Tag Archives: PM Writing Exemplars

February 7, 2015 · 4:45 pm

The Studio Teacher Fellowship Program – WNY Education Associates: What have I been learning?

In 2014, I was given the opportunity to complete a Fellowship project under the guidance of Angela Stockman. I’m currently writing a paper summarizing what I’ve learnt. Initially my project started with a simple question:

What are the key ‘bump up’ indicators which should be on a student continuum?

Sounds simple! Well, that’s an understatement… I decided to start by looking at the continuums we have in place at my school, which are based on Fountas and Pinnell. How could I make these usable for my young writers? Then I started asking my young writers…

December School and Europe 2015 001

December School and Europe 2015 002

December School and Europe 2015 003

Photo: This student was in their second year of schooling in Australia (Year 1). The student is in control of all aspects of their writing from the beginning. I presented the topic for this piece of writing but that’s it. I’m teaching this student again this year and many others, and I’m wondering what their writing will be like at the end of this year.

My project changed many times after exploring current research, speaking to other educators and most importantly my students. How could I nail down a topic or could I?  The very action of looking at my student’s writing and speaking to individual students about what helps them to be the best learners and writers has guided my project. My paper will finish with a list of recommendations largely created by six, seven and eight year old students and I’ll share those here.

Cheers Nina

 

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November 12, 2012 · 7:45 pm

Using a plan to support Prep (5&6 Year Olds) children writing a descriptive piece…

My students have been learning how to write a description using the PM Writing Big Book genre format. Focusing on making a plan with key words and ideas supported my Preps to maintain a content structure.

Their first attempt involved choosing something personal and familiar to them. They then drew a diagram/picture and labelled key parts and used key words which would support them when writing their text. This was their first attempt and therefore a baseline assessment.

Having completed their own attempt I planned to share making a description plan with my students. We chose Sharks and used pictures and diagrams to locate the vocabulary they would need. Each student completed their own copy of the shark description plan.

Today my students used their plans to write a descriptive piece about sharks. Constructing a good quality plan scaffolds student’s writing and enablesthem to write an expanded quality text.

Cheers Nina

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July 3, 2012 · 10:42 pm

Young Beginning Writers: Final Week Semester 2 – Victoria, Australia ( 5 & 6 Year Olds / Prep )

The final weeks of term two and semester one for 2012 were busy. Reports, Three Way Conferences and portfolios added to teaching and other responsibilities made the run to the holidays a marathon.  Time to post here has been rare so it’s great to be able to share some student writing completed in the the final week of term two by my Prep grade.

Herbert and Harry by Pamela Allen: Independent Book Response

Above Text: Herbert and Harry found treasure and they were brothers.

Above Text: Herbert and Harry are brothers. One day they found treasure.

Above Text: Herbert and Harry  found treasure and they were brothers.

Final Recount: Term 2 for inclusion in student portfolios.

 

These are random samples of independent writing. It’s great to see my students using a title, content and final personal comment without prompting. Using PM Writing Exemplars provides the scaffold my young writers require.

Cheers Nina

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September 19, 2011 · 12:24 pm

Week 10: Final Week of Term 3, Victoria, Australia – Independent Writing – Genre: Recount

My Preps (5&6 year olds) are in their final week of Term 3. It’s wonderful to be their first school teacher, and I’m enjoying their enthusiasm for learning combined with their sense of fun. They love to dance, sing and create, and Friday afternoon is their special time when I’m the DJ and they, including their parents supply the weekly music. They’re an active and industrious group of young learners.

The random examples of independent Recount writing contained in this post displays their understanding of the Recount structure. I’m using the PM Writing Big Book exemplars and structure to scaffold writing development.

Extending my Prep’s writing is a focus and relates to our current inquiry. The children realise that their journal is a record of their personal history. They understand that detail in their journal will provide a better record of their experiences when they read their journal in future years.

I’ve included pictures of our WALT – ‘we are learning to’ and WILF – ‘what I’m looking for’ our success criteria. These are wiped and changed for different tasks. I’m very pleased with my Prep’s writing development, particularly their use and interest in punctuation and detail.

 

Cheers Nina

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September 4, 2011 · 8:59 am

Term 3 – Week 7 Independent Writing: Genre – Recount (5/6 Year Old Prep Students – Australia)

The PM Exemplars for Teaching Writing (Big Books) underpin my writing program. I use these exemplars to support and scaffold my student’s composition development. Young writers need structure when extending their written texts. My student’s often hear me say, ‘tell me more’. I’m very
pleased with my student’s writing and reading development, but most importantly I enjoy their enthusiasm for learning. The samples displayed within this post are examples of independent recount writing.

Cheers Nina

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July 29, 2011 · 5:22 am

Week 1 – Term 3: Victoria, Australia – Recount Genre / Writing (5&6 Year Olds)

I’ve received a number of emails requesting writing samples from the beginning of this term. Using a recount exemplar ( PM Writing ) to scaffold my student’s writing development is enabling these young writers to develop text control while composing. My students have been extending their writing to include sequence and detail. The writing samples displayed in this post are examples of independent unassisted writing.

Journals are a record of each student’s personal history. They understand that when they read their writing back in years to come they will want to remember as many details as possible about the things they did or achieved.

This also relates to our current inquiry into personal histories. We plan our inquiries using the format of the International Baccalaureate – Primary Years Programme.

Where we are in place and time

An inquiry into orientation in place and time, personal histories, homes and journeys, the discoveries, explorations, and migrations of humankind, the
relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations from local and global perspectives.

