In this episode of ‘Building Excitement, Engagement and Achievement in Writing with Dr. Murray Gadd’, we watch Murray reading “Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk and thinking about writing as a result of the reading.
This video is primarily aimed at Year 3 – 6 students. It was originally broadcast by Murray on YouTube during the Covid-19 lockdown (March & April 2020)
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“Library Mouse” – Purpose:
The purpose for this lesson is for students to think of themselves as writers and write about something that is special or important to them. It could be a way of introducing ‘independent writing’ to students at the beginning of a year or term.
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Teacher Notes
I move through four set steps of writing instruction in this lesson:
- Introducing the topic: What is the text and what is it about? ‘It is about Sam becoming a writer and teaching us lots of lessons about being a writer.’ Why do I introduce it in this way?
- Developing content for writing. I read and discuss the text with students, often by putting in little comments about how I enjoy it. Note, through the discussion, how I ensure that all students have understood the ‘message’ of the book: ‘that we are all writers…’
- Developing a task for writing. Now that we know the message of the book and something about it, what could we do to be like Sam? Note how I deliver the message that we can all be authors if we have a story to tell, have a go at writing it down and have a go at reading it back. ‘It doesn’t matter if we make mistakes’. I then discuss:
- the type of stories students can write: autobiographies, mystery stories, adventure stories, factual stories;
- the processes you move through to write your story: coming up with an idea; planning around the idea; starting at the beginning and moving through to the end without worrying so much about spelling; re-reading and making changes; publishing.
- Encouraging students to come up with their own writing ideas: ‘Have a go and have fun…’
| This lesson may be undertaken over several time periods, not necessarily following each other. It may be, for example, that you read and discuss the text on one day, but return to it the next day for students to start on their own ideas. |
Other books by Daniel Kirk about Sam the mouse include:
- ‘Library Mouse – A Friend’s Tale’
- ‘Library Mouse – A World to Explore’
- ‘Library Mouse – A Museum Adventure’.
- ‘Library Mouse – Home Sweet Home’
| You might want to use this video in several ways. You might want to use it just to give yourself a good idea for a writing lesson, or just to remind yourself what you need to do in an effective writing lesson. Or you might want to share all or part of it with your students to motivate them as writers. But, whatever you do, just make sure that you talk through the students’ writing ideas with them before they start to write. |
Watch The Video Lesson
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Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/432692522 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPbSQcB4a88
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