‘Is the pen mightier than the sword?’

Academic literacies and collaboration across

English and history

Friern Barnet School

Galia Admoni –

Teacher of English,

second year and

Literacy Co-ordinator

Alex McLean –

Teacher of

English teacher,

NQT

Kristina Johns –

Teacher of

history, second

year

• 11–16 Mixed Community Comprehensive in North London

• 54 Teaching Staff• 800 on roll • 25.6 APS (On entry)• 38 students arrive below L4 in

reading • 26%+ SEN• 39% EAL• 50% Pupil Premium (Ever 6)• 7% Mobility• 52% 5 A* - C including English &

Maths

Friern Barnet School 2014.15

Session objectives

1. Describe how FBS uses whole school strategies to encourage confident academic literacy across the curriculum.

2. Examine an example of collaborative planning between English and history.

3. Explore the effectiveness of a project-based task that challenges students’ understanding of context.

4. Evaluate the successes of whole school strategies and discuss ‘next steps’.

Session objective 1

�Describe how FBS uses whole school strategies to encourage confident academic literacies across the curriculum.

�Suggest strategies that can be applied to your own schools.

What does ‘academic literacy’ mean to you?

• I think ‘academic

literacy’ is...

• ‘Academic literacy’

means- because...

Academic Literacy:

• is the language associated with learning that

traditionally codes knowledge using advanced,

technical and occasionally subject-specific language.

• refers to the critical thinking, listening, speaking,

reading and writing skills learned within an

academic society.

• is different from everyday language.

• is what students are expected to use across all

subjects in their examinations.

Academic Literacy

When you rub a

balloon on your

hair, it becomes

static stands on

end.

Static electricity can be created by

rubbing a balloon on your hair.

This is because the electrons in the

balloon move to one side, leaving

the side touching the hair with a

positive charge. The hair seems to

‘stick’ to the balloon as the

negative charge in the hair is

attracted to the positive charge of

the balloon.

Everyday, general literacy: Academic literacy:

Addressing the issue

• The teaching of language within subject areas

is still problematic across many schools:

“Because we are immersed in an ocean of academic

language daily, it’s hard to notice the habits we

automatically engage in to comprehend such

language... When we become aware of our own

habits and strategies, we can model them and make

them available to our students.”

(Zweiers 2005, 60-61)

How did FBS

address the issue?

“justify” (verb)Show or prove that something is

reasonable or right.

e.g. The student used facts to justify their predictions about the outcome of an

experiment.

Word Of

The Week

Cognitively, students develop their literacy skills in the following order:

Listening � Speaking � Reading � Writing

In order to support this, Literacy Co-ordinator focused on developing

formal, academic S&L skills across all Faculties.

Stages:

1) Each Faculty to complete and return S&L audit.

2) Lit Co to create subject-specific speaking frame for each Faculty/

Dept. to ensure these compliment the reading and writing skills needed

for Y7 students to make progress in each subject.

3) By Summer 2015, each Faculty/Dept. will have access to a subject-

friendly resource.

Whole School Focus: S&L

Why speaking frames?

1. The outcome can be transferred directly into

writing.

2. They encourage students to speak using academic

language.

3. They model ‘good’ language, such as using capital

letters.

4. They support EAL students, as they hear

vocabulary being modelled by native speakers,

before trying it themselves.

5. They are a time saving resource.

Example: Y9 English

(Shakespeare Reading Assessment)

Which aspect of medieval life was most controlled by the

church?

2) The evidence for this is...

3) •This suggests that...

•This is the most important aspect

because...•The effect on the people

was – which is why it is the most important

aspect.

1) The aspect of 1) The aspect of medieval life that

was most controlled by the

church was -because...

Answer

in PEE

Example: Y7 History

What happens when magnesium

reacts with copper sulphate?

3)

• This example explains

that... because...

• This suggests that...

because...

2)

• Source X shows that…

• We can see in Source X

that...

• Source X supports this

by…

• As shown by…

1) When

magnesium reacts

with copper

sulphate...

Key Words

Analogy

Compound

Displace

Displacement

Model

Reactive

Reactivity

Replace

Thermal reaction

Example: Y8 Science

Q. What type of information has been

provided in the question?

