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Guidance

Curriculum andStandards

Heads of art anddesign Departmentsand teachers of artand designStatus: Recommended

Date of issue: 10-2004

Ref: DfES 0666-2004 G

Key Stage 3National Strategy

Literacy and learningin art and design

Key Stage 3National Strategy

Literacy and learningLiteracy and learning inart and design

Disclaimer

The Department for Education and Skills wishes to make it clear that the Department andits agents accept no responsibility for the actual content of any materials suggested asinformation sources in this document, whether these are in the form of printed publicationsor on a website.

In these materials icons, logos, software products and websites are used for contextualand practical reasons. Their use should not be interpreted as an endorsement of particularcompanies or their products.

The websites referred to in these materials existed at the time of going to print. Tutorsshould check all website references carefully to see if they have changed and substituteother references where appropriate.

© Crown copyright 2004DfES 0666-2004

2 Literacy and learning in art and designKey Stage 3 National Strategy

Contents

Introduction 5

1 Introduction to literacy and learning 7

A framework for literacy and learning 7

Understanding the framework 10

The three main areas of the framework 10

2 Implementing literacy and learning in art and design 13

The role of the subject leader 13

Reviewing schemes of work 13

Developing the department 13

Monitoring and evaluation 15

3 Explaining and exemplifying the objectives 17

4 Observing effective literacy teaching 53

Prompts for subject leaders 53

5 Contents of the Literacy and learning DVD 57

1 Leading cross-curricular change: literacy 57

2 Literacy and learning: key teaching approaches 57

3 Key teaching approaches index 58





Introduction

This CD-ROM is for subject leaders to help them implement literacy and learning in theirsubject area as part of a whole-school initiative designed to improve teaching and learningand raise standards.

Section 1 introduces the ideas behind the literacy and learning initiative and contains theframework of cross-curricular objectives that is at its heart.

Section 2 outlines ways of working with teachers in the department in order to implementthe scheme.

Section 3 explains and exemplifies the cross-curricular objectives in the context of art anddesign.

Section 4 contains prompts to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of literacy teaching.

Section 5 is an index of material on the Literacy and learning DVD.



© Crown copyright 2004DfES XXXX-2004

6 Literacy and Learning in ArtKey Stage 3 National Strategy



Introduction to literacy and learning

Most subject departments have already made good progress in making aspects of literacypart of their teaching. The literacy and learning initiative seeks to take the process a stepfurther by:

■ connecting the work of separate departments so that more impact is made onpupils;

■ linking literacy explicitly to learning, which is the core business of every teacher.

It does this through setting up a framework of cross-curricular objectives and requiringdifferent subjects to incorporate some of the most appropriate objectives into theirteaching (see pages 8 and 9).

A framework for literacy and learning

The relationship between good learning and good literacy is complex. On the one hand,literacy skills give pupils access to some very important modes of learning. On the otherhand, exercising literacy skills constructively in the context of learning will boost the level ofthose skills. The framework for literacy and learning is a tool to help schools developliteracy and learning across all departments in a systematic way. It is based on objectivestaken from the Framework for teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 (DfEE 0019/2001).

The framework identifies three main areas for development:

■ Learning through talk.

■ Learning from text.

■ Learning through writing.

The framework is based on the following assumptions:

■ Literacy skills need to be taught systematically and consistently.

■ Pupils should be given regular opportunities to consolidate their literacy skills byusing them purposefully in order to learn.

■ All teachers in a school must share the responsibility for developing literacy andlearning ‘hand in hand’.

■ Certain subject areas are better placed to develop certain literacy skills thanothers.

1



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Understanding the framework

Each area of the framework divides into three strands:

Learning through talk Using talk to clarify and present ideas

Active listening to understand

Talking and thinking together

Learning from text Developing research and study skills

Reading for meaning

Understanding how texts work

Learning through writing Using writing as a tool for thought

Structuring and organising writing

Developing clear and appropriate expression

Each strand has a single objective for each of Years 7, 8 and 9 (see the framework tableon page 8). These objectives should be a focus for teaching across the curriculum in eachgiven year and should be linked into departmental schemes of work. The responsibility forteaching the different strands is shared out among the subject areas. See the ‘literacyskills pie’ on page 9, which shows a suggested way of sharing out the objectives.

Of course, all the strands are potentially relevant to learning in all subject areas but the piemodel has the advantage of defining which subject areas are best placed to developcertain skills. Also, while ensuring that skills are not taught by one department in isolation,it reduces the overall load for departments because they are not expected to incorporateall of the objectives into their teaching plans. The objectives for art and design areexplained and exemplified in section 3 of this text.

It is important to say that both the framework of cross-curricular objectives and the‘literacy skills pie’ are offered as suggested models. Through a thorough process of self-review, schools could identify their own sets of objectives or literacy targets linked toidentified weaknesses in each year group, and allocate the teaching of these to separatedepartments. If your school has decided to modify the framework, your literacycoordinator will consult with you on those changes, as it is important that all departmentswork consistently to the same model so that all objectives are covered and are reinforcedfor pupils in a number of subjects across the curriculum.

The three main areas of the framework

Learning through talk

‘As pupils use talk purposefully in their learning, they become more competentcommunicators, more aware of, and knowledgeable about, the medium they areusing.’

Hilary Kemeny, Ed., Learning together through talk, Key Stages 3 and 4, Hodderand Stoughton, 1993



Speaking and listening (talk) takes place in classrooms in a range of contexts and for arange of purposes. Sometimes the emphasis is on presentation. Here, one or more peopleare the presenters and the role of the others is to listen and perhaps respond at an agreedtime. At other times, there is an expectation that there will be a constant interchangebetween speakers and listeners, such as when groups of pupils are discussing thesolution to a problem which they have been set.

Talk can contribute to learning in three main ways:

■ Through purposeful speaking and listening, pupils come to understand newinformation by connecting it with what they already know.

■ The process of striving to express ideas in words, or striving to grasp the spokenideas of another, helps to clarify and confirm understanding.

■ Talking together in discussion is an interactive process, which allows an individual’sunderstanding to be extended, challenged and enriched.

Learning from text

‘When reading for learning, the actual process can be thought of as comprisingfive phases: decoding, making sense of what is said, comparing this with whatone knows already, making judgements about this material and, finally, revisingone’s ideas. … But all too often the process stops at the second phase …’

Lunzer and Gardner, Learning from the written word, Longman, 1984

Because of advances in technology, today’s pupils have greater access to more text inmore forms than ever before. Moreover, recent international surveys have shown Englishpupils to be amongst the best readers in the world. Yet, paradoxically, teachers’expectations of the extent to which pupils can learn from text are sometimes low. This canlead to:

■ a reluctance to ask pupils to read;

■ an increase in workload as teachers seek to mediate all new information to theirpupils in other ways;

■ a decrease in the ability and willingness of pupils to engage independently withtext.

A consistent approach to promoting active and independent reading will, however, bringbenefits to all subject areas as pupils begin to learn more effectively from text by:

■ developing strategies for identifying texts that contain relevant information, andthen using that information for a purpose;

■ close reading of text for understanding – not merely decoding but making sense ofwhat is written and connecting it with what is known already;

■ understanding the overall purposes and structures of texts.

Learning through writing

‘… it (writing) gives us time and opportunity for reflection. The words are not goneas soon as spoken, but are before us on the page for consideration, and thisenables us to deal with more complex ideas and the relationships between them.’

Andrew Wilkinson, Ed., The writing of writing, OUP, 1986



Whenever writing takes place, there is always a purpose and an intended reader.Sometimes we write for ourselves and, in this case:

■ writing helps in the capture and development of thoughts and ideas, because itleaves a record that can be returned to, considered and modified.

At other times, we write with the intention of communicating to others, which contributesto learning because:

■ communicating in writing clarifies, confirms, even transforms understandingthrough a complex process of:

– linking ideas and pieces of information and organising them logically;

– ‘wrestling’ with words to form clear, meaningful sentences.

Recording is an important purpose for writing, but high-quality writing tasks will bedesigned to have a learning outcome as well. A consistent approach to teaching writingacross the school will boost the quality of both pupils’ learning and writing.



Implementing literacy and learning in art and design

The aims of the literacy and learning initiative are to:

■ raise standards of literacy across the school;

■ improve the quality of learning across the school;

■ extend, sustain or revive previous work on literacy across the curriculum.

The role of the subject leader

Literacy and learning is a whole-school improvement initiative. Once the scheme has beenintroduced to the school’s staff, it must be taken forward in subject departments. The roleof the subject leader or head of department is crucial and includes:

■ reviewing schemes of work to incorporate the literacy objectives;

■ contributing to the professional development of members of the department byidentifying relevant training and/or facilitating coaching arrangements to ensurethat subject teachers have a good understanding of the objectives and areconfident about teaching them;

■ participating in monitoring and evaluation activity.

Subject leaders can best fulfil these roles in partnership with senior leaders, the schoolliteracy coordinator and departmental colleagues.

