CORE Blog

He kōrerorero, he whakaaro

CORE Blog

He kōrerorero, he whakaaro
CORE Blog
He kōrerorero, he whakaaro
  • HomeKāinga
  • About usMātou nei
  • CORE WebsitePAENGA CORE

Jill Hammonds

Home
/
Jill Hammonds

Time to Talk with the Bears — A solution for reluctant writers and readers

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Jill Hammonds
Ollie with bears
Ollie with bear
I was visiting with my son and daughter-in-law recently, and our youngest grandson was getting to the grizzly stage, where bed was what he needed but staying up to play was in his focus.  His mum came in and scooped him up and said, “Is it time to go and talk with your bears now?”, and away they went.  A clean nappy, a kiss and a cuddle, zipped into his sleeping bag and then sat in his cot with his bears, the baby monitor was switched on, the light turned off and the door closed.

The baby monitor, which I’m quite glad we never had in our day, then gave us an insight into Ollie’s talk time with his bears. This was his chance to play with his language learning from the day in very conversational style, that only he and his bears could understand.  The happy chatter went on for about half an hour then gradually subsided as he lay down and drifted off to sleep.

It made me think that perhaps we could learn from talking with bears to help our reluctant writers and readers.

Today we have so many opportunities to take some of the student focus away from the need to learn to write or read, and onto other aspects of the curriculum and digital tools that could be the bear alternatives. I’m currently preparing for my final literacy webinar before retirement, and was reading through what people wanted out of the session. The overwhelming need expressed, was for ways to engage reluctant writers (and thereby be able to raise their level of achievement). The talking with bears for these students could be the use of digital tools that require thinking, reading, talking and writing about something that interests them.  As I found with my own son nearly thirty years ago, having to write was the barrier, but one that could be overcome if disguised in a science or technology investigation and with digital tools replacing the pencil.

While working with a junior class syndicate recently, we discussed this same barrier, and the solution decided upon was to try using storytelling tools that enable you to record voice.  The Book Creator iPad app and Write About This (NZ) app were two that we explored that day, but instead of starting with the writing, we started with a visual (photo or drawing) and then recording the audio – tell the story first and then replay and write.  The writing could be a shortened version for those who need bears to talk to. It could then be exported as a movie and emailed to your class blog.  Here’s one I made earlier as an example.


Marshall-Write-About from CORE Education on Vimeo.

There are many apps, Web 2.0 tools, and software already on your computers that could be used for disguising the writing or reading activity to make it more palatable for those who need to talk to bears. Once you have them engaged you can then start to work on the quality of the writing or the fluency and expression with the reading.  Here are a few ideas to get you started: and links to help notes in the VLN BeL Literacy Group.

Making pick-a-path stories using PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides.

Additionally you can make other curriculum areas the focus with action buttons to take you to the written information as in the Penguins example on this linked page.

Pick a path story: PowerPoint

Creating your own eBooks with recorded stories in Book Creator.

In this example my just 4 year old grandson had recorded his story, then typed his own inventive spelling version and I provided the correct model beneath his efforts.  He did not need help with working out how to use the app or writing his own unreadable version.

BookCreator

Write About (NZ) recorded stories with a typed version that can then be exported as a  movie to the class blog.  In the absence of grandchildren on hand I had to make this version myself.

Write About NZ

Read then make your own versions of Collins Big Cat Books

Students can be supported in their initial reading of the story until they can read it by themselves.  They can then use the pictures and story structure to write their own adaptation.  Instead of the farmer losing his lunch, he lost his tractor in the adapted version.  Older kids could enjoy making these for younger kids in the school.

Collins's Big Cat books

Speeding up slow typing – here are some printed keyboard based language games to print, laminate and keep in your language corner.  Once students are familiar with the keyboard layout typing speeds up.  Encourage two hands at the keyboard but don’t worry about which fingers they use.

