Narrative Writing Linking to NAPLAN Criteria.

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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.

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NAPLAN Narrative Writing Criteria

• Audience
• Text Structure
• Ideas
• Character Setting
• Vocabulary
• Cohesion
• Paragraphing
• Sentence Structure
• Punctuation
• Spelling

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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.

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Planning - Ideas

1. 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
2. Just practice the planning step Dont make it
   too much hard work!
3. Students may then just share their stories orally
   with the grade. Lots of ideas for everyone!

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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
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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).

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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

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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.
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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
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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).

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Main Event

• Technique to write the main event
• Describe what the characters are doing.
• Use the 5 senses to describe the characters
  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.

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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.

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Writing detail descriptions

• SHOW, DONT 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.

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Writing detail descriptions

• SHOW, DONT 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).

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Writing detail descriptions

• SHOW, DONT 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?

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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.

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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).

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Modelling effective story endings

• 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.

Discuss your ideas with those around you.
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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.

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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.