18 Ways To Boost English Skills In Any Lesson
If teaching English is restricted to set hours in the day, you’re missing a trick. Here are 18 ways to enhance reading and writing skills in any lesson…
Contrary to the perception of many children, we teachers know that reading and writing is not just for ‘English’ or ‘Literacy lessons’. Both skills are golden tickets to success across the curriculum. Even in the absence of the written word, there is no lesson in which language is not important.
In fact, poor literacy skills can underpin some of the biggest problems that face us teachers: frustrated behaviour, non-completion of work, low self-esteem, poor attendance and, ultimately, poor results. So how do we make sure children are developing their reading, writing or language skills in every lesson – regardless of the subject or topic?
To help in this monumental mission, here are 18 of my favourite ways to boost literacy skills wherever you are and whatever you’re teaching.
1. Black out pens
After reading a text, have pupils prepare a creative summary by selecting words or sections to black out, leaving just 30 words showing (a black marker pen works well). Then ask them to go back to work with their ‘blackout pens’ so that the page is summarised in just 10 words. Which word would they choose if they had to summarise the text by leaving only one word showing?
2. Text detectives
In pairs, pupils read a given text. Pupil A chooses one word, sentence or paragraph and Pupil B must ask yes or no questions to ascertain which word, sentence or section Pupil A has chosen. This involves very close study of a text.
3. Zoom frames
After careful reading of a text, ask pupils to slide a ‘zoom frame’ over it (this can be created by cutting a small square in a large piece of paper). Pupils must explain why the words that are framed are important to the text. Alternatively, you might encourage a little grammar revision by asking them to define the word and / or explain what type of word it is.
4. Mission accomplished
Before they show you their written work, get children to highlight areas where they think they have really met the objective and areas where they already think they could do better next time. This will encourage the valuable habit of proof-reading and might even lead to some reflective revisions before submission.
5. What did I just say?
If, whilst circulating, you chat to a child about her work, ask her to try summarising in her own words what you have said to her – either orally or in written form next to her work. This not only reassures you that the pupil has listened to and engaged with your feedback, it also requires her to review and condense that feedback into useful action points.
6. Mix and match
Give half the class excerpts of pupils’ written work and the other half teachers’ summative comments (or the formative feedback stamps / symbols you usually use). Ask pupils to circulate, comparing the item they are holding with that of each classmate they speak to, looking carefully for links between the items. They can be encouraged to spot similar features / ideas / information / mistakes in the samples of pupils’ work – as well as to match up those samples with what they feel to be the most relevant piece of teacher feedback.
7. Writing galleries
Create a reading and writing gallery by placing different samples of pupils’ first drafts around the room and asking pupils to circulate, making additions/ suggestions/ alterations/ corrections at each post. You might even get them to take notes like serious mini art critics! This is an interesting way to explore the idea that a piece of work can always be appreciated as well as improved or enhanced in some way.
8. Problem words
After reading a text in any subject, invite pupils to highlight any words that they do not fully understand. These words can then be discussed as a class or researched independently.
9. Break it down
Present longer texts to pupils in a series of small sections to prevent pupils from feeling over-faced and to allow them to assimilate the information more effectively.
10. Sorted
Help pupils to make sense of written information or narratives by asking them to physically sequence a fragmented or disordered text.
11. Say it with plasticine
Ask pupils to convert a text into a different form – e.g. a chart or diagram, a poem, a cartoon, a set of models, etc. This is effective in helping pupils to remember the information. To test or consolidate their understanding, you might ask them to present it in a form that would be accessible to a very young child, or someone who doesn’t speak English. Getting pupils to use plasticine to tangibly represent the main points – and then removing the original text and using only the models to make written notes is one way of showing pupils the difference between copying and actually condensing and transforming information.
12. Quiz masters
Instead of asking pupils to answer questions about the text, ask them to devise useful reading comprehension questions to test someone else’s understanding of the text. (They should also have the answers ready prepared!)
13. Fill in the blanks
Display a text and ask pupils to read it. Remove the text for a while and then replace it with a version that is missing important words, phrases or whole sections. Ask pupils to attempt to “fill in the blanks”. This act of information retrieval will help them to recall the information more easily at a later date.
14. Picture the reader
It helps to have a purpose and audience in mind when you are writing – even if you’re simply recounting ‘what you did at the weekend’ (that Monday morning classic!). Help children to have a picture in their head of their intended reader so that they can consider how to capture that person’s interest. Pupils can then be required to adapt style, structure and vocabulary appropriately. You might even display a picture of the imagined reader.
15. What not to do
Give pupils a good or really bad example of the writing they are being asked to produce. Pupils can then be encouraged to identify what they will need to do in order to produce a high-quality piece of work. Together you can create a checklist that pupils must refer to and assess their work against.
16. Secondary objectives
Regardless of the topic, announce a particular literacy focus (e.g. writing in paragraphs, writing in sentences, checking spelling with a dictionary, using interesting adjectives, etc.) at the beginning of the lesson – alongside the primary learning objective.
17. Ghost write
Use the ‘ghost writing’ technique to model excellent form: give pupils a good example of this type of writing (report, explanation, instructions, recount, persuasion, description, etc.) and ask them to write ‘over’ it – i.e. retaining the phraseology, structure and form but changing the core meaning by swapping in the correct topic vocabulary.
18. That’s an order!
For each different subject, be aware of and focus on the subjectspecific imperative verbs that pupils will encounter. For example, compare, calculate, describe, predict, explain, argue, discuss, demonstrate, etc. What exactly does each verb entail? Can the children explain the difference between them?
About the author
Isabella Wallace is co-author of the best-selling teaching guides, Pimp Your Lesson and Talk-Less Teaching and has worked for many years as an Advanced Skills Teacher
