Give Pupils a Real Reason to Write if you Want to See Extraordinary Work
Want to see extraordinary writing from your pupils? Give them a real reason to write, urges Debra Kidd
- by Debra Kidd
The polar bear is desperate. The people in the town have made it painfully clear that he’s not welcome there. His ice is melting, and the land the rangers have set aside for him is dangerously low on prey.
“We could take him to the zoo,” suggests one child. “He’d be safe there.”
And so they’re off, researching the zoos that might be suitable for the polar bear.
What if?
We’d started with an image from The Journey Home, by Frann Preston-Gannon, of a somewhat sad looking polar bear sitting on a lump of ice.
The children felt sorry for him, but now, having explored the points of view of human beings living in close proximity to the creature, they’re not sure quite how sorry.
That process has taken them through reading fiction and fact and into drama and discussions underpinned by information and knowledge. It has taken them to a place of carefully considered investment.
They are under no anthropomorphic illusions about the power of the bear – but they still want to help. Nor are they being lied to. All of the context is introduced within the realm of “what if…”
What if there were a bear like this one? What if the people didn’t want him? Let’s say the people at the zoo wrote back to us – shall I read out a letter of what they might say? In our story, what might we do next?
This is dilemma-led learning – where one person’s point of view can happily clash with another’s and there’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer. We’re all just muddling along, making the best decisions we can under the circumstances, but always caring enough to want to try for the very best outcomes.
So, the children write a letter to the zookeepers in three zoos with a good reputation for conservation – Singapore, Chester and San Diego. They explain the polar bear’s dilemma and ask if the zoo could accommodate the animal.
Both San Diego and Chester (via the teacher, in role!) reply with regret. They, sadly, have no space or resources to give the bear what he needs. However, Singapore replies to say they already have one bear and could make way for a second, but they might need some help in redesigning his enclosure.
The children read more about Singapore Zoo and they find some disturbing information. The climate is hot, and the enclosure small. Visitors have reported how sad the polar bear already there seems. It looks like this might not be a great solution after all.
Still, they get to work, redesigning a bigger enclosure. And they come up with a range of solutions to the problem of climate – including an amazing ‘freezer land’ environment complete with snow machine.
They send their scaled drawings off and get some questions back. How much will this cost? Have they considered the impact on the environment of such a high energy option?
More dilemma. So the children read about different power options – solar, wind, hydroelectric. They write their answers and reassure the zoo that the energy production can be carbon neutral.
Driven by concern
And so the bear has a new home – a cold patch in a tropical place. It’s not ideal. But it’s better than starving.
He makes friends – orangutans, African elephants, pandas – and all have their tales to tell. The animals appreciate the efforts of their zoo keepers, but they start to question why their habitats are disappearing. They mount a protest, and each animal group makes a statement:
Dear Human Beings of the World…
The children write speeches, infused with knowledge from poaching to palm oil. But they are not doing any of this work to pass SATs or meet moderation criteria. They are fuelled by concern. And of all the energy sources a teacher can tap into, concern is the best.
Concern fuels investment. It leads to obsession. It makes a child say “we must/ we need/we have to…” Not “do we have to? Why are we doing this?” Concern makes time fly. It motivates the desire to know more, to find evidence, to provide solutions.
So when you are thinking of reading/ writing/speaking tasks for children, think not “What’s the task?” but rather, “What’s the purpose?” Make it matter. And what you get back will be better than you thought possible.
Debra Kidd taught for 23 years and still teaches as a visitor in schools. She is the co-author, with Hywel Roberts, of Uncharted Territories: Adventures in Learning which is packed full of ideas for building concern and investment for children in the classroom.
