[English] suggestions needed for context teaching

[mccurryj at netspace.net.au]

Hi Alison.  I meant that the assessors are the audience and therefore the 
audience is a pretty urbane, well-informed, alert bunch.  Suggesting to the 
kids that another sort of audience is appropriate is inappropriate I think. 

I agree with Doug McC that a feature article is the thing: it's such a 
capacious, flexible 'form'. The student's persona may be that of themselves as 
a journalist writing a regular opinionative column- expository, imaginative 
writing with attitude. First person perhaps, including dialogue from 
interviewees perhaps, direct references to the text/s perhaps, anecdotes, you 
name it. 

There are many articles in the media of this type.  This year we have been 
exploiting links between AOS 2 and AOS3, so persuasuive strategies and features 
identified in others persuasive texts become components of the students' 
writing and are in their turn are discussed in the student's Explanation. 

Cheers,
Janny



> This is really interesting reading, but I have a more banal question in
> response to this statement from Janet (?): "... in the exam it's pretty clear
> who the audience is."
> I understood that the exam no longer states who the audience is... Or am I
> being obtuse, and you are suggesting that the examiner/some standard
> sophisticated general audience is the audience?
> Thanks,
> Alison
> 	Sorry if I've missed the point here.
> On 12/06/2011, at 7:54 PM, <mccurryj at netspace.net.au>
> <mccurryj at netspace.net.au> wrote:
> 
> > ... in the exam it's pretty clear who the audience is.
> >
> > Quoting Sharon Gardiner <sharmick at tpg.com.au>:
> >
> >> Writing for an audience is an important thing for me. I am correcting SACs
> >> and the mid-year exam at the moment and I think, if students have a clear
> >> idea of the audience to whom they are writing, then their writing is
> better.
> >> In the SAC, with the written explanation, this is clear as they state
> their
> >> audience, but the exam is a more difficult.
> >>
> >> Just thinking as I correct..
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au
> >> [mailto:english-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Caruso, Greta
> >> Sent: Sunday, 12 June 2011 6:37 PM
> >> To: VCE English Teachers' Mailing List
> >> Subject: Re: [English] suggestions needed for context teaching
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Hi,
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I think that the text that discusses hybrid writing is the Oxford book. It
> >> is a good book, but I warn people that text books are the interpretation
> of
> >> a few teachers. The publishers are not the authority. VCAA is the
> authority
> >> and the Study Design is the document to refer to.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Many of us have faced the same problem with the styles of writing in
> Writing
> >> in Context. I ask myself : of all the possible styles of writing in the
> >> world (EVERYTHING: fairy tales, limerick, beat poems, newspaper articles,
> >> instructional writing, diaries whatever) which forms could not be
> considered
> >> either expository, persuasive or imaginative. If you remember that
> >> expository just means to expose, persuasive to persuade and imaginative to
> >> imagine, then it follows that they are not even really forms of wriiting.
> >> They are general purposes of writing and encompass many forms  Thus, my
> >> answer is  that ANY form of writing is allowable.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Next question is: which are we going to recommend. And for me the answer
> is:
> >> It depends on the student, the text, the context and the prompt.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Next question is: are there any styles to steer kids away from. My answer
> is
> >> that there are some forms that would be really hard to produce in a SAC or
> >> exam whilst showing sophisticated development of ideas. It is possible
> that
> >> an extremely clever writer could produce an acroustic poem that was
> >> brilliant, but I have not yet met that student.  Also we know that an
> strict
> >> analytical exposition writing in the same manner as a Text Response ie
> part
> >> one of the exam, is not going to be the best idea.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I tell my students and staff to forget entirely about the style or form,
> >> just write well, keep the idea of the prompt at the heart of the piece,
> keep
> >> the context in mind.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Sometimes people need to hear the message from someone outside their work
> >> context. VATE maybe able to help with someone who could do some on-line
> >> mentoring.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Yours,
> >>
> >> Greta Caruso
> >>
> >> English Faculty Head
> >>
> >> Kingswood College
> >>
> >>  _____
> >>
