Resource+3+(Sophie+Zammit)

WEBSITE: WRITING FUN BY JENNY EATHER

[|Writing Fun Website] ** Explanation of the resource ** “Writing Fun” By Jenny Eather is an online website designed to educate people about the commonly used text types we see in everyday life. The website contains information and examples on a variety of different text types including expositions, discussions, narratives, recounts, descriptions, reviews, poetry, letters, invitations, news articles and emails. Eather provides teachers and students with printable guides to structuring each text type, definitions, common language which can be used, examples, scaffolds to write on, grammatical and language features of each text types and great ideas for lessons and for students to utilize in their free time.

The aim of the unit is for students to use persuasive language and visual techniques to present an advertisement to the class about sun protection. Thus, it is crucial that the students gain an understanding of the use of persuasive language and its effect on the reader through the exploration of creating and understanding the purpose of an exposition. The “Writing Fun” website provides students with not just the opportunity to learn about the structural features of an exposition but also the importance of using persuasive language to present a clear point of view that is supported by substantiated evidence. The resources and information on the site are very helpful in teaching students about how to write an exposition but also give students the chance to use the site to scaffold their own independent writing of an exposition.
 * Relevance to the outcome **

The rationale of the Board of Studies K-6 English Syllabus states that students should be able to learn to express their own points of view and to make informed judgements about society, which can be explored through the website as students learn to present specific arguments that represent their own opinions and that are supported by factual evidence when writing an exposition (2007, p. 6). The website is primarily focused on developing student’s literacy through the exploration of different text types and how to write in different formats and for a specific audience. The accurate information provided on expositions is extremely useful in explaining the structure, language and grammatical features that are required in an exposition (Droga & Humphrey, 2005, pp. 144-145).
 * Aspect of Literacy suitable to be explored**

Newkirk states primary students struggle when writing expositions because they don’t know how to plan or structure there information correctly, thus causing them to revert back to writing in narrative mode (1987, p. 121). By using the “Writing Fun” website students are able to plan their expositions through the scaffold provided which includes a structure, introduction words to begin each paragraph or sentence, and a list of tips on the side of the page that remind students of how to get their point across when writing their text. They can also explore examples of expositions written by other primary students that are able to be annotated to show the structure, persuasive language used, grammatical features such as tense and connectives and the exact argument of the text. It also links very well the PDHPE unit, as students can use the knowledge gained from the website into their advertisements on sun safety.

Eather provides the students with the choice of taking on a variety roles when exploring site, they can read, view, discuss, analyse or write their own text either jointly or independently, allowing both the teacher and students to use the site at any point in their learning, whether it be an introductory activity, a consolidating activity or a revision activity. The site is also very easy to navigate, with links provided to different text types, different examples, a blank scaffold for writing on and a link to show and hide annotations on examples. By incorporating a interactive, multimodal website into learning literacy, specifically through the use of an interactive whiteboard, students will also be able to become more active learners, as recent studies show that students find the use IWBs very appealing due to their versatility, interactive capabilities and the enjoyment they provide in different subject areas (Hall & Higgins, 2005, p.1).


 * References: **

Board of Studies (2007) K-6 English Syllabus. p.6 Sydney: Board of Studies.

Droga, L. & Humphrey, S. (2005). Grammar and meaning: An introduction for Primary teachers. pp. 144-145. Marrickville: Target Texts.

Hall, I., Higgins, S. (2005). Primary School Students’ Perceptions of Interactive Whiteboards. //Journal of Computer Assisted Learning//. Vol.21, Issue 2, p.1. Newcastle, UK: University of Newcastle.

Newkirk, T. (1987) The Non-Narrative Writing of Young Children. //Research in the Teaching of English//. Vol.21, No.2, P. 121. New Hampshire, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.