Stage 3 Writing: Explanation

Term: Weeks: 1 – 10

Stage Statement (extract)
Students who have achieved Stage 3 have a sound basic knowledge of how to use English. This enables them to experiment with their talking, listening, reading and writing on different topics for an increasing range of purposes and a variety of audiences.
Students structure their written texts coherently according to the social purpose of the text type. They write well-structured sentences and use a variety of grammatical features effectively. They try to adjust their writing to meet readers’ needs and plan, review and proofread their writing. They can construct texts for different purposes and audiences, using computer technology. They spell most common words accurately and use a variety of strategies to spell less common words. They consistently use correct punctuation and write in a fluent, legible style.
Social Purpose
Explanations tell how and why things occur in scientific and technical fields.
Structure
Explanations are organised to include:
ê  an identifying statement about what is to be explained — this stage is the ‘statement of phenomenon’.
ê  a series of events known as the ‘explanation sequence’ — the events may be related according to time or cause or according to both relationships;
ê  a ‘concluding statement’ (this stage is optional).
Explanations may include visual images, eg flow charts and diagrams, which need to be carefully examined.
Outcomes:
WS 3.9
WS 3.10
WS 3.11
WS 3.12
WS 3.13
WS 3.14 / Indicators:
• writes explanations that are sequential, causal
• demonstrates the importance of being well informed on a topic when writing, doing extra research if necessary, especially if the purpose is to explain events in a plausible way
• considers an audience’s likely knowledge of a topic and provides helpful explanations or definitions, eg glossary
• records information from at least one source before writing an explanation
• chooses appropriate graphics by using diagrams, charts, maps, graphs, illustrations where relevant to text.
ESL Scales Reading and Writing
ESL Scales levels: Reading and Responding, Writing 1, 2
ê  Scribe the students’ explanations of the sequenced diagrams or model a simple text and select words (content words and a connective) to make into a cloze etc.
ê  Point out essential reading instructions (sequence, order, highlight, cut and paste) so that students can complete written tasks independently.
ESL Scales levels: Reading and Responding, Writing 3, 4, 5
ê  Highlight causal and time conjunctions in simple model texts and practise substituting different conjunctions.
ê  Provide pairs of connected ideas in the topic area and have students write them into sentences using a variety of connectives. (Encourage students to move from conjunctions they know such as ‘then’ to ‘as a result’ or ‘therefore’.)
ê  Provide cloze passages that focus on synonyms that are associated more with the written than spoken form, eg form (make), connect (join), provide (give).
ê  Collate written exercises and flow charts in the topic area in students’ books and around the room so that students may refer to and reuse them when they are contributing to a joint construction.
ê  Do not change the topic area if you want to develop a student’s ability to write an independent explanation, eg ‘How Mount St Helens erupted’ written as a joint construction could become a model for an independent construction on ‘How Krakatoa erupted’.
ê  Subject-specific vocabulary is not simply a matter of substituting students’ need to have some expertise in an area before writing an explanation.
ê  Available texts will often be too difficult for students to comprehend themselves. Guided reading in small groups assists students to develop knowledge of the field and to assist students to move from everyday language to more technical language.
ê  Often texts can be rewritten to provide suitable reading material in which new vocabulary can be controlled.
ESL Scales levels: Reading and Responding, Writing 6, 7
ê  Building field knowledge is still essential, particularly as the topics become more technical. Many topics will not lend themselves to direct observation, eg How cyclones occur. Therefore, it is crucial for ESL students to make links between or among events (sequenced according to chronology, factors occurring simultaneously, consequential etc).
ê  Provide opportunities to practise the writing of complex sentences. This might include combining two simple sentences into one complex sentence.
ê  Have students match the technical terminology with its definition, matching verbs that have been turned into ‘things’, eg eruption, air pollution, with their more congruent forms (The volcano erupts; The air is polluted with smoke that comes from factories).
ê  Show examples of how cause and effect can be expressed by words other than conjunctions, eg the effect (noun), this causes (verb), as a result (prepositional phrase).
Content – Early Stage 3
WS3.9
WS3.11
WS3.10
WS3.11
WS3.12 / Producing Texts• participate in frequent joint and independent activities to construct a wide range of literary and factual texts
• consolidate skills in locating resources and accessing information in preparation for writing
• produce a variety of texts, using a range of technology, for different audiences
• produce texts with attention to design, layout and graphics
Skills and Strategies• proofread their own texts for meaning, spelling and punctuation
• use a variety of spelling resources and strategies to spell unfamiliar words
• use correct structure, grammar and punctuation when producing texts
• use variety of references to assist writing and editing
• develop fluent NSW Foundation Style handwriting
• experiment with computer technology to produce different texts. / WS3.13
WS3.14 / Context and Text • structure activities so that students write a variety of texts for different purposes and audiences across a range of topics
• provide opportunities for students to reflect, analyse and evaluate their own writing and that of others
Language Structures and Features• model the editing of writing for consistency of point of view, cohesive structure and appropriate use of language for the intended audience
