What is SRSD?

We received an email from a customer asking for any recommendations of how people are using Clicker with SRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development).

This strategy is a systematic instructional approach for genre-based writing. Its aim is to improve writing and encourage learners to become resilient and independent.

Clicker is designed to raise writing independence and confidence, so we knew it would be great to use with this strategy.

Here are some ideas on how and when Clicker can be used through the six stages:

1. Develop background knowledge
   
   
2. Discuss it 
   
   
3. Model it 
   
   
4. Memorise it 
   
   
5. Support it 
   
   
6. Independent performance 

Using Clicker to support the SRSD approach

Develop background knowledge

In this first stage, the teacher helps pupils build up the background knowledge and skills needed for the writing strategy they are being taught. This may include teaching key vocabulary, text structures or genre-specific features.

To gather prior knowledge, a Clicker Board is a useful tool. You could mind map or gather and organise the information and key vocabulary the pupils already know on an interactive whiteboard as a whole class or the pupils could independently create their own boards.

By saving this resource and returning to it throughout the process, pupils can add and record their developing background knowledge like a working wall.

Talk Sets can also be used to assess prior knowledge, with pupils verbally recording what they already know and understand. This Talk Set could be used at the end of the lesson or sequence of lessons to record their new understanding of this taught background knowledge. A Listen and Say Talk Set is perfect to explicitly teach key vocabulary.

To develop their knowledge, you could use a Clicker Book. These speech-supported on-screen books will enable you to introduce new vocabulary and learning with picture support. It will also put the vocabulary into context, so pupils have a clear understand of the meaning of each new piece of vocabulary. By creating or editing one of our Clicker Books from LearningGrids, you can tailor the subject matter and comprehension level.

When teaching the genre-specific features, you might use a Clicker Book to read stories in that genre, such as a fable. Pupils can then identify and pick out the features needed in that genre.

Finally, to support language acquisition skills and practise retrieval skills, a Matching Set could be used. Pupils can practise matching words to their meaning which could be a picture, words or sounds.

Discuss it

In this stage of SRSD, the teacher and pupils discuss the writing strategy and why it is needed and how it will help.

This stage involves goal setting which will improve their writing skills over time and improve their independence.

Clicker can support this stage of SRSD with Clicker Boards. Clicker Boards are great for collating their ideas and organising how they are going to achieve these goals.  By adding Voice Notes to the Clicker Board, pupils can explain why they have set that goal and how they are going to achieve it.

Model it

As the teacher models the writing strategy, they verbally explain by thinking aloud. They verbalise how to plan, organise, write, and revise a piece of writing using the strategy.

When planning, teachers can model using a Clicker Board. In LearningGrids, the Creative Writing and Non-fiction Writing Frames & Planners section has some great pre-made resources. These templates support the structure and organisation of the text type and ensures pupils are including the necessary taught features.

When writing, the Support Tools in Clicker’s Word processor can be modelled. By using Voice Notes, the teacher can model planning their sentences orally before writing.

When writing into the document, the Speech Feedback will read each sentence back. It is important that the teacher thinks aloud here about checking their sentences as they move through their piece, checking they are meeting the purpose of their writing.

The use of the Spell Check Tool and Predictor could be modelled to support their independent writing as well as to edit their work.

By modelling the use of a writing grid, teachers can promote independent working. Writing grids could be used to support the structuring of writing as well as vocabulary prompts.

Memorise it

Pupils work on memorising the steps of the writing strategy and this helps them recall the strategy independently.

Clicker Boards can be used as graphic organisers and checklists to support pupils when remembering the steps. They can also be used for Mnemonics and by changing the colours of the board, the shape of cells and adding pictures, pupils can make boards which they can visualise.

Talk Sets might also be useful here. Pupils can repeat, practise and verbalise the strategy to help them memorise it. A Tell the Story Talk Set could be used to support the retelling of their story or idea. You can edit all of our resources so you might take a pre-made Talk Set and add in the images from the pupils' own story!

Support it

In this stage, pupils begin to apply the writing strategy with support from their teacher and peers.

Writing grids, which can be used alongside Clicker’s Support Tools, support pupils writing by offering them words and phrases.

Emerging writers build sentences word-by-word, while Word Banks provide scaffolding to support developing writers. This stage is crucial for building confidence and proficiency with the strategy, so our writing grids are perfect for guiding and supporting pupils as they practise.

Independent performance

In the final stage, pupils apply the writing strategy independently across different writing tasks. They can use the Clicker resources throughout their writing, choosing independently or as prompted by their teacher.

If you're interested in using Clicker and SRSD to boost independence and resilience, book a customer care meeting to talk to one of our Customer Experience team.