Gap Tasks
Children should be given time during the next lesson to take note of corrections, read
written feedback and carry out any gaps tasks set by the teacher. A gap task should be
set when appropriate. It need not be onerous- for example, in English, the child may be
asked to up level a sentence by choosing more adventurous adjectives or openers, or
using more difficult numbers or methods in maths. They should also be given an
opportunity to reflect on the comments and ask questions if they are unsure what is
required. It is not always necessary for children to write out corrections underneath the
marked work, but rather an opportunity should be provided in the next piece of work for
the child to improve, when there is a meaningful context.
Marking and Presentation Policy 2014
Pupils need to know not only what they need to improve but how to achieve the
improvements. It is writing the prompt that merits your time. Your prompt should help the
pupils to close the gap between where they are now and where they want to get to in
terms of a particular goal.
The best kind of prompt is one that gives just enough help to point the learners in the
right direction. Too little help wont achieve this and can have a negative effect on pupil
motivation; too much help can mean the goal is reached with no extra effort.
Reminder Gap Tasks
Reminder gap tasks simply ask for more detail or elaboration without giving any further
help. They do not take up much of the teacher’s time and work well with able children,
who can work independently.
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Tell me more about photosynthesis
Give me more detail to your answer
Write a more interesting end to this story
Your solutions are all correct but a bit brief. Rewrite with more detail
Re-do this multiplication problem
You need to present your graphs more clearly
Explain why you think this
The trouble is that many teachers write this kind of prompt for all children and most need
more than this. They need scaffolding and example gap tasks.
Scaffolding Gap Tasks
Scaffolding gap tasks provide a learning framework for children who need more support
than a simple reminder. They give specific advice about how to improve the original
answer, helping pupils to extend their present understanding and develop more complex
answers:
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Tell me more about photosynthesis; what is needed? How does..? When exactly did..?
Give me more detail about the importance of… For instance….
Write a more interesting end to this story. You might consider…
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Re-do this problem. You could try……
You seem to be confusing adverbs and adjectives. Can you work out the difference?
You need to present your graphs clearly so that the reader can see….
Example Gap Tasks
Example gap tasks can be extremely successful with all children, but especially wit the
average and below average children. They take longer to write because they make
suggestions, offer informarion or even give the pupil a choice of actual words or phrases:
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Try to describe the setting e.g The house was dark when we went inside, and very quiet. Outside, the
sun was shining so…
It might be interesting to show what Shannon did when she touched the ground. Did she look around
or hunt for Mum and Dad?
Choose one of these or your own: ‘He is a good friend because he never says unkind things about me.’
‘My friend is a friend because he never tells lies.’
Look at the multiplication table and highlight the facts you know well and find ways of working out the
ones you don’t know so well, e.g. what facts would help you work out 7x8?
Gap Task Ideas
Example gap tasks:
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Number formation
Letter formation
Letter joins
Spellins of ‘High Frequency’ or topic words
Tasks to extend learning e.g. continuing a sequence, counting on, counting back
Sitting letters on a line
Next Step in learning / A task to move learning on
Consolidation of task / address misconceptions with a question
Model presentation e.g. one digit per box
Can you highlight / circle / underline … (wow words)?
Summary of the learning with a word limit such as: tell me what happens when ice is heated
Sketch your learning
Can you think of mnemonic to help spell… (because)
Write the rule for … (multiplying by 100)
Add an adjective to describe the (house) where I have highlighted
Challenge / extend learning (Using what you know about multiplying by 100, what do you think the rule
is for dividing by 100?
Name 3 reasons we use capital letters. Now look through your work and highlight where you have
followed these.
Correct the spellings that I have highlighted
Extend the sentence I have highlighted by using ‘although’
Write an ‘if…then’ sentence you could have included in your writing
Write a sentence with a sub-ordinate clause’ that you could have included in your writing
Add a target opener to the beginning of the sentences I have highlighted
Add adverbs after all of the verbs I have highlighted
Write a sentence using one of the words from our working wall
2-3 Maths questions to extend learning objective
2-3 Maths questions similar to those completed in the lesson if a child needs more practise