Make homework work harder!

Picture this:

Homework which generates no marking or photo-copying.
Homework which encourages creative thinking.
Homework which gets students fired up for the next lesson.
Now read on...


Poetry:

1. Draw a Venn diagram/ double bubble diagram to show links and connections between 2 poems in the "Conflict" section of the anthology. Next lesson: Pair & share-feed-back.
2. Same, but between a poem and a theme.
3. Add a poet to the Glossary in the Reading Group forum on the VLE. Next lesson: Revision using Glossary.
4. Write 10 higher order questions on a poem of your choice. Next lesson: Students swap books and answer each others' questions or group discussion using questions as catalyst or play "test the teacher" by asking teacher the questions, then student taking the "chair".

Making links & connections:

1. Why are the skills for this lesson like those in another subject? Students draw double bubble/ Venn diagram. Next lesson: Share ideas, then play "What's the Point?" Students have 1 minute to come up with as many reasons as they can for the skills being taught being useful in life and learning. Then give them the learning question!
2. 14;24;44: Students write in their books why the skills learnt are relevant now (change age to suit student), 10 years, then twenty years later. Next lesson: As above.
3. Give the student the learning question for the following lesson, and get them to make a list of success criteria. Next lesson: Use for checking their learning at each stage of the lesson.
4. Write up today's lesson in the style of: an autobiography, a recipe, a Top Twenty hit-list, a play-script...Give them the choice. Next lesson: Pair and share.
5. Draw a diagram of what you learnt this lesson. Next lesson: Pair & share. Feed-back on each others'.
6. Why is learning like a conker? Why is an argument text like a space rocket? Why is that character like a rocking-chair? Students write down as many reasons as they can. Next lesson: Where in the syllabus is it important to make links and connections? Where in other subjects and in life..? Then have a lesson on making comparisons between texts, poems, themes, characters, essays...

Success criteria-the "Hit List":

1. What is the success criteria for the lesson objective today? Next lesson: Pair & share, then compare to national levels or exam board assessment bands. Are students more or less ambitious? Which criteria is the same? Different?
2. Prioritise success criteria for today's learning in order of importance. Next lesson: Pair, share & compare. Do a Diamond 9 with the whole class and get them to write down their top 3 as personal targets.
3. See no 3 above.
4. Give students the learning question/ success criteria for the following lesson. They design the lesson, using the school's planning proforma. Next lesson: Pupils share lesson ideas in groups. Vote for the best lesson. Group or student teaches the lesson!

Unit 1 practice - non-fiction:

1. Invent a persona: Their age, gender, hobbies & interests, politics, income bracket, style, family & relationships. Present it as a mini-biography. This will become the addressee - the audience for a piece of persuasive writing. Next lesson: pairs swap books and do a writing task directed at that particular addressee.
2. As above, but for the addresser - the writer.
3. Write with purpose! The student chooses from a huge list of possible purposes (see previous post) and writes a short piece. The only rule is it has to be about trains( or a music festival, or a sandwich, or a holiday in Britain...) Next lesson: Books are left open on desks and pupils circulate and read each others', guessing the purpose, marking it for SSPs, adding post-its with positive comments, etc. Students return to their own book and reflect & correct.
4. SSPs and proof-reading: Students write a short piece related to the previous lesson and proof-read it for SSPs. Next lesson: Students sit in outer and inner circle. Turn to face each other. Swap books and proof-read then outer circle rotates. Repeat several times. By the end, books should be thoroughly marked and proof-read! Students reflect & correct & write personal SSPs targets.
5. Write an exam paper. Find texts, write questions, add marks awarded... Next lesson: Students swap and do each others'!

