literacy impact! geoff barton november 20, 2015 literacy across the curriculum: maintaining the...
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LITERACY IMPACT!
Geoff Barton
April 20, 2023
All resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.ukAll resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.uk
Literacy Across the Curriculum:
Maintaining the Momentum
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1 Where are we with “literacy” & the Strategy?
2 Evaluating your literacy strategy: what impact have
you made so far, and how do you know?
3 What are the essentials for colleagues …
•In reading?
•In writing?
•In spelling?
•In grammatical knowledge?
… and how will you achieve it?
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2 strands …
LITERACY YOUR ROLE
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By 3pm you should …
•Be clearer about your own role
•Know the priorities for your school
•Have learnt some useful literacy knowledge
•Be happier, wiser, and re-invigorated
L.O.
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SECTION 1:
Where the heck are we?
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The story so far …
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•An inclusive education system within a culture of high expectations •The centrality of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum •The infusion of learning skills across the curriculum •The promotion of assessment for learning •Expanding the teacher’s range of teaching strategies and techniques
•No child left behind•Reinforcing the basics•Enriching the learning experience•Making every child special•Making learning an enjoyable experience
AI
MS
English Review 2000-05
October 2005: Key findings
English is one of the best taught subjects in both primary and secondary schools.
October 2005: Key findings
Standards of writing have improved as a result of guidance from the national strategies. However, although pupils’ understanding of the features of different text types has improved, some teachers give too little thought to ensuring that pupils fully consider the audience, purpose and content for their writing. Schools also need to consider how to develop continuity in teaching and assessing writing.
October 2005: Key findings
• Schools do not always seem to understand the importance of pupils’ talk in developing both reading and writing. • Myhill and Fisher quote research which argues that ‘spoken language forms a constraint, a ceiling not only on the ability to comprehend but also on the ability to write, beyond which literacy cannot progress’. Too many teachers appear to have forgotten that speech ‘supports and propels writing forward’. • Pupils do not improve writing solely by doing more of it; good quality writing benefits from focused discussion that gives pupils a chance to talk through ideas before writing and to respond to friends’ suggestions.
October 2005: Key findings
• The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), published in 2003, found that, although the reading skills of 10 year old pupils in England compared well with those of pupils in other countries, they read less frequently for pleasure and were less interested in reading than those elsewhere. • An NFER reading survey (2003), conducted by Marian Sainsbury, concluded that children’s enjoyment of reading had declined significantly in recent years. • A Nestlé/MORI report highlighted the existence of a small core of children who do not read at all, described as an ‘underclass’ of non-readers, together with cycles of non-reading ‘where teenagers from families where parents are not readers will almost always be less likely to be enthusiastic readers themselves
October 2005: Key findings
The role of teaching assistants was described in the report as ‘increasingly effective’. Many of them are responsible for teaching the intervention programmes and this work has improved in quality as a result of improvements in their specialist knowledge.
October 2005: Key findings
The Strategy has improved some teachers’ understanding of the importance of pupils’ literacy in developing their subject knowledge and to some effective teaching, especially in writing and the use of subject-specific vocabulary. Despite this, weaknesses remain, including:
• the stalling of developments as senior management teams focus on other initiatives• lack of robust measures to evaluate the impact of developments across a range of subjects• a focus on writing at the expense of reading, speaking and listening.
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From To Departmental strategies Whole-school strategy Departmental development School improvement National launch Local consolidation /
embedding Directed training Selected training and support
Key principles of Literacy Across the Curriculum
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• Good literacy skills are a key factor in raising standards across all subjects
• Language is the main medium we use for teaching, learning and developing thinking, so it is at the heart of teaching and learning
• Literacy is best taught as part of the subject, not as an add-on
• All teachers need to give explicit attention to the literacy needed in their subject.
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• Literacy skills are taught consistently and systematically across the curriculum
• Expectation of standards of accuracy and presentation are similar in all classrooms
• Teachers are equipped to deal with literacy issues in their subject both generically and specifically
• The same strategies are used across the school: the teaching sequence for writing; active reading strategies; planning speaking and listening for learning
• Teachers use the same terminology to describe language.
