English Textual Concepts: Engaging personally and Connecting

Purpose: This learning module incorporates blended learning where students interact face-to-face as well as in the online forum. It also involves two writing projects where students give and receive feedback using a structured rubric.

This initial activity is designed to engage students in Writing Camp through valuing their prior knowledge and linking to their lifeworlds, particularly about experiences of circuses. They also draw on their prior knowledge of persuasive writing by responding to the mentor text and in their comments where students are valued as active knowledge makers, contributing ideas to our "Live Wires" (years 5-6) learning community.

Teaching Tips:

As students come into the room, get them to log into CGScholar, update their avatars and send a positive message to a peer. Experienced users of CGScholar can support the newbies.

While students are doing this, emphasise the importance of selecting non-racist, sexist or violent images, being safe in online environments, supporting each other and not bullying their peers.

Then invite students to the front of the room to read and respond to the mentor text.

They watch the video to decide on which text is more persuasive.

Note that the written text  has more points and examples. Later when looking at persuasive techniques, note the language of the owner of the Star circus compared to the langauge in the written text. The former is more casual while the latter uses strong modal verbs.

Students can then write comments in the CGScholar discussion forum, referring to some of the points covered in their discussions.

 

English Textual Concepts: Understanding

Purpose: This update focuses initially on exploring the mentor text, a model of a persuasive text, in more depth so that students understand the types of evidence to research for their persuasive texts.

Teaching Tips:

PERSUASIVE TEXT STRUCTURE

The structure of a persuasive texts supports its purpose.

A text is organised into paragraphs following a PEC structure. The length of a paragraph ranges from one sentence to many sentences (e.g. 3-10). 

In the margins, students annotate the structure of the whole text.

Write P for the Point Paragraph, E for the E Paragraphs and C for the C paragraphs. Write an O for the E paragraph that has an opposing opinion. Check to see that each paragraph is doing its job - it should be annotated with an R, Es and Cs!

P  (Point)	Clearly states the opinion of the writer Has 3 main reasons (E1, E2 and E3) Has one opposing reason (EO)
E1 (Evidence)	States reason Gives evidence (examples, anecdotes, quotes, facts/information, statistics)  Concluding sentence
E2 (Evidence)	States reason Gives evidence (examples, anecdotes, quotes, facts/information, statistics) Concluding sentence
E3 (Evidence)	States reason Gives evidence (examples, anecdotes, quotes, facts/information, statistics) Concluding sentence
EO (Evidence - Opposite)	States an opposing reason Gives evidence (examples, anecdotes, quotes, facts/information, statistics) to argue against the reason Concluding sentence - - says why it is not a good reason
C (Conclusion)	Summarises the E1, E2 and E3 reasons Has a concluding statement (e.g., comment on why the topic is important, ask a question, comment on the future, or have a call for action)

There is more information/activities on types of evidence in Update 3 - Persuasive Techniques.

In bainstorming topics, consider:

• environmental issues such as whaling, coal-powered energy, pesticides
• social issues such as poverty, homelessness, child labour, racism, discrimination, bullying
• educational issues such as homework, school uniforms, mobile phones at school
• humorous topics such as birthdays, little brothers/sisters, the colour red, selfies

Persuasive Writing Project

Ban it!

What do you think should be banned? Write a persuasive text where you give reasons and evidence with examples for your opinion. Include persuasive techniques and an image to make your writing even more persuasive and interesting. Write 400-600 words.

In Publisher, start the writing project before the lesson.  Once students have completed the comments in the second update, they can start their projects. They click on the "Work Request" in their Notifications. This will take them to Creator to start a new work.

They should add their title and then create an outline of:

P:

E1:

E2:

E3:

EO:

C:

Encourage students to research to add more to their plan .  

When students start their projects, get them to look around the Toolbar, especially "About this Work" and also the rubric in "Feedback".

They write their persuasive texts gradually over the next two lessons. Include some explicit teaching of text structure and language features in each lesson based on Updates 2 and 3. On day 4, they submit their works for peer review and give feedback. They complete this and revise their works for publication on day 5.

The Live Wires Project is attached to  this Update.

 

Purpose: In this update, the teacher guides students to identify persuasive techniques in the mentor text and then to incorporate at least three techniques in their own texts. 