Literature texts:

1. Write 10 questions to ask a character using Bloom's taxonomy. Next lesson: Teacher/ student is hot-seated and asked the questions.
2. Make links and connections between the characters/ themes/ plot of the text and a film/book/poem of your choice. Make it as silly/ random as you wish-eg. why is Lennie like the "River God"? Why is the Inspector like Voldemort..? Next lesson: Student volunteers to give their comparison - rest of class make double bubble diagram. Leads to lesson on comparison controlled assessment (Macbeth and Animal Farm?)...
3. Research social context. Next lesson: Bull's eye diagram or quiz or add to online Glossary.
4. Add item to online Glossary. Next lesson: discussion forum linking comments with social context/ new learning.
5. Write a list of clues about a character of your choice. Next lesson: Play "Who am I?"
6. Play the "Furniture Game" with a character: If they were a food item, a piece of furniture, a weather type, a holiday destination...what would they be? Next lesson: Hot-seat a character and guess who they are; ask questions to different pupils in role, guessing their character, write a poem from the point of view of the character, using as many poetical techniques as possible...

Climate of learning:

1. What makes a successful learning environment? Students describe their "dream classroom". Next lesson: Pair & share. Prioritise, compare, make a list...
2. How can we make "listening" visible? Students make a list. Next lesson: Use to discuss and create success criteria for Speaking & Listening.
3. How can we feel "safe" giving our opinions in the classroom? Students list possible problems and solutions. Next lesson: Teach Grice's Maxims of conversation, and compare to the class list.
4. How can we stop boys/ more confident members of the class dominating group discussion? (Or any other "problem" that is threatening the climate of learning). Next lesson: Test out some of the solutions and feed back/ reflect).
5. Create a positive climate! Students prepare a short piece of writing for homework, using agreed success criteria from previous lesson. Next lesson: Homework is left on desks all around the room and outside on the landing. Students are armed with post-its and circulate, leaving smiley faces and positive comments whenever they see a student has hit the success criteria. Pupils count up how many post-its they got! (Idea stolen from primary school)

ICT: 

1. Use on-line sites such as BBC Bitesize, Sparknotes, VLE to revise a text/ paper. Next lesson: Write down 5 things they learnt.
2. Start a personal learning blog. Use the Reading Group link to write an ongoing journal tracking revision or a literature text. Next lesson: Share students' thoughts. Encourage them to read each others'.
3. Add to on-line Glossary of poets, poems, characters, books.
4. Reading for pleasure: Add a question to the reading discussion forum. Next lesson: Students join in chat-room.

Final thought:

Homework which connects naturally with the previous and following lesson is relevant, vital and motivating.

Any writing tasks which are given infrequently, out of context and without thought to the learning abilities of the pupil are irrelevant, paper-wasting and generate hours of extra mark-load for the teacher, which is out of proportion to the learning by the pupil.

Just a thought...

The Big Write

Light a candle, or have one flickering on the whiteboard.

Play soft music.

Start the "Big Write"...

The idea is that students have been building up to an extended piece of independent writing. This will be assessed and levelled/ graded by the teacher. (As well as self, peer-assessed...) Students become used to getting in "flow", the feeling of writing taking over, of the "writer's block" sensation being overcome. All good practice for controlled assessments and exams, as well as continuing good practice from primary school.

Writing is seen as a quiet, independent activity; a calming, pleasurable experience that is being valued, not hacked about with the 4 part lesson structure.

After all, the ideal is surely to work towards the "no part" lesson?

How often?

Whenever it naturally occurs after a unit mirroring the writing process? As mid-term assessment? Every few weeks? Plan so that mark-load is bearable.

All other bits, pieces, stuff in exercise books should not have to be marked by the teacher. Instead, ensure use of embedded AfL in the classroom gives instant snapshots of attainment.

All "Big Write" work to be kept in a separate folder for moderating and evidence of pupil progress. Exercise books do not get shown at parents' evenings, but these do!

