Since returning for Easter, one change I’ve been making is to insist that pupils answer questions in full sentences. I saw this on a Tweet from Lee Donaghy and Doug Lemov speaks about the ‘art of the sentence’ in Teach Like a Champion. In essence, the idea is that the more pupils practice speaking in a full sentence, the more able they will be to articulate their thoughts and improve their writing. It also highlights if pupils really understand what is being asked. A mumbled answer can mask a misunderstanding that whereas a full sentence often can’t as it requires a fuller explanation. One thing I have noticed is that even though the instruction is simply to answer in a full sentence, the outcome is that pupils expand the point they are making. In only a few weeks I’ve seen an improvement in both the amount pupils are writing as well as the quality of their essays. There are 4 points that I think are worth considering if you are trying to implement this in your own classroom:
Blog from Yousuf Hamid, an economics teacher reflecting on teaching. Twitter: @yousufhamid