Teaching Tips

PersuasiveTechnique
Connectives	11
Anecdotes	1
Direct Quotes	1
Statistics	4 (in quote)
Rhetorical Questions	3
Repetition (at end of paragraphs)	1 x 3
Triples	1 x 3
High Modal Words (certainly, definitely, without a doubt)	3
Low Modal Words (might - P and EO)	2
High Modal Words (must, should)	10
Exclamations	3
Emotive Words	15+
Speak directly to reader (You)/Direct command	3 (you) +3 (verbs)
Exaggerations	0
Similes and metaphors	0

Connectives

Firstly, highlight the connectives. Connectives link paragraphs and ideas withing a paragraph.You may have to read parts of the text a couple of times, telling students what to annotate. Look for the comma after the connective.

Types of Evidence:

This activity explores types of evidence - facts/ information, examples, statistics, graphs, anecdotes and quotes (direct only)

1. Examples. Facts and Information

There are examples in E1, E2 and E3. There are never examples in the P and C paragraphs. These examples also provide facts/information.

2. Anecdotes

An anecdote is a short amusing or interesting story or a memory about a real incident or person. They can be used to expand on examples. There is one personal anecdote in E2

As a child I went to animal circuses. I remember feeling excited when I saw lions jumping through fiery hoops and laughing at dogs in human clothes riding on ponies.

3. Quotes  and statistics

There is one direct quote in EO.

A survey by the RSPCA in 2015 found that “68% of Australians are concerned about the use of exotic animals in circuses, including 75% of young adults aged 18-25 years. A similar trend was seen with domesticated animals in circuses with 56% being concerned, including over 68% of young adults.”

LANGUAGE FEATURES

1. Rhetorical Questions

Students highlight the 3 rhetorical questions in P, E1 and E2. All also provide facts/information. Then, students add at least one rhetorical question to their writing project (if they don't already have one).

2. Repetition and Triples

Repetition is a way that you can emphasise a point. Repetition is a word or a phrase used two or more times close together or following a pattern such as the repetition in the C sentence for each E paragraph. Students also find the example of the C paragraph. Then, students  add repetition to their writing projects for emphasis.

3. Exclamations

Exclamations are another persuasive technique to influence the reader by bringing attention or emphasising an idea. There are three. Students add an exclamation mark to their writing projects. Be careful not to overuse them - no more than 6.

5. Emotional Language of Feeling Words

Speakers and writers wanting to persuade us to agree with them often try to engage our emotions. They can do this by including words that carry emotional weight. This can be persuasive because it encourages the reader to respond on an emotional level, rather than considering the facts, or it may subtly affect the way the reader views the topic. Show students the poster and then ask students to find any emotional words in the mentor text.

E1: cruelty, cruel

E2: lonely, isolated, feeling excited, laughing

E3: cruel, suffering, violent, sacrificed

EO: ill-treated, distressed

6. Speak directly to the reader (personal pronouns, especially "you")

Using "you" is persuasive as it involves the reader of the text directly."You" is used in the three rhetorical questions.

7. Direct verbs/Command (also called the imperative)

Used in the conclusion: "Ban....."

8. Modality

Another persuasive technique is modality. Mode means "method" or "the way something is done". Modal verbs are verbs that tell us the mode in which something should be done. Strong modal verbs are should, ought, must need, would, can, have, while low modal verbs are could, may, might.

There are also connectives and adverbs such as definitely, certainly, without a doubt or probably which indicate high and low modality. These words show whether you are certain or unsure about your opinion. To be really persuasive, you need to show certainty and that you really believe in your opinion.

Note that strong and weak modal verbs are mainly used in the EO paragraph. In the EO paragraph, you can make opposing arguments weaker and easier to dismiss with weak modal verbs.

Students circle all the modal verbs, connectives and adverbs such as certainly, definitely, certain, without a doubt. Then, they add some modal verbs to their writing projects.

9. Multi-Pronged Sentences 

Identifying simple, compound and complex sentences can be tedious, although still important to do. While analysing the mentor text, use the idea of multi-pronged sentences to get students to write more varied sentences. If necessary, hand out a new copy of the mentor text. 

