Quality Teaching Project 1.9 Developing Effective Literacy Strategies A unit of work to explore the grammar features of narrative texts using Onion Tears by Diana Kidd. International Grammar School Stage Two, Year Three Nikki Stewart, Nathalie Julita, Maurissa Cosgrove.
Contents Background Information Information About the Text Main Areas of Focus Unit of Work Student learning outcomes Focus outcomes and indicators Teaching and learning experiences Student assessment Achievement of Outcomes Unit Evaluation
BACKGROUND INFORMATION This unit was motivated and inspired by a small unit that was previously taught to a group of eight gifted and talented students in Year 3. We planned and taught this literacy unit to three Year 3 classes, consisting of 73 children at our school. They consisted of a range of abilities from lower to higher in each class. On the whole we had a large number of independent, fluent readers and a small number of children with some learning difficulties. These consisted of ten children with English as a Second Language, three other children with very weak reading and writing skills, and two children with severe learning difficulties. On the other end of the scale we had a small group in each class of very bright and able readers and writers. These children required further extension into Stage 3 literacy skills. The children all purchased a copy of the novel Onion Tears at the beginning of the term and their motivation for the novel was increased by integrating this literacy unit with the teaching of an HSIE unit on Australia and it s Asian Neighbours, with a major focus on Vietnam. This allowed the children to build a strong knowledge of Vietnam whilst they began reading the novel. This provided them with key clues to the setting of the story. INFORMATION ON TEXT USED Narrative texts have a pattern of events with a problematic or unexpected outcome that entertains or instructs the reader. Onion Tears is a wonderful vehicle for teaching children the purpose, structure and some key grammatical features of Narrative. The novel Onion Tears by Diana Kidd was well described in the initial unit and the following is a direct extract. Onion Tears is about a little girl, Nam Huong, who escapes from the war in Vietnam with her Grandfather on an illegal immigrant boat. Her Grandfather dies on the journey and she is cared for in Australia by a woman who is not a relative. There are two plots written in parallel throughout the text. The first is about Nam Huong s life in Australia. It is about daily events such as; being teased; going to school; not being able to speak; feeling isolated; making friends and finally being accepted. The second plot is revealed through letters that Nam Huong writes back to Vietnam to her little canary and to the clouds and other creatures. In these, the reader finds out about her family, her life prior to the war, leaving Vietnam and the journey to Australia. The story ends with Nam Huong being accepted by her peers but it doesn t resolve the questions of what happened to the rest of her family. The text does not note that the conflict she escapes from is the Vietnam War and as the children are too young to remember this event in history they needed some background information on it.
MAIN AREAS OF FOCUS We had several focuses when planning our literacy unit based on Onion Tears. We wanted it to be Manageable for any classroom teacher Based on the English curriculum Have exciting learning activities To focus on the specific grammar features in the novel Allow for differentiation within the class Cater for a range of learning needs MANAGABILITY Our main focus was to plan a unit based on the same novel that could be picked up by any Year 3 teacher and taught. We wanted it to be a manageable unit for the classroom teacher. In that regard, we planned a six-week unit which was able to be taught in one term of the school year. Our unit was planned so that it could easily be picked up and followed and was realistic in time-management and the number of objectives chosen to be asses GRAMMATICAL FEATURES It focussed on the specific grammar features that were predominant and obvious in the novel Onion Tears and although the children were exposed to a range of learning language features a manageable amount of specific Stage 2 objectives were chosen to be assessed. For lower ability children we revised Key Stage 1 Grammatical Features and for our higher ability children we extended them with some Key Stage 3 Grammatical Features. We taught and evaluated Key Stage 2 Grammatical features to the whole. Stage 1 Grammatical Features (special needs) Review noun, verb, adjective, sentence Building up character descriptions in the orientation Using action verbs to develop complication Stage 2 Grammatical Features Using quoted and reported speech Using action verbs to develop the resolution Using vocabulary specific to topic eg coconuts, paddy field, blossom Grammar Terminology Quoted speech Reported speech Active verb Stage 3 Grammatical Features (extension) Using conjunction and connectives to reorder events eg so, because, consequently Using metaphors, idioms and personification in descriptions eg on pg 14 the trees smiling with pink blossom (personification)
LEARNING STYLES We wanted to cater for a range of learning needs in each class by providing opportunities for children to read the novel independently, in small groups, as a whole class (choral reading), teacher-led reading and using role-play and drama as a means of learning. DIFFERENTIATION We also wanted to provide differentiation in our programme with a lot of teacher modelling of new language and writing skills, for all children but also to allow the lower ability children to copy, alongside independent work. We worked with small groups of lower ability writers to focus them on building up character descriptions in the orientation of their narrative piece, orally constructing their complication and resolution, so they could go away and independently write it. At some stages when teaching language features we allowed the children to work in pairs. We also taught some Stage 3 skills to our top readers and writers, by pulling them out as a small group and providing them with some advanced skills that they could use in their writing eg conjunctions, connectives, personification.
