Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight Introduction | A Court for King Cholera |
Anti-Catholic propaganda at the Time of the Reformation | Lesson Plan: Medieval Village Life – Year 7 | Guidance on use of Charles I picture for Activity 8.1 | Guidance for the completion of stepped worksheets | Differentiated worksheets | Changing attitudes to World War I | What can I learn from a source? | Mystery Approach: Thomas Beckets | Addressing literacy levels
| Bibliography

Addressing literacy levels

Reading

You will need to consider reading levels carefully. This can be done by simplifying texts, giving a glossary or explaining words in the text. You could read to them or use strong readers to read aloud. It is also helpful to build up reading skills by DARTs (Directed Activities Related to Texts). These activities link with the National Literacy Strategy, and should also be employed in English lessons and in other subjects. Discuss with pupils how they can read quickly and effectively, for example, by looking for numbers (dates), capital letters for names, headings, topic sentences to open paragraphs, conclusions to sum up the main points, and so on.

Some examples of DARTs:

• highlighting key points in different colours. Use of highlighter pens to mark different points can be enjoyable to pupils and help them to focus.
• scanning for particular facts or dates. Pupils write brief answers on mini whiteboards or at back of books. This allows quick assessment of reading skills and understanding by the teacher.
• skim reading (focus on start and end of text, topic sentences, headings, etc.) followed by quick test on key points. Pupils could hold up true/false cards in answer to a statement given by the teacher or by a classmate.
• Sequencing sentences about the text. These should be produced by the teacher on cards or on a worksheet.
• Making notes in words or pictures.
• Retell the key points or the story orally or by acting it out. Some pupils, particularly kinaesthetic learners, like to tell a story using three props which they have found in their bags.

Writing

The problems may be: lack of motivation, limited vocabulary, poor reading levels, lack of ability to organise thinking, not knowing where to start. Obviously extended writing is an important component of History and should not be avoided. Your confidence and encouragement of pupils will help them to approach an activity which may not fill them with enthusiasm.

Some practical tips follow. They can be applied to any year group, although pupils should need less support as they move further up the school.

1. Don’t assume pupils know how to do it without being told explicitly.
2. Organise thinking first. Guide pupils in organising ideas through card sorts. Less able learners could be given fewer cards, with the headings. The most able need only be told to group together ideas that are linked.
3. Use visual aids to demonstrate the ideas or structure of the writing. Examples are use of a ‘swingometer’ to show levels of certainty or degrees extent of change, and so on. This idea is based on Steven Barnes’ article in Teaching History 107, p. 6. I have used a large picture of a train to show the structure of an essay with introduction, conclusion, several paragraphs inbetween with the couplings between paragraphs representing links between paragraphs (Christine Counsell – extended writing book). I have had a large picture of a train laminated so that class ideas can be written on it and wiped off later.
4. Always model the type of writing required and talk it through. Think about learning something new yourself, and how much seeing the process might help. Examples are cooking a new dish, or hearing a tune played on a musical instrument. You can model the type of writing yourself, but should also try to save examples of pupil work for future reference. The model piece of work can be read out, photocopied or displayed on an OHT or interactive whiteboard. It does not have to be perfect. Pupils can think of ways to improve the model writing and progress to the next level. Teaching pupils to assess work is part of assessment for learning.
5. Support the writing using writing frames, starters, connectives, topic sentences and key words. Introduce target language structures with rewards for using them. One method of composing an essay for pupils of average ability and below is to give them ideas on cards to sort under various headings. Having discussed this, present them with topic sentences for a paragraph about each of the headings or they can compose these sentences in groups. They then use the other cards to compose the rest of the paragraph.Pupils who struggle to compose their own sentences can be given cloze passages or boxes to tick the correct word or phrase to complete a sentence.
6. The most able pupils will need less support in planning and structuring work once they have learned how to do this. They can be encouraged to read extra resources, or to consider more complex ideas or interpretations of events to discuss in their writing. A thesaurus may help them to extend their vocabulary by individual research.
7. Encourage pupils to analyse and edit their own writing or each other’s. If time permits, encourage them to draft work on every second line, so that they or someone else can add suggestions on the blank line when it comes to re-draft.
8. Encourage self-assessment and target setting. Get pupils to refer back to comments about their last similar piece of work before embarking on a new one.
9. Stress that the methods you are using and the skills they are learning are transferable to other topics and subjects.