3
Zoomframes
After careful reading of a text, ask pupils to
slide a ‘zoomframe’ over it (this can be created
by cutting a small square in a large piece of
paper). Pupilsmust explainwhy thewords
that are framed are important to the text.
Alternatively, youmight encourage a little
grammar revision by asking themtodefine the
word and / or explainwhat type ofword it is.
4
Mission
accomplished
Before they showyou their writtenwork, get
children to highlight areaswhere they think
they have reallymet the objective and areas
where they already think they could do better
next time. Thiswill encourage the valuable
habit of proof-reading andmight even lead to
some reflective revisions before submission.
5
Whatdid I just say?
If, whilst circulating, you chat to a child about
her work, ask her to try summarising in her
ownwordswhat you have said to her – either
orally or inwritten formnext to her work.
This not only reassures you that the pupil has
listened to and engagedwith your feedback, it
also requires her to reviewand condense that
feedback into useful action points.
6
Mixandmatch
Give half the class excerpts of pupils’ written
work and the other half teachers’ summative
comments (or the formative feedback stamps
/ symbols you usually use). Ask pupils to
circulate, comparing the itemthey are holding
with that of each classmate they speak to,
8
TEACH READING & WRITING
C
ontrary to the perception ofmany
children, we teachers know that
reading andwriting is not just
for ‘English’ or ‘Literacy lessons’.
Both skills are golden tickets to
success across the curriculum. Even in the
absence of thewrittenword, there is no
lesson inwhich language is not important. In
fact, poor literacy skills can underpin some of
the biggest problems that face us teachers:
frustrated behaviour, non-completion of
work, lowself-esteem, poor attendance and,
ultimately, poor results. So howdowemake
sure children are developing their reading,
writing or language skills in every lesson –
regardless of the subject or topic?
To help in thismonumental mission,
here are 18 ofmy favouriteways to boost
literacy skillswherever you are andwhatever
you’re teaching.
1
Blackoutpens
After reading a text, have pupils prepare
a creative summary by selectingwords or
sections to black out, leaving just 30words
showing (a blackmarker penworkswell). Then
ask themto go back toworkwith their ‘black-
out pens’ so that the page is summarised in
just 10words. Whichwordwould they choose
if they had to summarise the text by leaving
only oneword showing?
2
Textdetectives
In pairs, pupils read a given text. Pupil A
chooses oneword, sentence or paragraph
and Pupil Bmust ask yes or no questions to
ascertainwhichword, sentence or section
Pupil A has chosen. This involves very close
study of a text.
THEBASICS
BOOSTING
If teachingEnglish is restricted to set hours in the
day, you’remissing a trick. Here are18ways to
enhance reading andwriting skills in any lesson...
looking carefully for links between the items.
They can be encouraged to spot similar
features / ideas / information /mistakes in the
samples of pupils’ work – aswell as tomatch
up those sampleswithwhat they feel tobe the
most relevant piece of teacher feedback.
7
Writinggalleries
Create a reading andwriting gallery by
placing different samples of pupils’ first
drafts around the roomand asking pupils to
circulate, making additions/ suggestions/
alterations/ corrections at each post. You
might even get themto take notes like serious
mini art critics! This is an interestingway to
explore the idea that a piece of work can
always be appreciated aswell as improved or
enhanced in someway.
8
Problemwords
After reading a text in any subject, invite
pupils to highlight anywords that they
do not fully understand. Thesewords can
then be discussed as a class or researched
independently.
9
Break itdown
Present longer texts to pupils in a
series of small sections to prevent pupils
fromfeeling over-faced and to allow themto
assimilate the informationmore effectively.
10
Sorted
Help pupils tomake sense of
written information or narratives
by asking themto physically
sequence a fragmented or
disordered text.
ISABELLAWALLACE
is an author, visiting lecturer and former teacher
