Teaching for Effective Learning @ NPS | Archives | 2016

EALD Levelling – How is it going?

Date May 23, 2016

Comments1

Have you come up with any scaffolds to help you with the process? Would you like to share any tips or tricks?

I have adapted the original EALD notes for assigning a level to help me gather information. Feel free to use and give feedback. I think this will be useful to set clearer goals for students.

EALD-Notes-for-Assigning-a-level -added tablesv2

For example:
Student 1 could improve by building more interesting noun groups, as only pointers, describers and classifiers have been used. (Challenge: Include a range of expanded noun groups in your writing to suit the audience and purpose.

	Which?	How many?	What like?	What type?	Who or what?	More information
I felt like throttling	those	two	scruffy	alley	cats	on the roof that were yowling all night.
MEANING	Pointer	Quantifier	Describer	Classifier	Thing	Qualifier
FORM	Determiner	Numeral	Adjective	Noun	Noun	Prepositional phrase and/ or embedded clause

Student 2 could work on using a range of complex sentence structures, including a wider range of (binding) conjunctions and including non-finite sentences. (Challenge: try to switch sentence around during editing process)
Student 3 could also work on developing sentence structures by perhaps focusing on expanding circumstances (Challenge: Add more detail? Where? When? How? Why?)

Student 4 could be working on the punctuating of sentences, especially using commas for effect between describers and after text connectives.

Model of a Descriptive Report (basic Information Report)

Date May 19, 2016

Posted by danilaw

Comments0

Title	Red-bellied piranha
General statement Entity classification	The red-bellied piranha is a type of fish that lives in the Amazon River.
Description Features	It has an orange belly, grey back, and very sharp teeth set in strong jaws. It grows up to 33 centimetres in length.
Diet Behaviour	The red-bellied piranha hunts in shoals of 20-30 fish. They feed on a diet of fish, insects, snails, plants, and river animals. They hide in vegetation in order to ambush prey, and they also chase prey and scavenge for food. The younger, smaller fish hunt by day, and the older, bigger fish hunt at dawn and dusk.
Reproduction	The female lays a clutch of up to 1 000 eggs.
Life expectancy	Piranhas can live for about 100 years.

Teaching Language in Context, Beverly Derewianka and Pauline Jones, Oxford, 2013

The Australian Goldrushes: A Historical Report

Date May 19, 2016

Posted by danilaw

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Stages and Phases

Title	The Australian Goldrushes
General statement Identification Time Place	The Australian goldrushes are significant in Australian nineteenth-century history. The first verified discovery of gold was around Bathurst, New South Wales, in 1851. Goldfields were then established in areas around the nation. People came from all over the world with the intention of striking it rich. Between 1845 and 1896 Australia’s population more than doubled, going from 400 000 to 1 000 000 people.
Description Environment Accommodation	At first, goldfields were established in rough environments longside rivers. As the claims of success and wealth grew, the sites became busy. The surrounding ridges became huge campsites housing prospectors and their families as well as tradespeople attracted by other work prospects. People lived in tents at first; later, huts made from wood, canvas, and bark were common. Over time the goldfields became towns and cities. At the start of a goldrush site, there were very few roads, meaning that everything had to be carried in from the surrounding townships. As the site developed, people travelled on horseback or wheeled their possessions in barrows.
Transport Employment opportunities Nutrition and health	While it was the opportunity of striking it rich that attracted many, other people stayed for the other job opportunities. Mostly, the people who flourished at teh goldfields were the tradespeople selling food and equipment and the landowners, selling land to people for homes. The diigings also provided employment in services such as laundry, inns, and boarding houses, and even hospitals. Health and hygiene became an issue on the diggings. People lived on a basic diet of damper, tea, and mutton, which didn’t provide the necessary nutrition and variety. Sewage was not correctly disposed of and, as a result, clean drinking and washing water became contaminated. In addition to this, diseases and epidemics were brought to the diggings by the people arriving from overseas by ship. While there were doctors and nurses, they could not deal with the numbers so many people died from illnesses such as dysentry and typhoid.
Historical significance of the goldrushes	The goldrushes played an important role in building the Australian nation. They were responsible for diversifying an economy formerly based on wheat and sheep. The influx of immigrants contributed to a multicultural society. The heritage of the goldrush era is still apparent in many of the public buildings in cities such as Bathurst and Ballarat.

Teaching Language in Context, Beverly Derewianka and Pauline Jones, Oxford, 2013

The Acoustic Guitar: A Compositional Report

Date May 19, 2016

Posted by danilaw

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Stages and Phases

Title

The Acoustic Guitar

General statement

Entity identification

The acoustic guitar consists of multiple parts that work together to create sound. It has a hollow body that amplifies the tone created by the vibration of the strings when strummed or plucked. The important parts are the body, the fretboard, the sound hole, the captan, the tuning pegs, the strings, and the bridge.

The body of the acoustic guitar is considered to be very important as it provides the resonance that shapes the tone of the guitar as well as the volume.

The fretboard is commonly made from rosewood and has a number of metal frets embedded in it (20-24). Strings are pressed down behind the fret to change the note that the open string will produce. Most fretboards have marker inlays on the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and twelfth frets; they function as q quick recognition indicator.

The sound hole is where the soundwaves made by the strings via the bridge saddle (see diagram) exit the body leading to what is ultimately heard.

The headstock, which is attached to the end of the guitar’s neck, houses the tuning pegs. It can also be where the guitar identification, i.e. brand, is.

The tuning pegs are attached to the capstan, which allows the strings to be lowered or raised in pitch. The capstan has the string tied through it.

The bridge is found between the hole and the bottom of the body. Its function is to allow the strings to pass over it and sit at a certain height, which is called the action.

Teaching Language in Context, Beverly Derewianka and Pauline Jones, Oxford, 2013

Environmental Disasters: A Classifying Report

Date May 19, 2016

Posted by danilaw

Comments0

Stages and Phases

Title	Environmental Disasters
General Statement	A disaster is something that does a lot of damage.
Definition	Sometimes, disasters hurt living things and the place where they live. These disasters are called environmental disasters.
Identification of classes	Water pollution can be an environmental disaster. Water is polluted when people put things such as rubbish into it. Air pollution can also be an environmental disaster. Air can be polluted by things such as gas or smoke.
Description
Water pollution	Oil spills Sometimes oil is spilled into water. Most spills are accidents. The most common accidents are when an oil tanker hits another oil tanker, or when an oil tanker hits the rocks.
Air pollution	Toxic gas Toxic means poisonous. Companies use toxic gas to make chemicals. Large amounts of toxic gas can be very dangerous. It can hurt or kill animals and humans.
	Nuclear power Nuclear power can be very useful, but it can also be very dangerous if something goes wrong. If there is an accident, it can cause dangerous radioactive fallout. This cannot be seen, but it quickly spreads over a large area.
	Smog Smog is a big cloud of polluted air. It is like very thick fog. It hangs just above the ground. In some big cities, a lot of coal and oil are used. These can make smog. In some cities there are lots of cars and trucks on the road. The fumes from the cars and trucks can make smog. The more pollution there is, the worse the smog gets.
	Source: Thomas 2008

Teaching Language in Context, Beverly Derewianka and Pauline Jones, Oxford, 2013