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Teacher support for a P6 student in the pre-writing stage

Brainstorm and suggest useful words/phrases

Style: register and tone

With teacher support, the student can:• use appropriate opening and closing in a complaint letter• give brief ideas• use some useful words relating to noise pollution• write simple sentences

Style: register and tone

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A P6 student’s work—elaborating ideas (a complaint letter)

Style: register and tone

The student can• use a range of sentence patterns to express ideas• provide relevant information and ideas• organize ideas in paragraphs• use a range of vocabulary

use a topic sentence

use ‘which’ to add information about a thing

use ‘because’ to give reasons

give one’s opinion

use ‘when’ to express two things happen at a time

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Progressive development across levels in learning to write

--- e.g. story writing

Story Writing P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6

- able to complete stories by providing words/filling in speech bubbles for pictures/cartoons/comics

- able to complete stories by providing captions with supporting ideas for pictures/cartoons/comics

- able to create a new ending for stories or create stories with the help of picture cues

- able to create short and simple stories basing on a story framework—characters, setting and events

- able to create simple stories basing on a story framework—characters, setting, problem(s), events and resolution(s)

- able to retell familiar stories or create simple stories adding illustrations and making a cover

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P1 student work Writing genre: story - able to complete stories by

providing words/filling in speech bubbles for

pictures/cartoons/comics

Module:• Places and Activities

• Unit:U5 At the beach

Tom is writing a story ‘A lion and a mouse’. Help Tom write the story.

The lion and the mouse

The following words may help you.

positions

senses

sentences

Do not … Please …

I am … I can/cannot …

It is … It can/cannot …

Thank you. Go away. Help!Help!

OK! You are welcome.

see hear smell touch

in on under behind near in front of

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Look at the pictures.What do they say?

1. 2.

3. 4.

5. 6.

…go near…

mice

…behind… … cannot see …

mouse

… on …

mouse

… can smell …

lion I am hungry. I want to eat you.

lion

… …

mouse

… do not eat …

mouse

……

lion … help …

lion

OK! We can help you.

mouse

… … lion

You are welcome.

mouse

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P2 student work Writing genre: story - able to complete stories by

providing captions with supporting ideas for pictures/cartoons/comics

• Module:Using my five senses

• Unit:U4 At the beach

Story writing Kelly is reading a story in the library. Look at the pictures and finish the story with the words below.

swim fly skip

sing play dance

Place:in the sky on the moon on a cloudin the park on a rainbow on a beach

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Using graphic organizer to generate ideas

Using graphic organizer to generate ideas

Can:• produce simple sentences involving repetition and lists• use basic sentence punctuation e.g. comma, full-stop

• use appropriate cohesive device

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P3 student workWriting genre: story

- able to create a new ending for stories or create stories with the

help of picture cues

• ModulePlaces and activities

• UnitsU1 Buying giftsU2 Visiting Hong Kong

Look at the pictures.

shopping centre

mother and Sally

This dress is

beautiful!

mother I want to go to

the toy shop.

Sally

Where’s Mum?

Mum?

Sally ?

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Using a flow chart to show sequence of events

Using a flow chart to show sequence of events

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P4 student workWriting genre: story

- able to create short and simple stories basing on a story framework—characters,

setting and events

• Module:We love Hong Kong

• Units:U3 Promote Hong KongU4 A day in a recreation centre

Using a story framework

Using a story framework

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Students’ perceptions on their own writingA mini-survey was made in June 2008Target group: P5 students (No. of students: 64) P5 students had the following reflections

comparing their performances between their writing at the beginning and at the end of the school year

Studemt change: Add more details to an idea.

39%

45%

5%

2%

9%

no change

get much beter get worse

N.A.

get better

Student change: Have a lot of ideas to write.

36%

57%

0%

2%5% N.A.

get worse

get better

get much better

no change

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Students’ perceptions on their own writingA mini-survey was made in June 2008Target group: P6 students (No. of students: 61) P6 students had the following reflections

comparing their performances between their writing at the beginning and at the end of the school year

Student change: Add more details to an idea.

33%

57%

2%5% 3%

Nil

get much better

get better

get worse

no change

Student change: Have a lot of ideas to write.

52%41%

7% 0%get worseget much better

get better no change

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Students’ reflections: ideas in writing

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Students’ reflections: language use

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Students’ reflections: learning strategies

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Teachers’ reflections on students’ performance in

writing• There has been positive change in some weak students’ attitude

towards and confidence in writing.

• Using the elaboration strategies, average and able students could provide more supporting details to talk about people, things and events.

• The students only took the guided questions/content organizers for references. They had a clear picture on what to describe, explain and express on a familiar topic.

• In group writing, students learnt to exchange/share/ negotiate on the contents, organization, vocabulary and sentence patterns.

• Through progressive practices, students understood the language features of a range of text-types and presented them accurately in the writing tasks.

• School percentage of P6 achieving full marks in content & language were well above the territory-wide percentage.

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Afterthought

Design of the progressive development writing framework

• As the outlines for students’ progressive acquisition of the knowledge and skills in writing

• As teachers’ references and mutual understanding when designing the writing activities

• As the assessment descriptors of the school-based writing curriculum

Shared views EFFORT, PATIENCE and CO-

OPERATION

Design of the progressive development writing framework

• As the outlines for students’ progressive acquisition of the knowledge and skills in writing

• As teachers’ references and mutual understanding when designing the writing activities

• As the assessment descriptors of the school-based writing curriculum

Shared views EFFORT, PATIENCE and CO-

OPERATION

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