Writing

In Term Two we are cross-grouping children from rooms 7 and 8 to better cater for individual needs, and to promote diversity.

Steph Campbell's focus will be to teach children how to write Narratives, using Fables. Below is some information that will be helpful to children and their families.

It comes directly from English On-line.

Narrative

Checklist – Narrative (RTF 32KB) (RTF)

Purpose

The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions eg soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved.

Types of narrative

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

Characters with defined personalities/identities.
Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

Structure

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation: (introduction) in which the characters, setting and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? when? where? eg. Mr Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.

Complication or problem: The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).

Resolution: There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

To help students plan for writing of narratives, model, focusing on:

Plot: What is going to happen?
Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
Characterisation: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?

Language

Action verbs: Action verbs provide interest to the writing. For example, instead ofThe old woman was in his way try The old woman barred his path. Instead of She laughed try She cackled.
Written in the first person (I, we) or the third person (he, she, they).
Usually past tense.
Connectives,linking words to do with time.
Specific nouns: Strong nouns have more specific meanings, eg. oak as opposed totree.
Active nouns: Make nouns actually do something, eg. It was raining could becomeRain splashed down or There was a large cabinet in the lounge could become A large cabinet seemed to fill the lounge.
Careful use of adjectives and adverbs: Writing needs judicious use of adjectives and adverbs to bring it alive, qualify the action and provide description and information for the reader.
Use of the senses: Where appropriate, the senses can be used to describe and develop the experiences, setting and character:
- What does it smell like?
- What can be heard?
- What can be seen - details?
- What does it taste like?
- What does it feel like?
Imagery
- Simile: A direct comparison, using like or as or as though, eg. The sea looked as rumpled as a blue quilted dressing gown. Or The wind wrapped me up like a cloak.
- Metaphor: An indirect or hidden comparison, eg. She has a heart of stone or He is a stubborn mule or The man barked out the instructions.
- Onomatopoeia: A suggestion of sound through words, eg. crackle, splat, ooze, squish, boom, eg. The tyres whir on the road. The pitter-patter of soft rain. The mud oozed and squished through my toes.
- Personification: Giving nonliving things (inanimate) living characteristics, eg. The steel beam clenched its muscles. Clouds limped across the sky. The pebbles on the path were grey with grief.
Rhetorical Questions: Often the author asks the audience questions, knowing of course there will be no direct answer. This is a way of involving the reader in the story at the outset, eg. Have you ever built a tree hut?
Variety in sentence beginnings. There are a several ways to do this eg by using:
- Participles: "Jumping with joy I ran home to tell mum my good news."
- Adverbs: "Silently the cat crept toward the bird"
- Adjectives: "Brilliant sunlight shone through the window"
- Nouns: "Thunder claps filled the air"
- Adverbial Phrases: "Along the street walked the girl as if she had not a care in the world."
- Conversations/Dialogue: these may be used as an opener. This may be done through a series of short or one-word sentences or as one long complex sentence.
Show, Don't Tell: Students have heard the rule "show, don't tell" but this principle is often difficult for some writers to master.
Personal Voice: It may be described as writing which is honest and convincing. The author is able to 'put the reader there'. The writer invests something of him/her self in the writing. The writing makes an impact on the reader. It reaches out and touches the reader. A connection is made.

Andrea Piters' focus will be to teach children how to write Information Reports. Below is some information that will be helpful to children and their families.
The first comes from the Jenny Eather - Writing Fun website, and the second comes directly from English On-line.

Reports

Checklist-reports (RTF 23KB) (PDF)

"Reports can be straightforward recounts of events, but many of them are more than this. They may contain accounts and descriptions, but they often do more than describe a thing, event or situation. Some reports state a problem and suggest a solution. Some argue a case for or against a particular option, supporting their case with evidence and making a recommendation."

(The Learner as a Reader, Learning Media NZ:P 129)

Purpose

The purpose of a report is to describe and classify information. Reports have a logical sequence of facts that are stated without any personal involvement from the writer.

Informative reports are written about living things like plants and animals and non-living things like cars or oceans. An information report is used when we talk and write about, eg. Bikes. (When writing a description we only talk/write about one specific thing, eg. My Bike).

Features

Structure

Reports usually consist of the following:

an opening statement. (The Antarctic is a large continent at the South Pole; Possums are nocturnal animals that were introduced to New Zealand from Australia.)
a series of facts about various aspects of the subject eg where possums live, what they eat, problems they cause, etc. These facts are grouped into paragraphs and each paragraph has a topic sentence.
diagrams, photographs, illustrations and maps may be used to enhance the text
reports don't usually have an "ending", although sometimes the detailed information is rounded off by some general statement about the topic.

Language

Nouns and noun phrases are used rather than personal pronouns. The use of personal pronouns is limited.
Most reports are written in the present tense.
Some reports use technical or scientific terms.
Linking verbs are used, eg. is, are, has, have, belong to, to give coherence.
Uses some action verbs (climb, eat).
Descriptive language is used that is factual rather than imaginative eg colour, shape, size, body parts, habits, behaviours, functions, uses.

Below are four examples of writing that have been annotated to describe the features the student has included.

Example 1: An explanation of a natural phenomenon. Level 3 - the end of year 6.