Writing Strategy: Scaffolding Learning From 0.5
Indicators of Progress
The students use at least some of the following writing strategies:
- Students show an emerging ability to control how they use a pencil or crayon. This includes the appropriate pencil grip. They can trace over and around letters, outlines and shapes, write letters ‘in the air’, in sand, in finger-painting activities, develop the visual–motor coordination skills necessary for writing (for example, eye–hand and hand–arm coordination skills), engage in finger play, and develop body posture and movements that permit them to write more easily.
- Students see oral language being recorded in print; they dictate text, see it written and then say it aloud.
- Students plan what they intend to write by saying it first or drawing a picture or symbols to create a draft.
- Students write what they say, perhaps saying each word as they write it.
- Students read back to others what they have written or believe they have written. They may retell/paraphrase or say the main ideas of the message rather than reading it ‘word for word’.
- Students learn to copy familiar words by saying the word to themselves and then telling themselves some of the letters. They can copy words from the environment or from their favourite books.
- Students articulate some of the sounds and represent them with appropriate symbols.
Teaching Strategies
The learning and teaching approach for writing is illustrated for students responding within the context of Pets.
Organising phase
Students develop their own strategic plans
To plan how they will make their own book about their pets, the students say what they will need and do, and the actions they will take. The book will have some of the photos of the children with their pets. We need to pick out the pictures we will use. We will write about each photo.
Building relevant oral language knowledge
Students are guided to talk about each picture: What does it show? Who is in the pictures? What is the name of the pet? Students in small groups can talk about the order in which the pictures could be arranged in their book.
Writing Planning Book
Students arrange the pictures in order and say what each one shows. They can paste each picture onto one page of a blank book and again say the story. The book with blank pages is their ‘planning book’. The planning book concept can be used in various ways:
- There is one large planning ‘big book’ for the class as whole. All of the class planning can be done in this book. Individual or small group books can be modelled on this.
- Each small group has a planning ‘big book’; individual student books can be modelled on this.
- Individual student planning books; each student has their own planning book.
Students say again what is shown in each picture. They:
- say or dictate words
- see the words written, and
- say the words aloud.
Recording Oral Language in Print
It is important that students see their oral la nguage being recorded in print.
Building relevant word knowledge through Student Word Lists
The words the students say are written for them so they can be organised into word lists. Each group of students can be given four word lists, one with the types of pets, one with the different colours, one with the name of each pet and one with the name of each student. These can be on individual word cards or ‘stick-ons’ so that they can be moved around.
The learning and teaching approach for writing is illustrated for students responding within the context of Pets.
Composing phase
Transcribing Text
They read each sentence again and if they are satisfied with the sentences, they can then re-write the sentences on paper with horizontal lines appropriately placed for the students of this grade level to write (24 mm dotted thirds for prep students ). The students do this as follows:
- They are given another set of pictures identical to those in the planning book. They decide how they will arrange these .
- They link each picture with the matching picture in the planning book. They read the sentence for each picture in the planning book and then write this sentence by copying as much of it as necessary.
Approximating letters and spelling patterns
- They are shown a picture from the Pets book, hear the matching sentence dictated and then write it, approximating to the spelling patterns.
The learning and teaching approach for writing is illustrated for students responding within the context of Pets.
Revising phase
Checking for meaning
Students reread what they have written and check whether:
- it makes sense
- it says what they want to say.
In small groups they read what they have written to others.