SLAM Sessions
Kerri McManus, Kate Parker, Kath Roach,
Urmi Shah, Alison Beech,
Eugene Becconsall, Amber Wing
Parkview School - Kotuku Team (Year 7/8)
Setting the Scene:
Implementing Learn, Create, Share:
Our Writing Programme
Learn, Create, Share
(teachers and students)
Learn
Create
Share
Group Teaching
Reflect / Feedback
Teacher observation
Google Slide - Youtube videos
Discussion (buddies) - digital feedback
KEY:
Teacher
Student
The Power of Blogging
Raising students writing through blogging and commenting
Digital Learning Objects
Positive - Thoughtful - Helpful
Scaffolding the process
Screencastify
(Chrome extension)
Formative assessment
Inquiry into Pollination
Literacy Circles and Online Book Club
Eugene Becconsall
Rawhiti School
Year 4 - 6 Teacher
My proposal is to create a site or app that facilitates online student discussions about books. This site is to be used in conjunction with literacy circles I would run as part of my literacy programme, as well as encouraging other teachers at my school to use it as part of their programme.
The site would function as a virtual book club. There would be three layers to it. The first would be a list of books that commonly appear in literature circles or regularly appear on classroom and library bookshelves. Each book is a link to the second layer. This is were student submitted questions about the book are listed. These questions can be used by students for their own discussions, or lead to other questions. The third layer of the site is a forum for each question. Students can write down their thoughts about the question, or read other students thoughts and engage in an online discussion.
My teacher inquiry for 2019 will ask how engaging are literature circles, book clubs and reciprocal reading programmes to Year 6 and 7 students, particularly boys.
The problem I have identified to work on this year is to improve student attitudes to literacy, specifically reading.
Coming into 2018, Rawhiti School had recognised that student attitudes to reading were low (data taken from school wide surveys and e-asttle reading test).
As the year progressed, I noticed that within my studio this attitude persisted. Students would often superficially state that they enjoyed reading, but could not sustain personal reading for more than a few minutes. While some students discussed books with adults, there is no culture of reading for enjoyment in the studio.
After reading Donalyn Miller’s The Book Whisper, her central thesis that giving children choice in their reading options, as well as challenging them to be engaged in their reading, led to greater engagement and success.
This has led me to ask several questions about my practice in the studio space:
Who is this problem for?
The main group experiencing this challenge are the students themselves, specifically year 6 and 7 boys. By discussing books and the ideas they contain, they will develop their critical thinking and research skills, as well as enhance their other literacy skills.
Furthermore, the students in my studio, school and wider community are what we call “earthquake babies”. These are children who are highly anxious and have to be taught a range of coping strategies. Research has indicated that reading for pleasure can help improve mental health, and would be another strategy our students can can be equipped with.
For many of our boys their attitude is split between “reading is not fun” and “I am too busy to read, what with Fortnite and GTA 5 to play”. These boys are missing an opportunity to develop empathy and connect with their peers with a new shared experience.
Google Drawing
Challenge the children to not only use images that they can find on the internet, but to create their own.
Sumo Paint
Extension:
Student Example- using screencastify as a way to show his learning, exploring Sumo Paint
You can edit existing images with Sumo Paint or you can start a blank canvas and use it to create art. We let the children just play- cool what they discovered!