Helping newcomers take part
Both texts are newly written practice sources about invented people, places or projects.
Text One: An original account of an invented school breakfast club.
On my first morning as a volunteer, a new pupil stopped just inside the doorway. The room was busy, and calling to her across the tables might have made everyone look round. Instead, I walked over and quietly showed her where to put her bag.
I explained that she could choose some breakfast or simply sit down until she felt ready. Another pupil showed her where the cups were kept and invited her to join a table. These small choices seemed to help. Within a few minutes, she was talking to the people beside her rather than watching from the doorway.
However, the noise near the serving hatch still made it difficult for her to hear the instructions. After the session, the volunteers moved one table to a quieter corner. They also made a small card showing the three stages of collecting breakfast, finding a seat and returning the tray. The following week, the same pupil used the card to help someone who had arrived for the first time.
Text Two: An original report about an invented community book-sorting session.
The organisers welcomed first-time volunteers with a friendly talk before the sorting began. Nevertheless, several people later said that too many instructions had been given at once. Some were unsure where to take their boxes, while others did not understand the shortened labels used by experienced volunteers.
The most confident newcomers were those paired with someone who had attended before. They could ask questions while completing a real task instead of trying to remember the whole opening talk. The report also found that allowing volunteers to choose between sorting, packing and labelling helped them find work they felt able to begin.
For the next session, the organisers planned a brief demonstration and replaced the shortened labels with plain instructions. They also introduced a check-in table for anyone arriving late. One difficulty remained: during the break, regular volunteers tended to sit with people they already knew. The report recommended inviting newcomers into these groups so that a helpful working arrangement was matched by a welcoming social atmosphere.
Synthesise details from the accounts into a response on how newcomers are helped to feel included.
In your response, consider:
528 exam-style questions on WJEC GCSE English Language 3.1 Section A (20%) – Reading, covering 3.1.1 Understanding description, narration and exposition texts, 3.1.2 Range of continuous and non-continuous texts, 3.1.3 Short and extended response question types, and 3.1.4 Editing task at word, sentence and text level. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.