Similarly, the tricks that circus animals perform and their living conditions are not experienced by animals in their natural habitats. For example, circus animals are confined in small cages so they have restricted room to move. Animals, particularly large animals such as elephants, lions and tigers that need a lot of space move around, should not be chained up or only be able to shuffle a few steps in their cage. Did you know that an elephant in the wild travels up to 40 kilometers a day and lives in a social group? Chimpanzees and baboons also live in large, social groups in the wild, not in a lonely, isolated cage. As a child I went to animal circuses. I remember feeling excited when I saw lions jumping through fiery hoops and laughing at dogs in human clothes riding on ponies. These tricks that circus animals are forced to do are unnatural behaviors. On the issues of natural behaviours and habitats, animal circuses must be banned.

Firstly, identify an example of each sentence. Then students can focus on another paragraph, highlighting examples with different colours.

Single Pronged Sentences (Simple Sentence - 1 idea, 1 verb)

• As a child I went to animal circuses.

Double Pronged Sentences (Compound Sentences - 2 ideas, 2 verbs and a conjunction (and, or, because, as, if)

• Similarly, the tricks that circus animals perform and their living conditions are not experienced by animals in their natural habitats.
• For example, circus animals are confined in small cages so they have restricted room to move.
• Did you know that an elephant in the wild travels up to 40 kilometers a day and lives in a social group?
• Chimpanzees and baboons also live in large, social groups in the wild, not in a lonely, isolated cage.
• On the issues of natural behaviours and habitats, animal circuses must be banned.

Multi-Pronged Sentences (Complex Sentences - 2+ ideas, 2+ verbs, participles ("ing" words") and relative pronouns (who,when, which/that).

• Animals, particularly large animals such as elephants, lions and tigers that need a lot of space move around, should not be chained up or only be able to shuffle a few steps in their cage.
• I remember feeling excited when I saw lions jumping through fiery hoops and laughing at dogs in human clothes riding on ponies.
• These tricks that circus animals are forced to do are unnatural behaviors

A survey is included for students to revise persuasive techniques further.

Purpose: This update aims to engage students through listening to and responding to a narrative. It enables students to think critically about what they have learnt about narrative and persuasive texts, and how they are the same and different, and developing conceptual understanding of genre - argument and narrative. This supports them to transfer learning from one set of learning activities to another set of learning activities.It also helps students to generate their own ideas for a narrative.

The narrative mentor text is central to learning about narratives.

Teaching Tips:

• Engage students through a prediction based on the five word story - Tanker. Self-doubt. Fatigue. Fog. Strength. of the narrative A New Record.
• After reading the narrative, students discuss their reactions - prompt students to discuss their emotional reaction to the story (identification, empathy, antipathy). 
• Next, students should focus on what makes this narrative a good/great one. Key ideas can then be shared with the whole class by recording ideas on the Venn Diagram. This will enable students to connect what they are learning about narratives to what they already know about persuasive texts. 
• Print out the Venn Diagram (below) template and enlarge to A3. Ideas can be recorded on the A3 sheet as a whole class.
• In completing the Venn Diagram, prompt students to focus on how the author hooks the reader, variety in sentences, description (triples, similes, action verbs and wow words) and dialogue.  Cameron, S. & Dempsey, L. (2013). The Writing Book: A Practical Guide for Teachers. Auckland: S&L publishing, p. 70).

"Inspired by a True Story" Narrative Writing Project

Write a narrative that is inspired by a true story. You don't have to stick to the facts! Create a five word story for your narrative. This is your plan. Write 400-600 words. Include 2 images to add interest to your narrative.

(600-800 words)

• Start the writing project before the lesson. Students can then log into CGScholar and click on the "Work Request" in their Notifications. This will take them to Creator to start their work.

• They should add their five word story and add dot points with more ideas. This becomes their plan. Students should save this plan as a new version. Then they can expand on their dot points in the next version.

• When students start their projects, get them to look around the Toolbar, especially "About this Work" and also the rubric in "Feedback".

• They write their narrative texts gradually over the next three lessons. Include some explicit teaching of text structure and language features in each lesson based on Updates 5 and 6. On day 4, they submit their works for peer review and give feedback. They complete this and revise their works for publication in the fifth lesson.

