Creating an interactive book using iBook Author, Makey Makey and Scratch. In January, I wrote a post about a unit I was planning that would explore the Future of Fiction with my Year 7s. We have just come to the end of this great unit, and the work they have produced is amazing. Creating a story to record on iMotion This post outlines what we did and what the learners achieved. It also links to the learning site that I built to deliver this unit, which was successful in teaching not only story elements, storyboarding, drafting and creating, but also problem solving and critical thinking. Our aim was to try to re-tell a story using a technological tool, to see if we think technology can help tell a story. Ultimately, we were trying to decide where we think the future of fiction might be going. We began by learning about the elements of stories and then used the classic book Where the Wild Things Are to learn about the story m...
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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...
My recent explorations led me to complete two courses on Sophia.org. Whilst doing so, I discovered 'Playlists'. Sophia.org Playlists Playlists are a collection of tutorials chosen to allow learners to pick and chose a learning path that best suits their particular needs. For example, if I wanted to teach Story Writing, I could create a playlist with tutorials covering story -mapping techniques, the stages of story-telling , effective openers, and satisfactory endings. These may constititute the basics that all learners would need to know. However, as is evident in any classroom today, the needs of the population are diverse. I know I would need to include some tutorials on basic writing techniques too - such as using correct sentence punctuation, maintaining tense and narrative perspective, how to accurately use speech marks, and using strong verbs. Story Writing Playlist Sophia.org I would also want some tutorials to push some of my more accomplished...
This week, in Spilling Ink , we have been working on spooky writing for Hallowe'en. My cauldron, bubbling At the start of the week, I provided learners with a variety of writing prompts for stories, poetry and non-fiction, to stimulate their writing. They were, of course, also encouraged to use their own ideas. Busy writing We wore masks, hats and fangs; we shut the blinds and listened to a spooky soundtrack . I prepared a fire for my cauldron full of gruesome creatures. A witch, an owl and Count Dracula Vampires We wrote and edited and reworked until we were ready to share. Ghouls and wizards Writing poetry Today, we gathered on the mat, around the cauldron, to share our finished writing. We discussed how to build tension, appropriate settings and characters, the difference between a cliffhanger and an open ending, effective vocabulary, repetition and the effect of different sentences. Three witches around the cauldron Each contr...
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.
I have started this year with a commitment to develop literacy through reading and writing. I dedicate the start of every lesson to ten minutes silent reading. Sometimes I listen to the learners read, sometimes I ask them to tell me about their reading. Read about this in my post, Inspiring a Reading Community . We also write for fifteen to twenty minutes each lesson. This writing is done in a separate book to their lesson work. It is an opportunity to explore and play with language and is a chance to write what they want to write. Read about how I set this up and where I got my inspiration in my post, Spilling Ink. Each lesson they are given the option to: - write something they need to write about - re-work or continue with something they have previously written - use the writing prompt. I provide a new writing prompt each week - and they can write a poem, a list, a story, a letter, a speech, a script - whatever they want. Some prompts I have used so far this ye...
English Language Arts teachers are constantly fighting the battle to instil habits of reading and writing into learners who have so many other options of how to spend their leisure time. Exacerbated by the influx and availability of technology incessantly at the fingertips of many of today’s learners, it is becoming even harder to lure them towards print. When much of today’s youth inhabit an interactive multimedia-rich environment, its no wonder the printed page appears somewhat cold, lifeless and unappealing in comparison. Weil (1997) suggests that learners are “natives in a place that most adults are immigrants” and to foster a culture of reading and writing for these “digital natives” (Prensky, 2006), we need to move our thinking about reading, writing, literacy and books beyond the traditions of the printed page to engage and motivate our learners to read in a way that looks recognisable to them. Educators need to explore the future of fiction. This paper explores the educationa...
We are lucky enough to have published author, Sarah Froggatt, as a parent of one of our learners. She came and shared her knowledge during Book Week and, this week, I invited her back to teach learners about characterisation. Sarah sharing her expertise about characterisation with Year 9 Sarah covered the basics and the essentials using lots of great examples from print and film, such as Roald Dahl's, The Hitchhiker , everyone's favourite detective, Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and even Pixar's The Incredibles. Once learners had learned about and discussed characterisation, I introduced the receipts! Having collected receipts from staff over the past month, I have a exciting selection of varied and wonderful clues about potential characters. The idea came while reading our current novel-study Stargirl , whose protagonist has a penchant for following people in malls and coming up with stories about them. She uses these 'stories' to decide on how to be ...