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Name: Brooke Matilda Parsons

Student ID 1 0 0 0 6 0 9 6 4

Email: parbm004@students.unisa.edu.au

Course code and title: EDUC 2004 English Curriculum 1

School: Education Program code: MBED

Course Coordinator: Lynne Badger Tutor: Lyn Tonkin

Day, Time, Location of Tutorial/Practical: Tuesday 3pm, G1-

Assignment number: 3 Due date: 6/6/08

Assignment topic as stated in Course Information Booklet:

Explanation of approach to teaching writing using the curriculum cycle

Further Information: (e.g. state if extension was granted and attach evidence of approval, Revised Submission
Date)

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Genre: Procedural or Instructional
Age: Year 5
Topic: Students write a set of instructions for a word game they have designed themselves

Building the field

Before building the field for the topic, the students should be introduced to new types of
words that are used in procedural texts. The students will use these words later in the cycle
when they jointly and independently construct their own procedure. These types of words are
present tense action verbs (i.e. place, take), adverbs (i.e. quickly), linking words for time (i.e.
first, then) and detailed and factual words used to describe objects (i.e. shape, size, colour).
To introduce the students to these types of words the teacher could select books to share in
the class. The …for dummies series are instructional texts and offer a variety of word types
the students can be exposed to. Each type of word should be introduced separately and the
…for dummies books could be used as a modelled example. After reading and highlighting
types of words the teacher should conduct a guided lesson, then have the students identify
the types of words themselves using the …for dummies books as well as other books the
students are reading. A word chart should be created for each type of word so the students
can add to it as they find additional words.

During this stage of the curriculum cycle the students should be introduced to the topic they
need to write independently later in the cycle. When introducing the students to writing
instructions for a game, the teacher should start by allowing the students to play and
experiment with a variety of board games. Examples of board games that could be used are
Trouble, Snakes and Ladders and Operation. After playing these board games and becoming
familiar with how to play them the students should be asked to record, in their own words,
how to play the game. Once all students have written their instructions, similar ones should
be displayed for the class to see. Viewing some of the instructions the students write will
assist them to compare instructions and comment about what instructions would be best to
use if they wanted to play the game. A list of the student’s suggestions should be recorded
on the interactive whiteboard and saved for later reference, as it ultimately makes a list of
rules for writing game instructions. This activity will provide the teacher with an understanding
of what the students already know about instructions and rules for games.

After completing this list the teacher should provide the students with examples of
instructions for the board games they played. Students will need to look at the instructions
and record the similar structural and language features in their workbooks. During this
seatwork the teacher should move around the room and provide any necessary assistance.
The features the students record needs to be shared verbally with the class, written on the
interactive whiteboard and saved for later reference. The students should be linking the

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words on the word charts created earlier in the unit with the language features of the
instructions.

Modelling
At the beginning of this stage of the curriculum cycle the students should be told the focus of
the modelling stage. Explicit teaching of the genre must occur during this stage, to do this the
teacher should use models when describing the purpose of a procedural genre (which is a
means of telling someone how to do something or make something) as well as describing
and recording the structure of a procedural text (which is having a goal, a list of materials and
a method).

A copy of a card game instructions, for example, Aces Up Solitaire, should be displayed for
children to see while the purpose and structure are described. The teacher should underline
each section of the instructions that relate to the structure so this can be referred to later in
the unit. During this stage, the teacher should be explicitly describing the function of each
section of the structure. While explicitly teaching it would be worthwhile to teach the students
how the different headings of the card game instructions relate to the structure of procedural
texts. The teacher must ensure they describe and show the students some of the language
the author has used, in particular, present tense action verbs, adverbs, linking words for time
and detailed and factual words used to describe objects.

The teacher should advise the students they will show them how to write procedures, in
particular the instructions for the card game Go Fish. The teacher should play Go Fish and
then write the structure and instructions on the interactive whiteboard. The teacher should
verbally express their thought patterns by simply talking to themselves and asking
themselves questions aloud. They must ensure the students can hear and see what they are
doing and understand the process they are going through to write the instructions, in
particular how to plan, draft, read through and consider changes, edit and proofread. The
teacher should refer to the instructions for Aces Up Solitaire as well as use words from the
word charts and include these in their writing. Once the teacher has finished writing the
instructions for Go Fish they should ask the students to help them identify the structure and
language features of the text. The next activity requires a second copy of Go Fish to be
displayed on the interactive whiteboard, this copy should display inappropriate vocabulary
and have some steps missing. The aim of this activity is to allow the students to identify the
missing parts and how important it is not to miss anything when writing procedures.

To determine students understanding the teacher can provide the students with copies of
card game instructions, these could be from Memory, Uno and Snap, and ask the students to
label the structure of the instructions and the language features on their own copy. The
teacher should move around the room and provide assistance when it is required. At this
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point of the unit it may be necessary to model the writing of the genre again on the interactive
whiteboard. If this is necessary model another card game the students are familiar with.

A further activity for the students to complete would be providing them with sets of cut up
copies of card game instructions and asking them to put the pieces in order. The students
should label the structure and the language features on their worksheet.

Joint Construction
At the beginning of this stage of the curriculum cycle the teacher should revise with the
students the structure and language features of procedural texts. After revising procedural
texts the class should be involved in a discussion about the types of procedures that are in
their everyday lives, the students should be encouraged to find procedures at home and
share them with the class, identifying the structure and language features and how some
procedures are different to others.

To prepare the class for further development in constructing procedural texts give them the
opportunity to do their own research of instructions for different types of games. Once the
students have completed their research have them print a copy of the instructions and
highlight and label the structure and language features on it. The findings of some of these
sets of instructions should be shared with the class to expand their understanding of game
instructions. Any new words should be added to the word chart for use when the students
write their own procedures.

