Developing a Writing Programme

Last week an opportunity came up to observe an experienced teacher teach writing in my class.  During the session I learnt about possible ways to structure my writing sessions so that my students could get the best out of the lesson. From observing this lesson I picked out some things that I would like to implement into my own teaching by adapting it to best suit my learners needs. During my writing lessons I picked a topic that the students were interested in and had experience that they could relate to. I then provided them with a short video and some pictures. Afterwards, I used the think, pair and share technique which I found very helpful as it allowed students to discuss and elaborate and share their ideas. I then provided students with a sentence starter (e.g "The bubbles can") and then I wrote the words that the students came up with on the whiteboard. I had the students working in 3 groups based on their writing ability. The two higher writing groups worked independently while I worked with the lower ability group. Last week I also made self monitoring cards for my top group and introduced this as a way of taking ownership for their learning. Another aspect that I have started to add into my writing programme is sharing their work with a buddy/whole class sharing. I have found that this has been really good as a way of self motivating students to complete their work. 

    Self Monitoring Check Card


   

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