Levels 1 and 2

Achievement Objectives

	Students should:
Level 1	write spontaneously to record personal experiences	Expressive Writing
Level 2	write regularly and spontaneously to record personal experiences and observations
Level 1	write on a variety of topics, beginning to shape ideas	Poetic Writing
Level 2	write on a variety of topics, shaping ideas in a number of genres, such as letters, poems, and narrative, and making choices in language and form
Level 1	write instructions and recount events in authentic contexts	Transactional Writing
Level 2	write instructions and explanations, state facts and opinions, and recount events in a range of authentic contexts
	In achieving the objectives of understanding and using written language, students should:
Levels 1 and 2	explore choices made by writers, and identify and use the common conventions of writing and organisation of text which affect understanding	Exploring Language
Levels 1 and 2	identify and express meanings in written texts, drawing on personal background, knowledge, and experience	Thinking Critically
Levels 1 and 2	identify, retrieve, record, and present coherent information, using more than one source and type of technology, and describing the process used	Processing Information

Achievement Objectives
Expressive writing; poetic writing: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: personal storytelling

The teacher reads a story or passage which reflects a common or universal experience.
Students respond, orally or in writing, relating the story to similar experiences of their own.
The teacher tells a related story from his or her own experience, modelling how a storyteller can craft a narrative.
In pairs, students exchange personal stories, and suggest ways of shaping the ideas.
Two or three stories may be shared with the larger group, with the storyteller reworking the narrative.
In preparation for writing, the teacher may guide students to focus their experience and to choose an effective point to begin their writing, so that it draws the reader into the narrative.
Students write their personal stories, paying attention to the focus and detail.

Assessment

In groups, students read, or have read for them, their completed piece, and respond in specific terms to the effects of each other's writing and the particular language choices made.
The teacher notes students' responses and achievements.

Links With Other Strands
Listening, Speaking

Achievement Objectives
Expressive writing; poetic writing: exploring language; thinking critically

Teaching and Learning
Context: the traditional tale

The teacher reads aloud a number of traditional stories which reflect the cultural heritages of the children in the class.
Students write their spontaneous responses to the stories.
Students, guided by the teacher, discuss the features of traditional tales, including language, structure, settings, and characterisation.
The students read other tales and choose one they like, to retell in written form.

Assessment

During their writing, students confer with each other, discussing and reconsidering their choice of language and its appropriateness to the genre.
The teacher observes students to assess their engagement with, and enjoyment of, the process of spontaneous writing.
The teacher assesses the finished stories, which may also be shared in groups for peer assessment.

Links With Other Strands
Reading, Speaking, Listening
Related example in another strand at the same level: Speaking, Example 3.

Achievement Objectives
Transactional writing: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: learning an unfamiliar maths game

The teacher demonstrates how the maths game is played.
Two or three sets of games instructions are modelled and discussed.
Students work in groups to compile a checklist for writing games instructions.
The teacher and students jointly construct a set of instructions for the new game.
In pairs or in small groups, students choose another game, and write instructions for the one they choose.

Assessment

The students exchange games and instructions and try out the games, following the instructions developed by their peers. They feed back to the writer what was helpful or confusing, with any suggestions for revision.
The teacher guides this process by encouraging the students to focus on particular words, the layout, sentence structures, and punctuation.
Students revise their instructions, using the information they have gained in exploring the texts, and retain both their first effort and the revised version.
The teacher confers with each student or pair, enabling them to explain the changes they made.

Links With Other Strands
Speaking, Listening, Reading

Achievement Objectives
Expressive writing; poetic writing: exploring language

Teaching and Learning
Context: close observation of the natural environment

Students collect something from the natural environment, such as a twig, flower, or leaf.
Students look closely at the item and describe it orally, in specific terms, drawing on all their senses.
Students draw the chosen item, observing and recording the details.
Students record in writing their observations and personal responses. Students share these with their peers.
The teacher models some ideas for refining the writing in poetic form, for example, the use of economical language, sensory language, and structural features, such as line divisions.

Assessment

Students rework their first ideas into a crafted form, using the criteria worked through with the teacher.
The teacher provides specific feedback in terms of the criteria.

Links With Other Strands
Listening, Speaking