Year 3 Unit : Onion Tears Teachers: Nikki Stewart, Nathalie Julita, Maurissa Cosgrove KLA: English Talking and Listening Reading Writing Links to Other KLAs: HSIE Australia and Its Asian Neighbours Outcomes: Talking and Listening: TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations Reading: RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts RS2.7 Discusses how writers relate to their readers in different ways, how they create a variety of worlds through language and how they use language to achieve a wide range of purposes RS2.8 Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types Writing: WS2.9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well-structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type WS2.11 Uses knowledge of letter-sound correspondences, common letter patterns and a range of strategies to spell familiar and unfamiliar words. WS2.12 Uses joined letters when writing in NSW Foundation style and demonstrates basic desktop publishing skills on the computer. WS2.13 Discusses how own texts are adjusted to relate to different readers, how they develop the subject matter and how they serve a wide variety of purposes Focus Outcomes
FOCUS OUTCOMES AND INDICATORS TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum Indicators: Listens to descriptions of unfamiliar places and people eg peer presentation on Asian country, teacher describing Vietnam Engages in improvisation or role play based on the novel Gives a sustained oral talk on Vietnam or other Asian country (may use Power Point) Listens to the above RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts Indicators: Uses a range of monitoring and self-correcting methods when reading Reads text aloud, using appropriate stress, pause and intonation Locates information on Vietnam or other Asian country from a variety of sources eg books, pictures, internet RS2.8 Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types Indicators: Identifies reported and quoted speech and begins to recognise the different effects of their use Can identify active verbs in text Recognises the structure of a narrative text eg orientation, complication, resolution WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type Indicators: Identifies reported or quoted speech in own writing and uses correctly Uses correct punctuation in published version of writing (hand written or computer) eg capital letters, full stops, question marks and commas Uses past tense in narrative writing Uses action verbs to develop the resolution in their piece of narrative writing.
TEACHING AND LEARNING EXPERIENCES WEEK ONE Pre-reading Task Introduce narrative text to children. Read a simple narrative story eg The Lion and the Mouse. Focus on structure and grammatical features eg orientation, complication, resolution; past tense, active verbs. Students mark the different stages of a narrative using different colours. Begin to locate information on Vietnam from a variety of sources eg books, internet. Children use planning sheet from the original unit to guide their research. WEEK TWO Begin to read the story. Teacher introduces by reading the first 2/3 pages. View the cover of the novel and children write their own story titled Onion Tears. Present plan for story when handing in first draft. (A sample proforma is provided below Appendix 1). (Linguistic) Focus on specific vocabulary during reading eg jasmine tea, monsoon rains, bamboo. At appropriate pieces in the novel children role-play quoted speech in front of the class. Throughout the course of the novel allow each child the chance to read aloud. Children begin independent research project on Vietnam or other Asian country. WEEKS TWO AND THREE Reported / Quoted Speech Model to children using own examples. Children put the speech marks into variety of sentences to show quoted speech. (Sample provided below Appendix 2) Find examples of both reported and quoted speech in Onion Tears. (Sample provided below Appendix 3) At appropriate pieces in the novel children role-play quoted speech in front of the class, for example, page 32-33. Children change quoted speech into reported speech. (Sample provided below Appendix 4) Character Profile children begin profile of Nam-Huong. Draw a picture of her and write facts on one side, adjectives on the other. (Sample provided below Appendix 5) Continue over next two weeks. May use Inspiration Program on the computer to mind map facts on Nuam-Huong. Proof read and edit draft stories titled Onion Tears.
