Stage 4 - Joint construction

Joint construction

In this stage, the class jointly constructs a new text from the notes, guided by the teacher. Using leading questions, the teacher guides students to consider the meaning of each chunk of information in the notes and how they may be re-worded into coherent sentences.

Jointly constructing a text is not a simple process. The teacher should balance the amount of scaffolding provided, to allow students to generate their own ideas about the text. It is a good idea for teachers to have a clear idea about where to take the text, before engaging the students in the joint construction stage.

In this video, the students offer suggestions for re-wording the notes and the teacher guides final decisions. Once decisions about wording have been made, the sentences are scribed on the board.

Because the notes have been organised and labelled, it is easy for students to recognise structures such as paragraphing in the new text.

Once the sentences have been completed, students label each section again. This provides a strong framework for students’ independent writing.