Do your year 8 dcs have to write essays?

[seeker]

And if so, are they getting any help about how to do it? My dd's history teacher is giving them lessons in essay writing technique and it's helping a lot, but a friend at another school is just being told she has to write an essay and has no idea how to go about it. But other schools don't seem to write them at all. Just interested in what happens at other schools.

[janeite]

Yes, my daughter did a few in Year 8.

Yes, I make my Year 8 pupils write them (English).

Yes - I teach them how to write them.

Friend's children in another school seem to have had very little help with how to write essays though.

At the very least, I'd expect them to be taught - how to structure an intro and a conclusion and how to use PEE (Point, Evidence, Explain) to help shape the body of the essay.

[Blandmum]

My year 7 dd is writing essays in english. they spend quite a lot of time planning them in lessons. Sometimes they write them has homework, sometimes in the class

[seeker]

I'm particularly interested in this, because my dd is at a grammar school, and so far this is the only area where the private school girls are at a huge advantage. They seem to have ben taught how to write essays from quite early on in primary school.

[christywhisty]

DS was writing essays in Year 7 for humanities and english. They use something called P E E L
(point,example, explanation,link) they also get marking quide lines ie what qualifies for level 5, 6 etc

[scaryteacher]

I taught humanities, and made my students write essays from year 7. They got lessons from me on how to structure an essay, writing frames to help them with ideas, structure and linking paragraphs, and as part of assessment for learning; when they were given an assessment to do, they were given the level descriptors in student friendly speak, and what they had to do to achieve each level.

I was abit shocked when ds was in year 7 at his (supposedly good) international school, and he was set an assessment I had done when I was teaching, and there was none of the 'scaffolding' that I had provided for all my students as a matter of course. Mind you, that particular teacher was a lazy sod.

[Pixiefish]

I expected my year 8's to write essays but i did teach them how to do it

[Litchick]

My kids are learning now ( year five ) as most entrance exams for senior schools have an essay question. Did your DD not do one for 11+?

[seeker]

She did extended writing in Primary school - stories and articles - things like that. But I think "My Favourite Day Out" is a bit different from "Why did Henry V111 break away from Rome?" !