Resource+Description+2

__**Resource Description **__

__Writing Fun – An Interactive Whiteboard Resource __

“The development of students’ language does not take place ‘naturally’” (Droga & Humphrey, 2003, p. 3). Through this statement, the authors are acknowledging the inherent necessity for explicit literacy instruction in the classroom in relation to students’ development of language use in verbal and written forms. Also acknowledging this need are others in the education field as highlighted by the development of the Writing Fun resource by Jenny Eather and TaLE. This Interactive Whiteboard Resource aims to provide scaffolded text types for all stages, where structural and grammatical features can be identified, annotated and examined in the classroom in an interactive way. Through the use of Text Organisers, highlighting and colour-coding tools and click-and-drag options, teachers are able to provide varying levels of challenge suited to the needs of their class and the purpose of the lesson this resource is embedded within. Writing Fun allows teachers to select blank templates or basic to complex examples, allowing this resource to be adapted appropriately and often, rather than remaining a static tool.

Whilst this resource can be used in all Stages, it is particularly relevant for Stage 2 where there is provision of student autonomy, yet scaffolding is still highly necessary to ensure deep understanding occurs. In describing his Principles for Designing Learning, Dufficy alludes to this interaction between student independence and challenge, and assisted performance (2005, pp. 28 – 34). Dufficy states that student engagement takes place when learning is to some degree handed over to them, yet within the parameters of their learning ability (2005, pp. 31 – 32). It is evident that this resource provides such intersection for students, where if student ability allows, Writing Fun can be used independent of a teacher figure due to the scaffolded nature of the tasks. Yet similarly for lower-ability students, participation and engagement with the resource is still possible even high levels of instruction from the teacher, as hands-on tasks are required throughout.

In terms of exploring multimodality, Writing Fun encourages students to interact with visual, written, kinaesthetic and audio components simultaneously. Students can physically manipulate the examples of, in this case, procedures and manoeuvre annotation tools around the screen. Where multimodality is a key aim of the presented unit of work, this resource acts within a dual focus – to explicitly instruct the writing of procedures, and to facilitate student interaction with a multimodal resource. Reflecting on the Reading Cue System, this resource requires students to draw upon visual/pictorial information in conjunction with grammatical information to gain meaning about the features of a procedure or other text type (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl, & Holliday, 2006, pp. 54 - 55). By doing so, students are developing key literacy skills in the Reading and Writing strands that allow them to effectively work toward outcomes of this unit, as well as develop skills for future learning. As Kress discusses, the changes in how literacy and language use are defined and shaped dictate that multimodal resources such as Writing Fun that facilitate student development in several areas are highly significant and effective (2003, p. 35).

//By Nicole Mooney//


 * References **

Droga, L., and Humphrey, S. (2003). Grammar and meaning: an introduction for primary teachers. Berry: Target Texts.

Dufficy, P. (2005). Designing learning for diverse classrooms. Newtown: e:lit.

Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. London: Routledge.

Teaching and Learning Exchange. (n.d.) Writing fun. Retrieved September 29, 2010 from http://www.tale.edu.au/tale/components/includes/trap.html

Winch, G., Johnston, R.R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., Holliday, M. (2006). Literacy: reading, writing and children’s literature (3rd edition). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.