Reviewing schemes of work

The literacy and learning framework should not have any implications for the content of thedepartment’s scheme of work, but it may well have implications relating to teachingapproaches. The main aim of the review is, therefore, to identify areas of work that lendthemselves to the incorporation of a literacy objective alongside the subject objectives.The aim is to improve learning in the subject and literacy ‘hand in hand’. It would behelpful to approach the review in four steps:

1 Identify the objectives assigned to your subject by using the framework and the‘literacy skills pie’.

2 Become familiar with these objectives by looking at the exemplification in section 3 ofthis text.

3 Identify areas of the scheme of work where the objectives fit best.

4 Identify any changes of teaching approach that may be required for the aim ofimproving learning and developing literacy. Section 3 of this Literacy and learningCD-ROM includes ideas for a range of teaching approaches linked to the objectives.

Developing the department

During the process of identifying objectives and reviewing schemes of work – a processthat will undoubtedly involve consultation with members of the department – aspects ofliteracy teaching may be identified as problematic for some or all colleagues. It may be thatcertain objectives are not well understood, or that individual teachers are not confidentwith particular teaching approaches. It may be that inexperienced colleagues requiretraining on an aspect of literacy, or that more-experienced colleagues feel they need anupdate. Whatever the situation, the subject leader should identify the training needs in thedepartment. Ultimately, the impact on pupils’ literacy and learning in the subject willdepend on the quality of the teaching, so it is important that provision is made to ensure

2



that all colleagues have the opportunity to fill any gaps in their professional knowledge andunderstanding.

The Literacy and learning pack provides a wealth of training resources that can be used tosupport the professional development either of the whole department or of particularindividuals within it. The table below lists these resources showing where they can befound and how they may best be of use.

Resource Where to find it Recommended uses

Literacy and learning DVD

Contains video examples of literacy teaching (see page 58 of this CD-ROM for a full index)



The school has one copywhich will be with eitherthe Key Stage 3 Strategymanager or the literacycoordinator.

The DVD may contain anexample of teaching whichthe whole departmentcould discuss, or,alternatively, it could beviewed by one or twocolleagues for whom it isparticularly relevant.

This Literacy and learningin art and designCD-ROM

Contains the full textincluding exemplificationof all relevant objectives.

Also contains text andvideo of Literacy in artand design (for school-based use and self-study),which covers:

■ planning forpurposeful speakingand listening;

■ approaches toactive reading;

■ teaching writingsystematically.

Literacy in art and design(for in-school use and self-study) is a useful resourcefor any teachers who wereunable to benefit from theLiteracy in art and designtraining provided recentlyby LEAs.

For example, it canprovide material for adepartmental meeting witha focus on active-readingstrategies.

It is particularly useful forindividual teachers to useas a study aid to fill aparticular knowledge gap.

The Literacy and learningin art and design booklet.

Guidance for subjectleaders – an abridgedversion of this text.

In the Literacy andlearning pack.

There are also other resources and strategies which subject leaders can use to supportthe professional development of their departmental colleagues. A full index of Key Stage 3Strategy resources relating to literacy is available in Appendix 3 of Literacy and learning:Guidance for senior leaders. Many of these publications are already in school or they canbe ordered from DfES Publications or downloaded from the Key Stage 3 Strategy website(www.standards.dfes.gov.uk).

Although publications are very useful for updating knowledge and understanding, researchsuggests that it is important for teachers to receive support when applying any newteaching approaches in their lessons. Subject leaders may be able to offer help in thisrespect by demonstrating aspects of teaching, by team teaching, or by observing teachingand giving feedback. LEA consultants and colleagues in school may be able to offersupport of this type as well. Another strategy is coaching, where pairs of teachers worktogether to improve an aspect of practice. This is described in the Key Stage 3 Strategypublication called Sustaining improvement, a suite of modules on Coaching, Runningnetworks and Building capacity (DfES 0565–2003 G).

Monitoring and evaluation

Improvements in pupils’ learning and their literacy skills will only be secured and sustainedif subject leaders monitor and evaluate the planning and teaching in their department.Senior leaders also have a role to play in monitoring and evaluating the impact of thewhole-school initiative, so the two processes should be coordinated.

The particular role of the subject leader is to:

■ monitor that any changes incorporated into the department’s planning are beingimplemented in classrooms;

■ judge the effectiveness of the implementation in both planning and teaching;

■ offer support to bring about improvement, where appropriate.

An aid to judging the effectiveness of the teaching of cross-curricular literacy objectivescan be found in section 4 of this text. This is a series of prompts, which help to focus theprocess of observation and feedback.

The Literacy and learning in art and design CD-ROM provides helpful materials forsupporting colleagues. Other useful sources of ideas are:

■ the Literacy and learning DVD which is in school (see section 5 of this text);

■ other material previously published by the Key Stage 3 Strategy (see the guide inAppendix 3 of Literacy and learning: Guidance for senior leaders);

■ Sustaining improvement, a suite of modules on Coaching, Running networks andBuilding capacity (DfES 0565–2003 G).





Explaining and exemplifying the objectives

This section of the text contains an entry for each cross-curricular literacy objective that isassigned to art.

The cross-curricular objectives exemplified for art and design are:

Learning through talk Using talk to clarify and present ideasActive listening to understandTalking and thinking together

Learning from text Developing research and study skills

Learning through writing Using writing as a tool for thoughtDeveloping clear and appropriate expression

Each entry has three sections:

■ About this objective – which explains in general terms what is meant.

■ What to teach – which explains key points that will need to be taught if theobjective is to be met.

■ Teaching approaches – where the teaching of the objective is exemplified withideas that can be applied directly to classroom teaching.

The objectives are organised by Year and by aspect.


Year 7 Learning from text








3





Year 7

Learning through talk: using talk to clarify and present ideas

Year 7 objective: Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas, e.g. by articulatingproblems or asking pertinent questions.

About this objective

This objective develops the use of talk as a tool for developing thinking. It is likely to betaught in the context of problem-solving, planning a project or discussing an issue. Itneeds to be taught in a range of contexts and is clearly a cross-curricular objective. Theobjective requires pupils to listen closely and contribute effectively to talk through buildingupon, questioning and challenging the points made by others.

What to teach

■ How to begin by defining the task, e.g. ‘Right, so what have we got to do?’.Specific problems or difficulties should be outlined before and during the task, e.g.‘We don’t understand the bit where …’.

■ That talk is likely to be tentative, e.g. ‘Perhaps she means that …’. Points will beexpressed in a more informal register than, for instance, a prepared pupilpresentation.

■ How to signal new ideas or assertions, e.g. ‘Well, another way of looking at it …’.Reiteration may be marked by phrases such as ‘Anyway, I still think …’.

■ How to ask speculative questions, such as ‘What do you think this means?’.

■ How to express connections between ideas, e.g. ‘So if that means … surely thismust …’.

■ How to work cooperatively, supporting each other’s positive points throughaffirmatives, e.g. ‘Brilliant! That’s it!’, and elaborating on comments, e.g. ‘Yes, andthere’s another example in the other painting …’.

■ How to take turns in both whole-class and small-group work. Alert listeners to theneed to judge the right moment to contribute, and remind speakers of theimportance of letting others join in.

■ That there will be pivotal points during discussion when important ideas orsolutions are proposed. These need to be clearly signalled and backed up withevidence, e.g. ‘Surely the most important feature is … because …’. The speakermay need to monitor understanding, e.g. ‘Do you see what I mean?’.

■ How to counter or challenge ideas and offer supporting evidence, e.g. ‘Yes, but onthe other hand …’.

■ How to manage discussion as it proceeds, by occasionally taking stock, e.g.‘Right, so we’ve agreed that …’, before proposing the next step, e.g. ‘So now weneed to …’.

Teaching approaches

■ Ensure that pupils have plenty of opportunities to discuss their ideas, about theirown artwork and that of others, in pairs and in small groups.

■ Model for all pupils some of the language needed in a discussion about thesimilarities and differences in pieces of art or in buildings, drawing their attention tophrases such as; ‘Another similarity I can see is …’ or ‘By contrast in this building …’.



Y7

■ Organise pupils into pairs to discuss the similarities and differences between theirapproaches to a task, for instance, their interpretation of self-image, or betweenpaintings or sculptures of the same subject by different artists.

■ Choose six or seven examples of an artist’s or an architect’s work. Organise pupilsinto small groups where each group should look at, discuss and identify thecharacteristics of one piece. A checklist for pupils which indicates characteristics(e.g. materials, use of colour, use of light, lines, shapes, etc.) could be used tosupport and guide pupils. Each person in the group should become an ‘expert’ onthat piece. Now reorganise the groups so that each group member moves to joina new group. In the new group, each ‘expert’ should outline the characteristics oftheir original group’s piece. The new group should then discuss the similarities anddifferences between the pieces and report back at a plenary.



Y7

Year 7

Learning through talk: active listening to understand

Year 7 objective: Listen for and recall the main points of a talk, reading ortelevision programme, reflecting on what has been heard to ask searchingquestions, make comments or challenge the views expressed.