2) One type/ _____ types 2) One type/ _____ types of information has/have

been provided in the question:

__________ ____________________

3) This suggests that I will need to calculate:

________________________

1) The first stage of answering the question requires me to....................

Example: Y9 Maths

Effect on student and staff engagement

Consistency of the strategy has led to:

�More positive learning environment.

�Students results are improving – positive effect on written work.

�More consistent inter-faculty collaboration.

Examine an example of collaborative

planning between English and history.

What does ‘collaborative planning’ mean to you?

• I think collaborative

planning is... because...

• I think collaborative

planning is successful when...

Autumn Term (7 + 7 wks) Spring Term (6 + 5 wks) Summer Term (6 + 7 wks)

Y7

Whole School T&L Focus:

Ourselves: Who Am I?

English supports literacy

and expression at this

point, using the ‘Ourselves:

Who Am I?’

English teaches basic essay

writing at the end of the

first half term, through the

‘History of English’ unit.

History: Begin teaching

about how to use PEE in

paragraphs and move on to

set the first structured

extended writing essay

using this literacy skill.

English supports PEE

teaching with inferring and

deducing unit on Beowulf.

English: Writing Non Fiction

for Different Purposes and

the teaching of the use of

rhetorical devices and

language techniques. ‘Awe

& Wonder’ reading and

analysis includes medieval

texts.

History: Writing a

historically based creative

writing story using English

teaching techniques to

improve the quality of the

final project.

History: Pupils study the

peasant’s revolt of 1381.

Chaucer lived above London

gate and would have

witnessed the peasants

gathering outside London

and ransacking the capital.

English: Studying ‘The Wife

of Bath’s Prologue’ and The

Wife of Bath’s Tale’ from

The Canterbury Tales. They

will already have good

knowledge of the medieval

world at this stage.

English: Dr Faustus

(medieval/Renaissance

beliefs, superstitions,

damnation and ‘Faustian’

pacts)

Y8

English: Writing Non

Fiction for Different

Purposes through the

Bermuda Triangle.

History: Studying Elizabeth I

and evaluate the problems

she faced. Also studying

witchcraft during the Tudor

and Stuart period.

English: Studying

Shakespeare (Tempest/

Romeo and Juliet) links to

Elizabethan / Jacobean

England.

History: Studying Oliver

Cromwell and the English

Civil War.

English: Studying Paradise

Lost and its contextual links

Milton, Cromwell and

Charles I & II.

History: Studying the

impact of the British Empire

on India and the skill of

writing to advise.

English: Studying Blake (e.g.

the poems ‘London’ and

‘Little Black Boy’).

History: Studying what

Dickensian London was

really like. Using Oliver

Twist as a lesson starter and

moving on to investigate

workhouses, living

conditions and crime. Also

the skill of writing a

persuasive speech using

writing techniques.

English: Studying Oliver

Twist and the character of

Fagin.

History: Studying the

impact of the empire and

slavery on the Americas.

English: Studying Afro-

American literature (e.g.

slave narratives, plays such

as Fences, etc.)

Y9

History: Studying civil rights

in America in the 20th

century. Using many texts

from the period and linking

to knowledge gained from

the end of Year 8 in History

and English.

History: Studying the

causes and events of the

First World War.

History: Studying the

events of Hitler’s rise to

power and the Second

World War.

English: Studying war

poetry from the First and

Second World Wars. Pupils

should be well versed in the

background to these

events.

History: Studying and

discussing what terrorism is

and why it is used?

English: Reading texts on

people’s perspectives on

conflict.

Humanities Migration

Project

History: What did British

migration do for us?

Geography: Who should

get refugee status?

Religious Studies: What is

the impact of migration on

religion and communities?

English: Poetry from

Different Cultures.

HUMANITIES

EXCELLENCE

EVENING –

ALL YEARS

HUMANITIES

EXCELLENCE

EVENING –

ALL YEARS

HUMANITIES

EXCELLENCE

EVENING –

ALL YEARS

2013-14 Curriculum planning

“Write a historical short story from the perspective of a fictional

historical character, set in a convincing historical setting.”

Martin & Brook, Teaching History 30

Bold key words

to guide

learning.

