The focus for this term in English is descriptive writing, based around the theme of war stories. Students in my group were given a model text which they had to box up. They needed to identify what was being described in each section – weather, what they could see, smell and hear. As a shared activity, we then created a text map of the model which really helped them to internalise it, and so many of them can now recite it word for word from the text map alone. Using a different battle scene image as a stimulus, we then completed a shared writing piece using the boxed up format and magpie phrases from the original model. Finally, the students moved onto individual writing which they could easily complete using the model, text map and shared writing piece. The attached photos illustrate this process.
By Michelle Hickey, Nurture Teacher
Talk 4 Writing at The John of Gaunt School 