Presentation: Writing for Digital Audiences

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · English · Year 8

3 minutes

Writing for digital audiences: one event, four messages

Mrs Lloyd, Head of Year 8 at Ysgol Llanbedr, has handed you her notes about the Year 8 sponsored walk. They are all correct, but they are in the order she thought of them, not the order anyone needs them.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then listen to the fact file being read aloud. Put a star next to the 3 facts you think matter most.

Starter question: What has changed about the walk, and what should pupils still do?

DCF: Interacting and collaborating → Communication No computers or phones needed · everything is written on paper

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil and one stimulus sheet (Fact file: the Year 8 sponsored walk) between two. Pupils need a pen. The walk, the school, the town of Llanbedr-ar-Fryn, the food bank and every person are invented, so nobody needs to check anything with the office.

Say aloud: “Write your name, class and date at the top of your worksheet. I am going to read Mrs Lloyd’s notes aloud. Follow on the fact file and put a star next to the 3 facts you think matter most.” Then read the 13 bullet points of the fact file aloud, slowly. The reading takes about 5 minutes and runs into the next slide.

Starter answer: The start time has moved from 9:00 to 9:30 because the footpath by the Old Bridge is closed until 9:15 for repairs. Pupils still come to school at the normal time and wait in the hall after registration.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · English · Year 8

2 minutes

Your brief: the same facts, 4 different readers

You will turn Mrs Lloyd’s notes into 4 digital messages: a text to parents (160 characters), a social media post with alt text (40 words plus 25), a website article (headline plus 100 to 150 words) and a public reply to a comment (40 words). Each has a different reader, length limit and job.

Audience

The person who reads the message. Ask: what do they need to know first, and how much time do they have?

Character

One letter, number, space or punctuation mark. A text message holds 160 of them.

Alt text

A short description of an image, read aloud by a screen reader to someone who cannot see the picture.

LNF: Literacy → Writing → Planning and organising for different purposes, audiences and context Count every length to prove it fits

Slide 3 of 7 · Steps 1 and 2: who is it for, then the text · English · Year 8

15 minutes

Step 1 & Step 2: the audience table, then the text message

Step 1 (8 min): fill in the audience table for all 4 messages. Step 2 (7 min): write the text to parents in the grid, one character per square, including spaces. It must say what has changed and what their child should do. Then say which fact you left out on purpose, and why.

Message	Who reads it?	The one thing they must know first	Tone
A. Text message	Parents and carers, often at work, in a hurry.	The start time has changed to 9:30, but their child still comes to school at the normal time.	Formal but very short.

Steps 1 and 2 on your worksheet · 15 minutes Every letter, number, space and full stop counts as 1

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Row A of the audience table is on the board. Fill in rows B, C and D: who reads it, the one thing they must know first, and the tone. Then write your text message in the grid. The numbers down the right-hand side are your running total; you cannot go past 160.”

Quick check, Step 1: B parents, pupils and people in the town, possible sponsors; what Year 8 are doing, who it helps and how to help; friendly and lively. C parents who want all the details, and anyone who searches later; the date, what the walk is for and the new start time; formal but friendly. D that parent and everyone else who reads the comments; their child can still arrive at the normal time; calm and polite.

Quick check, Step 2: model text, 157 characters: “Yr 8 sponsored walk Fri 19 June now starts 9:30, not 9:00. Pupils still come to school at the normal time. Bring water, packed lunch, coat and worn-in shoes.” Any fact can be left out with a sensible reason; the model leaves out the £1,860 and the £2,000 target because a text is for what parents have to do, and the money goes in the social media post instead.

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 3: the social media post and alt text · English · Year 8

9 minutes

Step 3: the post, its alt text, and the photo question

The post goes on the school’s public account with last year’s photo. Its job is to get people excited and sponsoring. Maximum 40 words. Then write alt text of 25 words or fewer describing what matters in the photo. Do not start with “A picture of”.

The photo: about 20 Year 8 pupils in raincoats on a riverside path under a grey sky, laughing. Two at the front hold a hand-painted banner: “Walking for Banc Bwyd Llanbedr”. A stone bridge is behind them.

Photo question: would it be all right to post a new photo of a pupil without photo permission if you cropped out their face? One sentence.