This objective requires sustained listening and response in a variety of contexts. Theobjective is a good cross-curricular focus, requiring pupils to develop listening skills usingcommon techniques. It links closely with note-making skills and the ability to retain orrecord relevant information. Providing note-making grids can support pupils by giving moredetailed prompts for those who need them. The Literacy across the curriculum (DfEE0235/2001) training file provides strategies to support note making (module 8: Listening,and module 9: Making notes).

What to teach

■ How to recognise the main organisational features of different types of spokentexts. For example, a television documentary may start with an explanation of itspurpose, raise a series of points, and end with an overview which possibly raisesfurther questions. Knowing about the structure of the material in advance will helppupils to listen out for relevant information.

■ Specific phrases which signal to the listener that a key point is about to be made, e.g.‘Another point …’, ‘Furthermore …’, ‘So …’, ‘To sum up …’. Knowledge of these oralmarkers will help pupils to recognise when key points are about to be made.

■ How to prepare in advance for a listening task, e.g. preparing questions that youwant the answers to, making notes based on prior knowledge, anticipating keypoints or identifying a specific piece of information to listen out for.

■ How to use a range of note-making skills to record relevant information, ideas andquestions for later use. Note making is not just about recording key points; a well-prepared note-making task can ensure that pupils reflect on, ask questions aboutor challenge information which they have heard.

Teaching approaches

■ Use the beginning of a video about an artist or architect, or a piece of artwork orbuilding, to demonstrate oral markers. Use ‘pause’ and ‘rewind’ facilities to drawpupils’ attention to those oral features. Tell pupils that you want them to look outfor and indicate with hands up further examples of oral markers. Continue thevideo but pause it when pupils indicate.

■ Model how to use and prepare a note-making grid and/or prepare questions priorto seeing a video about an artist or architect, or a piece of artwork or building.Pupils should then be asked to work in pairs to prepare their own note-makinggrid or questions. Show the video, during which pupils should use their grid orquestions to help them note the main points. After seeing the video, pupils shouldbe asked to consider how effective their grids or questions were, and to suggestimprovements. A plenary during or at the end of the lesson could ask pairs ofpupils to say what they thought the main points were, and also to mention thestrengths of their grids or questions and what they might do to improve them.

■ Read aloud a brief account of an architect’s or artist’s life and work, telling pupilsin advance that, as you read, they should think of a question about the materialthat they can put to other pupils to test their listening skills.



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Year 7

Learning through talk: talking and thinking together

Year 7 objective: Identify and report the main points emerging from discussion,e.g. to agree a course of action including responsibilities and deadlines.


This objective requires pupils to report the main points from discussion in a variety ofways, e.g. to another group, to the teacher or to the class. Speaking frames or sentence-starter oral prompts could be given to support pupils in structuring their report back.Pupils will probably need to make notes of key points as an aide-memoire. Teachermodelling or note-making frames may provide useful support. Teachers could also usepupils primed for the task to model reporting back key points for the rest of the class.

What to teach

Identifying main points

■ Adjectives to convey importance, e.g. main, key, significant, important, crucial.

■ Adverbs to convey intensity of feeling, e.g. strongly, firmly, surely.

■ Adverbials at the start of sentences to gain attention or establish control, e.g.‘Right …’, ‘So …’.

■ Connectives to signal opposing views, e.g. but, conversely, alternatively.

■ Connectives to summarise views, e.g. therefore, so.

■ Connectives to indicate a sequence of ideas, e.g. firstly, secondly, thirdly, next,then, also.

Reporting main points

■ Orientating the audience by giving the context of the discussion, e.g. ‘Our groupwas discussing …’.

■ Itemising the main points using the first person plural, e.g. ‘First of all we agreedthat …’ and giving reasons ‘This was because …’.

■ Signalling movement to the next point, using an introductory sentence stem orconnective, e.g. ‘Our second point was …’, ‘Secondly…’, ‘Next …’.

■ Concluding the report clearly, e.g. ‘Thus, our view is …’ or ‘Therefore, we felt …’.

■ How to make brief notes to support oral feedback.



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Language associated with roles adopted

Phases of Chairperson Group membersdiscussion

Initiate discussion ‘Right, we need to ‘I think we need to … decide …’ because …’

Generate ideas ‘Does anyone have any ‘What about …?’ideas about …?’

Express support for ‘Go on …’, ‘Yes, I agree others because …’, ‘What then …?’

Discuss different ‘I feel strongly because …’, viewpoints ‘But don’t you think we need

to … because …?’, ‘But surely we also want to include …?’, ‘What about Jane’s alternative?’, ‘But surely that was more important because …?’

Check understanding ‘Do you see what I mean?’

Identify main ideas ‘Right, we need to agree on ‘Surely one of our main the main points … Would points was …?’ anyone like to suggest …?’ ‘Several people felt

strongly that …’

Establish ‘Okay, so we need to ‘I would like to …’responsibilities and decide who is going to do deadlines what …’

‘Right, who would like to …?’

‘John, do you think you could get that done by …?’

‘Right, let’s summarise our decisions … Shall I sum up what we’ve agreed?’

‘The group decided that …’ ‘Let’s run through the main points we’ve agreed …’

Teaching approaches

Identifying main points

Also see the Year 7 objective: Listen for and recall the main points of a talk … .

■ Prior to small groups of pupils discussing a piece of artwork, or ideas for their nextpiece of work on self-image or landscape, tell them that they will need to reportback the main points of their discussion to the rest of the class. Give out anddemonstrate how a note-making grid (see below) can help to capture the mainpoints of a discussion and also help with the formulation of a report. Nominateone person in each group to be responsible for note making on the grid. When the

discussion has finished, tell the groups that the note-maker should share theirnotes with the group, so the other pupils can approve them.

Reporting main points

■ Use a grid like the one below, in which you have already written the main points,to model how notes can be used to construct a brief report on the main points ofa discussion to give to others. Pupils in their earlier groups should then use theirgrids from the previous discussion to construct their own report, with one or twomembers of each group nominated to present the report to the rest of the class.

An example of a note-making grid:

Discussion topic:

Main points:

■

■

■

■

■

■

Summary:



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Year 7

Learning from text: developing research and study skills

Year 7 objective: Use appropriate reading strategies to extract particularinformation, e.g. highlighting, scanning.


Pupils need to be taught how to use the full range of reading strategies in order to accesssubjects across the curriculum. Teaching needs to include opportunities for pupils toexperiment with ways of reading for different purposes. Close attention is needed on how toextract specific information from texts. Pupils must be provided with opportunities to honeskills such as skimming, scanning and close reading, both in English and in other subjects.Note-making skills should be modelled and practised. Note-making formats should be used.

What to teach

The main reading strategies which develop efficient reading and focus on the importantfeatures of a text:

■ Skimming – glancing quickly through a passage to get the gist of it, e.g. lookingthrough a newspaper to see what is worth reading, or glancing at sub-headings ina book.

■ Scanning – searching for a particular piece of information, e.g. looking up aphone number, finding a date or fact in a longer piece of text.

■ Close reading – careful study of a text, including pausing to think or look back inorder to examine the text in detail.

The following range of activities support these reading strategies: highlighting, text-marking, sequencing, annotating, text restructuring, labelling and cloze exercises.

Teaching approaches

■ Give out a range of art books from the library. Use three of the books to indicatethe features that art books share with other non-fiction texts to help the reader findinformation easily, such as an alphabetical index, glossary and table of contents.Ask pupils, in pairs, to find out and note down which features their books have.Then write two questions on the board: one about an artist and one about atechnique. Using the three books, model first how you would skim each book tosee which is most likely to answer each of the questions on the board. Thenmodel how you would use the features of the book to narrow down the location ofthe information you require. Finally, model how to scan to find the actualinformation. Ask pupils, in pairs, to use the features of their books to skim andscan to find the answers to either or both of the questions. When they havecompleted that task, ask a couple of pairs to demonstrate to the rest of the classhow they found the answers.

■ Distribute copies of an article about an artist or an architect. Using an OHT of thearticle, model how you would identify and highlight pieces of the text, by scanningfor key words and phrases that would answer a particular question or focus ofinterest. Now ask pupils, in pairs, to see if they can scan the text to find andhighlight other pieces of text that might answer that or another question. Ask pairsof pupils to share their findings with the rest of the class.



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Year 7

Learning through writing: using writing as a tool for thought

Year 7 objective: Use writing to explore and develop ideas, e.g. journals,brainstorming techniques and mental-mapping activities.


This objective recognises that:

■ writing can record ideas so that they are not forgotten and can be returned to forreference, further thought and development;

■ the process of recording a thought in writing often clarifies or strengthens it oreven exposes it as less coherent than it seemed when first thought or spoken.

This kind of writing is not generally meant to communicate to a wider audience; it is morelikely to be part of notes, jottings or plans that could underpin another piece of writing, aspoken presentation, the solution to a problem or a practical task. It may, however, not bewritten for just the writer to read if, for example, it is in the context of a group task. Thepurpose of writing like this is to capture ideas and possibilities and to develop them byclustering, making links, deciding on sequences, ranking for importance, and makingsome additions and deletions. The ideas are also captured so that they can be questionedand evaluated.

