Visit 2 Activity 4

Writing a diary entry in role (grammar and punctuation focus)  

Context

09:10 – 10:30

All children are sitting in pairs, at tables, in rows, facing the teacher and IWB. All children have a Chromebook on their desk and paper and pencils. Previously, children created ‘lost’ posters for Jakob and Maria. They have been learning to develop a rich vocabulary (focusing on adjectives) to describe a character’s qualities. In this lesson, children will imagine themselves to be a character who enters The Bewitched Forest scene to find Jakob and Maria. The children will explore the interactive scene. The children will write a diary entry in role, based on their first impressions of The Bewitched Forest.

Key activities

Teacher explains that the children will explore The Bewitched Forest using the resource’s interactive scene
Children explore the interactive scene
Teacher sets a task – mindmapping the forest using nouns
Children work in pairs to record nouns and adjectives to describe the forest using a mindmap
Teacher asks children to enter into role and tell a partner how they feel as they enter the forest as the person looking for Jakob and Maria (partner talk)
Teacher introduces the independent writing task
Teacher shares a diary entry she has written on the IWB with noun phrases and adverbs colour coded
The children write independent diary entries on paper

Focused lesson objectives

Use our knowledge of expanded noun phrases to describe The Bewitched Forest effectively.

Digital resources used

Chromebooks (one per child)
Interactive scene: The Bewitched Forest – Inspire Literacy

Pedagogical processes used

Talking children into role (Drama pedagogy)
Partner talk
Engaging children with interactive scene on Chromebook (ways of looking) (visual literacy)
Short burst writing from 'Talk for Writing' pedagogy
Familiarisation with narrative ‘diary’ genre in preparation for extended writing
Oral composition (talking in role) as preparation for writing
Building on prior work with expanded noun phrases
Use of model text
Use of sentence starters
Highlighting of specific grammatical features

Literacy skills involved

Drama – becoming a character and entering the scene
Asking and answering questions about the scene based on 5 senses (comprehension and meaning making)
Scene construction based on dramatic experience and visualisation
Writing in role
Knowledge of narrative recount/ diary genre
Vocabulary selection
Grammatical understanding (expanded noun phrases)
Translation from observing and interacting as ‘participant in the scene’ to positioning inside the narrative

Assessment focus - Enjoyment and engagement

Do the children enjoy navigating interactive scene?
Can children answer questions about the scene, based on their senses, thoughts and feelings?
What are they enjoying about exploring the forest using the Chromebook?

Lesson Commentary

Introduction

Teacher explains that the children will explore ‘The Bewitched Forest’ using the resource’s interactive scene
The teacher uses the IWB to explain today’s focus: to use our knowledge of expanded noun phrases to describe the forest. The children read the focus on the IWB. The teacher explains that the children will use their Chromebook to explore the interactive scene.

The teacher controls what the children can do with the interactive resource – groundrules
The teacher explains resource-specific vocabulary, e.g. icon
The teacher does not allow children to write anything to begin with. She directs their attention to the use of partner talk
Children jiggle and move as they interact with the resource. There is movement and noise, as they engage and talk to each other and interact with the resource
Children speak to the resource, as if they are meeting a person “hello”
Children speak aloud, both to a partner and self-talk, to say what they can see
Children are very close to the resource, hunched over it, watching intently
Children’s gaze switches back and forth from their screen to their partner’s/ other screens
The teacher asks children to close their Chromebooks to regain their attention
The teacher does not need to compete/ battle for children’s attention.
Children in pairs work across both Chromebook to record onto a centrally sited piece of paper, sometimes passing the pen between them
The atmosphere is noisy and industrious
The children switch easily from interacting with the resource to entering into role to narrate their experience in the forest
The IWB is used to refocus the children to the writing task – to write in role
A formal checklist is used to scaffold the writing activity – displayed on the IWB
The diary entry writing task has been scaffolded by the digital resources, over the duration of this lesson – and from before; and is not just scaffolded at the point of writing
Through this activity, children are orchestrating resources that are digital and non-digital. There is a flow across the resources
Throughout this activity, children shift from being inside the story to inside a storymaking world/ community

What do I need to know to be able to do this?

Groundrules for the specific use of digital resources need to be established at the point of need
Resource-related vocabulary may be unfamiliar
The role of peer talk is instrumental, and contributes to the engagement and focus levels
Children interact with digital resources with their whole beings (talking to them, peering at them, jiggling with excitement); noise and movement are to be expected as part of learning
The resource might become a persona in its own right, that engages the children
The teacher is at times central and in control; at other times becomes one of many resources for learning
Time is needed to build to the point where transcription of ideas occurs