> >> From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au [english-bounces at edulists.com.au] On
> >> Behalf Of Jenny Gilbert [nenifoofer at gmail.com]
> >> Sent: Sunday, 12 June 2011 3:13 PM
> >> To: 'VCE English Teachers' Mailing List'
> >> Subject: Re: [English] suggestions needed for context teaching
> >>
> >> Hi Gail - and thankyou - this is VERY affirmingJ. Thankyou for taking the
> >> time for such a detailed response.  I hope you follow up with that text
> book
> >> and I sincerely appreciate the ideas for writing PD you are suggesting. We
> >> are, for all intents and purposes, on the same page with our approach to
> >> marking context. I hope to mark it this year in exam marking. I believe we
> >> have to do some PD as a staff on teaching writing - it is an area of
> >> weakness IMO across the board and I am looking into ways of doing this.
> >> Maybe I will start with a plate of Jelly lol.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Have a good weekend (off to benchmark context pieces lol)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Jen
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au
> >> [mailto:english-bounces at edulists.com.au] On Behalf Of Reynolds, Gail G
> >> Sent: Sunday, 12 June 2011 2:22 PM
> >> To: VCE English Teachers' Mailing List
> >> Subject: Re: [English] suggestions needed for context teaching
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> HI Jenny,
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I think it helps to think of those descriptions as an opening out of what
> >> can be done rather than a prescription for what must be done. I challenge
> >> you to nominate any piece of writing that cannot be fitted to one of the
> >> modes or a hybrid of these.  I did this exercise with my staff and we
> >> couldn't find anything which could not be seen as fitting; because of
> this,
> >> we have somewhat ( but not completely) de-emphasised the categories and
> have
> >> increased focus on ways of producing "good" writing.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Note that in the exam the students are not allowed to nominate any style
> and
> >> in fact last time I marked this section, we were told  to disregard any
> >> Explanations which might accompany the Context.  This in effect means that
> >> the only place the students need to be able to identify how their piece
> fits
> >> into the nominated formats is in their SACs in their "explanation of
> >> authorial choices". Our Y12 teachers agreed that we were doing holistic
> >> marking and as we marked the SACs we would place the emphasis of our
> marking
> >> on the actual piece of writing more than the Explanation (although we
> still
> >> took this into account).  I personally would not overly-penalise students
> >> who mix up the various categories, especially in view of the contradictory
> >> information which the students may be accessing.  It is interesting that
> my
> >> best students can all provide an excellent Explanation and those who mix
> up
> >> the information sit in the mid to lower range in any case... ( I may be
> bad,
> >> but I do not lose too much sleep over this)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> One of our major difficulties with this section is that the Design itself
> is
> >> unclear as to the task and our approach is always going to be like
> juggling
> >> jelly... you have to find your own way to succeed and some of it will end
> up
> >> on the floor. I do understand the feelings of the teacher who wants
> >> something to cling to -- in its first year everyone was playing safe and
> >> Assessors had SOOOOO many boring formulaic expository pieces to mark. I
> also
> >> know that variety and freshness and engagement with the writing are things
> >> the Assessors look for. I am afraid we have to lead our staff and our
> >> students into more open fields when it comes to this section... and it
> 'aint
> >> easy!'
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The awful how much text question -- answer: between one word and all of
> it.
> >> I have seen excellent pieces which have used a text as a springboard to
> dive
> >> into new ideas -- for example a student who used the film Witness as the
> >> basis, writing about the Amish practice of Rumspinga.  There is a clear
> >> relationship to the film, a sound platform for discussing Identity and
> >> Belonging and scope to incorporate the prompt, but it did not draw
> directly
> >> upon the text. On the other hand there is an occasionally successful
> >> strategy which views the plot of a text through the eyes of another
> >> character (so this one is nearly all text).  The thing to remember is that
> >> this is not a text response (50% text is likely to be way over the top in
> an
> >> expository for example). We don't need mention of the text every paragraph
> >> or use a formulaic  paragraph about the student's experience followed by a
> >> paragraph about the text (few writers are able to make this interesting
