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Year 5/6 Moderation Cluster Meetings March 2020

Guidance for teachers

This year the focus of these clusters will be Reading and Writing.

To get the maximum benefit from the cluster, it is important that you bring to the

session some appropriate evidence of children’s attainment.

For two (or three) different pupils, including (if applicable) at least one who is

eligible to receive pupil premium funding, please bring a selection of evidence

produced by each pupil. You can choose the same 2 children for both subject areas,

or different children, as you wish. Please choose pupils working at different

standards. You may wish to select pupils that you find particularly interesting or

difficult to assess.

This year we have suggested both a reading and a writing activity. The purpose of

this is so that conversations with colleagues can focus on similarities and

differences in the way children approached a common task. However, we are also

aware that sometimes time can be short. For this reason, we have chosen tasks

that either you may have already done – such as a persuasive letter – or that you

could adapt to fit with the curriculum that you are teaching. For example, for the

writing activity, you could write a persuasive letter or speech based on a topic that

you are teaching in the foundation subjects, or that is topical to your school, or to

current affairs. For the reading activity, you could produce an ‘open mind’ for a text

that you are reading in class. In short, please do feel free to amend or adapt the

activities. Then again, we know that many teachers and classes enjoy the teaching

suggestions given by the HfL Assessment team – and we do hope that most are

able to complete them as suggested, as it does aid comparison of the work and

accurate teacher assessment across schools. Hopefully, it also adds to your

teaching repertoire of ideas too!

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What to bring Reading –

We have created a reading activity – ‘Open Mind’ (see resources and teaching notes below) – for you to carry out with your class, using the text ‘Our Expedition’ by Shaun Tan. The activity could be used with the whole-class, but for the purpose of noting evidence to

bring to the discussion, it may be helpful to focus on a small number of pupils (representing

different standards of current attainment in reading). The task will facilitate good evidence

for reading behaviours, understanding vocabulary, and making inferences/deduction. In

order for you to be able to discuss the way your focus pupils approached the task, please

observe them as they work and jot down any key points about how they approach the task

e.g. reading fluency, expression, ideas they discuss, choices they make, predictions,

reasoning etc.

Please bring to the cluster your evidence from this task, such as copies of the filled-in ‘open

mind’ sheet and any notes you have made when observing the children reading the text or

drawing or writing words in/around the ‘open mind’.

In addition to the evidence from the suggested task, for each of the 2 children, please bring

any reading records (e.g. from guided reading sessions, whole class reading activities, or

from hearing them read individually) that indicate the type of books the children read,

fluency/decoding strategies and their understanding of the texts.

Writing –

For each of the 2 children, please bring the writing task – persuasive letter – see following

pages for teaching resources and suggested teaching sequence.

In addition to this task, please bring at least 2 or 3 other pieces of writing, ideally including

a narrative with dialogue. These additional pieces of work could include writing from

across the curriculum, as well as writing produced as part of literacy lessons.

To make it easier to share the work with colleagues, please bring 2 copies of each piece of

work (i.e. the original plus one photocopy, or 2 photocopies).

We look forward to working with you.

Please contact the Assessment Team if you have any queries (01438 844863) or check the website:

www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/assessment/ks2/moderationclusters.shtml

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Year 5/6 Cluster Reading and Writing Activities March 2020

Reading Activity: ‘Open Mind’

For the purpose of this activity, we have suggested using the extract provided taken

from Shaun Tan, Our Expedition (from the book Tales from Outer Suburbia).

Objective: to read an age-appropriate text to practise working out vocabulary in

context and skills essential for inference

Outcome: draw and/or write words to show how the narrator (the younger brother) is

thinking and feeling.

Assessment information: observations and notes from reading and discussion,

responses from pupils plus written or drawn output.

1. You may wish to ask pupils how they feel about a close family member – is a

sibling or other relative a good companion? But can they sometimes both annoy

you and make you laugh or cheer you up?

2. Ensure each child has a copy of the text below. Read the text. Possible

approaches include individual reading to the teacher, reading in pairs, where pupils

alternate after each paragraph, echo reading, where pupils re-read what the

teacher reads while pointing to the words, choral reading, where pupils and

teachers read the same section of the text simultaneously, and repeated reading,

where pupils read the same passage multiple times.

(Please read https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/eef-blog-

whole-class-reading/ for more information about evidence-based pros and cons of

various whole class reading strategies.)

3. Optional step: act out lines of action or speech to help with embodying the

character and emotions of the different characters.

4. Hand out large copies of the blank ‘open mind’ sheet. A3 may work best. Ask

pupils to draw/write any symbols, words or images that are bouncing around in

the mind of the narrator in the story by writing or drawing in the blank head

provided. Pupils may choose to use symbols and words, or write in sentences and

paragraphs. They may wish to choose different points in the story. The pupils

could compare their ‘open minds’ with each other.

