writing to argue

Lovely Year 8's

You need to continue to work on your written piece. It is very important that you use A F O R E S T techniques to improve the quality of your argument. I have given you all a writing frame to use and this is for guidelines - you can alter this if you wish. Most importantly, use the research you have done for your presentations on certification and censorship. There are 2 very strong arguments for / against 16 year olds and censorship - use facts / opinions to balance the argument and come to a clear conclusion.

REMEMBER - you will be assessed on the DETAIL of your work and the ACCURACY - spelling, punctuation, paragraphs ARE IMPORTANT - you have to DRAFT your work for both detail and accuracy. Make it count - use your time wisely and do your best. The written work will be kept on your file and you have all worked hard with research and I want your written work to reflect the FANTASTIC presentations that you did - considered, mature and persuasive.

CENSORSHIP PRESENTATIONS

Congratualtions to all of you for your hard work and commitment with your presentations. Again, you have impressed me with how hard you work on all the tasks I set you. What was most spectacular this week is how mature you have been as you balanced and considered the arguments for / against certification of films. I found you all very persuasive in your presentations as you really knew what you were talking about. REALLY WELL DONE!

I always look forward to our lessons and I think you are all doing really well.

We now need to move onto the written component of this module. This will involve you all writing about censorship. You will use your research and ideas to help you with this. The title is, 'Should 14 year olds be allowed to watch / read anything they want to?' You have already been preparing for this and now need to structure your written work and use lots of examples as you argue for / against this statement. You will conclude with your own opinion.

After all the hard work this term, I now suggest that we aim to get the written work completed so that we can have some film / celebration lessons at the end of term. I am hoping to get hold of 'Stone Cold' for you. .... & yes, we are overdue some / many lessons in the beanbag rooms!

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD IDEA??
DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE LEARNING & PROGRESSING IN ENGLISH? Let me know your thoughts and feedback.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING ASSESSMENT

This will take place next lesson.

Assessment criteria

1. Confidence
2. Clear speaking
3. Formal Standard English
4. Good vocabulary
5. Listen attentively
6. Fluent

PRESENTATIONS ON CHILDREN ACROSS THE WORLD

I wanted to say that I was very impressed by your work this lesson. When I arrived at the class, I felt very proud of you all with your netbooks having logged on waiting to work. Fantastic.

I am laso very pleased with the ideas that you are workingon as you explore the difficult lives some children have in different parts of the world. I want you to use your homework to do further research into fact / percentages and DETAIL of the daily lives some children have. Key rules to remember;

1. The powerpoint - only use key words / bullet points. Make sure youuse visual images and video / youtube clips to support your presentation.

2. Your research - the more you look into the details of childrens' lives the better informed your presentation will be. You must use class / homework time carefully and work with purpose so that you can help the group by adding your work to the presentation.

3. The leaflet / the booklet - use your facts and findings to create this. Do not make it too wordy as it will not be read - visuals and some words are best. How you design this is up to the group.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

Stone Cold

I wanted to thank all of you for your hard work this term on Stone cold. You have approached this novel with interest and participated in all the acitivities with commitment and energy. I have been most impressed by the way you have developed in independent and group learning skills. Some of the work you have produced on the novel has been of a high standard.

The revision booklet on the characters was very good - try and learn from each other and also think about how many points you wrote down - keep the categories in your mind and always refer to the text for evidence. PEE is the key here.

Remember our READING agreement -

'There is no difference between those who can not read and those who do not read.'

Reading is the 'GOLDEN TICKET' to success in all subjects. It improves your vocabualry, your spelling / punctuation and extends your knowledge.

Over half-term, your homework is to read AT LEAST 10 MINUTES EVERYDAY. It does not matter what you choose to read but you need to be varied in selection. So have a variety of non-fiction and fiction. Also, go to the library or bookshop and see if you can find a book on a subject / topic that interests you. Remember, if you are interested in a subjectr, someone will have written about it!!! Find it and get reading.

First lesson back after half term, I will expect you all to report back on what you have read .... and also respond to this blog!!!!