Typing skills keyboard

Have a go with some of your students who need to talk to bears, and then come back and share their efforts here by using the comment tab. Let us know if it breaks down the barriers in your classroom. Removing the barrier, providing a scaffold and getting students writing, is the first step in increasing quality and raising achievement.

read more
Posted in

Working smarter with literacy

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Jill Hammonds

Working with literacy across the curriculum

One of the initial concern forecasts for the effects of national standards was that literacy and maths would dominate classroom timetables, reducing creativity and focus on the wider curriculum. Indeed, in many schools today we see the entire morning devoted to writing, reading, and maths, with perhaps a little bit of fitness or phys-ed added to the mix.  The often shortened afternoon is then the focus for the current inquiry, with art and music integrated or slotted somewhere into the week (maybe). No wonder, then, that we are now having to deliberately add science and technology back into the limelight, worry about getting a little more Asia-Pacific into focus, and working to get students off the couch to increase their fitness.

A solution for literacy across the curriculum

One solution, I believe, is to read again the requirement for national standards in literacy, and note that this is focused on “literacy across the curriculum.” Efforts to achieve this often mean that we select writing topics and reading material that tie in with the inquiry topic, although this may be a little forced to fit in with the fact that we are “focusing on persuasive writing this term.”

Some schools have worked themselves through this dilemma, and after considerable experimentation realised that they have the focus in the wrong part of the curriculum to achieve natural flow. When the focus goes back on the inquiry topic and what students are setting out to achieve in their inquiry, then the literacy aspects fit very naturally hand in glove, with the different styles of writing being tracked over a series of inquiries without a forced effort.

A typical just in time learning scenario

“Just in time learning” is a very natural fit with inquiry. The students find that they need to interview someone who lives outside their immediate district, so the use of Skype or Google Hangouts to connect solves the problem. This, then, is the time for some learning or revision on how to:

  • contact your proposed interviewee to set up a conference
  • use Skype or Google Hangouts
  • develop good interview questions
  • conduct an interview that is responsive to the information and ideas being provided by the interviewee rather than strictly working your way through a set of predetermined questions etcetera.

It naturally follows that after the Skype interview, students will need to be involved in some learning or revision about how to present the information they gained — this could be in the form of:

  • a report (explanation and/or descriptive writing)
  • a campaign to raise awareness in others (persuasive writing)
  • an explanation of a process (explanation writing) that was discussed.

This is where the literacy skill teaching and practice will naturally fit, but not necessarily between 9.15am–10.30am, the prescribed writing time for the day. We start to see that we can free up the timetable to meet the needs of the learner and their inquiry, slot in literacy teaching to needs-based groups that require particular skills throughout the day, and track the coverage to ensure that all curriculum areas gain due coverage over time.

The benefits of this approach for struggling writers and readers

Our struggling writers and readers also benefit from this approach, as they see this as being part of their inquiry rather than “doing writing” or “doing reading.”  Add to the equation the use of e-learning tools that support the learner with their inquiry and with their writing/reading, and these disengaged students might actually come to enjoy the time they spend writing or reading.

For example, to help engage the students and remove the feeling that they are “doing writing”, you could use:

  • text read software such as Natural Readers to assist struggling readers in their inquiry
  • free mind-mapping tools like Popplet  or Bubbl.us to organise and plan their ideas to organise and plan their ideas
  • online collaborative writing environment such as Etherpad, Google Docs, or Wikispaces to collaborate with others who are, perhaps, in a different classroom or school, or to involve the interviewee in the writing phase
  • audio tools to embed snippets from the video conference, or to expand on the written content
  • blogs or e-books to publish their ideas once written

This approach requires planning

The student may be fooled, but the teacher must not be. Improvement in writing or reading ability for struggling students will not happen without goal setting and reflection, direct instruction, scaffolding, modelling, conferencing, and celebrating successes.

It can also be used for whole class or segments of the class

This support does not have to happen with whole class, although it may on occasions where all students need the added guidance. Just in time workshops for selected groups of students mean that teachers can align the teaching sessions to meet the needs of particular groups of students, and these can occur throughout the day rather than trying to squeeze it all in to a particular session in the morning.

