Thursday, 23 June 2011
Reading (part 2)
Rhiannon reads with great pace and some expression a good starting point for highlighting what reading should sound like when reading like we talk.
Reading
I decided to use the flip video to record Josh reading. I have been working on getting him to read like he talks, speeding him up to make it more fluent. So I put the technology to good use by getting Rhiannon to film Josh reading The Leaf Boats a book he has read with me and is comfortable with. Then I got Josh to film Rhiannon reading the same book. She reads it with expression and speed. Tomorrow I will spend our guided reading lesson reflecting on these videos, comparing them with me asking Josh what he thinks his next learning step will be in reading.
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
Writing Moderation with Pukete
Yesterday's writing moderation with Pukete was good to get the feel of what other schools are doing and if we are moving in a similiar direction. Our group placed books on tables according to being at, getting there or below. While this was helpful to see that we were on the same page, I would have found it more beneficial to look at specific examples of a Year 2 Level 1iii for example and to work with these levels which can be hard to place sometimes.
Pukete brought up an interesting comment with their writing being done in pen; due to less time wasted sharpening pencils and no rubbing out of ideas that all form the end product. I guess this highlights the fact that the children's books are living documents that evolve and showcase the process not just the end result. I can see the pen idea working well in my class particularly for a group of boys who will waste time at the rubbish bin sharpening their pencils. Perhaps children may even feel as though with the pen becomes the responsibility to keep their book work even tider?
As a middle syndicate at Vardon I think our notetaking notebooks have been a great way for kids to get pen to paper and just write ideas and highjack these ideas off one another, planning their writing and then using these words in their writing. Language experience and the motivation to write is another big thing which wer are continually looking at ways to encourage not just the reluctant writers but to push those more capable. I guess language experience helps to put children in the shoes of the person in the story or to help build up the picture in the readers mind as they experience it first hand. I often find too with language experience that simlies find their way into writing without children even being aware sometimes, as they describe raindrops feeling like rocks falling on their heads.
Writing is tricky to assess and can often be a challenge to teach but the rewards are great. Seeing how far they have come as well as sitting down next to a child and being surprised with where their imagination has been able to take you as a reader. While writing may feel like a dying art we will always need to write and communicate in one form or another and people will always enjoy a good book, whether it is snuggled up with a hardcopy or scrolling through the pages of their i-pads.
Pukete brought up an interesting comment with their writing being done in pen; due to less time wasted sharpening pencils and no rubbing out of ideas that all form the end product. I guess this highlights the fact that the children's books are living documents that evolve and showcase the process not just the end result. I can see the pen idea working well in my class particularly for a group of boys who will waste time at the rubbish bin sharpening their pencils. Perhaps children may even feel as though with the pen becomes the responsibility to keep their book work even tider?
As a middle syndicate at Vardon I think our notetaking notebooks have been a great way for kids to get pen to paper and just write ideas and highjack these ideas off one another, planning their writing and then using these words in their writing. Language experience and the motivation to write is another big thing which wer are continually looking at ways to encourage not just the reluctant writers but to push those more capable. I guess language experience helps to put children in the shoes of the person in the story or to help build up the picture in the readers mind as they experience it first hand. I often find too with language experience that simlies find their way into writing without children even being aware sometimes, as they describe raindrops feeling like rocks falling on their heads.
Writing is tricky to assess and can often be a challenge to teach but the rewards are great. Seeing how far they have come as well as sitting down next to a child and being surprised with where their imagination has been able to take you as a reader. While writing may feel like a dying art we will always need to write and communicate in one form or another and people will always enjoy a good book, whether it is snuggled up with a hardcopy or scrolling through the pages of their i-pads.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
ICT in the class
It was exciting to see Ashton come back to class after lunch buzzing from what he learnt during ICT club today. It shows how relevant ICT is for the future.
Within our class we have been using our interactive mobi daily and the kids love working with it! It has been particulary helpful with writing and modelling to the whole class in a format they can all see and be part of brainstorming ideas and adding to others contributions. In writing we have been looking at narrative and being able to bring up a picture of a character to describe, or to model writing a short descriptive piece and then using the highlighter to pull out the adjectives in the piece is working well, setting the kids up to write their own exciting stories.
