Compiling a list of bullets points from what students know about a topic leads nicely into a short writing activity. Writing about a topic consolidates learning and increases depth of knowledge. Interestingly, if students can use bullet points to create a piece of writing that makes sense, this suggests that their knowledge of the topic is superficial or disconnected.

In Hooking Student into Learning … in all curriculum areas,there are several suitable activities to allow students to practise writing bullet points into sentences.

ACTIVITY – ORGANISING INFORMATION FOR WRITING (pp. 224 and 225)

1. Students organise the bullet points under headings which the teacher can give to them (easier option) or ask the students to come up with their own headings (more difficult option).
2. Write the bullet points into sentences. The writing will be organised and, therefore, clearer.

ACTIVITY – DEPENDING UNDERSTANDING (p. 233)

1. Write three to five words/phrases on the board that capture content taught in the previous lesson.
2. Instruct students to rehearse sentences orally using the information provided.
3. When happy with the sentences, students can write them.

ACTIVITY – ONE PICTURE FOUR WORDS

1. Arrange the bullet points around a relevant visual image.
2. Students practise writing the bullet points into sentences starting with a different bullet point each time.
3. See the example in Hooking Student into Leaning … in all curriculum areas(p. 253).

ACTIVITY – ADDING CONNECTIVES TO DEVELOP SENTENCES (pp. 227)

1. Select a bullet point and write it into a sentence starter.
2. Students complete the sentence using several different connectives. Here’s the example from Hooking Student into Learning … in all curriculum areas(p. 227).