As an English teacher, working overseas with a majority of learners with language needs, any tool that I can find to support the writing process is one that I HAVE to explore. In the past, I have used Ginger Software , and Read and Write , which I find useful, but Grammarly is a tool that has been on the edge of my explorations so far, and this seems like a perfect opportunity to see if I can add another writing support tool to my repertoire. What makes Grammarly different, is that it is free. Ginger used to be free, but as it has grown, it has limited options in the free version. What I do like about it, is it works on ALL online apps - and the same appears true of Grammarly. Once added to Chrome from the Chrome Store, it works across all online platforms: The links appear automatically and once added to my Chrome toolbar, I was taken to the page to create an account:- What I am impressed with, is that the account suggests it saves your style, learni...
Posts
I spoke at the Google Summit KL in 2013 about tech that enhances the reading and writing process. One of the apps I shared, Ginger, was one that I had been using as an assistive technology with a targeted number of learners who particularly struggle with spelling or who are dyslexic . Whilst there are in-built spell checkers in a lot of word processing systems, Ginger differs because it ... analyzes the context of an entire sentence, and its corrections conform to the writer’s intended message. This method is especially successful for dyslexic students who often confuse words which sound the same but are spelled differently. (http://www.gingersoftware.com/ginger-for-schools) Ginger is more sophisticated and identifies homophones, which helps many EAL/ESL learners too. In addition, rather than being isolated to one system, it highlights words in all online writing - including Blogger, email, Twitter etc. Areas that need attention are highlighted and s...
Sometimes, with all the best will in the world, and even with eons of research and hours of planning, the best lessons are the spontaneous ones. The ones that serendipitously arise from teachable moments. I experienced such as occasion over the past week. Laurie Halse Anderson, The Impossible Knife of Memory My Year 8s are learning about different cultures and traditions around the world. Underpinning the unit is the novel T ies That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioke, which concerns foot binding in China at the beginning of the twentieth century. From this, I teach note-taking and search strategies, while groups learn to research customs and traditions of a country of their choice. The culmination of the project is an exhibition of their findings. A new teacher joined our team part way through this unit. She wanted to have a piece of writing to gauge her class's needs. So, as part of the novel study, we built in personal account writing. I devel...
If anyone read my article in The Guardian about paper blogging, you will know I am a fan of teaching digital skills using analogue methods. True to form, I discovered another 'blend': using story cubes to teach 21st century skills. No computer or Internet required. http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/4csposter.pdf The Partnership for 21st Century Skills identify the four big Cs of skills that are essential for today's learners. These are communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity . Generally, I address these skills through digital rather than traditional learning such as blogging or connecting with other classes. However, I believe that some simple cubes can also be used to address these important areas. My Year 10 second language learners undertake all the regular aspects that I deem important for all my learners, such as silent sustained reading and free writing, every lesson. However, some of the free writing prompts are not alw...
I have just finished planning and building this website , which acts as a full unit of work for Year 10, second language learners. Using picture books as a starting point, we learn key terms and devices for effective story-telling . There are loads of opportunities built in for writing and reading, as well as speaking and listening to develop confidence in preparation for the assessments. The stages I have planned are as follows: The assessments and learning intentions align with the CIE English as a Second Language syllabus but could easily work for any English curriculum. I think the unit would work equally well as an introduction to literature students. The end product will be a children's story book based on a childhood memory and, to make it authentic, we will share with primary learners and donate to the school library.
There is much evidence to acknowledge that literacy today is not the same as literacy yesterday. Emerging literacies and new ways of reading, along with our interpretation of what actually makes a text, means that educators need to address new ways of engaging learners when it comes to reading. Kress (2003) suggests that transformations in digital technologies have forced teachers to rethink what literacy means (Bormann & Lowe, 2010), and Patrick Carman, author of the popular "Skeleton Creek" and "Trackers" series (Scholastic) suggests that technology can “enrich fictional narrative and engage young readers” (School Library Journal, 2011). When it comes to encouraging children to read, Carman says that, "we need to get smart about tech" (School Library Journal, 2011) and e-readers could be just the solution to re-engage digital learners. What are e-readers? E-readers are electronic devices upon which books can be downloaded and read. They are light...
Following posts about teaching my second language learners, I was invited to be a guest on a Twitter Chat. #PSTChat is for pre-service teachers based in Australia. The topic was EAL Strategies. The chat is archived on Storify . Check the following posts that warranted my invitation: 1) Scaffolding ESL 2) Fotobabble 3) Authentic Audience
For the past few weeks I have been working on scaffolding my IGCSE Second Language English class. These lessons arose out of the start of year assessment we conducted to determine levels and needs. This is pure assessment for learning. The writing was very weak and in reality, way below the prerequisite for success at this level. However, as I am a big believer in self-fulfilling prophecies, I told them what a great start they had made and proceeding to dig deep to form some solid foundations to allow them the success they deserve. The IGCSE exam requires learners to write two essays of between 100-200 words each, depending on the level of paper they sit. One requires formal register , and one, informal register - normally a letter. AfL dictated that a letter was at present out of reach and so, my little unit on postcards was born. Previously, I have written about the first two weeks of this plan which involved: labelling an image of a beach to provide and expand vocabulary ...
Last week, I wrote about how I broke down informal writing for my second language IGCSE class. This post outlines the second part of the learning - you can read about the first part, on my post, Scaffolding Beginner ESL . Briefly, the first part involved: using an image of a beach to label and provide vocabulary cloze sentences using the vocabulary writing their own sentences using the vocabulary scanning and skimming postcards for language patterns drafting postcards to someone in the room writing responses to these drafts This week, I included some speaking and listening using FOTOBABBLE. Fotobabble is an easy to use website that allows learners to upload a photograph or image of their choice and then record themselves talking about it. First, we found images of either places they had been, or places they have always wanted to go to. They also had the opportunity to use Facebook or Instagram to use photos of them...
My Year 11 class are working on informal writing. As part of their IGCSE assessment, they have to to be able to write using appropriate register and style. This involves their being able to interpret the question in order that they are able to identify the correct language to use. It means they also have to have the language ability to choose the correct diction, tone and formality level. Last week, we worked on PAT - Purpose (why), Audience (who) and Text Type (what) and they had a go at identifying these three things in a number of different tasks. This means they have some skills at begin able to unpack a task and make decisions about how to format their answer as well as the kind of language they need to use. Informal letters are a common assessment task in the IGCSE exam. Planning backwards from this final outcome, I designed the following lessons. Build vocabulary: I found an image of a beach with plenty of things going on and asked learners to label it. After a ...