Marking: RIP

9  ways to kill marking:

1. Create a discussion forum (chat room) for the writing task. Students post their stories/articles/essays. Other students post comments based on success criteria and climate of respect. Could enforce "positive comments only" rule. Or "2 stars & a wish". 
2. Put a sign on classroom door saying "Examiners' conference: trained markers only". GCSE students leave their work open to view on a desk, choose 3 criteria from mark-sheet, and move around room, reading work, underlining evidence of their chosen criteria, leaving comments in the margin.  Follow-up lesson could have groups of students discussing findings and writing examiners' report.
3. Students form a discussion circle with 2 concentric circles. They sit on chairs and the outer circles turns in to face someone in inner circle. Books are swapped, writing read and marked using agreed success criteria. Outer circle rotates and cycle is repeated. By the end of the process, books should have been thoroughly proof-read and marked!
4. Film it! Give students an opportunity to view their speaking & listening on screen. Score-sheets are given to grade, using their own or approved success criteria. Waving the camera at them will mean they won't repeat the same mistakes!
5. Editors' conference. At the end of the writing process, after stories have been group-written, redrafted and printed, a copy is left on tables, together with the blurb, cover design etc. Writing groups rotate around tables, in role as editors and would-be publishers. They use a score-sheet with pre-decided success criteria (5 works well). This must include proof-reading strands as well as creativity. 10 marks for each strand, with a possible total of 50. A countdown sound could signal when it's time to move on.  Post-its are used to suggest any targets/ leave positive comments.
6. Idea stolen from a primary school: Homework is left on desks. Students rotate to leave positive comments on cards inside books. Idea is that students collect positive comments. Makes them want to try really hard next time!
7. When the teacher is marking, only closely mark the first 2 paragraphs. Indicate this with a hash sign. This gives a snap-shot of how well the student has proof-read their work. Next lesson, they look carefully at the close-marked section, and continue marking the rest, correcting any mistakes.
8. Use "experts" in the classroom! Promote some students to be the experts in literacy. They are approached before the teacher to work with students on proof-reading and corrections. Similarly, could GCSE, top sets or English Language A Level students be given sets of books from other classes to mark in lessons? Great practice for SSPs!
9. Only controlled assessments, the "Big Write" or half-term/exam assessments are marked by the teacher. Everything else is planned for "no marking" (especially home-works! These should never generate marking, but should always inform starter for next lesson) or peer & self assessment. Class-books should not have to be "ticked and flicked" by the teacher, but should have plenty of evidence of proof-reading and self-correction. The exception is the "Big Write"...

Life with no marking...

A Body in the Library

A group of writers meet for a conference. A body is found. The only clue is that the murderer has dropped a piece of writing at the scene of the crime. You have samples from each of the suspects. On the basis of those samples, who would you say wrote the text on the incriminating piece of paper?

Great for encouraging poetry analysis!
How well do they know the style of the poets in the anthology..?

Do it like Dickens

Get students to investigate grammar and style by seeing how the greats did it:

1. —I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it. Their faithful Friend and Servant, C.D.

—December, 1843.

Can they translate Dickens' preface to "A Christmas Carol" and write their own note to the reader, using the longest, most old-fashioned words they can?

2. —Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.

Can they investigate Dickens' use of commas and semi-colons and copy the punctuation exactly to describe their own Dickensian character?

3. —Once upon a time -- of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve -- old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already: it had not been light all day: and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale.

Can they find lists, similes and metaphors and use the same style to describe their own Dickensian setting?

4.  And finally, using whatever writing materials they think necessary, and whatever writing purposes, can they work as groups to develop their own Victorian Christmas story?

Merry Christmas to one and all!

Who are you and what should you write on?

Use role-play when writing:

The writer is called the addresser. Who is the addresser?

• a grumpy old neighbour?
• a high-flying advertising executive?
• a tired and ratty British Rail traveller?
• a horror writer?
• Charles Dickens?
• an Ofsted Inspector?
• The Head?
• yourself at the age of 83?
• the exam moderator?

What would they write on?

• A4 paper?
• computer?
• sugar paper?
• the back of an envelope?
• old tea-stained paper?
• exercise book?
• official form?
• secret diary?
• blog?

Have a selection of these things in the classroom. Let the students choose...

Play around with Purpose!

Fed up with explain, describe, narrate?
Bored to death with persuade, argue, advise?