Consistency in teaching literacy is achieved when …
• Senior managers are actively involved in the planning and monitoring
• Audits and action planning are rigorous
• Monitoring focuses on a range of approaches, e.g. classroom observation, work scrutiny as well as formal tests
• Time is given to training, its dissemination and embedding
• Schools work to identified priorities.
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Ofsted suggests literacy across the curriculum is good when …
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Literacy strategy: The next phase
Self-evaluation:
So where are you up to in your school?
NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
0 3 5
Literacy strategy: The next phase
Headteacher
Your role
Senco
Teachers
Teaching assistants
Governors
NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
0 3 5
Literacy strategy: The next phase
Key player Progress rating Priority
Head
You
SENCO
Teachers
Teaching assistants
Governors
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
HeadteachersIn the most successful schools, headteachers and deputy headteachers have:_ had direct personal involvement in the implementation of the Literacy andNumeracy Strategies;_ worked in partnership with local schools to share good practice_ given strong support for the literacy and mathematics coordinators including,where possible, providing non-contact time;_ worked with coordinators to establish curriculum targets;_ monitored directly (with colleagues in senior management teams in largerschools) the teaching of literacy and mathematics to gain an overview of strengthsand weaknesses, to identify and address the continuing professional developmentneeds of colleagues and to review the school’s success inachieving curriculum targets set.
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
Literacy and Mathematics Coordinators:_ supporting teachers in setting and focusing on a realistic number of curriculumtargets;_ leading school-based training on how to judge and support progress through theeffective use of plenaries in the literacy hour and daily mathematics lesson;_ working with colleagues on a shared understanding of progression in writing, inthe application of reading skills, in mental and written calculation strategies and inproblem solving;_ making clearer to parents school policies on writing and calculation.
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
SENCOs:_ supporting teachers build clear curriculum targets into any additional supportprovided to individuals and groups;_ ensuring targets in individual and group plans link closely to the objectives in theliteracy and mathematics Frameworks for teaching;_ tracking the progress of children with SEN in reading, writing, mental andwritten calculation and problem solving;_ showing parents key aspects of what their children are being taught andassociated resources that support children in their learning, such as writing on acomputer screen and the use of empty number lines.
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
Teachers:_ talking with children about both the teacher’s and child’s assessment of how wellcurriculum targets are being met;_ including in their planning key questions that will be included in lessons;_ explaining to children the objectives for individual lessons and the expectationsof their progress over each half-term;_ ensuring that homework provided is self-explanatory to parents.
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
Teaching assistants:_ attending training on supporting children with particular potential barriers toachievement and providing this support in school, including running ‘catch-up’programmes;_ providing feedback to teachers on specific misunderstandings or strengthschildren demonstrate;_ joining discussions with teachers about expectations of children in different agegroups;_ targeting for additional support children who have difficulties completinghomework.
Literacy strategy: The next phase
0 3 5NO PROGRESS
GOOD PROGRESS
Governors:_ working with the headteacher to set challenging performance targets;_ sampling the progress of a few particular pupils and comparing it with theprogress expected nationally;_ monitoring and reviewing the impact of policies to ensure progression in writing,the application of reading skills, mental and written calculation strategies andproblem solving;_ supporting staff by taking opportunities to talk with parents about the importanceof homework and how they can help their own children.
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KS3 IMPACT!
•What have been the successes in your own school?
•What do you need to do next?
Talking Point
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SECTION 2:
(re)Motivating the key players?
Focus relentlessly on T&L
“Schools are places where the pupils go to watch the teachers working” (John
West-Burnham)
“For many years, attendance at school has been required (for children and for teachers) while learning at
school has been optional.” (Stoll, Fink & East)
‘Standards are raised ONLY by changes which are put into direct effect by
teachers and pupils in classrooms’
Black and Wiliam,
‘Inside the Black Box’
Key players
Strategy manager Working party
Headteacher
Governors
Teaching assistants Subject
leadersStudents!
