skills @ks4

Skills @KS4 Writing 1

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Picture Spells

In this session you will:

Familiarise yourselves with the topic vocabulary and produce a word-web

Extending vocabulary is

crucial to increasing your literacy levels

Your ability to remember and

use a wide vocabulary is a key

life skill

This will be picked up by college and

university recruiters and by

employers

links

-------T

A-------T

A-----------S

A---------E

(it’s a word that means being a teenager)

P----M

A-------D

B-----T

Other words you will need to know

• Controversial• Conscientious objector

Write all words correctly in your books and learn them over the course of the next few weeks


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Summary


Show that you can adapt your writing to suit different audiences and retrieve information quickly

You need to think quickly when

faced with a text that you’ve never seen before, in all subjects, and in

many exams

Your ability to skim-read and to scan important

parts of a document is an

important life-skill

At interviews for college and

employment you are often given documents to

scan and answer questions on

Depending on where you work,

you might need to write texts for

different types of people

links

Converting an article

• Re-read the article How To Cope With Teens• Convert it into a one-sided factsheet on the

coloured sheet.• You are against the clock – 25 minutes.• This is not a test of your paper-folding or

bubble-writing skills.• Imagine you had been given this task at an

interview – what skills do you need to show off?

25 minutes to…

• Choose a suitable title• Choose 10 of the most important fats that you

would want adults to know about teenagers and include them on the fact-sheet

• End the factsheet with a rhetorical question (eg: ‘isn’t it about time YOU find out about the teenager YOU live with?’

• Do a quick sketch if you have time.


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Open Letter


Show that you can consider the purpose (WHY) and the audience (WHO) when writing

If you don’t know why you have been asked to

produce a report, an explanation or a set of notes, you

will get the purpose wrong

Your ability to decide quickly the tone to take when

writing letters/emails is

an important life- and literacy skill

In the next year or two years you will be writing formal letters, personal statements and applications for

jobs or for further education

You may have to write differently according to the

person/company/institution you are

writing to

links

What is an open letter?

An open letter is usually an anonymous letter which is published (not normally sent)to reach a wide audience. It often has a very personal tone, but is written so that other people can be made aware of the issue that the letter deals with.

Examples:1) Letter to my brother on the other side of the world2) Letter to my friend’s son

We got on when we were young. Yes, we fought like any siblings, but you must have known that you were my role model. You are the reason I played football, you were the one to introduce me to canoeing. I even got my eyebrow pierced just to prove to you I could.Yet now that we find ourselves as adults and on opposite sides of the world, it is not just geographical miles that have grown between us – it's a lack of understanding, too.I was the one who drove our parents to the other end of Britain when you became a father and their first grandchild was born. I was the one who took our aunt on the long-haul flight to New Zealand after you moved there, so that our family could be together on your wedding day. Now I think of it, it is me who instigates everything. I have now seen you on the other side of the world three times – you emigrated there only three years ago.I get it. You have responsibilities. I understand that you have a family of your own now. But we are also family. The one on the other side of the world. The one trying in vain to maintain contact.I try to accept your lifestyle choices, although alien to me, to understand that you prefer to shun rather than embrace technology. However, there are consequences. I am saddened that I do not have a relationship with my nephew. I buy gifts when I do not know if they are suitable. I do not know what size clothes he wears, or what his favourite toys are. I still buy things periodically and send letters in the hope of acknowledgment, if not a reply. Until now no text, email, Skype message or letter has arrived, yet I know my packages to your family have been received through our parents. I fear that without communication we have no relationship. I fear that the distance will become too overwhelming and the gap too large to cross. What do we know of each other's lives? I hear about you through our parents, as I am sure you hear about me. I do not want to find out what will happen when there are just the two of us, as is inevitable one day. When I have to call you to tell you the news ... how will we communicate then?I do not think I ask too much when I say, let me be a sister. Let me be an auntie. Let us accept the challenges of communicating over time zones and geographical distance. Let us rise to the challenge of finding our own way to communicate. But let's do this sooner rather than later.Your loving sister

Hi, welcome to the club. You are the fourth member, I think. I lived with your dad as a friend many years ago, leaving to live in my first house. Your mum lived with him and left when you were very young. His cat often tried to leave, too. He can be hard to live with, knowing his desire to keep the house so clean and tidy.I'm going to tell you a little about my dad as I'm guessing you may have similar feelings towards your dad that I had to mine.You see, in my teens I hated my dad. I hated him so much that even when he did good things for me, I turned it to think he had his own selfish motives.My parents were unalike and didn't get on. They split up like yours. It was a horrible process and they never met or spoke again. At the time I blamed my dad for everything, but later realised that nothing was black and white.They started dating new people and that was really weird. Gradually, if they stuck around, I got to know them better. My parents found new long-term partners who were better suited.Away from home, I escaped the emotional pulls and learned to see my parents as individuals with good and bad sides, each with their strengths and weaknesses. I started to see my dad differently. I still hated him, but needed his support and help. He helped me to drive and with my living expenses. I hated him but was prepared to accept help. Years later, I was grateful for that.At my dad's funeral, I met many people I'd never seen before. They knew him differently to me. You, too, will meet others who see your dad in a different way, either as friends, acquaintances or colleagues. Part of growing up is to distance yourself from your dad, establishing your own identity. With leaving home, maybe you are growing up much quicker than I did.Your feelings may be raw now and there will be other things on your mind, like friends, girlfriends and school, but it is important for you to maintain contact and communicate with your dad.Another friend of mine divorced after splitting from his wife – you may remember. His son chose to live with his mother and blamed everything on his dad, refusing to see him. He became protective of his mum and took her side in all things, which was understandable at the time, as I told him. But I also urged him to keep in contact and meet his father for the sake of their long-term relationship.That boy, like me, went through a very difficult period, as well as the process of meeting his parent's new dates. In time he saw that his parents were individuals with their own needs. He had to grow up quickly, but is now happily making a life for himself, independent of his parents. He has good relationships with his mum and dad who have new long-term partners, and has become a friend to them too.So you know, even though things are difficult now, they may turn out well for you with time. My advice is to maintain contact with your dad. Meet him in town maybe, keep communicating. You are welcome to call me any time. Take care. David