WEEK FOUR Sentence Types Use p 27 as a model for class of command, statement, exclamation, and question. Children identify each different sentence type by highlighting / circling / colouring example from the novel. (Sample provided below Appendix 6) Publish writing, using correct punctuation, using word processing skills or handwriting WEEK FIVE Action Verbs Model using examples from the book eg page 54 In the evening we ll light a camp fire and sit around it and watch the flames. Brainstorm action verbs with the class May use the poem Skateboard (A Grammar Companion, page 55) to extend the children s range of action verbs Use page 13 (letter to the little yellow canary) with action verbs white-outed. Children place their own action verbs in. Use page 13 again. The children locate at least 4 action verbs in the writing and draw pictures of them and write the verbs underneath (Sample provided below Appendix 7) Children present research projects on Vietnam or other Asian country to the class eg individual talks, powerpoint presentation Complete published writing (Samples provided below Appendix 8 & 9) WEEK SIX Post- Reading tasks Compare and discuss their story with that of the author, Diana Kidd. (Intrapersonal/ Verbal) Comprehension (Linguistic / Intrapersonal) Children complete sentence starters in their English books. -I can t believe.. -I wonder why -I noticed.. -If I were.. -I m not sure.. -I like the way the author.. -I felt sad when.. -I wish that.. -This made me think of.. Writing task choice of response to Nam Huong s letter to the canary (Sample provided below Appendix 10) or personal letter based on children s own experiences of dealing with a problem.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT Year 3 Literacy Unit Evaluation Name TS2.1a TS2.1b TS2.1c TS2.1d RS2.6a RS2.6b RS2.6c RS2.8a RS2.8b RS2.8c WS2.10a WS2.10b WS2.10c WS2.10c = not apparent = developing = achieved
ACHIEVEMENT OF OUTCOMES Talking and Listening TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum The children achieved all the indicators for this outcome. They particularly enjoyed the role-play activities and as our school has a very strong music/drama background this gave the children the opportunity to practice their acting in front of a small group or class. Some children did require encouragement to participate but gained confidence doing so. They listened well to descriptions of Vietnam and other Asian countries during peer presentations of research projects and teacher led discussions. This led on to a range of child led discussions, with the multicultural background of our children being very helpful. Many children brought various objects from Asia along to share each morning. Each child had the opportunity to give a sustained talk to the class on their chosen Asian country. Their projects were of a very high standard and made a fantastic wall display to further enhance the unit and learning. Good listening was shown by the fantastic questions they asked each other and the genuine curiosity they displayed in other countries. Reading RS2.6 Uses efficiently an integrated range of skills and strategies when reading and interpreting written texts We have a particularly strong group of readers who achieved this outcome easily. We did, however, have two children with major reading difficulties, and although they found this text difficult, were able to make good sense of it and develop their reading skills. We believe that it is vital that the unit is taught with some whole class and group reading, as this is particularly beneficial for lower ability readers. The class discussion on the story and themes running through it were also beneficial to these two children. Our higher ability readers thoroughly enjoyed being able to read parts independently and come together with the teacher to discuss more complex themes. We found the text to be at a good level for all children and to have a brilliant story line that drew the children in and held them to the end. The children were able to use expression, stresses, pauses and intonation in oral readings. Every child read aloud at least once in front of the class. The children developed their research skills locating information from a variety of sources on their chosen Asian country. This involved classroom work and independent work at home. The planning sheet, which we used from the initial unit, was an excellent way to help the children define their search. They were also provided with a wide range of books, maps, encyclopaedias and the Internet to use for information. The sourcing and locating of specific information is a skill that they are developing and will need continued teaching. RS2.8 Discusses the text structure of a range of text types and the grammatical features that are characteristic of those text types We found this text was an excellent vehicle for teaching the children specific grammar features found in narrative text and the ones that we chose had an abundance of examples in the text. For our children quoted speech, reported speech and active verbs were new terminology. They very quickly and easily picked up active verbs and had a lot of