• assist students to identify the techniques used in argumentative and persuasive texts to influence the reader, and apply these to writing where appropriate
• model ways of providing specific and constructive comments about their own writing and the writing of others during peer conferencing sessions
• discuss with students how cohesive texts are constructed
• model how to change the theme of a clause and discuss the effects of such changes, linking change in theme to the use of active and passive verbs
• design activities for students to recognise how grammar is used in constructing effective texts.
Content – Later Stage 3
WS3.9
WS3.10
WS3.11
WS3.12
WS3.12 / Producing Texts• produce well-planned, coherent, extended texts by applying knowledge about the writing process, eg researching, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, structuring paragraphs
• write and creatively manipulate a range of text types to more sophisticated levels, eg researched historical recounts, detailed descriptions, sustained arguments and discussions with evidence, responses to artworks, multimedia projects
• relate to audiences through subtle use of language, eg humour, modality, irony
• write texts that deal with more complex and detailed subject matter to high levels of technicality and abstraction
• combine various channels of communication in multimedia texts, eg poetry, dramatic performance, business letters, diagrams, illustrations
Skills and Strategies• gain control over a comprehensive range of grammatical features and punctuation that contribute to the purpose, meaning and clarity of texts
• apply knowledge of spelling conventions and strategies to ensure a high level of spelling accuracy
• experiment with personal handwriting style to enhance fluency, speed, legibility and appeal
• consolidate computer skills when using a range of computer software and applications, eg tables, borders and graphics, word processors, authoring software, web pages. / WS3.13
WS3.14 / Context and Text • model how to reflect on written texts in order to enhance the quality of their own writing, eg use of organisational patterns to influence readers, use of literary devices to enhance stories and poems, techniques for taking into account the interests and needs of audiences, strategies for selecting and working with a range of topics
• teach students to reflect critically on the effectiveness of their own writing, eg how entertaining their stories are, whether their explanations are clear, how easy it is to retrieve information from their information reports
Language Structures and Features• initiate discussions about the structure, grammatical features and conventions in written texts with the view to students applying this knowledge in their own writing, eg the use of dependent clauses to add detail, the use of adjectives and adjectival clauses to build character in narratives, how the elements of a clause are ordered to facilitate the flow of the text, how effective punctuation enhances readability.
Grammar Focus
ê  Using action verbs to make meanings about cause, eg cause, form, set off. This usage is more common in well-written explanations than are conjunctions such as because, so etc.
ê  Building extensive technical word families, word chains about the topic.
ê  Focusing on how technical words are introduced to ‘sum up’ a description, eg The point where the shockwaves reach the surface is called the epicentre.
ê  Using complex sentences to build event sequences.
ê  Using the passive voice to manipulate choice of theme, eg Earthquakes are caused by movements of the earth’s plates.
Grammar Terminology
Students at this stage should be using terms such as:
2 word chain
2 complex sentence
2 passive voice
2 theme of clause.
Teaching and Learning Experiences
Lesson 1:
• Revise social purpose of explanation and the stages that achieve the social purpose.
• Jointly construct a glossary of technical terms relating to a current topic, to use when jointly or independently constructing written explanations.
• Ask students to consider who would read/write explanations on a current unit of work to highlight the social purpose of explanations, eg water cycle — farmers, weather forecasters, water supply organisations.
Lesson 2:
• Use flow chart pro formas to assist students to organise information in preparation for writing an explanation.
• Focus on the purpose of explanations — to tell how or why something occurs — by providing a list of titles on similar topics that reflect a range of text types, eg Explanation — How Earthquakes Occur; Information Report — Earthquakes.
Lesson 3:
• View a video or television program that includes an explanation, eg How clouds are formed. Ask students to note carefully the types of visual text used, and how they assist in conveying meaning. Often simulations or moving parts are used to demonstrate. Discuss how this information could be conveyed in written form.
Lesson 4:
• Use a word processor to improve the layout of a written explanation through the use of tables, graphs and diagrams to support the written text. / Date
Lesson 5:
• Provide students with a research guide to help gather and select information from a variety of sources. Headings could include Phenomenon, Event 1, Event 2 etc.
• Consider visual features when writing an explanation that will assist audience understanding of the phenomenon, eg separate paragraphs for each section, use of bold or italics to highlight technical terms, including diagrams for each stage.
• Include mini explanations within other texts when appropriate, eg paragraph on life cycle in an animal/insect report.
Lesson 6:
• Identify verbs that have been changed into nouns in sample explanations, eg condense, condensation, transmit, transmission. Investigate how this change allows a much greater range of meanings in sentences. Practise matching verbs with nouns, and then rewriting sample sentences.
Lesson 7:
• Consider jointly constructing more difficult sections of an explanation within a current unit of work and ask students to independently construct the easier sections, eg jointly construct events with complex causes, students independently construct more simple events.

Assessment

ê  Anecdotal Observations
ê  Deskgrid
ê  Tagged Worksample: Lesson / Evaluation

Ó Teachers Educational Software Solutions Pty. Ltd. 2003 Page 1 Ó Board of Studies NSW 1998