Note: This is an ambitious text, particularly for Y5. Feel free to adapt strategies to suit

your own class/group/pupils, scaffolding reading and discussions more or less as

required. For example, less independent readers may benefit from the text being read to

them first and for greater time spent on the drama activity (step 3). The level of

independence/scaffolding will inform moderation discussions and teacher assessment

decisions.

(NB in the original text, ‘neighbour’ is spelt with the US spelling ‘neighbor’. To avoid

confusing any of our Year 5/6 children, we have changed it to the English spelling.)

FYI: ‘Open mind’ can be a useful strategy to use with other books to help pupils make

inferences about a character, compare their thoughts with each other and aid teacher

assessment of reading comprehension.

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Our Expedition by Shaun Tan

(Tales from Outer Suburbia)

My brother and I could easily spend hours arguing about the correct lyrics to a TV jingle, the impossibility of firing a gun in outer space, where cashew nuts come from, or whether we really did see a saltwater croc in the neighbour’s pool that one time. Once we had a huge argument about why the street directory in Dad’s car stopped at Map 268. It was my contention that obviously certain pages had fallen out. Map 268 itself was packed full of streets, avenues, crescents and cul-de-sacs, right up to the edge — I mean, it’s not like it faded off into nothing. It made no sense. Yet my brother insisted, with an irritating tone of authority enjoyed by many older siblings, that the map was literally correct, because it would otherwise have “joins Map 269” in small print up the side. If the map says it is so, then so it is. My brother was like this about most things. Annoying. Verbal combat ensued; “It’s right” — “it’s not” — “it is” — “not” — “is” — “not” — a ping-pong mantra performed while eating dinner, playing computer games, brushing teeth, or lying wide awake in bed, calling out through the thin partition between our rooms until Dad got angry and told us to stop. Eventually we decided there was only one solution: go and see for ourselves. We shook hands over a mighty twenty-dollar bet, a staggering amount to gamble even on a sure thing, and planned an official scientific expedition to the mysterious outer suburbs. My brother and I took the number 441 bus as far as it would go and set off on foot after that. We had filled our backpacks with all the necessities for such a journey: chocolate, orange juice, little boxes of sultanas and, of course, the contentious street directory. It was exciting to be on a real expedition, like venturing into a desert or jungle wilderness, only much better signposted. How great it must have been long ago, before shops and freeways and fast-food outlets, when the world was still unknown. Armed with sticks, we hacked our way through slightly overgrown alleys, followed our compass along endless footpaths, scaled multilevel parking garages for a better view, and made careful notes in an exercise book. Despite starting out bright and early, however, we were nowhere near the area in question by mid-afternoon, when we had planned to be already back home on our beanbags, watching cartoons.

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The novelty of our adventure was wearing thin, but not because our feet hurt

and we were constantly blaming each other for the forgotten sunscreen.

There was some other thing that we could not clearly explain. The farther we

ventured, the more everything looked the same, as if each new street, park,

or shopping mall was simply another version of our own, made from the same

giant assembly kit. Only the names were different.

By the time we reached the last uphill stretch, the sky was turning pink, the

trees dark, and we were both looking forward to nothing more than sitting

down and resting our feet. The inevitable victory speech I had been mentally

preparing all along now seemed like a meaningless bunch of words. I wasn’t

in the mood for gloating.

I guess my brother felt much the same. Always the impatient walking

companion, he was some distance ahead, and by the time I caught up he

was sitting with his back to me, right in the middle of the road, with his legs

hanging over the edge.

“I guess I owe you twenty bucks,” I said. “Yup,” he said. One annoying thing I forgot to mention about my brother: he is almost always

right.

Tales from Outer Suburbia, Shaun Tan, published by Templar Publishing 2009

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Writing Activity

Persuasive letter

For the purpose of this activity, we have suggested using one or both of the model

letters provided below to provide the stimulus for writing a formal letter of persuasion.

Objective: To write a formal letter in a way that persuades the reader.

Big Picture: Being able to talk and write persuasively is an important life skill.

(Applying to college/university, getting a job or an apprenticeship, gaining support for

your cause/idea, being able to construct a logical and convincing argument, etc.)

Outcome: A formal persuasive letter

Assessment information: responses from pupils plus written output.

1. Read one or both of the model letters. Who is the audience? What is the author’s

purpose? How does that affect the tone of the writing? What makes you smile? Or

persuades you? (For potential greater depth pupils, teachers may want to look at the

model letter 2 in particular and consider discussing register, formality and tone. What

vocabulary and grammatical structures lend themselves to writing formally,

knowledgeably and persuasively? What difference does the author’s voice make? What

is the role of humour and exaggeration in persuasion? )

2. Begin to frame the task:

(a) Consider the difference the author’s own voice makes? Does the writer sometimes

‘step into role’? Are they going to write as ‘themselves’ or another? Are they writing to

the Head, or to the Editor of the Times? Or to their MP? What difference would that

make?

(b) Consider the topic to write about. If possible, allow some pupil choice in order to

let children write about a topic or issue they feel strongly about.

