Can junior primary students go beyond sentence writing in English? SKH Lui Ming Choi Memorial Primary School

We all want our students to be able to write fluently in English!

Challenges of our time :TSA Territory-wide System Assessment 2007 Report

Challenges of our time :TSA Territory-wide System Assessment 2007 Report

Problems we face in the school Insufficient input Poor student performance Students were only ‘robots’ following the teachers’ instructions, in which both parties were not aware of the purpose of the writing tasks Writing were merely isolated tasks done after each textbook chapters

Example : A P2 module Key words: honest, helpful, hard- working, funny, polite, rude, tidy and untidy Key structures: __ waters the plants every Friday. __ does not study Use of Simple Present Tense (3rd person singular verbs) Write an invitation card

Our try-out – the writing programme Objectives: Write a coherent paragraph a) content - the basic structure that includes the day, the time, the activities done and the feeling b) Language - Simple Present Tense, days of a week, how to tell the time and action verbs Level: Primary Two Module: My Day

Our plan – an integrated approach Textbook Readers Reading skills training Speaking skills training { INPUT The writing programme Vocabulary & language input

Readers The Busy GiantWinnie and the Cat

Language input (1) Winnie and the Cat Match the pictures with the sentences. Fill in the blanks using the correct words Vocab - Days of a week Pictures on what Winnie fed the cat inthe first week

Language input (2) vocabulary Sentence structures that students would use in their writing Examples from a textbook chapter Key words: get up, brush my teeth, wash my face, go to school, do my homework, have a bath, have a shower, go to bed, have breakfast/lunch/dinner Key structures: What time do you/we/I/they get up? I/We/You/They get up at __ o’clock in the morning/afternoon/night. What time does he/she get up? He/She gets up at ____ in the morning/ afternoon/ night.

Reading skills training (1) Locate specific information Predict the logical development of the story

Reading skills training (2) Read textbook p. 40 and circle the best answers. 1. Who is the teacher of the English class? a. Eddy b. Candy c. Andy d. Cindy 2. Jenny is seven years old. Which class can she join? a. Candy’s craft class b. Computer fun c. Eddy’s English class d. Chess class 3. What can the children do in Candy’s craft class? a. eat candies b. make paper plane c. play with animals d. make paper animals Locate specific information Problem solving

From speaking to sentence making Interviewing skills - Open and close a conversation - Ask questions and give appropriate responses to the questions Sentence making -Recycle the use of 3rd person singular verbs - familiarize students with the sentence structures in the final production Activities

The writing programme – model writing as input 5th May, 2007 On Sunday I have singing lessons at four fifteen in the afternoon. I like singing very much. I sing for two hours. After my singing lesson, I feel very tired so I go home and go to bed. Mr. Smith’s Day 5th May, 2007 On Saturday I go shopping at eight o’ clock in the morning. I go shopping with my mother and sister. I buy some toys so I am very happy. My sister eats an ice cream. It is very yummy! Miss Spooner’s Day Reading input – expose students to coherent texts which carry a simple and clear structure and which they would model on in their own writing When? (day) Main idea Supporting details feelings Main idea Supporting details

The writing programme – introduce the structure of a coherent paragraph Mr Smith’s day Feeling Happy What Time 1. go shopping with my mother and sister 2. buy some toys 3. my sister eats an ice cream (5th May, 2007) 8:00 a.m. Date Saturday

The writing programme – use a mind map to plan their writing Date My day Feeling What 1.__________________________ 2.__________________________ 3.__________________________ Time Same structure with the model writing

The writing programme – use a mind map to plan their writing Date My day Feeling What Tick 1 item. □ 1. visit my grandma / aunt / friends □ 2. go to the park □ 3. have _____________ lessons □ 4.____________________ Time Cater for learner diversity

The writing programme – students write from their plans My day ___________________________________ NOT gap filling NOT just writing isolated sentences NOT merely word substitution

The writing programme – student work Were these coherent paragraphs? My Day

Our reflections Were our P2 students able to come up with a coherent paragraph? My day On Sunday, I have dancing class with my sister at half past three in the afternoon. I go shopping with my family at five in the afternoon. I have drawing class at five thirty in the afternoon. I am very tired. Student work from Class A A coherent paragraph? 3 independent activities done in a day

Coherence can be thought of as how meanings and sequences of ideas relate to each other. Typical examples would be: general > particular; statement > example; problem > solution; question > answer; claim > counter-claim. (< /read_write/about/cohesion_coherence.htm>) Coherence is crucial to effective writing, it is often considered an abstract, elusive, and controversial concept that is difficult to teach and difficult to learn. (Connor, 1990 and Connor and Johns,1990) rethink what text coherence means in a P2 English classroom Peer lesson observation Main idea > supporting details

Change the design of the task in another classroom Students were asked to write on the activities on ONE DAY The ‘scope’ was narrowed down to activities done on ONE DAY in ONE PLACE.

A coherent paragraph? Any changes in the student work? On Sundays, I have a party at four fifty in the morning. I play games and eats cakes. I have Tamama toys, Keroro toys, Giroro toys, Kururu toys and Dororo toys. I feel happy. general (at the party) > specific (activities done in the party)

Our reflection Were our P2 students aware of the basic structure of a coherent paragraph?

What did the teacher do in the video clip? Do you think the students were made aware of the basic structure of a coherent paragraph? Do you think it’s too early in P2 to arouse students’ awareness on text coherence? Discussion

We teach and we learn Teachers have different beliefs, past teaching experience and perception of their students’ abilities Same starting point but different approaches: teacher diversity!

Peer lesson observation enables a better understanding of student learning in the writing process We teach and we learn Reading aloud of the model and shared writing pieces helped students WRITE! Students got the opportunity to revisit the sentence patterns they needed for their own writing.