Librarian
Key players
Strategy manager
Focus, tailor, customise
See as professional development rather than delivery
Differentiate training
Emphasise monitoring more than initiatives
Use pupil surveys for learning & teaching
Reading Writing Speaking & listening Use layout and language to make texts accessible –
eg white space, typographical features,
summaries, bullets, short paragraphs
Be clear and explicit about the conventions
of the writing you expect from students – eg audience, purpose,
layout, key words and phrases, level of
formality
Using a variety of groupings for structured
talk – pairs, same-sex, friendship, triads, ability
groups
Using a range of strategies to support students’
reading – eg reading aloud, key words and glossaries,
word banks, display, paired reading, talking about texts
before answering
Providing assessment criteria and models of appropriate text types
Setting objectives for talk and providing language
models – eg level of formality, key words and
phrases
Spelling – marking no more than 3-5 key
spellings per work, writing the correct spelling in the
margin with the error identified; students putting these into spelling pages in
the middle of exercise books; using starters /
word games / mnemonics / display / rules / words
within words to support students’ spelling
Using shared composition to show students how to write
Providing alternatives to traditional Q&A
approaches – eg open questions, thinking time, big questions, no-hands, paired consultation time,
dealing with answers, prompts, answer starters
Essential literacy rooted in professional development
An example …
Headteacher
Must be actively involved as head TEACHER
Eg monitoring books, breakfast with students, feedback to staff
Must be seen in lessons
Must be reined in to prioritise
Librarian
Key part in improving literacy
Include in training
Part of curriculum meetings
Library should embody good practice - eg key words, guidance on retrieving information, visual excitement
Active training for students, breaking down subject barriers
Get a library commitment from every team
Then sample to monitor it
Governors
Visit library, get in classrooms, talk to students
Clearly signal the “literacy” focus
Emphasise s/he’s discussing consistency
Sample of students and feedback
Part of faculty reviews on (say) how we teach writing
Working party
Maintain or disband?
Less doing and more evaluating - questionnaires, looking at handouts, working around rooms, talking to students
Asking questions: “What do teachers here do that helps you to understand long texts better?”
Work sampling
Creating a critical mass
Students
Tell us how we’re doing
Build into school council
Small groups work with faculty teams to guide and evaluate
Audit rooms for key words, etc
Teaching Assistants
Make them literacy experts
Let them lead training
Make their monitoring role explicit
Publish their feedback
Subject leaders
Help them to identify the 3 bits of literacy that will have the biggest impact
Prioritise one per term or year
Join their meetings at start and end of process
Help them to keep it simple
Provide models and sample texts
Evaluate
Build literacy into their team’s performance management
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1. Don’t call it literacy - call it good learning & teaching, or writing, or reading
2. Build it into lesson observation sheets
3. Build it into performance management
4. Keep it in the public eye
5. Emphasise increased student motivation
6. Talk to your Head about core skills for all teachers
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7 Show before & after models
8 Don’t focus on grammar knowledge needed by staff
9 Show it’s part of a whole-school strategy
10 Celebrate every small-scale success
11 Quote students’ feedback
12 Make it fun! ….
13 Make it non-negotiable
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KS3 IMPACT!
•What have been the successes in your own school?
•What do you need to do next?
Talking Point
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SECTION 3:
Evaluating and planning
(“We should measure what we value, not value what we measure” John
MacBeath)
Since September …
1 (low/poor) 2 3 4 (high/good)
1 How would you rate the performance of our computer
system?
2 2
18 32
56 46
24 20
2 How helpful has the ICT Support Team been?
2 3
6 12
37 38
55 47
3 How well have we managed cover?
0 2
30 13
45 50
25 35
4 How would you rate student behaviour?
2 3
11 9
78 78
9 10
5 How visible has the leadership team been?
7 12
29 23
46 43
18 22
6 How would you rate Geoff Barton’s leadership?
0 5 15
66 46
29 39
Staff …
7 Has a member of the leadership team visited your tutor group?
86 79
14 21
8 Has a member of the leadership team visited one of your lessons?
59 64
41 36
9 Are expectations on uniform clear?
91 87
9 13
10 Are our expectations about behaviour clear?
93 92
7 8
11 Do you find Monday staff briefings useful?
97 94
3 6
12 Do you find the Barton Bulletin useful?
96
4
13 Do you find the weekly bulletin useful?
98 2
14 Do you feel well informed about things that are happening i n school?
98 79
2 21
15 Do you agree about doing mock exams in classrooms next year?
76 24
Yes No
TUTOR GROUP: Do all students have coats off?