Step 3 on your worksheet · 9 minutes Put the banner’s words in the alt text

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “9 minutes for Step 3. Write the post first, lively and under 40 words, then the alt text in 25 words or fewer, then answer the photo question in one sentence. Count your words and write the numbers next to each.”

Quick check: model post, 38 words: “Year 8 are walking 8 km along the Afon Wen on Friday 19 June for Banc Bwyd Llanbedr, our local food bank. Last year’s Year 8 raised £1,860. Help us beat £2,000: sponsor forms back by 26 June.” Model alt text, 22 words: “Year 8 pupils in raincoats laughing on a riverside path, two holding a painted banner that says Walking for Banc Bwyd Llanbedr.”

Photo question: No. Cropping out a face does not make it all right, because the pupil could still be recognised from their clothes, hair or who they are standing with, and their family has not given permission.

Slide 5 of 7 · Steps 4 and 5: the article, then the reply · English · Year 8

17 minutes

Step 4 & Step 5: the website article, then the public reply

Step 4 (13 min): readers online often read only the headline and the first sentence, then leave. Put the most important facts first. Write a headline and 100 to 150 words in short paragraphs, one idea each. Count your words at the end.

Step 5 (4 min): read Parent_of_3’s comment on the fact file. Reply on behalf of the school, in public. Stay calm, be polite, and give the fact that solves their problem. Maximum 40 words.

Model headline: New 9:30 start for Year 8’s food bank walk on 19 June

Model first sentence: Year 8 will walk 8 km along the Afon Wen riverside path on Friday 19 June to raise money for Banc Bwyd Llanbedr, the town’s food bank.

Steps 4 and 5 on your worksheet · 13 minutes, then 4 minutes Headline and first sentence: what, who, when and why

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “13 minutes for the article. A model headline and first sentence are on the board; write your own. Order: the change and its reason, then what to bring, then the money. Then 4 minutes for the reply to Parent_of_3. Do not argue with their tone; apologise once and give the fact that fixes their morning.”

Walk the room: a good article includes the new 9:30 start and the Old Bridge repairs, pupils coming at the normal time and waiting in the hall, back at about 2:30pm with buses as normal, the kit list (water bottle, packed lunch, waterproof coat, sun cream, worn-in shoes), free school meal lunches ordered by Monday 15 June, last year’s £1,860, the £2,000 target and forms back by Friday 26 June. The model is 143 words in 4 paragraphs.

Quick check, Step 5: model reply, 35 words: “Thanks for your message, and sorry for the change. Pupils should still arrive at the normal time on 19 June. They will be looked after in the hall until the walk sets off at 9:30.” The key fact is that the child still arrives at the normal time.

Slide 6 of 7 · Self and partner check · English · Year 8

2 minutes

Self and partner check: does every message fit its reader?

Tick each success criterion on your sheet that your work meets. Then correct 1 thing.

I can say who reads each message and what they need to know first.
Every message is within its length limit, and I counted to prove it.
I changed my tone for each audience: short and clear for parents, lively for social media, full and organised for the website, calm and polite in public.
My article puts the most important facts in the headline and first sentence.
My alt text describes what matters in the photo, and I know that nobody without photo permission can be posted.

2 minutes · partner check Finished early? Write the rain-warning text at the bottom of your sheet

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Swap sheets with your partner. Count one of their messages to check it fits. Tick the success criteria they have met, then take your sheet back and correct 1 thing. Does every message about the change say that pupils still come at the normal time?”

Extension answers: The rain text must fit 160 characters and say the walk has moved to Friday 26 June because of the Met Office warning, and that pupils come to school as normal. The Welsh post should keep the same facts in 40 words. Facts no message used might be the 3 km short route (speak to Mrs Lloyd by Friday 12 June) or that photos only show pupils with permission; pupils who need them would ask Mrs Lloyd through the school office or read the website.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · English · Year 8

2 minutes

Quick-check answers before handing in

Check your main answers before your worksheets are collected.

Question	Correct answer
How many characters fit in one text message?	160, counting every letter, number, space and punctuation mark.
What is the one fact every message about the new time must include?	Pupils still come to school at the normal time.
Can you post a pupil without photo permission if you crop out their face?	No: they could still be recognised, and their family has not given permission.

Check your name and class are on your worksheet Leave fact files neat on the desk