What to teach

■ That sometimes writing must be ephemeral and exploratory. If exercise books andjournals are always seen as neat books, with crossings out as wrong, it will bedifficult to cultivate writing to explore and develop ideas.

■ A range of techniques for jotting down ideas for further work and evaluation, sopupils can begin to select those that suit them and the task best.

■ How to use ‘brainstorms’, mind maps and other ways of capturing thoughts andideas, and how to change and cluster these ideas to develop them further.

■ How to use hierarchical notes, such as pyramids, so pupils learn how to begin tostructure ideas in priority order.

■ How to modify notes in the light of discussion and experience.

■ Encourage pupils to suggest formats for jotting down ideas, and share theseapproaches with the rest of the class.

■ How to use part of the exercise book as a journal, and how to write regularly torecord, question and reflect on learning.

Teaching approaches

■ Model with the whole class how to use a mind map, which includes both wordsand images, to work on and plan an idea for a piece of artwork on self-image orlandscape. Then ask pupils to develop their own ideas for a similar piece ofartwork. Before pupils use their mind map as the basis for their work, demonstratehow you review a mind map and make changes to the detail and order, and howthis process is often helped when someone else asks questions or comments onit. Tell pupils to work in pairs to share and question each other’s mind maps inorder to review and clarify their planning.



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■ Using a simple checklist (see below), model how to annotate a picture of a pieceof artwork or a building, so that the ideas can be shared with others, be used asthe basis for a written description/review, or inform plans for an original piece ofartwork.

Annotation checklist:

– Form (e.g. painting, building)

– Subject and content (what it’s about)

– Materials (what it’s made of)

– Process (how it was made)

– Features (e.g. use of line, shape, colour, light)

– Mood (what it’s making me feel and think about)

■ Demonstrate how to start a journal to help pupils experiment, collect images andexplain the thoughts and ideas that they have about their own art and designwork. Explain and show pupils that journals can include:

– outlines of projects;

– first ideas/brainstorms on projects;

– sketches with annotations and explanations showing how ideas develop;

– information about artists and descriptions of their work;

– reproductions of the artwork referred to;

– reflections on the artwork as it progressed;

– evaluations on the strengths and weaknesses of their own final pieces.



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Year 7

Learning through writing: developing clear and appropriateexpression

Year 7 objective: Recognise the cues to start a new paragraph and use the firstsentence effectively to orientate the reader, e.g. when there is a shift in topic,viewpoint or time.


This objective builds on and reinforces what has been taught in Key Stage 2. Pupils needto understand and apply the different conventions of starting new paragraphs in fiction andnon-fiction. The objective has two parts: recognition in reading and application in writing.This objective links with other objectives relating to the organisation of writing and shouldbe taught as part of the sequence for writing.

What to teach

■ Cues to start a new paragraph in non-fiction:

– A change of topic

– To make a new point within a topic

– A change of time

– A change of viewpoint

■ That speech markers such as anyway and right often signal a new topic inspeech. Rather than writing these words, pupils should try a new paragraph.

Teaching approaches

■ Using an extract from a piece of writing about an artist or an architect, show thewhole class different ways in which paragraphs can be started in non-fiction (e.g.change of topic, time, viewpoint, etc.), and how the opening sentence guides thereader about the subject and content of the rest of the paragraph. Organise pupilsto work in pairs. Distribute envelopes containing separated opening sentences andparagraphs from a short article about an artist or architect and ask the pairs todiscuss and match the opening sentences with their corresponding paragraphsand be prepared to justify their decisions.

■ Give pupils, in pairs, paragraphs from an article about an artist or architect (or awork of art or a building) but with the opening sentence missing. Ask the pairs todevise their own opening sentence for each paragraph. Then ask selected pairs toread out their first sentence with the accompanying paragraph and compare itwith the original and discuss any similarities and differences.

■ Following work where pupils have investigated the work of an artist or architectand have planned a piece of writing, model with the whole class how to write thefirst paragraph, paying particular attention to the opening sentence and its role ofguiding the reader about the content of the rest of the paragraph. Now ask theclass to help you write the opening sentence of the second paragraph. Organisepupils into pairs and tell them to write the third paragraph, again paying attentionto the opening sentence. Ask some pairs to read out their paragraphs and discusstheir merits. Pupils should then start to write paragraphs for the piece of writing onthe artist or architect they have been studying.



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Year 8


Year 8 objective: Provide an explanation or commentary which links words withactions or images, e.g. a sports commentary or talking to a sequence of images.


This objective focuses on the way that the spoken word is often linked to actions orimages in a range of contexts. For example:

■ the demonstration of a practical skill where the commentary is designed to explainand inform;

■ a documentary film where the voice-over communicates the meaning in parallelwith the visual images;

■ communicating information to an audience using pictures or slides;

■ speaking stimulated by a series of still images, for instance, telling the story orexplaining the process portrayed by a series of pictures in a book.

Pupils need to develop their ability to explain in words the actions which they are takingwhen involved in practical activities so they can demonstrate their understanding and theirability to reflect on and evaluate their work. There is also an important link with mediaobjectives, as it is important for pupils to be able to read images and comment on them.Linking words with visual images is also an effective way of making a presentation to anaudience. This objective builds on the Year 7 objectives, because explaining andcommentating develop the skills of summarising and reporting. It involves pupilsunderstanding the way in which words can support and explain pictures, summarise thecontent and/or interpret pictures in a way which may influence the audience.

What to teach

■ How to provide a spoken commentary on a sequence of your own actions inorder to inform, explain, or evaluate.

■ How to make a commentary coherent by considering the sequence of points andhow they can be linked.

■ How to select images that will best enhance a presentation.

■ How to draw attention to particular aspects of the images that are of mostsignificance.

■ How to consider the needs of the audience (e.g. their likely prior knowledge) sothat the commentary will be clear and informative.

■ How to listen to commentaries and to compare that commentary with the visualimage they are watching.

■ How to use short clear sentences for maximum effect and at what point to saythem when the image is moving.

■ How to match tone of voice to the images and the purpose of the commentary,e.g. sympathetic or enthusiastic.

■ How, when demonstrating an activity or making a presentation, to use gesture andfacial expression to enhance the impact of the spoken commentary.



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Teaching approaches

■ Model to the whole class, using an OHT or interactive whiteboard and a checklistof characteristics (e.g. materials, use of colour, use of light, lines, shapes, etc.),how to annotate a piece of art to show how words and phrases are linked tospecific characteristics.

■ Organise pupils into pairs and, using the checklist (see above), ask pupils to eitherfurther annotate the same piece of art or annotate a new piece.

■ Model to the class how to use the annotations around a piece of work to providea spoken explanation, emphasising useful connectives such as, furthermore,however, etc.

■ Organise pupils into small groups where they can use their annotations to talkabout a piece of work to others.

■ When working with ICT on the QCA Animating art scheme of work (Unit 8B,www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/scheme3/), demonstrate how a series of linkedimages can be put together with a voice-over to support the sequence.

■ When the opportunity arises, ask pupils to demonstrate to another group of pupilsa technique which they have mastered to some extent. For example, a pupil couldshow their finished picture and comment on aspects such as how they did theshading, or how they achieved a particular paint effect.



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Year 8


Year 8 objective: Listen for a specific purpose, paying sustained attention andselecting for comment or question that which is relevant to the agreed focus.


This objective requires pupils to listen with a purpose, selecting relevant information. ByYear 9, pupils are being asked to listen for implied meaning. In Year 8 they are expected tolisten for a detailed understanding of content, and to focus on specific areas for comment.Focused, sustained listening is a skill that many pupils need to develop. The objective is agood cross-curricular focus, requiring pupils to develop listening skills in a range ofcontexts, using common techniques. It links closely with note-making skills and the abilityto retain or record relevant information. Note-making grids can support pupils by providingmore detailed prompts for those who need them.

What to teach

■ How we listen in different ways for different purposes. When listening to thefootball results on the car radio, we may be very focused – waiting for a mentionof a particular team’s results. Listening to friends talking about what they did at theweekend will be different – picking up the general drift of what several people did.Pupils also need to know that in school lessons they should listen in different waysfor different purposes, such as listening out for specific information or listeningcarefully in order to carry out a follow-up task, for example, writing an informativeleaflet about an artist’s work after watching a television programme.

■ How to spot the clues that will indicate relevant information is about to beprovided which they need to record. A television programme, for example, may bedivided into sub-sections with helpful captions. A radio arts programme may havea pause between each item. A well-prepared speaker in a debate may signalmovement from point to point with phrases like ‘Another reason for consideringBraque’s work as great is …’.

■ How to listen out for and select relevant information, making use of key words andphrases.

■ How to use note-making skills to record key points quickly and efficiently. For example:

– use bullet points or leave a space between points;

– use abbreviations;

– note key words and phrases;

– underline important points;

– use diagrams and flow charts.

■ How to comment on or question the material they are listening to.



