Middle Writing
WEEK 8
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE - THIS JUST IN…
Using one of the images below, your activity is to write a Newspaper Article for the Middles of SPA Newsletter explaining what is happening in the photos! Please also see the template below!
As you are a journalist writing the News Report, be sure to include:
Where this photo is happening
What is happening in this picture and why?
The names of the animals you are reporting on
You may even have interviewed the animals to get more information, and can use quotation marks in your report
We look forward to reading your detailed and creative News Reports!
Image 1
Image 2
REFLECTION WRITING - ISOLATION & REMOTE SCHOOLING
As this is our last week of Remote Schooling, and next week we will all be back at school, face-to-face together again (yay!) we would like you to reflect on how your life has been for the past 8 weeks.
It has been a very different time for all of us and we will all have different experiences, feelings and thoughts - some may be positive and some may be negative at times too.
Your reflection must include the topics on the document to the left. Click here to download/make a copy of the Reflection Template.
WEEK 7
RECOUNT WRITING (MONDAY)
Just like we would every Monday morning, this week you are to write a detailed and captivating recount about your weekend. Think back and be sure to include:
What did you do?
Who were you with?
When and where did these things happen?
Why did certain things happen?
Don’t forget to use a Sizzling Start to make the audience want to keep reading your Recount! For example, instead of writing ‘On the weekend...’ remember to capture your audience's attention by beginning your Recount in an exciting way. Please see the Sizzling Start examples in Week 5 to help you!
creative writing
Pick one or more of the prompts below and get imaginative with your writing.
Look at the image to the right and write a short narrative about this image.
Write a recipe for the most disgusting pizza in the entire world, yuck!
Imagine you are cleaning out your room and you find a secret message from outer space. What is the message and what do you do next?
If you could turn into any animal which animal would it be and why? Describe a day in the life of this animal.
Book review
Read a book or watch a movie, and write a review of the movie. You can download/make a copy of this template or you can create your own!
Include:
A brief summary of what the book/movie was about, including the characters, the storyline and the genre (romantic, comedy, scary, fiction or nonfiction)
Your favourite and least favourite parts, and explain your reasoning
A rating out of 5 stars and explain why you have given that particular rating
Other books/movies that are similar to this
Explain why you would or would not recommend this book/movie to other people
Challenge: You may also wish to read two books or watch two movies, and compare them by reviewing them both!
WEEK 6
descriptive writing
Week 6 Writing.mp4You will be creating your own Superhero, following the steps below.
Watch the video above Miss Germano explains the task and also reads her descriptive text - Rainbow Riley!
PLAN: Using dot points and keyboards describe your superhero using the following subheadings:
Personality
Appearance
Powers
WRITE: Using your plan, create a draft copy of your writing. Put your dot points into coherent, full sentences. You should have three paragraphs in your text (Personality, Appearance and Powers) and your heading will be the name of your superhero.
EDIT: Read through your draft to make sure that it makes sense (add/remove words, make it interesting), uses correct punctuation, and you can also fix any spelling errors using a dictionary or a family member's help.
PUBLISH: Now that your draft is edited and ready to be published, you can publish your text via:
A poster with images (written or typed)
Written on paper with images
Typed on a Google Document/Google Slide
Reflection (Friday)
It is beneficial to take time to reflect on our lives, and to think about both the good and the not so good things that we experience or feel. Reflective writing is something that helps our wellbeing and our brain to feel happy.
Just like we have done at school, this week we would like you to write a reflection on Friday, using the Appreciation, Apology, Aha Thinking Routine.
This week I appreciate….. because...
This week I apologise for…. because…
This week I had an aha moment when…. because…
WEEK 5
RECOUNT WRITING (MONDAY)
Just like we would every Monday morning, this week you are to write a detailed and captivating recount about your weekend. Think back and be sure to include:
What did you do?
Who were you with?
When and where did these things happen?
Why did certain things happen?
Don’t forget to use a Sizzling Start to make the audience want to keep reading your Recount! For example, instead of writing ‘On the weekend...’ remember to capture your audience's attention by beginning your Recount in an exciting way:
Sound effects - Ding ding ding! The loud doorbell rang at 8am Saturday morning.
Talking Marks - “Rise and shine sleepy head! We need to get up and make some pancakes for Mother’s day”, my dad whispered to me.
Question - How will I make this final, game changing goal? I was down 3-2 in soccer against my brother with only 2 minutes left in the game.
Setting/person description: I could feel the cold air on my nose and ears, whilst my feet were getting wet from the puddles.
Information Report
Recording - Information Report Lesson.movStep 1: Watch the slide 'Animal Information Report' by Miss Watts. This slide explains the activity and teaches you how to write an Information Report about an animal.
Recording - Information Reports - Guess the animal.movStep 2: Watch the video 'Guess the Animal' by Miss Watts and try to guess each animal being described.
Record your answers in the document loaded into your Google Classroom or your Home Learning books
Step 3: Choose 1 animal to do further research on in preparation for writing an Information Report.