An opportunity for others to be involved in the teaching

Not everything needs to be teacher directed. Students can work with groups of students or individuals to show them the processes they use with particular aspects of writing or reading. Experts in the field may facilitate sessions from outside the classroom via video conferencing such as Skype. That person they interviewed may be able to assist them with that scientific report they are writing as follow up. A parent at home might read their entry in the class blog and provide some feedback that will move them forward in their writing.  The student may access online tutorials that help them with that aspect of their writing or with use of a particular tool. You can see how the focus shifts back on to the student and his or her particular needs at that particular time.

Keeping the student at the centre, giving them more autonomy in their learning and reflection, shifting teacher focus to tracking, monitoring, and guiding his or her progress are all key to effective learning that will prepare students more fully for their future. Equally they will increase the likelihood of improved student achievement against the national standards and greater teacher satisfaction and engagement in the learning programme.

Further support for extending literacy across the curriculum

For additional support with extending literacy across the curriculum, learning more about the different styles of writing, and finding relevant e-tools to support students, you can find more in the Blended e-Learning Literacy Community in the Virtual Learning Network (VLN). Check out the sections on:

  • Reading
  • Writing
  • Understanding the different styles of writing
  • Oral language
  • Finding your eTools
  • Cross Curricular Literacy

This is a public community with no login required to access, but joining the community will ensure you get regular updates of new content.

read more
Posted in

Towards a temporary virtual solution for schooling in Canterbury

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Jill Hammonds

Shakeupschool wiki

Further to Derek Wenmoth’s earlier post about the desperate plight of schools in the Canterbury region following the earthquake, educators throughout New Zealand have swung into action to provide some temporary support to students, families, and schools.

Response to a plea for resources for students

A plea from GCSN project director, Carol Moffatt to put together some resources for students who currently do not have a school to attend, or who have left Christchurch to find some temporary accommodation away from the stress of the continuing aftershocks, has led to the development of the Shakeup School Wiki.

CORE Education facilitators quickly put together the skeleton of a wiki, and tapped into their networks of teachers, facilitators and other educators to populate the site.

The response has been overwhelming, and shows how “many hands make light work”, and “many heads are better than one”—the benefit of ‘crowd-sourcing’!

The place technology has played in this disaster response

As well as the impact of the people, the use of technology has also enabled very fast and very far-reaching support to take place. Whereas in the Napier Earthquake, people donated books to help refurbish local school libraries, in Christchurch, people from all around New Zealand, and probably beyond, have created a rapidly increasing resource through providing links to their regularly used sites.

They have also begun to plan units of inquiry or opened up their own school websites and LMS systems for others to use. Secondary schools, whose servers with all their courses are still out of action, are able to join with other secondaries to utilise their course work for students.

Language resource example
Example of Language resource

Maths resource example
Example of Maths resource

Need for future reflection

This response to emergency-need should later be reflected upon by all schools to really capitalise the opportunities that e-learning can provide for our students. This is their world, and increasingly will be the way they will work.

If 24 hours can create this type of resource, imagine what is possible given due time and our best educators’ input.

Want to view or contribute?

To view or contribute to the wiki visit http://shakeupschool.wikispaces.com/

read more
Posted in

My kids now love editing their stories

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Jill Hammonds

Children hate editing, but editing can be fun
I wonder how many of you teachers out there have students who can’t wait to finish typing their stories so that they can get on with the editing.  Hmmmm!!!  Strange???  I don’t think I see any hands up.

“Yeah right!” I hear you mutter.  “Since when have kids ever enjoyed editing!!!*^@#”

Well now they can!

The real issue with editing for kids

You see, kids hate editing because the only thing they can see for their efforts is a big mess on their previously “OK” page—well almost OK.  Not only that, the next step in the painful process is to rewrite it—fine reward for all that hard work.  Even if they are using a computer and have no mess to clean up or rewrite, no-one can see how much effort they put into the task.  So, why bother!

Well now, all that can change, and you will be able to get kids to edit their work without that thunderous look you know they’re pulling behind your back.  In fact, they will be quite happy about it, as they really quite enjoy balloons—even  teenagers.

read more
Posted in
Subscribe to our emails
Make an Enquiry
Subscribe to our emails
Make an Enquiry

© 2021 CORE Education Policies
0800 267 301
© 2021 CORE Education
0800 267 301
CORE Blog
  • Home
  • About us
  • CORE Website
  • Policies