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Teaching approaches

Use a KWL grid to show pupils how to prepare a series of key questions about an artist ora piece of artwork or a building. Pupils should then work in pairs to construct their ownKWL grid in order to identify their own key questions. Play a video or sound recordingabout an artist or a piece of artwork or building, instructing pupils to be ready to focus ontheir key questions and to jot down responses. Afterwards, pupils should complete theirgrids and each pair could share its responses with a neighbouring pair. A plenary during orat the end of the lesson could ask groups to say what they thought the main points were.

KWL grid

What do I Know about What do I Want to know What have I Learntthis topic? about it? about it?



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Year 8


Year 8 objective: Use talk to question, hypothesise, speculate, evaluate, solveproblems and develop thinking about complex issues and ideas.


This objective develops the use of talk as a tool for developing thinking. It needs to betaught in a range of contexts and lends itself additionally to cross-curricular work. Teachermodelling or other examples of this use of talk support pupils to understand how theprocess works. Pupils need both specific support with linguistic structures for hypothesisand speculation and also help with managing their contributions to group work.

What to teach

Questioning

■ How to use questions to open up a discussion, such as ‘What about …?’ (offeringa suggestion) or ‘So what do you think, Sam?’ (drawing in someone else).

■ How to use questions to probe/challenge, e.g. ‘And what about …?’, ‘What if …?’, ‘Do you agree, irrespective of …?’, ‘So why do you think that …?’, ‘Afterwhat Sara has just said, do you still believe …?’, ‘Do you really feel that …?’,‘What about the opposing view that …?’

Hypothesis and speculation

■ How to use talk in a tentative way. Explore the use of:

– adverbials, e.g. ‘Probably …’, ‘Possibly …’, ‘Maybe …’, ‘Perhaps …’,‘Presumably …’;

– modal verbs (can, may, might, should, will ), e.g. ‘It may be …’, ‘Should we …?’,‘Could we …?’;

– other tentative/speculative verbs, e.g. ‘I think …’, ‘This suggests …’, ‘I wonder …’, ‘I guess …’, ‘I suppose …’, ‘I doubt …’;

– questions, e.g. ‘What if …?’ or ‘What about …?’.

Evaluation

■ How to offer statements of opinion, judgement, likes and dislikes, e.g. ‘In myopinion …’, ‘It seems …’, ‘I think …’, ‘I would rather …’.

■ How to use:

– comparative/contrasting connectives, e.g. compared with, similarly, likewise,alternatively, whereas, on the other hand, despite;

– causal connectives, e.g. because, therefore, so, in that case, still, even though,as a result, consequently;

– adjectives (including comparative and superlative forms), e.g. better, best, morethan, most;

– verbs to indicate value judgements, e.g. prefer, would rather, like/dislike.



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Solving problems and thinking about complex issues and ideas

■ How to use the language of co-operation and negotiation, e.g. ‘Should we …?’,‘Would it be a good idea if …?’, ‘I propose that …’.

■ How using absolutes, such as never or always, can close down opportunities fornegotiation and compromise.

■ How to use summative comments to offer a solution, e.g. ‘Well, I think we should …’, ‘What about if we …’, ‘Therefore …’, ‘Consequently …’, ‘As acompromise …’,

■ How to express multifaceted, or more complex, views, e.g. ‘I don’t like it, but I can understand why …’ or ‘Although I wouldn’t, I can see why some peoplewould …’.

■ How to echo other’s ideas in giving a response, e.g. ‘So you think that …’, ‘Does that mean …?’.

■ How to develop other‘s ideas, e.g. ‘Yes, we could …’ or ‘What about if we then …?’.

■ The effect of affirming or positive body language to encourage discussion, such asnodding, eye contact (but not solidly staring at someone), seating position (forexample, leaning forward slightly, with ‘open’ body, body turned towards thespeaker), arms should not be crossed, voices level.

■ The value of verbal ‘fillers’, such as ‘mmm’, ‘yes’, while nodding to keep thediscussion going.

Teaching approaches

Effective questions

■ Give pupils a list of different question stems (such as ‘What if …?’, ‘Do you thinkthat …?’, ‘Why have …?’, etc.) which are commonly used when discussing ideasfor art or evaluating pieces of art. Working either with another teacher, a classroomassistant or an able pupil (perhaps from an older age group), demonstrate thedifferent ways in which questions can be phrased to open up a discussion, andask pupils to use their lists to indicate different question stems. After thediscussion, ask pupils to say which question stem with its question elicited thebest responses. Now ask pupils to discuss, in groups, a new idea for a piece ofartwork, perhaps for the QCA Shared view scheme of work (Unit 8C,www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/scheme3/), and to use the question stem list togenerate some new questions. One pupil in the group should be nominated to bethe observer, whose job it is to identify the questions which generate the most fulland effective responses. Following the discussion, the groups should briefly talkabout which questions were most effective and be prepared to report those backto the rest of the class.

Expressing opinions and judgements

■ Ask pupils for the sorts of phrases that people use when expressing opinions andjudgements about art, such as ‘I think’ or ‘I like’, and collect pupils’ responses onthe board. In pairs, pupils should now take it in turns to express their opinionabout a piece of art, one statement at a time, trying to use a different phrase eachtime.

Year 8


Year 8 objective: Make notes in different ways, choosing a form which suits thepurpose, e.g. diagrammatic notes, making notes during a video, abbreviating forspeed and ease of retrieval.


In this objective pupils need to be taught formats for recording what they read and hear sothey can use them for later recall or re-formatting. Pupils need a real reason to make thenotes and a clear idea of what they should then do with them; are they an aide-mémoirefor personal revision or later recall, or are they preparation for a speaking and listening orwriting task? Note making is not just about recording key points; a well-prepared note-making task can ensure that pupils reflect on, ask questions about or challengeinformation which they have heard. It is important that pupils are shown good techniquesfor making notes and, crucially, are given opportunities to practise these. Theseopportunities should be linked to important learning and be designed to establish notemaking as part of a habitual repertoire of writing skills.

What to teach

■ How to make notes in various ways:

– Diagrammatic notes – possibly using colours, pictures and symbols, capitals,underlining and other techniques to help make the notes clear and memorable.

– Notes in two columns, where information is recorded in one column and pupils’thoughts, feelings, questions and other responses are recorded alongside them.

– Traditional notes with effective use of bullet points, abbreviations and so on.

■ How to recognise the main organisational features of a text. For example, atelevision documentary may start with an explanation of its purpose, raise a seriesof points and then end with an overview that possibly raises further questions.Knowing about the structure in advance will help pupils to listen for relevantinformation. In written texts, they should be made aware of the way in whichheadings, sub-headings, topic sentences and other features can help them toidentify key points.

■ Specific phrases which signal to the listener that a key point is about to be made,e.g. ‘Another point is …’, ‘Furthermore …’, ‘So …’, ‘To sum up …’. Knowledge ofthese oral markers will help pupils to recognise when key points are about to bemade.

■ How to note down questions and uncertainties for seeking later clarification orfurther information.

Teaching approaches

■ Encourage pupils to experiment and then adopt the note-making format withwhich they are most comfortable. Ask pupils to reflect on their experience of notemaking and share their positive ideas.

■ Using a checklist of artistic characteristics (use of colour, light, line, etc.) and anOHT of a piece of cubist or pop art, for example, model how it can be annotatedin order to talk or write about it later. Distribute the same or another similar pieceof art and ask pupils to work in pairs and use the checklist to annotate it. Ask thepairs to compare their annotations with those of another pair.



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■ Use a grid of artistic characteristics (see below) to enable pupils to compare thetechniques of two artists; perhaps two cubists or two pop artists. First,demonstrate how, using skimming and scanning, the information can be found inthe text of reference books and also in illustrations of their works of art, and howthe grid is used to capture the information (and its source). Now ask pupils towork in pairs, using the grids to find the information on two artists from sourcessuch as reference books, articles and prints that you have available. When eachpair has finished, they should join up with another pair to discuss where and howthey found their information and what is similar and different about the techniquesof the two artists.

■ Use the Internet and a grid of artistic characteristics (see below) to enable pupilsto compare the techniques of two artists (e.g. expressionists, cubists or popartists). Demonstrate how key words and a search engine can be used first of allto locate the most productive sites for the artists in question and then how to usethe find facility to locate specific characteristics from the text on the sites. Alsoshow how you record that information (by hand or electronically) and its sourceonto the grid.

Grid of artistic characteristics

Characteristic Artist 1 Artist 2

Materials

Use of colour

Use of light

Texture

Lines

Shapes

Movement

Year 8


Year 8 objective: Use writing for thinking and learning by recording ideas as theydevelop to aid reflection and problem solving.


This objective builds on the Year 7 objective: use writing to explore and develop ideas. Itfocuses on two important qualities of writing:

■ Writing can record ideas so that they are not forgotten and can be returned to forreference, further thought and development.

■ The process of recording a thought in writing often clarifies or strengthens it, oreven exposes it as less coherent than it seemed when first thought or spoken.

This kind of writing is not generally meant to communicate to a wider audience; it is morelikely to be part of notes, jottings or plans that could underpin another piece of writing, aspoken presentation, the solution to a problem or a practical task. It may, however, not bewritten for just the writer to read if, for example, it is in the context of a group task. Thepurpose of writing like this is to capture ideas and possibilities and to develop them byclustering, making links, deciding on sequences, ranking for importance, and makingsome additions and deletions. The ideas are also captured so that they can be questionedand evaluated.