REMEMBER: Organise your research into topics as this will help you when writing your report:
Description
Appearance
Habitat
Diet
Life cycle/offspring
NOTE: When you write your report you need to organise it into paragraphs. Each paragraph should have at least 2-3 sentences information for that topic.
WEEK 4
INFORMATION REPORTS - a special woman in your life
Write an Information Report about a special woman in your life. You may choose to write about your mother, grandmother, aunty, sister or even a close family friend.
You will need to:
Investigate and ask questions about your chosen person
Record dot points/keywords under the headings in the template here:
Description (name, age, 1 interesting fact)
Appearance (what she looks like)
Personality
Occupation (what she does for work)
Achievements
Organise your notes into full sentences and paragraphs for your final report
Publish/present your Information Report in a creative way to share with your teacher. This could be done in your Home Learning book, in a google doc, as a slide presentation, using Glogster EDU (added to the Digital Discoveries portal on our website). You may come up with your own creative way of presenting your Information Report.
We look forward to reading your reports and learning more about a special woman in your life.
Part 1 - WHY I LOVE MUMMY
Why I Love My Mummy.mp4Listen to and read along with Mrs. Bownds as she reads the story, ‘Why I Love My Mummy’.
Read the story with your mum or someone you cherish very much. Share some of the things that make you happy or love.
Write a list of why you love your mummy. Begin your sentence with…. I love my mum or mummy because…
Draw your mum on an A4 piece of paper or in your Home Learning Book and share this with your teacher explaining with a sentence why you love your mum.
part 2 - letter writing
Now, write a letter to your special someone explaining to them why you love them. Include in your letter some questions so that your family member can respond.
PLAN - Make a plan in dot points of some descriptive words to describe this special someone. Include in your plan memories/reasons to explain why you described them that way.
DRAFT - Once you have your plan, begin your draft copy. Here is your first try at making detailed and coherent sentences.
EDIT/REVISE - Now go back to your draft to edit any spelling words, full stops, commas, punctuation or you may want to add detail. Click here fo the Editing Marks to help you edit your work!
FINAL COPY - Be sure to make this neat, presentable and exciting for your recipient.
REMEMBER: Use descriptive and detailed language and correct structure, such as Greeting/Dear, Message, and Sign Off/From.
WEEK 3
facts and opinions
Brainstorm the difference between facts and opinions. Provide some examples of each by listing 3-6 opinions, and 3-6 facts you know.
Read a non-fiction text about animals or use Safe Search to find information on one animal - diet, habitat, behaviour, life cycle.
Write a list of all of the facts/factual information from the text in dot points
Write these facts in coherent, detailed sentences and paragraphs to make a report about your topic, such as ‘All About Sharks’. For example, my opinion about sharks could be that sharks are incredibly frightening animals, but my fact could be that sharks breathe through their gills.
At the end, draw a picture of your chosen animal and label the parts of its body.
snapshot writing
Think of a moment in your life, and complete Snap Shot Writing of that moment, using full paragraphs and sentences. Include many interesting nouns (person, place, things), verbs (actions), adverbs (describing actions) and adjectives (describing words)
What can you → See, Hear, Smell, Taste, Feel.
Ensure you are showing, not telling your audience (You can view the information from Week 2 to help you with this!).
For Example. Rather than saying ‘I can see and hear birds’, you could write ‘In the sky are a range of colours, from purple, to red, to green. These are flying through the sky so beautifully and peacefully, whilst making conversation with each other through small chirps”.
WEEK 2
GRUFFALO Song
Listen to the Gruffalo Song (click here).
List any adjectives (describing words) used to describe the Gruffalo.
List any nouns (people, places or things).
Answer the following questions:
Do you think these words are important to the song? Why or why not?
What might happen if these words were removed from the song?
What other words could you use to describe the Gruffalo?
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
Describe both of the pictures of a setting to the left. Remember to use descriptive language. Below is an example of a 5 Senses Graphic Organiser to help you organise your thinking and brainstorm words to add to your description.
Show! Don't tell! Activity
Authors use actions, thoughts, senses and feelings to help build a picture in the reader’s mind rather than a simple description.
On the left is an examples of how an author is "showing" a part of their story.
We can “show” emotions by describing ways our bodies might act while feeling that specific emotion. See the example to the left for showing how a character might be acting if they are feeling excited.
Draw up a similar table in your books and brainstorm descriptions to “show” the other feelings and emotions (angry, happy, cold, tired, excited, shocked). You can refer back to this table when writing narratives.
Extension: Add some of your own emotions to your table.
WEEK 1
PROCEDURAL TEXT
Write a procedure explaining how to make one of your favourite snacks or meals.
Ensure that you include Heading, Materials, Ingredients, Steps. Follow this recipe and make it with your family.
For example: Vegemite toast, peanut butter sandwich, spaghetti bolognese, pizza
Click here to see a suggested template/layout for your procedure.
JOURNAL WRITING
Write a journal entry once a day of your activities. Include the learning activities you did, snacks you ate, people you spoke to.
At the end complete a www.ebi (what worked well, even better if).