New Diary: Guided writing with Reception
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2012 3:55 pm
I am very pleased to have received this message 'out of the blue' and think we shall all benefit from the diary entries. The following entries are not 'my' entries, but I am posting them on behalf of a teacher who has sent them to me via email:
This is the first diary entry:Hi Debbie,
So, this is my next little research project! I am using my time in school usefully to trial some of your ideas. I am currently working with the Reception teacher to develop a weekly 'guided writing' slot - I would really like to see us developing children's ability to write in sentences more quickly - I think often phonics is seen in schools as a 'word' thing.
You have often said this - that the only time they are asked to write in sentences it is about challenging subjects where the code is beyond them, with the result that many children are not secure on sentence structure way up into Key stage 2.
So I am on a mission to use the concepts you designed the 'Simple Sentences' sheets for. I want the children to build stamina from an early stage to write simple, decodable sentences, and have a chance to learn what a sentence is in a task not beyond them.
So far I have done 3 sessions, each about 8 minutes with a group of 4-5 children at a time. They all wrote a sentence and drew a picture, and were very proud of it!
I attach a rough transcript of what I did (I used the Simple Sentences to start me off with ideas, but I used a cat because I had one - I have sent off for some ants!)
I will add more transcripts as I work with slower to learn children, although I am impressed by how many of the class have accomplished this so far...
Guided writing with Reception – Autumn term, week 6
I am working with children who are secure in their knowledge of letter sound correspondences in unit 1 and have many from unit 2. They can all read simple words through blending and are beginning to segment more confidently. Today I am working on building the concept of a sentence. We will be writing the sentence A cat is on a log.
I am aiming for the session to take no more than about 8 minutes.
I show the children my toy cat. I then put the cat on a wooden log.
We are going to write ‘A cat is on a log’. Can you say that sentence all the way through?
I develop the children’s auditory memory by getting them to practise saying it out loud.
Now, we are going to need to remember the code for the sounds to write it, aren’t we?
I show the children the ‘Say the Sounds’ poster for unit 2 and I ask them to find some of the letter/sound correspondences they will need. (NB: not all. I am going for pace.)
Let’s start. A cat is on a log. What’s the first sound we can hear?
I show the children the alphabet card with Aa on it, pointing to the capital.
When we start our writing off we use a capital letter. So we need this letter.
What’s next? A cat is on a log. A…… I wait for the children to supply the next word.
Let’s try to write cat. We need to leave a space because it’s a new word. What sounds can we hear? That’s right, /k/a/t/. Off we go and write it then.
I move the children’s hands gently if necessary so they know where to begin the new word, with a space. I do not point out letters on the ‘Say the Sounds’ sheet unless they seem to be struggling.
Now the next word. A cat is on a log. A cat….wait for the children to say ‘is’
What sounds can we hear? That’s right, /i/z/. This letter is sometimes code for /z/. Point to s.
Let’s leave another space so we know we are writing a new word. I encourage the children to write is correctly – incidental teaching through tricky words.
Look how many words we have written now! What’s next? A cat is on a log. A cat is….
At this point some of the more able children will have understood the task and will be able to complete it independently. I keep an eye on their spacing but shift attention to the ones who still need guidance.
As each child finishes, I show them how to put a full stop at the end.
Now you have finished your sentence! You can read to me what you have written!
Can you draw a picture of the cat on the log? Won’t mummy and Daddy be pleased when you show them your lovely writing! You can read it to them, and they can read it too!
I give the children a photocopy to take home, as part of the excitement is that they can actually read it back!