What to teach

■ The contexts in which this kind of writing is useful.

■ A range of styles/formats for this kind of writing (e.g. bullet points, spiderdiagrams, tables), demonstrating to pupils that it is important for them to representtheir ideas in the way that best suits the way they think.

■ How to work with a set of initial ideas on paper to develop them further, e.g. byclustering or prioritising them.

■ How to take minutes or notes from discussion and then place pupils in role to doit independently.

Teaching approaches

Visualisation walk

■ When using the Shared view SoW (Unit 8C, www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/scheme3/),take the class on a walk in their locality and ask them to concentrate on holding intheir heads images, thoughts and feelings that they find interesting in some way.Tell them that, back in class, you will want them to jot down in words some of thethings they held in their minds, so that their ideas are captured for future art anddesign work. Model how you would use the Visualisation walk prompt sheet belowto capture and express some of the ideas, images and feelings that you had onthe walk. Now ask pupils to use the prompt sheet to capture some of their ownideas from the walk.

■ When pupils have completed the prompt sheet, tell them that they will be usingtheir notes and ideas to draw out two or three particular ideas to develop intopieces of art and design work that reflect those ideas and which connect to thework of artists who they have studied recently.



Y8



Y8

Visualisation walk prompt sheet

1 The start of the walkClose your eyes and recall the day. Describe where your walk started, the weather,temperature, light, time of day and your feelings.

2 During the walkClose your eyes and think of two particular points on your walk where you noticedsomething that particularly interested you. Think carefully about it. Was it distant orclose up? Man-made or natural? Did it lead on to other thoughts or associations? Whatdid it make you feel? Jot down your responses below.

3 The end of the walkClose your eyes and think back to the end of the walk. Describe what you were leftthinking about and how you felt.

Year 8


Year 8 objective: Explain complex ideas and information clearly, e.g. definingprinciples, explaining a scientific process.


Pupils are expected to manage more complex and challenging content in their writtenwork in Year 8. They should know the basic text-types and have an understanding of theconventions of written text-types across the curriculum.

In Year 8 new linguistic structures, vocabulary and cohesive devices need to be taught tohelp pupils express increasingly complex ideas. Pupils will need to be taught explicitly thestructures of the text-types they encounter for the first time in Year 8.

What to teach

■ Ways of clarifying thinking through exploratory talk and writing.

■ How to use specialised vocabulary appropriately in context.

■ To write in logical, easily followed stages with an understanding of the needs of thereader.

■ To link paragraphs effectively.

■ To use appropriate sentence structures.

■ To use appropriate internal paragraph structures.

■ To loop back and review frequently their own writing with the eyes of a reader.

Teaching approaches

■ Using a piece of writing about an artist or a work of art, show the whole class howthe final sentence of a paragraph often guides the reader about the subject of thenext paragraph. Organise pupils to work in pairs. Distribute envelopes containingseparated final sentences and paragraphs from a short article about an artist or awork of art and ask the pairs to discuss and match the final sentences with theircorresponding paragraph and be prepared to justify their decisions. Then askpupils to look at three paragraphs from a similar article in which the final sentenceof each one has been removed. They should suggest what those sentences mightbe before comparing their suggestions with the original.

■ Having planned, drafted and discussed the technical vocabulary that is used todescribe an art movement or a particular artist’s work, create a technicalvocabulary checklist on the board and model how you would check through a firstdraft of a piece of writing to identify where such technical vocabulary could beincorporated or substituted to improve it. Ask pupils, in pairs, to read througheach other’s drafts and use the checklist to see if they can identify where theycould incorporate technical vocabulary appropriately.



Y8



Year 9


Year 9 objective: Use standard English to explain, explore or justify an idea.


The use of standard English should be related to purpose and audience. It is important tobe clearly understood when conveying ideas to an audience. Pupils need to practiseexplaining ideas in formal contexts and need to move beyond tentative, exploratory talkinto more incisive comments. Pupils should be aware of differences between spoken andwritten standard English. Although in formal spoken English full sentences are not alwaysused, pupils may make use of more formal devices, such as subordinate clauses, passivevoice and connectives, to show the relationship between ideas. At word level, vocabularyneeds to be understood by all, with both vagueness and jargon avoided. Pupils might self-correct as they speak, to ensure that the use of standard English is maintained.

What to teach

■ That there are choices to be made about use of standard English in both writtenand oral work.

■ The importance of spoken standard English; some people have very strong viewsand expectations about its use and some situations demand it, e.g. debates andjob interviews. Attitudes may change over time but it is empowering to have agood grasp of when standard English is appropriate and to develop confident useof its features as part of a spoken-language repertoire.

■ That the use of standard English is determined by audience, purpose and context,and that it can vary in its degree of formality.

■ The specific features of standard English and how it differs from dialectalvariations, e.g. subject/verb agreement, past tense, adverbs, negatives, pronouns,prepositions.

■ When standard English is likely to be required in the classroom, e.g. for formaldebates, prepared presentations and whole-class discussion. Point out when veryformal standard English may be inappropriate, e.g. pair work.

■ That standard English can be spoken in any accent.

Teaching approaches

■ Working either with another teacher, a classroom assistant or an able pupil(perhaps from an older age group), model for the whole class two ways of talkingabout a piece of artwork or a particular fashion design: informally at first, as if to afriend, and then formally, as if to an adult or A-level group of students. Pupilsshould try to spot some of the differences in language (e.g. slang, technicalterminology, use of full sentences, etc., which could be provided on a checklist)which you can discuss with them.

■ Organise pupils into pairs where they first of all talk to each other, agreeing themain features of a piece of artwork or contemporary design before planning to talkformally to another pair or small group about the piece of work. The pair shouldthen decide which parts of the talk each will give and then rehearse it with thenon-speaking pupil listening to and commenting on the formality of the language(perhaps with the help of a checklist) and suggesting where improvements couldbe made. When the talks are given to another pair or group, the listeners shouldagain make comments about the formal use of language.



Y9

Year 9


Year 9 objective: Identify the underlying themes, implications and issues raised bya talk, reading or programme.


Pupils should be able to listen carefully, to select particular information for comment, andto identify how messages are conveyed. They need to interpret what they hear,recognising what is implied and detecting bias. This involves being aware of audience andpurpose, recognising connotations at word level, stylistic conventions at sentence level,and organisational implications at text level. While some pupils will recognise implicationsand issues immediately, others will need support to explore beyond the surface. Theobjective is likely to be taught alongside other objectives clustered around persuasivetexts, both spoken and written.

What to teach

■ Listening for different purposes to:

– identify the main points made;

– understand the main points and formulate own responses, e.g. own views orquestions;

– identify key points and recognise how they are being made, explicitly or not;

– identify what significant issues are raised and why.

■ How different types of spoken texts may be organised and, especially, whattechniques may be used. For example, at text level, a prepared talk designed topersuade the audience of a particular point of view may be carefully structured: anintroduction which orientates the listener, then a series of linked points and aconcluding overview. At sentence and word level, the speaker may deployrhetorical questions, irony, emotive language, imagery or repetition.

■ What is meant by theme. In a talk, it means an idea or topic which is expandedupon, for example, a pupil speaker may explore the theme of friendship andloyalty among teenagers.

■ What is meant by implication – something that is not directly stated but suggestedor hinted at. Listeners need to hear between the lines. A particular meaning maybe implied by:

– a rhetorical question, e.g. ‘Would you want that picture on your bedroom wall?’;

– an invitation to the listeners to work out something for themselves, e.g. ‘Thinkabout it’;

– emphasis given to a particular word or phrase, e.g. ‘Yes, it seems like aconvincing argument’;

– apparent denial, e.g. ‘I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was an out and out liar’;

– connotation, an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase, e.g. maidenconnotes chastity.

■ How to detect bias in different types of material. Pupils need to ask searchingquestions about the underpinning beliefs of the speaker, writer or televisionprogramme maker/presenter. They need to be able to detect illogical thought,unsubstantiated arguments and distortion of data. They need to recognise emotivelanguage that seeks to persuade the listener against his or her good judgement.



Y9



Y9

■ How a talk, reading or programme may set out to deal with an explicitly identifiedissue or how it may unintentionally raise issues for the listener. Effective listenersneed to be able to identify:

– important points of interest raised by the material;

– their own views on these points.

Teaching approaches

■ Explain to pupils that you are going to tell them what you think of a particularartist, piece of artwork or contemporary design. Tell them that they do not have toagree with your views. Exaggerate your like or dislike of the artist/artwork/contemporary design. Now refer back to your talk and identify examples whereyou were implying things about the artist or artwork and where ‘bias’ appeared.Following this, play part of a video or sound recording about a similar topic, andindicate further examples and instances of ‘implications’ and ‘bias’ in order to helppupils understand the term and concept. Tell pupils that you are now going to playthe rest of the recording and that you want them to look out for and indicate, withhands up, further examples of ‘implications’ and ‘bias’. Continue the video butpause it when pupils indicate.

