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For many teachers, report-writing is the most stressful task with which they are confronted - requiring many hours of input, revisions and consideration. But this does not have to be the case. There are tools, techniques and tricks out there, used by professional report writers (inside and outside of education) to make the job quicker and more satisfying for writer and reader. These include lessons on remaining objective, while coming across as a real live human being; maintaining the appropriate style and tone; writing so that parents can easily read, scan and assimilate content; referring to each child in a fresh way, without copying and pasting; and, of course, aligning with global best practices in educational report writing. These slides form part of a presentation in which Tiffany Markman guides teachers through these issues, to leave them with a greater sense of how to tackle this important part of the educator's job.
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SAALED WorkshopOctober 2014
REPORT WRITINGfor Teachers
I’m Tiffany MarkmanCopywriter
Columnist & Author Writing Teacher
@tiffanymarkman#reportwriting
1. Tone2. Content choices
3. Structure4. Freshness
1.TONE
What’s the right tone?
Let’s look at register.
Bad words Good wordsLucidity ClarityPeruse Read
Ascertain DetermineTranspire HappenObtain Get
Thomas is a livewire with tons of energy and no fear. Sometimes he turns into a wild animal, bouncing off our class’s walls. Maybe too much sugary food is being packed into his lunch? He has a great vibe with his classmates and is Mr Popular! Especially with the little girls, whose hair he regularly pulls in teasing fun. Thomas is able to sort out issues in his ‘gang’, though he does have trouble sharing the leadership role while playing. He is starting to pick up sad faces around him and will grind his play to a halt to help an unhappy friend.
A quick word on jargon
80%
20%
Here are some examples of useful jargon: Ball skills
Perceptual and cognitive developmentPre-writing skills
Gross Motor skillsFine Motor skills
Self-correcting gamesNumeracy concepts
Postural controlAuditory memoryPhysical agility
Mathematical problem-solvingHand-eye coordination
Pencil control
Be ruthless about wordiness.
2.CONTENT CHOICES
Evaluate as often as possible.
Natalie has made pleasing progress in all
areas of her growth and development.
Natalie has made pleasing progress in all
areas of her growth and development.
Natalie has learned to manage challenging social interactions
with assistance and has increased her circle of friends.
She has also built up better immunity and so her general
health has improved.
I am glad that Kavin has started Occupational Therapy. He loves
visiting the OT room for our Gross Motor sessions, where he
makes the most of the activities and challenges.
I am glad that Kavin has started Occupational Therapy. We can see a noticeable improvement
in his climbing, focus and auditory memory in the OT
Room.
Connect 2 ideas.
Alexiya is keen to learn (topic) and produces her own research
on subjects that interest her (detail); in sharing these with the class she motivates her
peers to learn more about the world around them (outcome).
Jonty is extremely helpful (topic): he can always be counted on to take the dishes and containers
back to the kitchen (detail).
Daniel needs to be encouraged to solve problems
independently (first idea) rather than becoming anxious if
confronted with a difficulty (second idea). I suggest/I plan
to...
Paige enjoys the self-correcting games, pushing herself to
complete all levels (first idea) by... She also sets up
cooperative games and invites friends to play (second idea),
which demonstrates…
Quiz yourself on 2 fronts.
1.Am I being too general?
2.So what?
LET’Stry this together.
‘Thake has new-found confidence and dexterity with regard to Fine Motor skills.’
1.Am I being too general?
Yes. Give specific
examples, like:‘His pencil grip is
now correct and he can write his name
correctly.’
2.So what?
‘This means that Thake… [is
beginning to prepare himself for Grade 1.]’
LET’Sdo another one.
‘Loago is showing remarkable progress
in her Fine Motor skills.’
1.Am I being too general?
Yes. Give specific
examples, like:‘She can tie her own shoelaces, which is
an incredible achievement for a
four-year-old!’
2.So what?
‘Wow! Well done Loago.’
3.STRUCTURE
General rules for structure
Write sub-heads first.
Grade 0
WORK HABITSPERCEPTIONLANGUAGENUMERACY
GROSS MOTORFINE MOTOR
CREATIVESOCIAL / EMOTIONAL
Keep sentences short.
4.FRESHNESS
Avoid tried and tested phrases.
BORING PHRASES:
EnjoyWith easeDifferentAlways
ProductiveInterest
Be creative.
NICE PHRASES:
RichValuableBeneficialSuccessful
BusyStimulating
FulfillingWell-balanced
Create mental pictures.
Be specific.
Use ‘batching’.
The endThank you
ANY QUESTIONS?www.tiffanymarkman.co.za
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