Why I like WAFOLLS -

We all have to start somewhere and in this post I am going to look at how I use a take on a WAGOLL  (What A Good One Looks Like) to introduce the 150 word essay to my Year 10s.  Writing the first 150 word essay often seems like a tall order to students in their first months of GCSE and when faced with just two bullet points, they are not always sure where to start.    

Firstly, I will have spent a great deal of time building up vocabulary and chunks using various techniques:

1. Quizlet & Genially Snakes & Ladders

2. Knowledge Organisers (see below)

3. Translation (including using LearningApps)

4. Listening and Reading Comprehensions adapted from text book or created myself that allow for repetition of vocabulary.

We work in Class Notebook but here is a link to a whole suite of lessons on the topic. 

Thus we work on language and some great structures which work well in this topic, such as ce qui m'attire and ce que je voudrais faire, c'est de or je m'en sers pour pouvoir + inf all of which bring a level of sophistication to their writing.  These are structures that I anticipate them being able to use elsewhere in other topics both for writing and speaking.   I am definitely of the mind that the more I can enable my students to produce the language the more they feel empowered and can enjoy learning to communicate in a language.  This approach works well for me and for my students.  Before we move on to the writing task, we might watch this cracking chanson from Patrick Bruel - Maux D'enfants.  

The 150 word writing task  

When students see a question such as this one:

Vous écrivez votre blog sur les réseaux sociaux? 

 

Décrivez: 

Les avantages/Inconvénients des réseaux sociaux  

Un problème que tu as déjà eu à cause des réseaux sociaux?

 

 

Ecrivez environ 150 mots en français. Répondez aux deux aspects de la question.

they invariably panic.  They see just two bullet points and wonder how they can possibly write 150 words.  As a class we work together to overcome this mental barrier.  Step by step, as outlined below, we break down the title into manageable chunks, focusing on tenses, sub-themes, topic specific vocabulary and any other expressions that might work.  For this last point, the structures above that we have been working on throughout the topic come to the fore.  

Step 1: Identify the tenses for both bullet points.   Could you add more?  How?   1.   2.   3.	Step 2: Consider how you could add 'sub themes' for each bullet point   1.   2.   3.   4.
STEP 3   What topic specific vocab can you use?	STEP 4    What expressions will work well here:

What a Fair One Looks LIke.

Having filled in our boxes I then like to provide a WAFOLL - what a fair one looks like.  The reason for this is simple; I can demonstrate that they have the basic topic specific vocabulary to build their essay.   Here's what it looks like:

Bullet 1

Les réseaux sociaux sont très utiles.  Il y a beaucoup d’avantages.  On peut rester en contact avec des amis et partager des photos. On peut communiquer à n’importe quel moment de la journée. Je vais aller au Sénégal et je vais envoyer et poster des messages et commentaires. Moi, j’utilise mon portable beaucoup. Je télécharge de la musique. Mon frère aime blogger.  Les réseaux sociaux sont dangereux. On peut souffrir de la fraude et de la cyber-intimidation.  (77)

Bullet 2

J’ai perdu mon portable.  Je ne pouvais pas rester en contact avec ma famille et je ne pouvais pas écouter de la musique.  Avec les réseaux sociaux on court beaucoup de risques. Mon amie a souffert.  Elle était victime de la fraude.  Les réseaux sociaux sont dangereux.  J’aime les réseaux sociaux.  Ils sont utiles. (54)

Together we then consider how we can improve my attempt. I let my students take the time to consider how they might link up my sentences using the link words we have been working on from the start of the year and even from the first years of learning French. Favourites are afin de, puisque, car and then words that help provide contrast that they know well such as par contre, tandis que, cependant. I push them to remember to give their opinion, they know that je trouve que, je pense que, à mon avis have a part to play here and the new one they have learnt during this topic quand j'y réfléchis, is offered up by many of the class. Using our grid, we know we have to embed some tenses and they know to provide time phrases that will guide the writing. In this way, as a class we create a WAGOLL (see right) which is, I think, a pretty good effort for a first attempt. This eases their anxiety about the process and they have the guidance they need to go and write their first 150 word essay.

Here is the link to my WAFOLL which also includes a WAGOLL which I share with my students once we have been through the process of up-levelling the WAFOLL.

I hope these are all useful.