■ Following the above approach, pupils, as individuals or in pairs or small groups,could be asked to identify and talk about instances of ‘implications’ and ‘bias’when listening to some of their peers talking about their opinion of a particularartist or piece of artwork or contemporary design.



Y9

Year 9


Year 9 objective: Discuss and evaluate conflicting evidence to arrive at aconsidered viewpoint.


Through discussion of conflicting evidence, pupils should become more aware that viewscan be diametrically opposed or simply differ slightly on certain points. They need to clarifytheir understanding of what is being said, be attentive to details and read between thelines to identify any subtext. In evaluating evidence, pupils should consider bias, flawedarguments, inaccuracy and extreme views. They also need to be aware of how their ownopinions or assumed stance influences the consensus which they reach. They need todevelop their ability to work together to avoid polarisation in the group. Contributions willoften respond directly to what has just been said, acknowledging the views of others. Inreaching a considered viewpoint, pupils will justify and modify details of their own views.They could be required to explain their considered viewpoint to others.

What to teach

■ How to give evidence, reasons, anecdotes or illustrations to support views. Forexample, ‘To support this …’, ‘Evidence demonstrates …’, ‘The facts show …’.

■ How to use adverbs to temper one’s views, such as sometimes, often, always,occasionally.

■ How to make interjections, accompanied by a shift in views, such as ‘Oh, I see …’, ‘Oh, I understand now …’.

■ How to offer statements of opinion or judgement, such as ‘In my opinion …’, ‘I think …’, ‘I believe …’, ‘I prefer …’, ‘I would rather …’.

■ How to evaluate evidence using:

– comparative/contrasting connectives, e.g. compared with, similarly, likewise,alternatively, whereas, on the other hand, despite;

– causal connectives, e.g. because, therefore, so, in that case, still, even though,as a result, consequently;

– verbs to indicate judgements, e.g. believe, think, prefer, would rather, trust.

Teaching approaches

■ Tell pupils that they are going to observe a discussion in which the speakersexpress opposing views. Organise pupils into small groups of five and tell themthat this is their home group. Now number the pupils 1 to 5 and reorganise thegroups so that there are five groups comprising pupils of the same number. Handout a checklist based on ‘What to teach’ (see above) and then ask:

– group 1 to note examples of how the speakers give evidence, reasons,anecdotes or illustrations to support their views;

– group 2 to note examples of how the speakers use adverbs to temper theirviews (see above);

– group 3 to note examples of how the speakers make interjections, accompaniedby a shift in views;

– group 4 to note examples of how the speakers offer statements of opinion orjudgement;

– group 5 to note how the speakers evaluate the evidence.



Y9

■ Provide, either on video, audio tape or live (yourself and a teaching assistant, otherteacher or pupil) an example of a discussion in which there are opposing views ofan artist or designer or a piece of art or contemporary design. During this, pupilsin their groups should make notes against the checklist according to their group’sfocus. After the discussion, the groups should briefly discuss their findings beforereturning to their home group where they should share the examples of their focuswith the rest of the group. You could sit with one group and then report backsome of their findings to the rest of the class for them to compare with their ownfindings.



Y9

Year 9


Year 9 objective: Synthesise information from a range of sources, shapingmaterial to meet readers’ needs.


Pupils will be expected to find and extract information independently, although these skillswill need to be consolidated and made explicit in any information-gathering exercise. Inaddition, they will need to apply their knowledge of how texts work, including ICT texts.The objective expects pupils to be selective and discriminating when gatheringinformation. They need to be clear about what they need to research and the perspectivesto be covered. Once appropriate information is selected, pupils need to be able tocombine and organise it into a coherent whole, according to audience and purpose.

What to teach

■ How to assess texts for relevance, referring back to task, audience and purpose.

■ How to discriminate between fact and opinion in carrying out accurate research.

■ How to use appropriate planning grids/formats, systematically acknowledgingsources.

■ How to use notes in order to shape information from a range of sources into acoherent plan.

Teaching approaches

■ Using an OHT or interactive whiteboard, demonstrate how to use both a KWL and a QUADS grid (see below) as a tool for pupils to focus and clarify theinformation which they are seeking from a text, and to capture the information theyfind for later use. The grids can be used when pupils are required to find outinformation on any aspect of art, whether it be in a book, a periodical or on theInternet.

KWL grid

What do I Know about What do I Want to know What have I Learntthis topic? about it? about it?

QUADS grid

QUestion Answer Details Source

■ Show pupils how to organise and synthesise notes from different sources (books,annotations of a piece of art, the Internet, etc.) by collecting, sorting and groupingthem under the different headings or sections that are required for the piece ofwriting being planned.



Y9



Y9

Year 9


Year 9 objective: Record, develop and evaluate ideas through writing, e.g. essays,journals.


This objective builds on the Year 8 objective: Use writing for thinking and learning… .It refers to writing that has the development of learning as its core purpose, thusdistinguishing itself from writing to demonstrate learning in a specific context, e.g. forsummative assessment. Writing set in the context of this objective will have as its mainpurpose the development and securing of understanding. This can be done by askingpupils to:

■ collect information together in a certain way;

■ devise questions;

■ explain;

■ reflect on and evaluate material;

■ transform material by representing it in a different way;

■ express feelings about a topic or issue;

■ speculate on possibilities;

■ analyse and comment.

As such, this kind of writing can take many forms. Journals and learning logs lendthemselves well to questions, reflections, evaluations, speculations and the expression offeelings. Reports and essays are well suited to the collation of information, commentaryand analysis. Pupils can be asked to transform materials by being asked to produceinstructions, letters, newspaper reports, leaflets and a whole range of text forms.

Writing of this kind may have an element of recording (e.g. for future revision) but this willnot be its main purpose.

What to teach

Pupils will need, above all, to understand the underlying purpose of this type of writing.They will also need to be taught:

■ the language of questioning, reflecting, evaluating, speculating, analysing andcommenting;

■ the conventions of the forms of writing required of them, e.g. essays, promotionalleaflets;

■ subject-specific vocabulary and spelling.

Teaching approaches

■ Demonstrate how information which pupils have collected for a specific art anddesign project (e.g. in journals, mind maps, notes, grids or annotations) can betransformed to produce a piece of writing for a wider audience (e.g. other pupilsvia the school’s intranet or on a classroom wall display). Show how the separatepieces of information can be collected under the following sequential headings:

– What the project is about

– Early ideas (including visuals)

– Sources drawn on

– Annotated reproductions (visuals)

– Information about artists

– How the work developed (including visuals)

– Problems and difficulties (if any) and how these were overcome

– Strengths and weaknesses of final piece

Now organise the class into small groups and distribute examples of information on oneparticular topic (from journals, annotations, etc.) to each group, together with cards withthe sequential headings on (see above). Instruct the groups to look through the informationand assign pieces to the most suitable card. Ask a couple of groups to give feedback.Finally, ask pupils, in pairs, to use the information which they have collected for their ownproject and to organise it under the sequential headings, with a view to using thesequence to draft a piece of writing.



Y9



Y9

Year 9


Year 9 objective: Write with differing degrees of formality relating vocabulary andgrammar to context, e.g. using the active or passive voice.


Pupils should be consolidating their understanding that texts (even of the same text-type) canvary in formality, and that writers sometimes deliberately manipulate text-types according tothe needs of different audiences and purposes. Pupils need to understand the effects ofchanging active and passive voices, the formality associated with different sentence structures(especially the use of subordination), and the need to make appropriate vocabulary choices.

What to teach

■ That this is a key objective because it is about consolidating and securing theability to choose the appropriate register for audience and purpose independently.

■ That there is a continuum on which pupils need to base their language choices:

Very formal formal informal very informal

standard English colloquial slang

■ That formal English is usual in written text, except for dialogue and magazinessuch as fanzines.

■ That part of formal written English is being able to select and maintain animpersonal style. Pupils need to be taught to find alternatives for you in formalwriting. You, in this context, has the generalised meaning of one, an impersonalpronoun. English does not possess a comfortable, generalised impersonalpronoun: alternatives include the inclusive, generalised we or the passive voice insuch phrases as ‘it might be said that …’.

■ That, in active sentences, you are told who did it and what they did.

■ That, in passive sentences, you are told what was done and to whom, but you arenot told who did the action. The passive ‘depersonalises’ the writing, contributingto increased formality, such as in scientific writing, reports and explanatory texts,where its use is entirely appropriate.

Teaching approaches

■ Model how a piece of writing about an artist or contemporary designer from yourjournal can be changed into a piece of writing for a local art gallery to persuade themto display a piece of his or her work. Firstly, show how selections are made usinghighlighting and text marking. Now ask pupils, individually or in pairs, to work usingtheir own journals to select the parts of their work that they would use. Secondly,demonstrate how the language of the selected pieces can be altered to becomemore formal, perhaps through the use of technical vocabulary, and more persuasivein tone. Ask pupils to suggest how the next piece of your selection could be alteredfor the new purpose. Pupils can then be instructed to work in pairs to take one oftheir own selections and to see if they can alter it in a similar way. Take feedbackfrom a few pairs and emphasise and praise good examples of effective alterations.

