Put yourself in their shoes

In a session based on writing, we were given a task to summarise a passage. However, we had to do this with our opposite hand and try to spell unfamiliar, technical words correctly.

Reflecting on this, I felt pressure to succeed and was disappointed with the outcome of my work, because I felt that my work was not good enough. This made me aware of how difficult writing could be for a child, because there are lots of barriers they need to overcome, such as: understanding the text, handwriting, spelling and including technical vocabulary. To avoid children feeling the same way I did, as this could disengage the child from learning, I would ensure support was provided, so that the children could concentrate on particular aspects of writing. For example, allowing lots of planning time with discussions and inspiration for writing to make the writing process easier.

Another task was to write about an image provided. We were given no guidance for this and no time to plan. The outcomes around the class were all very different, showing the importance of providing pupils with a clear structure, guidance, modelling and time to plan, so that the expectations are understood and progress can be made. While I was writing I felt very unsure, because I didn't know if I was meeting the requirements of the task. It was interesting to hear the different ways people had interpreted the task.

My attempt:

The image shows a beautiful nature scene, which includes trees, a fence and water. It is a sunny day, which makes me feel relaxed, but I think I would feel differently if the picture was taken at night. This is because, I would feel isolated and scared of the unknown, as the trees obscure your view. This would be a nice place to visit in he day, but I wouldn't want to be left alone here at night.