Narrative Writing Linking to NAPLAN Criteria.

1. Narrative WritingLinking to NAPLAN Criteria. A narrative is a time- ordered text that is used to narrate events and to create and to entertain and emotionally move an audience. The main structural components of a narrative are the orientation, the complication and the resolution.

2. NAPLAN Narrative Writing Criteria • Audience • Text Structure • Ideas • Character & Setting • Vocabulary • Cohesion • Paragraphing • Sentence Structure • Punctuation • Spelling

3. Planning • Effects the following criteria: - Audience, Text Structure, Ideas, Character & Setting, Cohesion. • NAPLAN – 5 minutes to plan. • Students need to have a bank of ideas in their head. • Authors generally spend 20% of their writing time planning and brainstorming! • Students need to have done lots of thinking about ideas and brainstorming BEFORE NAPLAN.

4. Planning - Ideas • Get students to form groups of four, one person writes down ideas, all students brainstorm as many weird and wonderful ideas that they can think of about a topic. Use one word topics such as: Discovery, Fear, Lost, Found, Mistake. MODEL THE BRAINSTORMING PROCESS • Just practice the planning step – Don’t make it too much hard work! • Students may then just share their stories orally with the grade. Lots of ideas for everyone!

5. Planning ideas practice • Take one of the following topics: • Discovery • Found • Fear • Mistake • Spend 5 minutes making a plan about a possible narrative using a planning tool of your choice (one you are familiar with and feel comfortable using). • Think about the pros and cons of using this type of planning tool. • Be prepared to share. Feel free to discuss your ideas with those around you. Writing is a social process – students need to discuss their ideas

6. Start, Beginning, Orientation • Effects the following NAPLAN criteria: - Audience, Text structure, Ideas, Character & Setting, Vocabulary, Cohesion. • Good narratives start at the moment of change – when the action happens. Then they use the ‘backfill’ technique to fill in the basics of who, what, where etc. • Idea: - model a poor beginning and get students to critique it. Make it really bland by adding in everything you did and ate before the exciting event (see example).

7. Story Beginnings - Idea • Great story beginnings use one or more of the following writing techniques: • An Action • Dialogue • A Thought • A Sound Use good literature and identify the technique used by the author in the beginning of the book. Practise changing bland story beginnings – MODEL THE TECHNIQUE. http://www.christophermilne.com.au/sneak.html

8. Locked Out • Revise the beginning of the story. • Be prepared to share. • Could you use this type of technique in your classroom? • Writing lessons do not always need to involve students writing a lot. • QUALITY over QUANTITY. Again feel free to discuss your ideas, often others can help you build on your original idea.

9. main event, complication, middle, dilemma, problem. Story Mountain. Dilemma Build-up Resolution Ending Opening Story mountain wall chart available at www.primaryideas.co.uk/literacy

10. Main Event • Effects the following NAPLAN criteria: - Audience, Text Structure, Ideas, Character & Setting, Cohesion, Vocabulary. • The main event is: ‘the central problem, conflict, struggle or adventure that changes the character in some way’. • The main event is the most significant part of the story and should be the longest section. • The main event must have some sort of dilemma that is solved (the resolution).

11. Main Event • Technique to write the main event: • Describe what the characters are doing. • Use the 5 senses to describe the character’s observations. • Use dialogue to show what is being said and thought. • Idea – give student event summaries (eg: Dan was very scared by the cyclone, but not as scared as his dog who had run away) and get them to expand these into main events using the 3 techniques above. • Idea – someone, wants, but, so template.

12. Main Event • MUST involve some sort of tension – Will it work out for the character? • Tension needs to be built up slowly. • Use specific detail to build up tension (think about the 5 senses) – The windows shattered in the wind and glass bounced over the floorboards. Mum yelled for us to take cover. My socks slipped as I tried to run to my room. The darkness seemed to be closing in quickly. Outside the trees had turned into mysterious shapes and I could smell the damp in the air. I was breathing heavily and my lungs felt like they were being crushed. I just wanted it to be over.

13. Writing detail & descriptions SHOW, DON’T TELL. • Effects the following NAPLAN criteria: - Audience, Ideas, Character & Setting, Vocabulary. • Use the 5 senses to describe feelings and emotions. • Eg – Instead of saying Sally was very afraid how could we describe it? • Idea – have a feeling or emotion of the day. Students need to think about how they would show this, without telling what it is.

14. Writing detail & descriptions SHOW, DON’T TELL • When describing characters, objects and settings students often make a long list of adjectives. • Encourage students to use the show method when describing these things (eg instead of saying Mary was a kind, helpful and caring student – SHOW IT). • Idea – use the ‘describe a character prompt questions’ to get students to write about a TV character without saying their name. Other students can guess from their description (eg Bart Simpson, Pink Panther, Batman etc). • Also use the 5 senses (especially for settings).

15. Writing detail & descriptions SHOW, DON’T TELL Settings – Readers should be able to visualise the setting and feel that they are there. Using BLM35 describe a setting by SHOWING, not telling. Use the 5 senses in your description. Do not name your setting but be prepared to share and let others try to guess where you are describing. Could you use this technique in your classroom?

16. Ending, Resolution. • Effects the following NAPLAN criteria: - Audience, Text structure, Ideas, Character & Setting, Vocabulary, Cohesion. • The ending must SATISFY the reader and must show how the problem has been solved and how the experience has effected the character/s: • Has the character: • learnt a lesson • made a decision • formed a new opinion • hoped for something different/similar to happen to them in the future • become smarter, kinder, more careful etc The character must change in some way due to their experiences in the story.

17. Ending, Resolution • Effective endings use one or more of the following techniques: • A memory • A feeling • A decision or defining action • A wish or a hope Just like with the story beginnings identify the technique/s being used in books your students are reading. Encourage students to use something different than what they usually use (eg – and then I woke up).

18. Modelling effective story endings Discuss your ideas with those around you. • Practise using Space Explorer and Knight Life. • Do 2 different revisions of the ending using two different techniques. • Ideas for the classroom: • Students rewrite the ending of their favourite book (or class book). • Read a book up until the 2nd last page, students write ending using one of the techniques. • Student rewrite the ending of a narrative piece they wrote in Term 1 – challenge them to make it more interesting.

19. Writing Moderation • 3-6 - In the next week (after using some of the techniques shown today) get your students to write a short, timed narrative (5min plan, 30 min write, 5 min edit). • Moderate as a team using the NAPLAN criteria. • This will give you ideas about things to revise in the week/days prior to NAPLAN. • P-2 – moderate using VELS progression points to give you teaching points prior to mid year reports. • I will be available to attend these moderation sessions.

20. Evaluation • Please complete the evaluation before you leave. • You must also keep a copy of the goal you make as these will be followed up on in coaching and by Dee during her visits. Thanks and please remember to let me know how these writing ideas go in your classroom. Reading: I will be emailing links tomorrow for some short professional readings about writing strategies.