■ As a quick starter activity, explore with pupils how statements such as ‘It was anice bluey colour’ or ‘I liked its kind of skinny shape’ can be written in a moreprecise and formal way.



Bibliography

Literacy in art and design, parts 1–3 (DfES/0054/2002)

Literacy across the curriculum training folder, units 2–9 (DfEE/0235/2001)

Training materials for the foundation subjects, units 4 and 5 (DfES/0350/2002)



Observing effective literacy teaching

Prompts for subject leaders


■ Did the lesson exploit opportunities for pupils to learn through talk, or were theremissed opportunities?

■ Did the teacher make clear the intended outcome for any speaking and listeningactivity and set clear time targets to encourage pace and application?

Where pupils were asked to use talk to clarify and present ideas:

■ did their response suggest that the teacher needed to model the kind ofpresentation required?

■ was an appropriate context created for the activity? For example, was theresufficient thinking time? Did less-confident pupils have the chance to talk with apartner before presenting to a wider audience?

■ did the teacher give clear feedback to pupils, not only on the content of theirpresentation but also on the effectiveness of the communication? Did thefeedback include clear advice on how to improve?

■ did the teacher promote the use of standard English as the form of languageappropriate for presentations in class?

Where pupils were required to listen for a sustained period:

■ was the subject matter and style of presentation well matched to the pupils?

■ was sufficient consideration given to the range of ability in the pupil group?

■ was the talk/programme contextualised for pupils in such a way as to activatetheir prior knowledge?

■ were they clear in advance about what they were listening for and how they mighthave to respond to what they had heard?

■ was the listening scaffolded in any way, for instance, with a structured note sheetor some prompt questions?

Where pupils were required to talk together in pairs or groups:

■ was the grouping of the pupils appropriate for the task and its purpose?

■ were they clear about the expectations for their behaviour during the activity or didthey need the support of some ‘ground-rules’?

■ were they clear about the type of speaking and listening required of them duringthe activity, e.g. speculating, evaluating, sharing ideas to solve a problem? Did thisneed clarifying or demonstrating by the teacher?

■ were they clear about the particular roles they needed to fulfil in the pair/group,e.g. chairing, reporting, recording? Was there evidence that this needed clarifyingor demonstrating by the teacher?

■ were any reporting back activities organised to maximise participation whileavoiding tedious repetition?

■ were the groups supported by the teacher to ensure that most, if not all, reacheda satisfactory outcome in the time allowed?



4



Learning from text

■ Did the lesson exploit opportunities for pupils to learn from text, or was thereevidence of the ‘retreat from the written word’?

■ Did the teacher always read for the class or was there an expectation that pupilscould and should engage with text for themselves?

■ Were texts well chosen, both in terms of content and reading difficulty? Did theteacher take account of the fact that more-challenging texts can be used in thecontext of shared reading than when pupils are asked to read independently?

■ Where a textbook was used, were pupils familiar with its conventions (e.g. pagelayout, symbols, structure), or did this need to be clarified for them?

Where pupils were required to undertake research:

■ did they demonstrate a range of appropriate reading strategies for the task (e.g.skimming, scanning), or did they need reminding of these?

■ did they have effective ways of recording information to fulfil the purpose of thetask, or did they need guidance/support with making notes?

Where pupils were required to read closely for meaning:

■ were they given a way into the text that would encourage close reading and helpthem overcome initial difficulties?

■ was the activity set up to encourage active reading and inference and deduction,e.g. through the use of techniques such as sequencing, annotation, cloze?

■ when questions were set on the text, were they likely to promote understanding orjust the simple retrieval of information?

■ were less-able or less-willing readers supported in the task?

■ were they encouraged to question the text and consider it in relation to its degreeof objectivity and the writer’s intentions?

Where pupils were reading a text as an example for their own writing:

■ did the teacher help them to identify the features of the text that allowed it to fulfilits purpose, e.g. its structure and use of language?

■ did the teacher encourage the use of the correct terms when referring to thesefeatures, e.g. topic sentence?

■ did the teacher exploit effective strategies such as annotation during sharedreading in order to show pupils how a particular type of text works?


■ Did the teacher clearly establish both the purpose and intended readership of thewriting?

■ Was enough done to ensure that the pupils had something to say in their writing?

■ Were pupils clear about what writing strategies were appropriate for the task, e.g.collaboration with a partner, drafting, proofreading?

■ Did pupils have access to reference materials to support their writing?

■ Did the teacher use steps from the teaching sequence for writing as appropriate?(see Literacy and learning: Guidance for senior leaders Appendix 4, page 45)

■ Was there evidence that pupils receive clear feedback on their strengths and onways to improve, both during and after writing?



Where pupils were using writing to capture and develop thoughts and ideas:

■ did they use an approach to writing that suited this purpose, allowing foradaptation, reflection and evaluation?

■ did they have a repertoire of formats for this kind of writing, or did they need moresupport from the teacher through demonstration?

■ were they able to use the outcomes of this kind of writing to support a furthertask, e.g. a spoken presentation or a more-formal piece of writing?

Where pupils were required to write a longer piece:

■ did they know how to organise that particular type of writing or did this need to betaught explicitly, e.g. using the teaching sequence for writing?

■ did the teacher make explicit reference to paragraphs and how they can belinked?

■ were they supported with the process of selecting, prioritising and orderingmaterial when they needed to incorporate information from a range of sources?

■ were there strategies for supporting weaker writers with the task, e.g. a writingframe?

When helping pupils to develop clear and appropriate expression:

■ did the teacher use strategies to encourage pupils to reflect on the clarity of theirwriting and alter it as necessary?

■ were they encouraged to rehearse sentences orally before writing?

■ were they encouraged to think about and engage in the choices which a writermust make in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure, e.g. through sharedwriting?

■ were the constraints for making choices as a writer made explicit, e.g. theappropriate degree of formality?





Contents of the Literacy and learning DVD

1 Leading cross-curricular change: literacy

The DVD features a 13-minute film shot in 2004 at Haybridge School in Worcestershirewhich is meant to stimulate discussion about implementing literacy as a whole-schoolinitiative, and can be used in the context of a meeting of subject leaders. In the film, thedeputy head and other staff from the school reflect on the process by which they havealready made progress in implementing literacy across the curriculum and consider howthe literacy and learning materials will allow them to continue the process of embeddingand sustaining literacy as a focus for whole-school improvement. The film includes briefvisits to three lessons: science, art and religious education.

2 Literacy and learning: key teaching approaches

Included on the DVD along with Leading cross-curricular change: literacy are examples ofkey teaching approaches for speaking and listening, reading and writing. The approachesare:

■ teacher modelling;

■ small-group discussion;

■ active-reading strategies;

■ shared reading;

■ guided reading;

■ shared writing;

■ guided writing.

Subject-specific examples of most of these approaches are contained on this CD-ROM,but this additional material can be useful to subject leaders to inform their work as:

■ evaluators of teaching and learning;

■ curriculum leaders.

These examples can be shared with other staff in training sessions or in the context ofprofessional development generally. It is meant for use where subject leaders wish topromote a particular teaching approach with an individual teacher or more widely withinthe department or faculty.

Shared and guided reading and writing are exemplified here only in the context of English,where they are best known, but these approaches can be useful in all subjects.

Shared reading is important because it allows the teacher to work with the whole classon a text that would be too challenging for independent work. Enlarging the text using anOHP or data projector allows the use of a range of interactive strategies to involve pupilsdirectly, and is more powerful than using individual copies because the attention of thepupils can be focused by the teacher on particular parts of the text. Shared reading makes‘the invisible process of reading, visible’.

Shared writing is a teacher-led activity that engages the whole class in the act of writing.Working at the whiteboard or OHP, the teacher firstly demonstrates the process ofcomposition, explaining out loud why certain choices are being made. Next, pupilscontribute their ideas for continuing the writing, which are sifted and refined before beingwritten up by the teacher. Shared writing shows pupils the kinds of choices which writers

5



have to make, and allows them to take part in the enjoyable process of compositionwithout the additional burden of spelling and handwriting.

Guided work (reading and writing) is where the teacher works for about 20 minutes witha selected group of around six pupils, while the others work independently. It is a powerfulway of teaching to the specific needs of an identified group within the class and is a wayof building a bridge between teacher-led and independent work.

3 Key teaching approaches index

Literacy and Literacy and Teaching Example on DVDlearning aspect learning strand approach

Learning through Using talk to clarify Teacher modelling Sequence 1 talk and present ideas English

Pupil Sequence 1 presentations English

Talking and Small-group Sequence 2thinking together discussion science

Learning from text Developing Active-reading Sequence 3 research and strategies sciencestudy skills

Reading for Guided reading Sequence 4meaning English

Understanding Shared reading Sequence 5how texts work English

Learning through Using writing as a Teacher modelling Sequence 6writing tool for thought history

Small-group Sequence 7discussion mathematics

Structuring and Shared writing Sequence 8organising writing English

Developing clear Guided writing Sequence 9and appropriate Englishexpression

OU

P 1

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