An Approach to Factual Writing I. The demands of differing nonfiction text —Much of the research into the development of childre

An Approach to Factual Writing
    Good morning. Today we are going to talk about a new approach to factual writing. Our literate society demands that we read and write a wide range of texts. It is an observable fact that many of the texts we, as adult members of society, encounter everyday and need to deal with are nonfiction texts. (1) Much of the research of the last few decades into the development of children’s writing has tended to concentrate on personal and fictional texts; (2)nonfiction writing often has been neglected.
    The increasing demand that children read and respond to all kinds of writing means that we need to look closely at how we can help students become aware, and develop into competent writers,of differing nonfiction text.
    Persuasion, explanation, report and discussion are powerful forms of language that we use to get things done. These forms have been called the language of power,and it can be argued that students who leave our classrooms unable to operate successfully within these powerful genres are denied access to becoming fully functioning members of society. (5) This fact suggests that it is not sufficient for us simply to accept the overwhelming dominance of recounts in our students’ nonfiction writing. We have to do something about broadening their range.
    Students too often are expected to move into the independent writing phase before they are really ready; often the pressure to do so is based on the practical problem of teachers being unable to find the time to spend with them in individual support. What is clearly needed is something to span the joint-activity and independent-activity phase.
    We have called this additional phase the scaffolded phase—a phase where we offer our students strategies to aid writing but they can use without an adult being alongside them. One such strategy that we are going to explore is writing frames.
    A writing frame consists of a skeleton outline given to students to scaffold their nonfiction writing. The skeleton framework consists of different key words or phrases, according to the particular generic form. The template of starters, connectives , and sentence modifiers that constitute a writing frame gives students a structure within which they can concentrate on communicating what they want to say while it scaffolds them in the use of a particular generic form. (8) By using the form students become increasingly familiar with it.
    Writing frames were all developed in collaboration with teachers and have been widely used with children throughout the elementary- and middle-school years and across the full range of abilities, including students with special needs. On the strength of this extensive trialing we are reasonably confident in saying that not only do writing frames help students become familiar with unfamiliar genres, but that they also help students overcome many of the other problems often associated with nonfiction writing.
    Next, I’d like to talk about the genres of writing frames in practical use. There are mainly two kinds of writing frames in common use.
    First,the recount genre. Using a recount frame designed to encourage the use of previous knowledge,9-year-old Rachel wrote about her trip to Plymouth Museum. Her writing suggests that the frame had helped her structure her ideas and allowed her to make sense of what she had seen. It had encouraged her to reflect upon her learning. Her writing is also noticeably different to that which children often produce after an educational visit,that is,a simple retelling of what they did during the day. Rachel here is recounting her learning.
    Secondly, the discussion genre. Using a discussion frame helped 11 -year-old Kerry write a thoughtful discussion about boxing. The frame encouraged her to structure the discussion to look at both sides of the argument. Many students of this age have difficulty with discussion because they find it challenging to see things from someone else’s point of view.
    The use of a frame should always begin with discussion and teacher modelling before moving on to joint construction and then to the student undertaking writing supported by the frame. This oral, teacher-modelling, joint-construction partem of teaching is vital,for it not only models the generic form and teaches the words that signal connections and transitions, but it also provides opportunities for developing students’ oral language and their thinking. Some students, especially those with learning difficulties, may need many oral sessions and sessions in which their teacher acts as a scribe before they are ready to attempt their own framed writing.
    We are convinced that writing in a range of genres is most effective if it is located in meaningful experiences. (10) The concept of situated learning suggests that learning is always context dependent. For this reason, we have always used the frames within class topic work rather than in isolated study-skills lessons.
    We do not advocate using the frames for the direct teaching of generic structures in skills-centered lessons. The frame itself is never a purpose for writing. There is much debate about the appropriateness of the direct teaching of generic forms and we share many of the reservations expressed by such commentators. Our use of a writing frame has always arisen from students’ having a purpose for undertaking some writing. The appropriate frame was then introduced if the students needed extra help.
    We have found writing frames helpful to students of all ages and all abilities. They have been used with students from ages 5 to 16. However,teachers have found the frames particularly useful with students of average writing ability,with those who find writing difficult, and with students who have special needs in literacy. Teachers have commented on the improved quality and quantity of writing that has resulted from using the frames with these students. That’s all for today’s lecture. Thank you.