> and
> >> engaging) I try to get my students to think about the big ideas, how do we
> >> explore these, what  will capture the young writers' imaginations/
> interest
> >> the potential audience?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> As for your staff member, I wish you luck (she says, her mind crowded with
> >> bitter memories).  One of the text books has an excellent section on
> hybrid
> >> writing (It is on my desk at school and I can't remember which one off
> hand,
> >> but I'll let you know if I remember) you could try giving that to the
> >> teacher  concerned. For the students at her mercy, how about offering the
> >> whole 12 Eng cohort an afternoon of Context-focused writing workshop with
> >> the English teachers in attendance (Is there a local writer you could get
> to
> >> facilitate the workshop? Mildura is a relatively big place, there has to
> be
> >> someone who would do it ... or someone prepared to come in  from
> elsewhere.
> >> VATE may have some ideas for people to approach???) This one has the value
> >> of acting as PD for your staff without singling out or confronting ... and
> >> it could bring new ideas for everyone.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> I don't have many more suggestions and believe me, I can empathise with
> your
> >> predicament. I am not sure that I ever completely succeeded with my guy,
> but
> >> I tried to give oblique gentle shoves and increased exposure to a range of
> >> sample responses/sample lessons (Could you do this in an English faculty
> >> meeting?)  I have just had a meeting with my staff where I asked everyone
> to
> >> bring a sample writing lesson. It was actually a lot of fun and some of
> that
> >> will translate into teaching our Context...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> (Hope I haven't done that grandma and egg sucking thing..)
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Gail Reynolds
> >>
> >> English and Literacy Co-ordinator
> >>
> >> Box Hill High School
> >>
> >> 9877 1177
> >>
> >>  _____
> >>
> >> From: english-bounces at edulists.com.au [english-bounces at edulists.com.au] on
> >> behalf of Jenny Gilbert [nenifoofer at gmail.com]
> >> Sent: Sunday, 12 June 2011 11:23 AM
> >> To: 'VCE English Teachers' Mailing List'
> >> Subject: [English] suggestions needed for context teaching
> >>
> >> Hi Everyone
> >>
> >> I have a need for some help in leadership J I have an English teacher that
> >> is being quite prescriptive ( she is quite presecriptive with most things)
> >> with the writing forms 'expository, persuasive and imaginative'. She is
> not
> >> dealing well with the combination of possible forms and voices in written
> >> texts. She see them as three completely separate entities. Our teaching of
> >> this area of study has evolved over time - and we now see the students as
> >> having to 'create' as writers using what they know about the Context, text
> >> and their understanding of the concepts in a given prompt. This means we
> >> have moved away from strict structural controls for a 5 paragraph essay,
> >> although we do teach it for those students who need something to hang
> their
> >> work on as they cling to something of a model.  In yr 11 we do focus on
> the
> >> three modes - in Unit one we focus on expository and persuasive, in Unit
> two
> >> creative. (We used to try and do all 3 in semester 1 but it became a
> >> workload nightmare) . In Units 3-4 students choose freely.
> >>
> >> When we first started with context there evolved an understanding of the
> >> expository essay form and that wretched formula of third person formal
> style
> >> with 50% use of the text, 25% world and 25% self as a guide for students
> to
> >> structure their writing as informed by the ideas and issues of the set
> >> Context and text. While I have not said do not do this I have encouraged
> the
> >> flexibility and creativity of both students and teachers to see that the
> >> limits here are on the boundaries of the text and context not the 'rules'
> of
> >> a specific writing genre. I wonder if there are 'rules'. The way I see it
> >> there are typical features of writing depending on purpose, audience and
> >> form and we need to teach those over the years so that in Yr 12 students
> are
> >> able to use this knowledge and their skills to write a response they feel
> >> comfortable with. In expository writing students can explore ideas, look
> at
> >> them from a number of angles, and draw conclusions. We are still
> >> experiencing confusion with this - students explaining their work as
> >> expository when it clearly argues a view, or vice versa, claiming they
> have
> >> done a persuasive piece that in fact has not clear line of argument and is
> >> even lacking a clear contention. The pick 'persuasive' simply because in
> the
> >> end they express an opinion.
> >>
