WT 1: From Idea to Text (The Kite Runner)
This Written Task (WT) 1 and associated teaching materials have been submitted to InThinking by Max Clark, a teacher at the Yew Chung International School in Hong Kong.
The materials, which guide students through the process of writing a WT 1 (here, based on Khaled Hosseini’s novel The Kite Runner), don’t require much in the way of introduction. Firstly, Max provides his students with a framework for thinking about and planning a WT 1. Teachers will notice that Max both delimits what his students will write, but within these parameters there remains considerable creative opportunity. Secondly, Max offers students his completed WT 1, including the rationale. Thirdly, Max provides students with his rough work in a handout that reveals the process of writing; that is, movement from initial idea, through drafting and revision, to completed WT 1.
Teachers should find these handouts valuable in their own right. Whilst they are very clear, they may require some in-class explication. Note, however, that Max has, in effect, ownership of his writing, and since this is so he is (presumably) able to discuss with his students his intimate first hand experience of writing. Teachers will know that doing what students do is, on many levels, tremendously valuable. It should be possible for teachers to adopt and adapt Max’s approach to other texts; admittedly, that requires a degree of hard work and a significant time input!
A Framework for Planning and Writing
Written Task 1 (The Kite Runner)
Rough Work: Planning, Revising, and Rewriting
About the Author
Max Clark teaches English, Global Perspectives and Theory of Knowledge at YCIS, Hong Kong. He has also taught in Malaysia, Italy, Japan and his native England. In 2016 he delivered a TEDx talk on a concept important to his philosophy of teaching: the authenticity of learning experiences. His interests include juggling, studying Chinese characters, and making things that fly.