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
Are students wearing proper school sweatshirt/polo shirt?
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
Are all students wearing shoes (ie no trainers except with doctors’ notes)?
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
Is jewellery acceptable (ie no facial piercings, no bracelets, only thin metal necklaces)?
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
q Yes q No
Is the tutor …
Talking to students? Signing planners? Taking the register? Doing admin? Other?
1 Do you enjoy being at school?
2 Do you feel proud of being at this school?
3 Do you think behaviour here is good?
4 Are our expectations about behaviour clear?
5 Are our expectations about uniform clear?
6 Do you feel you are treated with respect?
7 Do we give enough praise and encouragement?
Never Rarely Mostly Always 13 25 53 9
Never Rarely Mostly Always 10 18 67 5
Yes No 69 31
Yes No 86 14
Yes No 78 22
Yes No 65 35
Yes No 49 51
Yes No 74 26
Student …
Book sampling…
Name Year / Set
Teacher Cover clean Y N
Homework evident
Y N
Homework marked
Y N
Presentation G F P
Types of writing General comments
Kate Elsom HISTORY
9
WD
Y
Y
Y
G
• Thinking • Notes • Extended
Clearly sequenced, challenging, high-level; exemplary feedback –
positive, precise, personal
Thomas Robotham HISTORY
9
WD
Y
Y
Y
G
• Thinking • Notes • Extended
V different ability of student – but same strong
expectations; tangible progress in student’s
work; supportive, positive marking
Chesney Ward? GEOGRAPHY
9
YE
Y
Y
Y
G
• Notes • Exercises
Good positive feedback; evidence of regular
marking; good range of writing
Scott Simpson GEOGRAPHY
9
HS
Y
Y
Not
consistently
G
• Notes • Exercises • Some extended
work
Clear and well-used overall; good to note some
extend worrk; marking appears to end in late Sept
1 What grade did you get in English? ®English Literature? ®
2 Think of all the subjects you studied last year. Circle one of the numbers below to show where you would place English in a rank order of the subjects you studied
1 (high) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (low) 3 Without naming teachers, please name ONE thing you liked most about English lessons 4 Without naming teachers, please name ONE thing you liked least about them 5 Looking back, how did you feel about your usual group for English for …
(a) getting on with other people? (liked it a lot) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (liked it a little)
(b) learning effectively?
(liked it a lot) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (liked it a little)
Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things which do you enjoy the most?
• Activities – not writing, nothing intimidating. More discussion, needs to be variety (maths now = all from books)
• Biology = copy from board – don’t even read it • VA Ki in French to analyse own learning • If teachers drone on = some of us don’t have the attention span • Unfairness about time given to complete coursework ie some = meet deadlines. Others = 3 months
late so have extra 3 months to work on it • Too many tests in short space of time • Would help if dif ferent subject teachers could talk to each other so we do not get all coursework
assignments at the same time. Of all the ways the teacher gets you to learn about things, which do you enjoy least?
• Vague questions that you don’t know what it means • I think we should be setted for English because it could be more challenging too long on one piece
of work would be helpful, disruptive people were in difficult group • Humanities – go round and round in circles because don’t have specialist teachers. Spend time
trying to manage behaviour
Student perception interviews Year 9 4 girls 4 boys Sets: 1 4 2 3 1 3 2 Rank order: 8 7 3 3 9 3 10 3 What do you like about MFL lessons? What activities do you enjoy? Why?
• Fun, li ke ICT interactive whiteboard, playing games, practical and group work What activities do you not enjoy? Why? What do you find difficult? What would help?
• Tests – some are useful and some are not • Practical lessons are good • Don’t li ke teachers constantly talking in French. I get behind and de-motivated • Don’t li ke having to speak in front of the class – feel under pressure and worried • Panic when asked to speak and don’t know how
How do you learn best? What helps you learn in other lessons?
• Objectives are sometimes set – but doesn’t make any diff erence • I li ke to have some group work and some formal writing • Reinforcing the talking with writing rather than just talking and then moving on and talking
some more • Group work • Games • When behaviour is good. Behaviour is good in languages
How do you feel during MFL lessons? What makes you feel this way?
