Writing Fundamentals

Writing Fundamentals is a five-week course which is suitable for children aged 10-13. The classes are thoroughly planned and delivered to a high standard in an enjoyable and relaxed environment where each student is appropriately challenged. The classes will be delivered with the use of online platforms, such as Nearpod, Padlet and/or One Note which allow students to maximise their interaction and a learning experience.

Course Outline

Lesson 1 - Writing a book review

Writing book reviews can help your child engage more deeply with what they're reading, find their next favourite series or author and develop their writing skills. When children write a review, we can see if they have just understood the basic narrative or if they have picked up on themes and issues, which are less explicit. In this class, we will analyse four stages of writing a book review which are: introducing the book, outlining its contents, highlighting parts of the book by selecting particular chapters or themes, and giving a detailed evaluation.

Lesson 2 – Writing a newspaper article / report

News reports are found in newspapers and their purpose is to inform readers about events that is around them and may affect them. We will focus on two famous types of British newspapers, namely tabloid and broadsheet. Then, we will brainstorm ideas and examine five essential elements of newspaper report structure including writing a  short, snappy and informative headline, using clear paragraphs,  as well as  providing quotes to show people's opinions about the event, amongst others.

Lesson 3 – Writing a non-chronological report

A non-chronological report is a piece of text that is not written in time order. Often, this way of writing tends to give information on subjects or events. In this class, children will spend some time text-marking the features on different reports and comparing how they are set out. The next step will be for children to choose or be given a topic to research. Planning and researching are important skills of this type of writing and here we will look at how to practise these skills using a spider-diagram to draft each paragraph of the report.

Lesson 4 - Writing a recount

A recount text is a piece of writing that gives details of an event that has happened. So, the main objective of this class is to familiarise students how to write about events and experiences in an interesting way. In this class, we will dive deeper into the techniques used to write a fantastic recount. Some of the features include writing in chronological order, using the past tense because it has already happened, employing emotive language so the reader understands your point of view, as well as applying various time connectives to logically organise ideas in the text.  

Lesson 5 – Review

The last class of the course will be centred on the content from previous classes. Specifically, we will focus on students’ weaknesses based on received feedback and analyse common mistakes which appeared in their writing. This will be presented in a form of various activities and quizzes. Here are some of the problematic areas we could possibly incorporate in class: punctuation, vocabulary choices (synonyms for accuracy and tone), as well as verb tenses and verb agreement, amongst others. This will certainly help students consolidate their knowledge gained throughout the course.

Homework

Students will be required to write a piece of writing after each class. It will build on the work done in the lesson, and it will ensure a deeper understanding and retention of the concepts covered in class. Then, students will receive individual written feedback. It will help them understand what is expected of them and what good performance is. Also, it will offer students the opportunity to successfully progress in their studies.