EVANS HIGH

SCHOOL

Improving students’ descriptive writing skills

A bit about us….

Teresita Alano Cassie O’Boyle Donna McGufficke

Evans context A co-educational secondary school located

in South Blacktown. An IEC is located on site. 2011 enrolments of 606, 160 in the IEC. 62% of the school population is LBOTE. ESL students are mainly from, Sudan,

Afghanistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India. some of these are refugees.

Growing population of Nepali and Burmese refugees.

Class context - meet 7V HSIE

Student context3 3 3

4

3

2Write down what it was like on your first day at Evans High School.

On my first day it was nice But the room because we dont know the room..

Write down what it was like on your first day at Evans High School.

In my first day of my school I’m a little bit nervous but when I see my friends my nervous went down, when the bells go we all to hall to set our groups, lucky I have some friends in my groups

Action inquiry focus

How does the use of ESL pedagogy improve ESL students’ ability to write descriptive texts?

Focus for today

Building the noun group

& Cohesive devices –

referencing and connectives.

Phase 1:Metalinguistic

& metacognitive

awareness

Clause and Phrase

T1 – Investigating the World Designed to show students the

difference between a clause and a phrase.

This was required for their assessment task on a World Heritage site

Simple and Complex Sentences

•Built upon knowledge of clause and phrase•Demonstrated how to find clauses

•Built upon knowledge of clauses•Demonstrated how independent and dependent clauses functioned together to make a complex sentence

Phase 2:Metalinguistic & metacognitive

awareness

Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives (Adnounials) In Term 3 students were introduced to a

proforma to help them build their noun group to write a descriptive sentence about housing in ancient Egypt

This was built upon in Term 4 with a proforma on Rights and Freedoms in Medieval Europe

Communication in the classroom was balanced between talk about language and talk about historical terminology

Rossbridge and Rushton (2010), Conversations about Text, p28

Assessment for Learning

Term 3 ‘Rich task’ Based on the key characteristics of

Assessment for learning – Davison 2007, as quoted in the Assessment reform group 1999, pg 7.

Teacher activities Program – Feedback – Hattie .72 Student samples

Contingent scaffolding

Extending the IRF

Linking to prior experiences

Recapping and meta comment

Cohesive devices

Talking about language and not just content

This led to students being confident in writing in the first and third person in their rich task

Teaching and learning activities were structured to achieve this.

Significance

ESL scales results

3 4 3 44 5

3 4

2 43 4

Pre test Post test

If their natural life is destroyed, the first and 1 2 3 + may become extinct.  

If their natural homes are destroyed…

If their natural habitat is destroyed, the animal and plant may become extinct. 

If their natural habitats are destroyed…

Also, people of the future will not be able to see these plants and animals in their own environment.

…. In their houses environment.

Also, people of the future will not be able to see these plants and animals in their natural environment.

… in their natural environment.

Another thing why National Parks are important is that native animals and plants will be safe and survive.

Another reason…

In conclusion, we try and keep National Parks…In conclusion, we have keep National Parks why they are …

In conclusion, we must… In conclusion, we must keep National Parks because they are…

Firstly, is who live in cities … Firstly, why who live in cities…

Firstly, people who live in cities… Firstly, people who live in cities…

As we all know, because they are used for playing, picnics and bushwalking.

As we all know, they ____ are used for playing, picnics and bushwalking.

Significance

Professional LearningTeacher practice has changed dramatically.

We have shifted in our approach to pedagogy from teacher centred, content focused lessons to pedagogy that is focused on metalinguistic and metacognitive awareness.

Future directionsPrograms, AFL, ‘rolling out’