 

Purpose: Students identify the structure of the narrative of the text they read in the initial activity and use it as a model for their own narratives.

By analysing the mentor text, students develop their understanding of how to hook the reader and introduce the complication and the main character/s.  

Students also start writing orientations based on their Five Word Stories in update 4. They can use these when they start their writing projects. By sharing these in the Community discussion forum, they are seeing other student models of orientations which they can use to improve their own.

Teaching Tips:

In brainstorming a list of words to describe the main characters, point out that there are no words to describe the colour of their hair or their eyes or what they are wearing, but yet the reader can already visualise the characters.

As students are writing, give them verbal feedback on their orientations. Younger students may still fall back into their default ways of opening their narratives such as "Once....." or "My name is ... and I  am going to tell you about...."

A simple strategy is to look for their first complication (typically in their second paragraph) and move it to the narrative opening and then adjust.

Purpose:  As students work on their narratives, they learn more about language and narrative techniques, including description and dialogue. The focus on description through verbs shifts the emphasis away from adjectives.

Teaching Tips:

Print a copy of the mentor text for each student before the lesson and provide highlighters and coloured pencils.​ Work through the following activities gradually, allowing students to incorporate what they have learnt in their writing.

1. Narrative Techniques

Narrative Technique: Description

• Highlight 10 "Wow" words and share them with your partner. Count how many you had that were the same.
• There are two similes in the story. Circle them. Similes create exciting pictures in your mind.

like a deer in headlights

as strong as an ox

Showing, Not Telling

• Verbs and adverbs, adjectives and similes are tools to include description in narrative writing. Verbs are the tools that really do the "heavy lifting" in description!

Triples (Repetition)

• There are 2 triples in the story. Highlight them too. "Wow words," triples and similes can make your writing more exciting and descriptive. Further, the repetition in triples builds lexical cohesion.

Triple 1

What was I doing here? Hadn’t I done enough to prove myself? What if I didn’t make it this time?

Triple 2

There was no wind. The tide was with me. The water was unusually flat.

2. Narrative Technique: Pacing

Note the questions and the short sentences here that build suspense (Will Chloe make it?). Long descriptive passages slow down the pacing.

3. Narrative Technique: ​Dialogue

Focus on the narrative technique of using dialogue as a tool to show character and to advance the sequence of events. Then ask students to look at the dialogue in the handout and work out the punctuation rules - capital letters, speech marks, full stops, commas, and new lines/paragraphs.

Instructions for students:

Look at the dialogue. What are three rules that you notice for writing dialogue? Dialogue is a narrative technique.

4.  Multi-Pronged Sentences (Year 5-6 only)

Again, while analysing the mentor text, use the idea of multi-pronged sentences to get students to write more varied sentences. 

Firstly, identify an example of each sentence and then students find more examples in other paragraphs

The last three hours were long and tedious. My body ached and every stroke was cheered on by my crew. Now I knew I could make it. When I reached the coast of France, I had been swimming for ten hours and 40 minutes. I charged up the beach where it took ten minutes for the swim to be recognised by the officials. I had topped the men’s world record of 34 English Channel swims. Once I was given the okay, I got back into the water and swam to the pilot boat. I just wanted to get back as quickly as possible.

Single Pronged Sentences (Simple Sentence - 1 idea, 1 verb)

I had topped the men’s world record of 34 English Channel swims.

Double Pronged Sentences (Compound Sentences - 2 ideas, 2 verbs and a conjunction (and, or, because, as, so).

The last three hours were long and tedious

My body ached and every stroke was cheered on by my crew.

I just wanted to get back as quickly as possible.

Multi-Pronged Sentences (Complex Sentences - 2+ ideas, 2+ verbs, participles ("ing" words") and relative pronouns (who,when, which/that). See yellow highlighting.

Now I knew that I could make it.

When I reached the coast of France, I had been swimming for ten hours and 40 minutes.

I charged up the beach where it took ten minutes for the swim to be recognised by the officials.

Once I was given the okay, I got back into the water and swam to the pilot boat.

5. Best Written Sentence

Put a double line under what you think is the best written sentence in the story. Explain to your partner why you think it is good.

Purpose: This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing.

Teaching Tips:

• Refer to the Analytics to see how students have performed.