- Bored – 1 student - Interested – 1 student - Enjoy – 1 student - Tired – 1 student - Don’t know – 4 students
Consensus from interviews - languages is “ok” but not a subject which students would wish to choose to take further. Group consensus that about 30% of the lessons are enjoyable. Most students preferred languages in the Middle School – more practical, games, etc
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KS3 IMPACT!
•What evaluation have you done?
•What could you do next?
Talking Point
Literacy strategy: The next phase
IMPACT!
Literacy strategy: The next phase
Your Head of History wants to focus on whole-school literacy in a Year 9 project on medicine. How might you help …
… in identifying key areas of literacy?
… in planning?
… in training?
… in evaluating impact?
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Literacy Across the Curriculum:
Maintaining the Momentum
Geoff Barton
April 20, 2023
All resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.ukAll resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.uk
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The 13 most important bits of literacy knowledge
needed by effective teachers
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WRITING
Teaching sequenceKey conventions
Connectives Sentence variety
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READING
Subject-specific vocabulary
Approaches to reading
Active research process, not FOFO Using DARTs
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SPELLING
Having 4 approaches Mnemonics
Word webs
Rules
Starters
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WRITING
Teaching sequenceKey conventions
Connectives Sentence variety
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1
Know the writing sequence:1. Establish clear aims
2. Provide examples
3. Explore conventions of the text
4. Define the conventions
5. Demonstrate how it is written
6. Compose together
7. Scaffold first attempts
8. Independent writing
9. Draw out key learning
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2Know the dominant text-types for your subject:
Purpose: What is its purpose? Who is it for? How will it be used?
Text level: Layout? Structure? Sequence?
Sentence level: Viewpoint? Prevailing tense? Active/passive? Sentence types and length? Cohesion devices?
Word level: Stock words and phrases? Specialist vocabulary? Elaborate or plain vocabulary choices?
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3Know your connectives
Adding: and, also, as well as, moreover, too
Cause & effect: because, so, therefore, thus, consequently
Sequencing: next, then, first, finally, meanwhile, before, after
Qualifying: however, although, unless, except, if, as long as, apart from, yet
Emphasising: above all, in particular, especially, significantly, indeed, notably
Illustrating: for example, such as, for instance, as revealed by, in the case of
Comparing: equally, in the same way, similarly, likewise, as with, like
Contrasting: whereas, instead of, alternatively, otherwise, unlike, on the other hand
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4Encourage sentence variety
1. Start with an -ing verb (Reaching 60 these days is ..)
2. Start with an -ed verb (Frustrated by ….)
3. Start with an adverb (Well-done chicken leads to …)
4. Start with a preposition (Within the city limits you will …)
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5
Students must see you writing
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So …
What have you done?
What are you going to do?
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READING
Subject-specific vocabulary
Approaches to reading
Active research process, not FOFO Using DARTs
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Subject-specific vocabulary:
•Identifying
•Playing with context
•Actively exploring
•Linking to spelling
6
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Approaches to reading:
• Scanning
• Skimming
• Continuous reading
• Close reading
• Research skills, not FOFO
7
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Using DARTs:
•Cloze
•Diagram completion
•Disordered text
•Prediction
8
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
CHRONOLOGICAL
Versus
NON- CHRONOLOGICAL
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Fiction is more personal. Non-fiction has fewer agents:
• Holidays were taken at resorts
• During the 17th century roads became straighter
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
Children’s fiction tends to be chronological.
Fiction becomes easier to read; non-fiction
presents difficulties all the way through
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
Non-fiction texts rely on linguistic signposts - moreover, despite therefore, on the other hand, however.
Learners who are unfamiliar with these will not read with the same predictive power as they can with fiction
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
Non-fiction tends to have more interrupting constructions:
The agouti, a nervous 20-inch rodent from South America, can leap twenty feet from a sitting position
Asteroids are lumps of rock and metal whose paths round the sun lie mainly between Jupiter and Mars
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
Fiction uses more active verbs.