Your open letter

• You have 25 minutes to write an open letter to someone that you have recently (or not so recently) argued with. You will need to write in the first person (I) as if you are talking directly to the person concerned (you).

You could start like this….Dear Jo (or parent, or brother or friend or boyfriend/girlfriend)

It’s been three days since we had the argument that left me wishing that I’d never said hello to you that first day in Year 7.

You could end like this….

But I do know how important our friendship is, and I know that whatever happens, we’ll come out of this, look back, and laugh.

Your best mate, Grant


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Take a Stand


Create a written text which explains a personal viewpoint

You are becoming very good at explaining

yourselves verbally – but the skill also lies in being able to transfer what you

mean onto paper

This is especially true in all subjects where you

need to provide an explanation – the ‘why’.

History, Maths, D&T, ICT – there isn’t a subject

which doesn’t require you to EXPLAIN

In your personal statements to college and

in letters to employers you will ALWAYS have to

explain why you have chosen to apply

links

Personal Boycotts

• In the ‘Boycotts’ Speaking and Listening session, you explored some of your own ideas for a personal boycott, and given your reasons.

• You must now choose ONE way in which to present your boycott in written format. Choose from the following:

– A fact sheet– A FAQ sheet (as if online)– An informative poster– The text of an assembly for year 9.


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Biko Questionnaire


Create a questionnaire using information about Steve Biko and Apartheid

links

You need to think quickly when

faced with a text that you’ve never seen before, in all subjects, and in

many exams

Your ability to skim-read and to scan important

parts of a document is an

important life-skill

At interviews for college and

employment you are often given documents to

scan and answer questions on

Depending on where you work,

you might need to write texts for

different types of people

Front Page to Questionnaire

• Today you will use the Biko front page report to create a questionnaire for Steve Biko (as if he were still alive today).

• You can use your tutor/iPad/PCs for further information but the skill as usual is to work against the clock – accurately.

• Use the same 10 questions as the Guardian Questionnaire and provide answers for them (as if you were Steve Biko).

Paul Kaye, 36, is the son of a shopkeeper. Brought up in Wembley, he studied theatre design at Nottingham University and went on to become a graphic designer. In 1996, he transformed himself into Dennis Pennis, the spoof TV reporter who informed Hugh Grant that his acting was wooden and Naomi Campbell that she resembled a duck. After a year, he killed off his alter ego to concentrate on acting. After appearing in two sitcoms, he recently made his drama debut in BBC1's Two Thousand Acres Of Sky. He is separated from his wife, has one son and divides his time between Israel and London. What is your idea of perfect happiness?Lying in a hammock with my son asleep on my belly.What is your greatest fear?Israel going to war.Which living person do you most admire?Patrick Vieira. He's the most graceful and fearless football player I think I've ever seen. And he gobbed at Ruddock.What vehicles do you own?Drunkenly cycling through Camden recently, I spotted Mark E Smith in a bar, parked up the bike and went in to bother him. I forgot to lock up and some bastard nicked it. So, the answer to your question is none.What has been your most embarrassing moment?For my sins, I used to be in-house graphic designer for Spurs back in the late 80s. I figured that sticking the odd subliminal cannon into their merchandising catalogues would keep the evil spirits from my door, but I was wrong. The day before I left, I lit a fag on top of a crowded bus on my way home. The discarded match got stuck in the turn-up of my trousers and I became a human inferno in seconds. I ran screaming off the bus still on fire, and a bloke from a carpet shop put me out with one of his rugs. I got home on the tube in a pair of singed Y-fronts, and bear the scars to this day.What is your greatest extravagance?I have a £150-a-week sushi habit.What do you most dislike about your appearance?No eyelashes, and no real eyelids to speak of, either.What is your favourite building?Karnak's Temple, Luxor. Maybe it was the heat, but when I went there I found myself in this little antechamber and was overcome with visions of Egyptian orgies. I masturbated swiftly wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a camera around my neck - which just goes to prove that all tourists are wankers.Which living person do you most despise and why?Yigal Amir, Rabin's assassin.What is the most important lesson life has taught you?Don't see the film Don't Look Now when you're 10 years old.


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Picture SpellsRevisited


Revise the topic vocabulary and check progress

Extending vocabulary is

crucial to increasing your literacy levels

Your ability to remember and

use a wide vocabulary is a key

life skill

This will be picked up by college and

university recruiters and by

employers

links

skills @ks4

Documents

ks4 skills

anonymous letter

onesided factsheet

tother words

suitable titlechoose

minutes tochoose

wide audience

teenager p