Central Idea:

Personal Histories Reflect Traditions & Culture

Key Concepts:

Reflection
How do we know? Reflect on culture by examining the personal histories of self and others.

Change:
Exploring the changes in people’s lives due to changes in time and place

Perspective:
Celebrate and accept cultural differences, via the sharing of personal histories

What lines of inquiry will define the scope of the inquiry into the central idea?

Exploring personal histories enriches our intercultural understanding.

  • Personal histories are recorded in different ways, depending on time on place.
  • Personal histories allow us to reflect on and celebrate, who we are and where we have come from

What teacher questions/provocations will drive these inquiries? 

How does our exploration of personal histories enrich our understanding of different cultures?

How have personal histories been recorded in different times and places?

How do personal histories reflect different cultures and traditions?

Cheers Nina

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February 28, 2011 · 10:01 am

Day 12 of formal education for my Prep students (4 & 5 Year olds) – Independent Writing – Recount / Journal – Amazing!

I’ve written this post for the teachers new to Prep who have asked me  for support, and I’m always happy to do this. I always stress that I’m still a learner as well. I learn from others, professional reading and my students.  It’s day 12 of formal education for my Australian Prep students, and I’m amazed by their ‘have a go’ attutude. They are certainly displaying the IB – PYP Learner Profile – Risk Taker. Today I was amazed by their use of strategies, looking around the room, sounding long, saying short, prompting each other, referring to the alphabet tool cards and ‘thinking aloud’.

Today I modelled my own journal, using taught strategies, and ‘thinking aloud’. I asked my students for help, played ‘Hangman’ (without the picture) for some words to identify a missing letter / sounds, and referred to our tool cards.  I used spacers, and talked about capital letters. Our next inquiry will be: What is a capital letter? After writing my journal, I removed it. I want my students to write independently. To introduce the ‘concepts of print’, I constantly refer to the PM Emergent Writing Exemplar Big Books.

 Day 12 Journal Samples:

 

 

 

 

I’m using the PM Emergent Writng Exemplar Big Books to introduce initial concepts, but I’ll move on to PM Writing Book 1 later in the year & PM Writing 1+ for extension.

 

Our next writing session will be PrepD Student Led Interactive Writing. This is the strategy which I believe best supports young writers, and is perfect for older students.  There is no doubt in my mind that collaborative writing, where children use their collective knowledege to support each other makes a significant difference to student learning outcomes.

Cheers Nina

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February 18, 2011 · 11:22 am

Day 6- First year of formal education in Victoria, Australia for my 2011 Prep students: 4 & 5 year olds. PrepD Student Led Interactive Writing – Collective knowledge combined with collaboration is powerful!

Day 6- First year of formal education in Victoria, Australia for my 2011 Prep students: 4 & 5 year olds.

It always surprises me how much these very young children collectively know. One might know an ‘a’, another can write it! Some can hear the beginning sound, others the end sound. This week I introduced PrepD Student Led Interactive Writing and they loved it. Each group had an alphabet chart for reference, and spacer counters for between words. Before writing, the children looked closely at the Emergent PM Writing Exemplar book to find out what a sentence is, what made a word, and how we end a sentence. I made a list of the attributes they noticed.

Here are their ideas

 Letters make words.

Some words have more letters.

Letters have a sound and name.

Words make sentences.

There’s a dot at the end. The dot stops the sentence.

There are spaces between words.

 Some letters are big, some are small.

Armed with this knowledge, the children were put into random groups of 3/4 students with a leader chosen. All students will have a turn at leading a collaborative writing group. The leader is responsible for making sure children write their name down the side in their own color, and write their word of the sentence in name order. As this is the only time I allow the children to write in texta, it’s very exciting!

The children each write a word of our class sentence on their large sheet of paper. The sentence was: I am at school. I introduced ‘prompting’ with some success to these beginning writers. Prompting means the children are able to help, but not tell. This takes a while for the young children to understand, as they want to share what they know. However, I was absolutely amazed by how quickly they got going, and how well they collaborated, shared and supported each other! Amazing…

 

Cheers Nina

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October 8, 2010 · 10:40 am

Extending Writing: Using a Recount Exemplar with 5&6 Year Olds.

Using a recount exemplar as a scaffold has enabled my students to start developing control of their writing. My students have been extending their writing to include more detail. Our journals are a record of each student’s personal history. They understand that when they read their writing back in years to come they will want to remember as much as they can about the things they did. This also relates to an earlier inquiry into personal histories. All children, at every stage of writing development are benefitting from using a structure to support their writing.

Before writing their journals, the children focus on the exemplar to remind them of the main parts of a recount. We also discuss punctuation and spelling strategies.  

Title

Orientation: When? Who? Where?

Sequence of events: What happened?

Personal Comment

A large number of my students are now extending their writing. They are excited by their ability to record events. These students are 5 & 6 year olds, and I’m amazed by what they are capable of. It’s interesting to see their use of punctuation developing in the examples below. Using commas, capital letters, full stops, spaces between words and time words is evident.

 

 

Cheers Nina

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August 23, 2010 · 8:08 am

August Writing: Scaffolding-Using the PM Exemplar Big Book is supporting my students.

We’ve been looking at the structure of a Recount using the PM Exemplar Big Book, and it’s really helping my 5&6 year olds develop their ideas and sequence events. When you look at these samples, some have written a title, made a good attempt at  sequencing and added a personal comment at the end.  I’m very pleased with their writing, and more importantly their love of writing. I’ve got to remember that these are young writers in their first year of formal education in Australia. This is independent writing. 

Cheers Nina

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