Introduce the students to an on-line game, for example, Build a rollercoaster, and tell the
students that after playing the game they will write the game instructions together as a class.
Ensure students have copies of all of the resources they have created over the course of the
curriculum cycle. Guide the students through the structure of the game instructions, asking
students to write the headings on the interactive whiteboard. Before writing the instructions it
is recommended the students recall everything about play Building a rollercoaster and then
invite them to use these to construct the procedure. The students should share the task of
writing the instructions on the interactive whiteboard. It may be necessary to prompt students
thinking by asking them what the teacher did when they wrote the game instructions for Go
Fish and what language they used. It is imperative the teacher provides explicit feedback on
the structure and language features the students use.

After constructing the game instructions for the on-line game provide students with other
game instructions on a worksheet and have the students do an exercise to identify materials
they need, commands that are given, language features that are used, specifically verbs and
words related to time.

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At this point it may be necessary to assist some students, those students who are struggling
could have peer assistance by students who have grasped the genre well or if there are a
number of students requiring assistance, a second joint construction activity may be
necessary. If a second activity is necessary have the students play another on-line game and
structure the joint construction lesson as was done previously.

Extension activities for students who have grasped the genre can include reviewing
instructions for games other groups have found, labeling the structure and language features
and completing extension worksheets that provide the students with further practice to
identify the structure and language features of procedural texts.

Independent Construction
Before moving onto independent construction it may be necessary for some students to
receive guided instruction, guided instruction is when students work in pairs or small groups
to compose a procedural text, the teacher provides guidance and gives explicit feedback to
the students about the structure and language features.

For independent construction the students will write the instructions for the word game they
have designed. However, before entering this part of the curriculum cycle the teacher will
need to discuss with the students the different word games they could make and the type of
game, either a card game or a board game. Once the parameters of the game have been
set, the teachers should review the structure of the game instructions and the language
features with the students. As the students are designing and making their game the teacher
should move around the room and ask the students questions to prompt their thinking of
what they did first, next and last, this will assist them when writing the procedures for their
word game.

Before the students begin to write the procedures themselves, the teacher should hold
writing conferences for editing and teaching the students how to peer assess each other’s
work. The editing conferences will prepare the students for editing their drafts, the teacher
should discuss with the students the genre’s layout and language use, along with
punctuation, grammar and spelling. If the students have not been exposed to peer
assessment, teaching them will require showing them how to provide positive and
constructive feedback as well having the teacher model this in the classroom during sharing
experiences.

The teacher and students should work collaboratively to design a rubric for assessment
before the students write their game instructions, in doing this the students will revise and
show their understanding of the structure and language features of a procedural text.

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As the students begin to write their procedures allow them to have access to all of the
resources they have collected over the unit of work. The teacher should move around the
classroom as the students are constructing their procedures and assist them when
necessary.

When all students have completed their first draft of their procedures have them share it with
the class and request peer feedback, the teacher should guide the other students in giving
constructive feedback to the writer.

At this point is may be necessary to further assist struggling students with guided writing and
activities to increase their understanding of procedure writing.

When all students have shared their draft and received feedback they should alter and edit
the draft incorporating the feedback they received. Once the students have completed this
step they should review a checklist provided to them, this would be similar to the assessment
rubric and will give them another opportunity to review and alter their draft. After the previous
alteration the students should provide their game and instructions to a small group of
students, this group of students will play the game using the instructions and determine if the
procedure is explicit enough. After this final check, the writer can alter their draft and then
provide a copy to the teacher. It may be necessary for the student to alter their procedure
after the teacher has viewed it, but this will depend on the level of detail the other students
provided during the peer assessment and the playing of the word game.

Once all students have completed their word game instructions the class should have the
opportunity to play these games often.

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Bibliography
ABC 2008, Build a rollercoaster, viewed 27 May 2008,
<http://www.abc.net.au/spark/games/rollercoaster.htm>.

Derewianka, B 1990, Exploring how texts work, Primary English Teaching Association,
Newtown, NSW.

Education Department of Western Australia 1994, ‘Exploring different forms of writing’ in

Writing resource book, Longmans, Melbourne.

Education Department of Western Australia 1997, First steps writing resource book, Rigby
Heinemann Australia, Port Melbourne, Victoria.

Fox, M & Wilkinson, L 1993, English essentials; The wouldn’t-be-without-it guide to writing
well, MacMillan Education Australia, South Yarra, Victoria.

Gahan, C, Pitchett, J & Spence, B 1997, Teacher’s resource book including blackline
masters; Middle Primary C, Rigby Heinemann, Port Melbourne, Victoria.

Hancock, J & Leaver, C 2006, Teaching strategies for literacy, Australian Literacy Educators’
Association, Norwood, South Australia.

Hathorn, J & Hathorn, L 1991, Help! For young writers, Thomas Nelson Australia, South
Melbourne, Victoria.

King, JA 2005, Digital photography for dummies, 5th edn, John Wiley & Sons Incorporated,
New Jersey.

Paha, S n.d., An introduction to the writing process, Teaching that makes sense, viewed 28
January 2005, <http://www.ttms.org>.

Western Australian Department of Education and Training 2005, ‘Use of texts’ in First steps
writing resource book, 2nd edn, Rigby Heinemann, Port Melbourne, Victoria.

Winch, G & Blaxwell, G 1994, Write well 3; Practical activities in traditional and functional
grammar, punctuation and usage, Horwitz Publications Pty Ltd, St Leonards, NSW.

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