Simply ‘get them writing’ with Rainbow Writing
Making writing mathematical
An example of rianbow writing frame used on PLN
I have always struggled when writing and understanding concepts regarding the writing process in both English and other languages, I have a relatively low attention span towards books and writing in general. Simply, I struggle to see what others can on the page, get impatient, and then completely stop from frustration. I just want to get on with the task, I want to practice reps.
I do, however, have a very mathematical brain, and remember enjoying doing sheets upon sheets of maths problems whilst at school, and being intensely engaged in the process of solving the problems on the page.
I wanted to create a writing frame that allowed myself, and therefore others like me, to see the maths behind writing in other languages. Simplifying the concept of writing to just putting colours in the right order of the rainbow allows students to get on with it, get writing sentences, and get writing them correctly.
Hence rainbow writing, we have split each part of the sentence in the order of the rainbow, students must select one from each of the colours to build their own sentences. Above you can see an example of a rainbow writing frame
At the primary level, students don’t need to understand why the red goes before the orange, just that they do. By using this concept, it takes out all of the heavy work done by the teacher in explaining why something appears on the page as it does, instead we just get on with writing, getting the reps in.
Instead of switching off, we just get on with it.
I also wanted to show students clear pathways that they can take, with examples (as seen in the picture). Completely clarifying the writing process. It’s just a simple equation to solve, over and over again.
It is widely believed in literature that imitating is the first/ lowest level of learning a skill or a language (see picture on the right), this is exactly what rainbow writing is. It is no different from imitating an accent, a trait, or a movement. Low student understanding but accurate production and end result.
Examples of work
Below are two examples of work produced by a year 6 class, the teacher said:
‘They’re a very able group but there are a few weaker pupils who sometimes struggle to keep with the others and they all had a really good go at this’
The impact rainbow writing can makes
I’m going to leave you with this passage, it was written by a PLN associate teacher, native French speaker and highly experienced in secondary and primary languages. I would paraphrase it, but I can’t take anything out
‘Hi Will. I d just like to share some thoughts about pln rainbow sentences that might be of interest: I would describe all the pln rainbow sentences activities at all stages in the new sow as purely magical.
As a mum to a child who was born with a severe genetic language disability, I know that for some children, ordering a sentence so that it makes sense is a huge challenge and a constant uphill struggle, whether it be in spoken or written form. For any kid with a language disorder or disability, traditional grammar and teaching do not make sense. Those with severe difficulties learn how to speak through a completely different code that involves shapes and colours. To my daughter, an adj is a cloud, whilst a subject noun is an oval or an object name is a rectangle. If it’s animate, it’s orange, if it’s inanimate, its green. Her brain is filled with shapes and colours and that s what makes sense. I do not teach her french, but I know rainbow sentences would make perfect sense to her and would help her learn. I have indeed noticed that in st peters where there is a big cohort of speech and lang sen kids, those very children excel at rainbow sentences. They love doing them and more importantly, they CAN do them without support. And THAT to me is the magic. So often those kids with special needs are made to learn like the norm with a system that does not work for them; so once in a while, doing smth aimed at them and teaching in a way that appeals to all but particularly supports the ones who struggle more is amazing. PLN has created magic with these as far as I’m concerned because the colours create the sparkle of understanding and recognition in those children, and the rainbow is the bridge that they need to link what does not make sense to what does. They can visualise it all and the sentence suddenly comes alive and has real meaning. Pure magic.
This resource is just one of many resources we use at PLN to make language learning easier for all students. At Primary Languages Network we hear awesome stories of successes in schools that use our resources every day. We are passionate about keeping languages fun for students and staff and have schemes of work available to support even the most scared of teachers. If you are curious, why not sign up for a free trial of our video lesson scheme of work, taught by native speaker and experienced teachers.