Non-fiction relies more on the copula (“Oxygen is a gas”) and use of the passive:
Some plastics are made by …
rather than
We make plastics by …
LITERACY FOR LEARNING
PREDICTION FUN
Brian Moore, Cold Heaven
The wooden seats of the little pedal boat were angled so that Marie looked up at the sky. There were no clouds. In the
vastness above her a gull calligraphed its flight. Marie and Alex pedalled in unison, the revolving paddles making a
slapping sound against the waves as the pedal boat treadmilled away from the beach, passing through ranks of bathers to move into the deeper, more solitary waters of the
Baie des Anges. Marie slackened her efforts but Alex continued determinedly, steering the pedalo straight out into
the Mediterranean.
1
‘Let’s not go too far,’ she said.
‘I want to get away from the crowd. I’m going to swim.’
It was like him to have some plan of his own, to translate idleness into activity even in these few days of vacation. She now noted his every
fault. It was as though, having decided to leave him, she had withdrawn his credit. She looked back at the sweep of hotels along the
Promenade des Anglais. Today was the day she had hoped to tell him. She had planned to announce it at breakfast and leave, first for New
York, then on to Los Angeles to join Daniel. But at breakfast she lacked all courage. Now, with half the day gone, she decided to postpone it
until tomorrow.
2
Far out from shore, the paddles stopped. The pedalo rocked on its twin pontoons as Alex eased himself up from his seat. He handed her his
sunglasses. ‘This should do,’ he said and, rocking the boat even more, dived into the ultramarine waters. She watched him surface. He called out: ‘Just follow along, okay?’ He was not a good swimmer, but thrashed about in an energetic, erratic freestyle. Marie began to pedal again, her hand on the tiller, steering the little boat so that she followed close. Watching him,
she knew he could not keep up this pace for long. She saw his flailing arms and for a moment thought of those arms hitting her. He had never hit her. He was not the sort of man who would hit you. He would be hurt, and cold,
and possibly vindictive. But he was not violent.
3
She heard a motorboat, the sound becoming louder. She looked
back but did not see a boat behind her. Then she looked to the right where Alex was swimming and saw a big boat with an outboard
motor coming right at them, coming very fast.
4
Of course they see us, she thought, alarmed, and then as though she were watching a film, as though this were happening to
someone else, she saw there was a man in the motorboat, a young man wearing a green shirt; he was not at the tiller, he was standing in the middle of the boat with his back to her and as she watched he bent down and picked up a child who had fallen on the floorboards.
‘Hey?’ she called. ‘Hey?’ for he must turn around, the motorboat was coming right at Alex, right at her. But the man in the boat did not
hear. He carried the child across to the far side of the boat; the boat was only yards away now.
5
‘Alex,’ she called. ‘Alex, look out.’ But Alex flailed on and then the prow of the motorboat, slicing up water like a knife, hit Alex with a sickening thump, went over him and smashed into the pontoons of
the little pedal boat, upending it, and she found herself in the water, going under, coming up. She looked and saw the motorboat churning off, the pedal boat hanging from its prow like a tangle of branches. She heard the motorboat engine cut to silence, then
start up again as the boat veered around in a semicircle and came back to her. Alex?
6
She looked: saw his body near her just under the water. She swam toward him, breastroke, it was all she knew. He was floating face down, spread-eagle. She caught hold of his wrist and pulled him towards her.
The motorboat came alongside, the man in the green shirt reaching down for her, but, ‘No, no,’ she called and tried to push Alex toward him. The
man caught Alex by the hair of his head and pulled him up, she pushing, Alex falling back twice into the water, before the man, with a great effort,
lifted him like a sack across the side of the boat, tugging and heaving until Alex disappeared into the boat. The man shouted, ‘Un instant,
madame, un instant’ and reappeared, putting a little steel ladder over the side. She climbed up onto the motorboat as the man went out onto the
prow to disentangle the wreckage of the pedalo.
7
A small child was sitting at the back of the boat, staring at Alex’s body, which lay face-down on the floorboards. She went to Alex and saw blood from a wound, a
gash in the side of his head, blood matting his hair. He was breathing but unconscious. She lifted him and cradled him in her arms, his blood trickling onto her breasts. She saw the boat owner’s bare legs go past her as he went to the
rear of the boat to restart the engine. The child began to bawl but the man leaned over, silenced it with an angry slap, the man turned to her, his face sick with fear.
‘Nous y serons dans un instant,’ he shouted, opening the motor to full throttle. She hugged Alex to her, a rivulet of blood dripping off her forearm onto the
floorboards as the boat raced to the beach.
