sentences
Seven of the 33 buildings in St Jamess Square,
in the heart of one of the most expensive parts
of the West End, display For Sale or To Let
signs. Some of the capitals most exclusive
business addresses languish empty, when not long
ago they were snapped up as corporate
headquarters. This brings home the impact of the
recession. Financial controllers have cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
5 sentences
St Jamess Square is in the heart of one of the
most expensive parts of the West End. Seven of
the 33 buildings in display For Sale or To Let
signs. Some of the capitals most exclusive
business addresses languish empty, when not long
ago they were snapped up as corporate
headquarters. This brings home the impact of the
recession. Financial controllers have cut costs
by letting out spare space vacated by staff who
have been made redundant or exiled to less costly
locations.
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Use short sentences at the start and end of
paragraphs they give the reader clarity
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WRITING WITH POWER
Another concern is cost. Whilst there are many
external factors that can affect costs, we do
have some control. We should be putting pressure
on our suppliers to show greater market
awareness, and to engage in a realistic dialogue
with us about fair prices. At the moment there is
often confusion about costs. It is important to
change this.
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Use connectives to signal the direction of your
ideas
Therefore In contrast In summary In addition For
example Similarly
On the other hand Despite this However Also Althou
gh
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WRITING WITH POWER
Firstly . Ddghdghgdhghgdhghghdghghdgh ghg hgh
ghgh ghghg hghg hghg hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh
ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Another strong
idea is hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh
ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g It could also be argued .
hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg
hghgh g A different approach is hghg hghg hghgh
ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Finally
. hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh
ghg hghgh g
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WRITING WITH POWER
Firstly . Ddghdghgdhghgdhghghdghghdgh ghg hgh
ghgh ghghg hghg hghg hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh
ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Another strong
idea is hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh
ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g It could also be argued .
hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg
hghgh g A different approach is hghg hghg hghgh
ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh ghg hghgh g Finally
. hghg hghg hghgh ghgh ghgh ghghg hgh ghgh ghgh
ghg hghgh g
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WRITING WITH POWER
?
Be clear about punctuation ? Full stops to
signal the end of a sentence ? Commas to separate
items in a list or create islands of
words ? Dashes in pairs to create
emphasis ? Colons signal something to
follow ? Semi-colons allow you to link related
ideas they add balance to a sentence
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WRITING WITH POWER
?

• Avoid clichés (ready-made phrases)
• Come on stream (get under way / start)
• A hands-on approach (practical)
• The jury is still out (is not yet decided)
• Meet with (meet)
• Put in place (prepare)
• Take on board (accept)
• User-friendly (easy to use)

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WRITING WITH POWER
?

• Avoid unnecessary repetition (tautology)
• Absolute certainty (certainty)
• Added bonus (bonus)
• Added extra (extra)
• Quite distinct (distinct)
• End result (result)
• Past history (history)
• Really excellent (excellent)
• Revert back (return)

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WRITING WITH POWER
SUMMARY
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TEACHING WRITING
GBs Final Thoughts

• 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!

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GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS

• 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

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GRAMMAR ESSENTIALS

• 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

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LITERACY FOR LEARNING

• ? GRAMMAR FOR WRITING ?

GEOFF BARTON
15 August 2009
www.geoffbarton.co.uk