Longhill Literacy: Teach Them to Communicate Like An Expert

1. LonghillLiteracy: Teach Them to Communicate Like An Expert • Key terms and vocabulary are explored with students to ensure that they recognise and understand them. Where relevant, they are related to similar words or the root from which they are derived. • Particular features of key terms are identified and students are helped with strategies for remembering how to spell them or why they might be capitalised (e.g. ‘Parliament’ in history or citizenship). • Students are reminded of important core skills – for example how to skim a text to extract the main elements of its content quickly or to scan a text for information about a key word or topic? • Expectations are shared before students begin a task – for example on the conventions of layout in a formal letter or on the main features of writing persuasively. • The importance of accuracy in spoken or written language is regularly reinforced– for example, emphasising the need for correct sentence punctuation in one-sentence answers or correcting ‘we was…’ in students’ speech. • Occasions when it is important to use standard English or when other registers or dialects may be used – for example, in a formal examination answer and when recreating dialogue as part of narrative writing, are clearly identified for students. • Students are supported with key elements of literacy throughout the lesson. For example, spelling, grammar or punctuation issues are discussed as the teacher looks at work around the class. • Marking supports key literacy points. For example, key subject terms are always checked for correct spelling and ‘themed’ sentence punctuation is always corrected? Understand the significance of exploratory talk Model good talk – eg connectives Re-think questioning – ‘why & how’, thinking time, and no-hands-up Consciously vary student groupings • Have subject-specific dictionaries in subject rooms • Create word banks – written on strips, displayed on word wall • Make word and definition cards – useful for starters and plenaries • Create interactive glossaries – page of key words stuck in book. Definitions added by pupil during unit. • Keyword crosswords/wordsearches • Create word-cluster posters – to link common roots e.g. equi/equa, graph • Create mnemonics • Create calligram posters – the meaning of a word is visually represented • Use icons alongside words – ‘comic sans’ font recommended • Play word games (on mini-whiteboards) - hangman, dominoes, finding words in words Basics for developing talk Literacy Markscheme Consistent approaches to supporting students’ literacy development. (Ofsted’s expected classroom practice.) Basics for developing reading A suggested sequence for teaching writing Ten Strategies for Key Words Basics for developing writing Note Making Strategies Spelling Strategies Teach reading – scanning, skimming, analysis Read aloud and model the use of strategies to aid comprehension of the text (see over) Teach key vocabulary Demystify spelling Teach research strategies Demonstrate writing Teach composition & planning Allow oral rehearsal Short & long sentences Connectives • Establish clear aims • Provide example(s) • Explore the features of the text • Define the conventions • Demonstrate how it is written • Compose together • Scaffold the first attempts • Self, peer and/or teacher assess • Action students writing independently • Self, peer and/or teacher assess • Draw out the key learning features • Give note-making frames e.g. cause/effect, similarity/difference, spider diagrams, pyramid diagrams, tree diagrams • Use text-marking - students highlight topic sentences, number key points, delete unhelpful information • Give students key questions or sub-headings to structure note making • Students convert text into a diagram or label a diagram • Students write points on cards which are later sorted or sequenced e.g. for/against • Students reduce text to 5 main points or 5 words/phrases • Use grids with headings KWL (Know already, Want to know, have Learnt), QUAD (Question, Answer, Detail source) or The 6 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How) • Emphasise common ‘roots’ of words • Identify if ‘rules’ can be used (see students’ literacy mat for ideas.) • Encourage use of dictionaries/word banks etc. • Encourage use of: look, cover, write, check strategy. • Utilise ‘never heard the word grids’ etc.

2. LonghillLiteracy: Teach Them to Communicate Like An Expert • See images • Hear a reading voice • Predict what will happen next • Speculate • Ask questions, tease at puzzles • Pass comments • Feel • Empathise • Rationalise what is happening • Reread • Reinterpret • Interpret patterns • Relate to own experience/knowledge • Pass judgements - likes, dislikes • * Modelling and discussing these behaviours benefits all students Listening Triads- groups of three; a talker, a questioner and a recorder who reports back. Envoys - after a task, one person from each group visits another group to share ideas, then reports back to the original group. Snowball - pairs discuss or brainstorm then double up to fours, which then double up to eight, leading to a whole-class debate. Rainbow Groups - after a separate group task, students are regrouped by colour, to make new groups comprising someone from each old group. Jigsaw - before a task, 'home' groups allocate a section to each member. New 'expert' groups then form for each section. Finally, 'home' groups reform and share findings. • Create a context - provide a 'warm-up' activity such as a lesson starter involving brainstorming, key words or prediction • Glossaries - to explain difficult and new technical vocabulary • Collaborative work - pooling ideas helps with confidence • Shared Reading - where the passage is read on the OHP by the whole class. The teacher can annotate the OHT. • DARTS "directed activities relating to texts" can make a difficult passage more accessible • Modelling - teacher discusses and demonstrates the reading strategies that could be used • Opportunities to read similar texts Organising Group Talk Reading Strategies Supporting Listening What do Good Readers Do? Supporting Reading of More Challenging Texts DARTs – Activities which encourage close reading Continuous reading Uninterrupted reading of an extended piece of text e.g. novel Close reading Careful study reading, which usually includes pausing to think or look back e.g. making notes from a text book Skimming Glancing quickly through the passage to get the gist of it e.g. first reading of a new passage Scanning Searching for a particular piece of information e.g. using an index Supporting weaker readers What are we reading for? Which strategy do we need to use? How do we do this? What do we do with our eyes? What sort of information are we looking for? Watch me model what I do as I read this. Reconstruction Activities Cloze- filling the gap with a missing word or phrase. Sequencing - reconstructing a text that has been cut into chunks. Table completion – filling in cells of a table with pieces of text or devising row and column headings for a table where the cells are already completed Diagram completion – either adding labels or completing a partially finished diagramusing the text. Analysis Activities Text marking - underlining, annotating or numbering text to show sequence. Text restructuring - reading and then remodelling the information in another format e.g. flow charts, diagrams, venn diagrams, grids, lists, maps, charts, concept maps or rewriting in another genre. Text labelling/segmenting – students break text into meaning or information units and label or annotate these segments • Play an extract as a prediction activity - helps to cue students in to the task and activate prior knowledge • Provide a focus or hook for listening e.g. a specific question for each group • Give students a format for recording information e.g. diagram, flow chart, note making frame (increases retention dramatically) • Students could: identify a limited number of key words or phrases; list 3 major points and 3 minor points; respond physically when they hear key ideas e.g. hands-up • Plan group activities where students are required to feed back and listen to each other • Before a task, model listening and note making • Provide a glossary if necessary • Break up the listening into chunks and gradually increase the complexity and demands of tasks to build up listening stamina