> >> Then there is that awful question - how much from outside the text has to
> be
> >> included? It seems the struggle with the grey continues with that 50/25/25
> >> formula. I have - after PD recognised this is not the way to encouraged
> good
> >> creation of texts. Last years examiners report confirms this
> >>
> >> On the other hand, it should be noted that:
> >>
> >> . there still seems to be a dependence on formulaic responses, which
> >> suggests that some students believe that
> >>
> >> rote-learning is sufficient. The study of English is concerned with
> >> developing students' understanding and
> >>
> >> confidence in responding to the specific topics and prompts that are
> offered
> >> in the examination. Active
> >>
> >> engagement with texts enables students to develop language awareness,
> >> articulate ideas and develop
> >>
> >> communication skills
> >>
> >> . some students did not fully engage with the actual elements of the
> topics
> >> and prompts. Greater care needs to be
> >>
> >> taken in analysing and recognising the specific expectations of each topic
> >> or prompt - often this comes down
> >>
> >> to a precise understanding of the words which comprise the task
> >>
> >> In section B the commentary is quite clear
> >>
> >> The most successful responses drew thoughtfully from the text; however,
> the
> >> least successful only used a scene or a
> >>
> >> feature of character in a superficial way or retold the plot of the text.
> >> This approach was not always relevant to the
> >>
> >> prompt. There can be no definitive advice on the success of relying on a
> >> single text or employing both (or more). Some
> >>
> >> students used the two texts expertly to demonstrate exceptions and
> >> qualifications, while others did little more than use
> >>
> >> the second text to add yet more of the same examples. While students
> writing
> >> using an expository approach tended to
> >>
> >> employ both texts, a number of students explored only one text. Students
> who
> >> used more than one source to illustrate
> >>
> >> their ideas often produced pieces with a strong sense of unity and
> purpose.
> >> This cohesiveness was contrasted by pieces
> >>
> >> where one idea followed the next as students went through their list of
> >> examples. The product was more a plan for an
> >>
> >> essay than a thoughtful, finished piece.
> >>
> >> The transference of ideas from the texts is critical. Students who
> >> understood and could convey sophisticated ideas from
> >>
> >> their texts were the most successful, regardless of the approach to
> writing
> >> selected.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> <http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/english/englishassess/2010/engl
> >> ish_assessrep_10.pdf>
> >>
> http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vce/studies/english/englishassess/2010/engli
> >> sh_assessrep_10.pdf
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Our focus has been much more on the concepts and ideas in the prompt and
> >> text than in writing to a specific formula.  Our returning prescriptive
> >> teacher is more focussed on the required form and wanting rigorous
> specific
> >> supplementary texts included in the study. I will refer her to this
> >> examiners report and others have provided her with documentation from
> >> inservices- but can anyone offer useful definitions of the 'three
> explicit'
> >> forms because I can't. I prefer to paint the grey lines and encourage
> >> students to create with the focus much more on the connection of the
> >> concepts and texts. In this instance the labelling of expository,
> persuasive
> >> or imaginative is squishing the potential to write from the heart and mind
> >> if it is done as this teacher is suggesting. SO...
> >>
> >> What suggestions do you have about what I should say to her other than to
> >> send her on PD to meet the examiners -I have not yet marked this section
> so
> >> I am at a bit of a loss and relying very much on my experience teaching
> it,
> >> PD and examiners reports.
> >>
> >> Thanks
> >>
> >> PS..to add to confusion some publications are now using the word
> exposition
> >> for persuasive writing - how do we deal with that?
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Jenny Gilbert
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> English Coordinator, St Joseph's College Mildura
> >>
> >> Linked IN
> >>
> >> <http://nenifoofer.edublogs.org/> Blog
> >>
> >> <http://msgsresources.wikispaces.com/> Wiki
> >>
> >> <http://www.diigo.com/user/nenifoofer> Diigo
> >>
> >> Jens  <http://livebinders.com/edit?id=6500> PLN at Live Binders
> >>
> >> Twitter - @nenifoofer
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> 
> Alison Smith
> Chisholm House Leader
> Wanganui Park Secondary College
> Shepparton, Victoria
> Phone: 03 5820 9900
> 
> 
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> 





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