“Have you ever wanted to know how to build a rocket?”
If your answer is “yes!” then you’re in luck! The Kindergarten class have been learning how to give clear instructions as part of their Destination Outer Space topic. Their Talk4Writing project focused on the proper way to introduce and organise their instructions.
Read on to see a couple of examples of the instructions that they wrote and to find out more about their next stage – adapting the text to ‘how to build a moon buggy’.
The use of the Talking Text allowed the students to build the technical vocabulary needed to break down and order each instruction. They also learned how to get their listener’s attention by asking them questions at the start.
The class were so confident with their rocket building that they then set about adapting the text for a different purpose. Each child added their ideas and actions to the new version: How to build a Moon Buggy.
A big part of the Talk4Writing philosophy is to give children a real audience for their texts. In Kindergarten, we paired up with the Year 5s for an afternoon of Moon Buggy building! Each child had chance to give their instructions and help their older school-mate build a model moon buggy.
The Talk4Writing process allows children to rehearse the key language and grammatical features of different written genres. As seen with the Kindergarten class, they quickly become able to add new ideas and adapt the text for their own purposes.
Thank you. I enjoyed the process of knowing how to build a rocket by the kindergarteners! And especially from my grand daughters. Very informative. The hand signs were helpful, too!