Option of words or

drawing.

Students ‘visualise’

as the teacher

slowly reads the

passage.

Use of Dickens to

model writing

historical fiction.

Follow up activity:

Students were asked

to rewrite Dickens’

account to make it

more historically

accurate.

What were the outcomes?

Improvements compared to last year...

�More historically accurate.

�Better characterisation.

�Students met a variety of ‘WAF’s

�Big improvement amongst lowest achieving students.

�Favourite topic! “I liked it because I got to think about it through other people’s shoes... It also helps us in English, we can see what we’re getting wrong in English.” Luana - Year 8

Context + skills = deeper understanding

Lesson Objective:To analyse Paradise Lost.

How does the thought of teaching this

text make you feel?

How do you enable your students to meet

this objective within six weeks?

Success Criteria

� Design a medium through which the text can be understood

� Devise a home learning project that challenges students’

understanding of context

� Synthesise in class and out of class learning and encourage

academic literacy

Lesson Objective:To analyse Paradise Lost.

Design a mode through which the text can be

understood

Design a mode through which the text can be

understood

The National Curriculum (2013: 2)for KS3 English “aims to ensure thatall pupils […] appreciate our rich andvaried literary heritage.” The use ofthe pronoun “our” in the above quoteis problematic: for so many of thestudents I teach at Friern BarnetSchool, the literary heritage is in noway “theirs.”

© Dave McMullen,

teaching assistant, FBS.

Devise a home learning project that challenges

students’ understanding of context

Students have a sense of ownership over their

learning and, consequently, the text studied.

Devise a home learning project that challenges

students’ understanding of context

Devise a home learning project that challenges

students’ understanding of context

Students learn how to adapt the genre and

purpose of their writing.

Students are

encouraged to

be creative,

without the

limitations that

a classroom

inflicts.

Devise a home learning project that challenges

students’ understanding of context

Devise a project-based home learning project that

challenges students’ understanding of context

The most able students are suitably challenged and

can be directed straight to the most difficult task,

indicated by the Blooms’ term: ‘evaluate’.

and encourage academic literacy

Synthesise in-class and out-of-class learning

and encourage academic literacy

“Milton is of the Devil’s party without knowing it.”

Comparison of Satan and Oliver Cromwell:

Through the use of the

word/ phrase/

(language device),

Milton implies/

symbolises...

Alternatively, Satan’s

characteristics/sins,

such as ________,

can be justified

because...

Milton further

suggests/ emphasises

that Satan is...,

therefore making the

reader think/ feel...

John Milton presents

Satan as ________,

indicated by the

quote

“___________”.

and encourage academic literacy

Synthesise in-class and out-of-class learning

and encourage academic literacy

How does Milton

present Satan’s

character?

and encourage academic literacy

Synthesise in class and out of class learning

and encourage academic literacy

Students are able

to confidently

analyse the text

and incorporate

important ideas

from their home

learning.

Reflect on and evaluate the success of

your teaching and the students’ learning

� Students understand the narrative of Paradise Lost.

� Students have analysed the language in Paradise Lost.

� Students have evaluated Milton’s authorial intentions in

context.

� Students have synthesised home learning with in-class

learning to create a confident assessment.

� Students have developed their skills in independent

learning, resilience, research, and responsibility.

Session objective 4(a) Evaluate the successes of whole school strategies:

Where have we seen success?

� Staff and student engagement – everyone has been involved in promoting or using these strategies in some way.

� More constructive and enjoyable cross-curricular planning.

� Student awareness of cross-curricular links has been heightened.

� Improved verbal and written communication (both students and staff).

Session objective 4

(b) discuss ‘next steps’.

� Continue to embed speaking frames and other S&L

strategies into SoWs.

� Continue to collaborate across faculties and find new

cross-curricular links.

� Continue to embed Blooms’ project-based work, making

the GAP of each activity specific.

� Extend current literacy focus to include new literacy

focus of GAP in all subject areas.

Any

questions?

Interesting in a literacy

collaboration?

We’d like to hear from you.

Email –

G.Admoni@friern.barnet.sch.uk

Galia Admoni – FBS

Literacy Co-ordinator