Practice task 1

Teachers staffroom

Resources
word processor with a range of editing tools and a spellchecker PRB11: The Green Cross code

Activity
In this activity children create a set of rules for the school staffroom. They use font-formatting tools to suggest the relative importance of their rules.

Vocabulary
highlight select font colour font style bold italic underline uppercase lowercase

Links to other subjects

National Literacy Strategy: Year 4
Sentence level T1, 1 Re-read own writing to check for grammatical sense (cohesion) and accuracy (agreement); to identify errors and suggest alternative constructions

National Curriculum: Key Stage 2

PSHE and Citizenship Preparing to play an active role as citizens 2 Pupils should be taught: b why and how rules and laws are made and enforced, why different rules are needed in different situations and how to take part in making and changing rules

Skills sessions
Children should have completed the following skills sessions prior to starting this activity: 1 School playground

Pupil activity
Ask the children if they can recall some of the techniques for giving emphasis to particular words and phrases. How can we make certain parts of our work stand out from the rest? Why might we want to do that? Tell the children that in this activity they will be making up a set of rules for the staffroom. Ask the children to think about other rules in school. Should there be special rules for the staffroom? For example, teachers will be allowed extra cakes on a Friday, and they must never do marking at lunchtime! Children will become most inventive in producing a range of measures to make life harder, rather than easier!

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Writing for different audiences

 Make sure that the children understand that the most successful posters will have clearly written rules that use a number of effects to communicate to teachers clearly. How will you attract our attention? Where will you place the most important rules, at the beginning or end? Will you number your rules, or use bullet points? When they have finished, ask the children to read each others work, prior to printing. It is sometimes helpful to view the poster from a distance. Are you sure that it says what you want it to say? Is there one part of the poster that is not as effective as the rest? If so, what needs to change? Encourage the children to review their work as readers, rather than writers. If appropriate, ask the children to save their work before they print a copy. (Note: Further practice can be gained using PRB11.)

Example

New rules for the staffroom.

1.
Teachers must be allowed extra cakes on a Friday. Marking must never be done at lunchtime! Teachers can hide if they are needed.

2. 3. 4. 5.

from children

Teachers can play with any new resources for a month before the children. All the best books can live on the teachers shelves.

Writing for different audiences

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