Possible issues could include:

Getting rid of something in your school e.g. single-use plastic, meat in the canteen, homework, school uniform, etc.

Introducing something new to your school e.g. sponsoring a child to school in a developing country, a school ‘therapy’ or reading dog, a new extra-curricular activity, greater use of technology in the classroom e.g. VR, etc.

Expressing concern about a national or global issue – The Week Junior may be of use here. (Click on the link to receive 6 free issues)

(Alternatively, you may wish to use a topic from across the curriculum that you have taught, or write a persuasive letter in character from a book you are reading.)

3. Co-create success criteria. You could use the boxed success criteria (see

https://jamesdurran.blog/2019/01/24/re-thinking-success-criteria-a-simple-device-to-

support-pupils-writing/) Template provided below.

4. Write your own letter to persuade. Think carefully about your audience and the effect

you want to have on your reader.

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Model Letter 1

St. Bernadettes’s Junior School, Spring Road,

Coventry, CV6 7FP.

15th March, 2020.

Dear Mrs Bevans,

I am writing to you as I would like to make a proposal about how to improve our

school, in particular by making your students happier and healthier. Before joining St.

Bernadette’s I was at Butterfield Infant school where all children took part in The Daily

Mile: an initiative aimed at getting all students to exercise for 15 minutes each day. By

writing this letter, I hope to convince you to enrol St. Bernadette’s for the same

programme - The Daily Mile: Fit for Life.

To begin with, it is a known fact that young people these days are spending too much

time indoors, staring at screens and not getting enough physical exercise. This is having

a real impact on the long term health of children and teenagers as they may grow up

to become unfit and, possibly even obese, adults. I am sure you will agree that the way

to develop a life-long love of exercise is to encourage this habit from early childhood. It

is important that this message is sustained and not abandoned so that children receive

the same message - daily exercise is important. As headteacher you have the power to

maintain this.

Furthermore, The Daily Mile is not just about fitness, it is also fun. Pupils are

encouraged to take part in self-paced exercise – if they want to run they can run;

however, if they want to walk that is fine. It is not about competitive, elite sport. It is

about being outside in the fresh air with friends getting away from the stresses of the

classroom. So The Daily Mile not only promotes a healthy body, it also promotes a

healthy mind.

Finally, studies have shown that taking part in The Daily Mile improves students’ focus,

behaviour and self-esteem, and has also been shown to raise attainment by up to 25%.

Why wouldn’t you want this for your students? I firmly believe that you have the

power to make a lasting, positive impact on your students’ lives physically, mentally

and academically.

Please consider the points I have raised in this letter carefully. I trust you will do the

right thing for our school and for the future of all the pupils in it.

Yours sincerely

Amaka

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Model Letter 2: Historical and humorous!

With thanks to Letters of Note http://www.lettersofnote.com

Context:

On March 28th of 1912, an eminent bacteriologist named Almroth Wright wrote a lengthy, pompous letter to The

Times in which he argued that women should not be allowed to vote, and in fact should be kept away from politics

altogether, due to their supposed psychological and physiological deficiencies. Unsurprisingly his opinion generated

many responses, the best of which was the following witty letter from "One of the Doomed," printed in the paper two

days later. Unbeknownst to all, its sender, "C.S.C.," was 26-year-old Clementine Churchill. (Source: Clementine

Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage.)

See too Louise Brealey reading this letter at Letters Live.

March 30th, 1912

To the Editor of The Times.

Sir,

After reading Sir Almroth Wright's able and weighty exposition of women as he

knows them the question seems no longer to be "Should women have votes?" but

"Ought women not to be abolished altogether?"

I have been so much impressed by Sir Almroth Wright's disquisition, backed as it

is by so much scientific and personal experience, that I have come to the

conclusion that women should be put a stop to.

We learn from him that in their youth they are unbalanced, that from time to time

they suffer from unreasonableness and hypersensitiveness, and that their presence

is distracting and irritating to men in their daily lives and pursuits. If they take up a

profession, the indelicacy of their minds makes them undesirable partners for their

male colleagues. Later on in life they are subject to grave and long-continued

mental disorders, and, if not quite insane, many of them have to be shut up.

Now this being so, how much happier and better would the world not be if only it

could be purged of women? It is here that we look to the great scientists. Is the

case really hopeless? Women no doubt have had their uses in the past, else how

could this detestable tribe have been tolerated till now? But is it quite certain that

they will be indispensable in the future? Cannot science give us some assurance, or

at least some ground of hope, that we are on the eve of the greatest discovery of

all—i.e., how to maintain a race of males by purely scientific means?

And may we not look to Sir Almroth Wright to crown his many achievements by

delivering mankind from the parasitic, demented, and immoral species which has

infested the world for so long?

Yours obediently,

C.S.C. ("One of the Doomed”)

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Purpose:

Audience:

Text type:

Effect I want to have on the reader

Toolkit / ingredients

Examples /things to magpie/ phrases and ideas