8
PREDICTION FUN
Brian Moore, Cold Heaven
It was on a bright day of midwinter, in New York. The little girl who eventually became me, but as yet was neither me nor anybody else in particular, but merely a soft anonymous morsel of humanity – this little girl, who bore my name, was going for a walk with her father. The episode is literally the first thing I can remember about her, and therefore I date the birth of her humanity from that day. QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.
Urquhart castle is probably one of the most picturesquely situated castles in the Scottish Highlands. Located 16 miles south-west of Inverness, the castle, one of the largest in Scotland, overlooks much of Loch Ness. Visitors come to stroll through the ruins of the 13th-century castle because Urquhart has earned the reputation of being one of the best spots for sighting Loch Ness’s most famous inhabitant
Jake began to dial the number slowly as he had done every evening at six o’clock ever since his father had passed away. For the next fifteen minutes he settled back to listen to what his mother had done that day
LITERACY IMPACT!QuickTime™ and a
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So …
What have you done?
What are you going to do?
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SPELLING
Having 4 approaches Mnemonics
Word webs
Rules
Starters
Literacy Across the Curriculum
Spelling approaches:
9RULES (eg “writing/written”, “I before e”, using etymology [auto+bio+graphy], f amilies of words [muscle/muscular]) PRACTICAL STRATEGIES (eg mnemonics [necessary = one collar, two sleeves], spelling logs) VISUALS (eg break into syllables [re+mem+ber], words within words [parliament-I A M], look-cover-write-check, break into affixes [dis+satisfied]) SOUND (eg break into sounds [d-i-a-r-y], say it as it sounds [FebRuary])
Literacy Across the Curriculum
Mnemonics Fun
Necessary = never eat chips eat sausage sandwiches and raspberry yoghurtWords within words
enviRONment
buSINess
deFINitely
sePARAte
Got any others?
10
Literacy Across the Curriculum
Sign
Consign
Consignment
Consigned
DesignDesignerDesigningDesignedDesignationDesignateRedesign
Resign
Resignation
Resigning
Resigned
Signature
Signatory
Assign
Assignment
Assignation
Reassign
Signal
Signalling
11
LITERACY IMPACT!QuickTime™ and a
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12
RULES:
I before e
Effect of final ‘e’: hop - hope
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13
Kick-start learning
Don’t aim for false links with main lesson content
Do aim for coherence across starters
Avoid writing
Emphasise collaboration & problem-solving
Avoid the temptation to extend the activity
No Blue Peter badges
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Mr B’s New Year Spelling Frolics
-our words -re endings -able / -ibleendings
-ous endings Single/doubleconsonants
colourhumourrumourarmourf lavour
humorous
centimetrecentretheatre
Availablelikeablesociableconsiderablelaughablesensibleincredibleterriblepossibleresponsible
t rem end ous
enor mouspoisonous
myst eri ous
cont inuousprec ious
f ero cious
del icious
ca ut ious
ambit ious
beginning
ups e t t ing
f org ot t en
commit t eepermittedoccurred
visit ed
reg r e t f ul
developing
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-ible -able
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Homophones
Sound of Music Kylie Beethoven
their therethey’re
too two to
pray prey
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Homophones
Freeze Stand
advice advise
practice practise
effect affect
It’s its
Hard
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Activity
I’ll say some sentences containing homophones. You tell me whether it’s list A or list B.
Make up sentences – eg “The pilot of the aircraft was really rather plain”)
A – stand up B – under tableplain Planeweak Weeksteal Steelmain Manerows Rowsfare Fairbreak Brakesew Sodue Jewwhether whether
LITERACY IMPACT!QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.
So …
What have you done?
What are you going to do?
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
1. If it’s a priority, do something
2. Customise and simplify ruthlessly
3. Identify the essential (simple) skills of reading - eg by asking students
4. Build into school systems of training, observation, performance management
5. Don’t forget reading for pleasure: keep it in the public domain
So ..
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
LITERACY IMPACT!
Have a safe journey home
All resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.ukAll resources can be downloaded at www.geoffbarton.co.uk
Literacy Across the Curriculum:
Maintaining the Momentum