fun putting their own into the cloze example. They also enjoyed finding them in their own writing and brainstorming more together. The children quickly gained a good understanding of quoted speech but needed some work with punctuation for speech. We found that this was something they picked up but needed further practice with, especially the placing of the comma and correct placement of speech marks. The children initially had a great deal of difficulty with reported speech and needed a lot of role modelling by the teacher. We found changing reported speech to quoted speech was a good way to teach this. The higher ability children could also change quoted to reported speech. It was also interesting to note that many of our more able writers used reported speech in their own writing after these lessons, without prompting. It was also great to see quoted speech being used in the majority of the children s writing. The children quickly recalled the terminology of orientation, complication and resolution, showing that they were familiar with the structure of a narrative text. Apart from our small amount of special needs students, the children recognised this structure in the novel and their own written text. Writing WS2.10 Produces texts clearly, effectively and accurately, using the sentence structure, grammatical features and punctuation conventions of the text type The children all produced a narrative piece of writing using good structure. They loved beginning their piece using the Onion Tears cover and predicting what the story was about. They also enjoyed taking on the role of author and we further developed this concept by later allowing them to design their own book covers. Our lower ability writers needed 1:1 help from the teacher to build up their orientation and verbally construct their complication and resolution. The writing activities in this unit enabled the children to explore the language features, which they had been taught. All children could successfully identify quoted speech in their own writing but not all used reported speech. The more able writers could identify and correctly use reported speech. All children were developing the correct use of punctuation but we felt that further work on proof reading and editing was required. One to one writing conferencing was very good for this as we had many children who still had basic punctuation errors after proof reading. The majority of children produced a narrative text in the past tense. We did have some children who changed tense during their story. There was a great use of action verbs in the children s writing and we found many children added more during their editing phase. Our more able writers began to use Stage 3 grammatical features in their writing, such as similes and connectives. We also exposed all children to some of these features whilst reading Onion Tears.
UNIT EVALUATION Term Four was a very busy term for us and it was a source of satisfaction that we were able to successfully plan, teach and evaluate this unit in the allotted time of six weeks. We also felt a huge achievement was the enjoyment the children showed in the learning activities and the achievements they made in their English development. This unit had a major focus on grammar but it also taught the children reading, writing, talking and listening skills. We also integrated our Human Society and Its Environment and Information Technology outcomes into this unit. In addition, we found that it linked well with our Physical Development and Health unit on Friendships and Relationships. We were able to use Nam Huong and her problems as a model for the children to discuss relationships, friendships and their own problems. It was the vehicle for a wide range of learning and achievement. One major complication, which occurred, was that one of our team teachers fell sick early in the term. We were thrilled that the relieving teacher who filled in for the remainder of the term was able to pick up our unit plan and teach it with relatively little work on our behalf. We believe this is a genuine sign of a good plan. This unit generated some wonderful talking and listening opportunities. The children were on-task because they enjoyed the speaking, reading and writing tasks. The additional writing task, while not a narrative piece, produced some beautiful written texts by the children. It allowed them to share their feelings and emotions and in the written diary or letter format. As a team we found the unit of work to be very manageable, wonderful for teaching specific language features in the English curriculum, integrate well with a variety of subjects, exciting, rewarding and very successful. We believe that this unit could easily be adapted for any class with a range of abilities and needs. We would love the opportunity to teach it again to a Year 3 class.
Appendix 1 Narrative Plan: simplify to suit students needs. Orientation Who: When: Where: Complication Complication 1 Complication 2 Complication 3 Resolution 1 Resolution 2 Resolution 3 Coda (Optional)
Appendix 2 Quoting direct speech
Appendix 3 Reporting and Quoted Speech in Onion Tears
Appendix 4 Changing Quoted Speech into Reported Speech
Appendix 5 Character Profile
Appendix 6
Appendix 7 Identifying / Drawing Action Verbs
Appendix 8 Student Narrative Writing Sample
Appendix 9 Student Narrative Writing Sample
Appendix 10 Student Letter Writing Sample