Why not write to:
accuse;advertise;alert;agree;amuse;apologise;appeal;apply;announce;appraise;arrange;articulate; ask;assert; bemoan;bequeath;bid;back-mail;cancel;celebrate;challenge;check;claim;clarify;comfort;commend;communicate;complain;
conceal;confirm;confuse;consider;convince;correct;criticise;decide;declare;define;defraud;
describe;
disagree;discourage;dissent;emote;encourage;enable;enlighten;enquire;entertain;evoke;exclaim;
excuse;explain;explore;expose;express;familiarise;guide;illustrate;impress;influence;inform;
instruct;joke;judge;market;mislead;narrate;negotiate;note;notify;obfuscate;order;persuade;pitch;
placate;postpone;predict;prevent;protest;query;quiz;quote;rage;rant;rebut;record;recount;refuse;
remind;renege;request;report;reveal;schedule;sell;share;teach;tell;think;threaten;trade;train;
urge;warn..?
Or better still, let the students come up with their own list of purposes!
Let them fly!

On Writing I

Who is writing the book: the author or the secretary?

Picture this: a world- famous author is pacing around her studio, dictating the next best-seller - describing characters, creating sizzling plot-lines, expounding on themes...In the corner, her secretary is busy typing up all the words, sorting out syntax, checking spellings, tightening up punctuation.
The book is published. It is an astounding success. It makes the famous author a multi-millionaire.
But who wrote the book???
The author dictating the story is the creator and composer, with the ideas, imagination and diction.

The secretary typing the story is the transcriber, the editor, the proof-reader.

Let students take turns to be both!

Are Levels Limiting?

Which is better?

Working towards pre-conceived levels, bands and assessment criteria (extrinsic/dubious motivation) or getting students to conceive their own (intrinsic motivation)?

Which is better?
Giving students assessment criteria which is set by an anonymous agency or letting them invent their own, powered by their own imagination?

Which is better?
Working towards levels, which stop at 8; and bands which stop at 5; or students creating their own "hit list", which stops at infinity?

There's only one way to find out!


Case study:
After a run of lessons studying listening skills (a la Robert Fisher-"Creative Dialogue in the Classroom"), a year 10 group came up with the following success criteria for listening:

• body language: nodding, leaning forward, eye-contact
• following the maxims of respect, politeness, no interruption, equity, collaboration not competition
• paraphrasing the question in the answer
• sign-posting the person's name you are responding to; and the point they raised
• responding to points made 5 minutes earlier to demonstrate close attention
• using a variety of Bloom's higher order questions; using different question openers to those used previously
• giving close evidence to refute or agree with the point raised
• being aware of others wishing to join the discussion, and inviting them in
• using connectives to counter-argue
• feeling that close listening is difficult, and the thunk of your brain!

And so on. Much more subtle and sophisticated than the speaking & listening criteria stipulated by the exam board.

The interesting thing was, after taking part in a wonderful, collaborative, skilful Socratic debate, the same year 10 class were highly critical of their performance! They raised points such as the discussion being dominated by the more confident ones; and wondered how to solve this. They wanted to do even better!

Case Study:

After much practice exploring poetry orally, the same year 10 class were ready to write a comparative essay.

As before, they came up with their "hit list" of success criteria:

• PEE (yawn)
• asking a range of Bloom's higher order questions
• offering a range of possibilities; using "could be" language
• giving close evidence
• bringing in poets' lives
• making links and connections between other texts; and within the poems
• knowing the "big picture" - context
• exploring character/view-point, theme, structure, language
• less is more: exploring interesting points thoroughly
• enjambment
• internal rhyme/assonance/sibilance - they'd just learnt the last terms so wanted to show off they'd remembered the words!
• SSPs - not sure about this in a reading exam, but they wanted to, so why not?

Then they started to write.

Haven't marked the results yet, but they'll peer assess against their hit list first; and here's hoping for writing which is fresh, original, honest and different - maybe even "sophisticated" and "impressive"!

Create a Thunk!

A Thunk is the noise made by the brain when it has to work hard.

(Ian Gilbert)