Within our class we have been using our interactive mobi daily and the kids love working with it! It has been particulary helpful with writing and modelling to the whole class in a format they can all see and be part of brainstorming ideas and adding to others contributions. In writing we have been looking at narrative and being able to bring up a picture of a character to describe, or to model writing a short descriptive piece and then using the highlighter to pull out the adjectives in the piece is working well, setting the kids up to write their own exciting stories.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Writing Ideas
Today I went into Room 10 to see how they do their writing. It reminded me of using language experience to inspire writers who often struggle to know where to start or what to write. It is something I used a lot last year but haven't used so far this year.
The class went outside to stand in the wind. Coming back to class it was great to see them using their notebooks, once again reminding me that I need to incorporate these notebooks more throughout topic and writing to get the key points and provide students with a base to then work from. One group stayed on the mat and worked with Gwynneth. They had the extra assistance of the experience and then a great illustration of what happens when it is windy, once again providing them with the stimulus of what to write.
Having a number of hands-on boys within my class, language experience is something I can see working well with this group of lower writers as well as extending the more able writers. I could use this idea of wind and then revisit the idea of language expereince looking at similies using popcorn which is an easy one to look at describing it looking like a sheeps body or sounding like fireworks exploding.
For me this lesson highlighted that the kids don't have to write a lot during writing time but focus on writing well and adding depth to their writing. This is an area I am working on with a lot of my writers and this was a great lesson to stretch sentences out and make them more interesting with the verbs.
Where to next?
In my class I have a number of posters along the wall that talk about nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. I am going to make it a goal of mine to introduce one of these posters a week and to then do some work around what it is quickly for 5-10minutes a day. This way students should be able to identify these in the books they are reading and develop them in their own writing.
Key questions for me now would be.
-How frequently can you incorporate language experience with it still being effective?
-What are some effective language experiences to target boys and lower writers?
The class went outside to stand in the wind. Coming back to class it was great to see them using their notebooks, once again reminding me that I need to incorporate these notebooks more throughout topic and writing to get the key points and provide students with a base to then work from. One group stayed on the mat and worked with Gwynneth. They had the extra assistance of the experience and then a great illustration of what happens when it is windy, once again providing them with the stimulus of what to write.
Having a number of hands-on boys within my class, language experience is something I can see working well with this group of lower writers as well as extending the more able writers. I could use this idea of wind and then revisit the idea of language expereince looking at similies using popcorn which is an easy one to look at describing it looking like a sheeps body or sounding like fireworks exploding.
For me this lesson highlighted that the kids don't have to write a lot during writing time but focus on writing well and adding depth to their writing. This is an area I am working on with a lot of my writers and this was a great lesson to stretch sentences out and make them more interesting with the verbs.
Where to next?
In my class I have a number of posters along the wall that talk about nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. I am going to make it a goal of mine to introduce one of these posters a week and to then do some work around what it is quickly for 5-10minutes a day. This way students should be able to identify these in the books they are reading and develop them in their own writing.
Key questions for me now would be.
-How frequently can you incorporate language experience with it still being effective?
-What are some effective language experiences to target boys and lower writers?
Thursday, 12 May 2011
My teaching goals for Term 2
This term I want to especially focus on;
Maths-using a range of materials with each maths group to simplify the problem and then work through each phase from materials to imagining and number property within each new strategy taught.
ICT- getting the most out of my interactive white board by incorporating it in my daily maths and reading programmes, allowing it to be child driven with them using the equipment as another tool for learning. As well as utilising the blog to become reflective thinkers and writing for an audience.
Writing-establishing good routines for independent writing, so that students are able to be productive at checking their own work, while I am busy with other students.
Maths-using a range of materials with each maths group to simplify the problem and then work through each phase from materials to imagining and number property within each new strategy taught.
ICT- getting the most out of my interactive white board by incorporating it in my daily maths and reading programmes, allowing it to be child driven with them using the equipment as another tool for learning. As well as utilising the blog to become reflective thinkers and writing for an audience.
Writing-establishing good routines for independent writing, so that students are able to be productive at checking their own work, while I am busy with other students.
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