Raising Boys’ Achievement in writing

A presentation by Sally Darby

About the School

440 children ages 3 – 11 Over 30 languages spoken

in the school 20 children have arrived

since September 2005 with no English at all.

Situated in Highgate – an area with very high levels of social deprivation

Writing results below “floor targets”

Introducing 5D

4 children been in the country less than 2 years.

27 children – 11 boys and 16 girls

An enthusiastic, able but under performing class. Year 4 QCA showed one child on track for a level 4 in writing at year six.

The Focus Group

AliArjunLeviMehdiZainAbdulahi

The Films

The Railway Children

CharacterisationExploring moral

dilemmasWriting a story with a

moral dilemma

Shark’s Tale

Information reading and writing

Persuasive argument Balanced arguments -

group debates.

Activities

studying characters using scenes from the film concentrating on non verbal communication cues- feelings, thoughts, emotions

Drama activities eg conscience alley, hot seating, devising and acting out stories.

Using film cameras, camera stills.Zone of relevanceSpeaking and listening – debating.

So what did the children think?

I really loved the drama because of the way the class acts. You could see

we were all having fun. Shaniquell

The films helped me to read their faces and

how they moved Zain

I enjoyed the drama. It was fun.

Abdi

Film literacy was fun and very

exciting. Milga

I didn’t like missing the films when I was away.

Ahmed

Watching shark’s tale was great. I think it is a fun way of learning. Arjun

I think film literacy did good! Shammylla

And what about their writing?

Film literacy has really improved my writing and my confidence Laila

It has helped my writing because it reminds me of things we used to do in Morocco. Hicham

I don’t think film literacy has improved my reading but it has helped my writing. Levi

Film literacy has helped my writing because before I wouldn’t be able to do a leaflet on Sharks but when it came to doing it it was EASY! Lauren

I liked shark’s tale. I learn a lot about different types of shark and I was able to write about them. Ali

What do I think?

I loved discovering the fun of drama again.The children’s enthusiasm and desire to

write(particularly after drama) was wonderful to see.

All children involved and individuals (not just in the target group) flourished.

The writing was a joy to read and mark!I want to use more films!I learnt how to use Microsoft Powerpoint!

The ResultsJanuary February March

Ali 3C (L) 2a (L) 3B (L)

Abdulahi 3C (L) 3B (L) 3B (H)

Mehdi 3C (L) 3B (L) 3B (H)

Zain 2B (H) 2A (L) 3C (L)

Arjun 2A (L) ABS 3B (L)

Levi 2A (L) 2A (H) 3C (L)

What next?

More film literacy. Exploring a classic poem through film.

More inset with the staff. Working alongside colleagues.

More drama – due to popular demand!

And Finally…(Levi and Arjun wanted the final word)

“ It has taught us to be far more confident in our writing and to perform in front of our class. You get stories in your head. You can think about more adjectives, connectives, strong language and it has brought a lot of emotions into our writing. Film literacy is FUN, SUPERB, GREAT!”