Bembo's Zoo

A good friend reminded me about a link I'd shared with her a few years ago and so we went to have another look. Here is the alphabet like you've never seen it before...
http://www.bemboszoo.com/Bembo.swf

The moon and Farmer McPhee

Margaret Mahy's new picture book is an absolute delight - exquisitely illustrated by David Elliot, it tells the story of a hardworking farmer who is oblivious to the marvellous moon that brings all the animals out to frolic and celebrate in the magical night-time, until one night...

Everything about this book is perfect - the story, the language, the art work, the book design (by Sarah Elworthy and David Elliot) with its cut-out window and open-the-flap barn door, and the whole experience leaves you with a smile on your face and the memory of all the times that you've been filled with wonder yourself at a world transformed by silvery moonlight.

Seen and unseen text for running records

Rachel from Whananaki asked a question about seen and unseen text:

One question I have for you is:

The Juls definition of "seen text" is a guided reading session and then put away to be used for testing the following day. This differs from definition in the standard where it says several readings. What is your opinion on that?

Heather replied :
In answer to your query- I have talked to some of my colleagues and they agree that the clearest statement around the use of seen and unseen text, is on page 13, Using Running Records: A Resource for classroom Teachers, (MOE, 2000)

"The text used for a Running Record will usually be a "seen" text - one that the student has previously read. It will not, however, be a text that the child has read so many times that they may have memorised the entire text."

Usually the "seen" text is one that the child has previously read once only. Emergent readers, however, may be given texts they have read several times before, because this can help them feel at ease as they get used to the process of having a record of their reading taken.

Kiwi kids' writing

Two books which teachers could imagine using as writing inspiration for students were :

Leprechaun ice-cream - Magical Tales by Kiwi Kids is the publication resulting from a competition for aspiring young authors (years 1–8), which was run by New Zealand Post in conjunction with the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2010.
It includes the work of fifty Kiwi kids from all over the country. An expert judging panel, including well-known New Zealand writer Kate De Goldi, selected the winning works from more than 7000 entries. The challenge for the competition was to “share your writing magic”, giving young writers the opportunity to interpret and explore the theme in their individual ways.

Order from Learning Media ph 800 800 565 or local bookshops $



http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/our-work/portfolio/leprechaun-ice-cream

and

20 winning stories written by New Zealand children!

When Scholastic ran a Short Story Competition through its Book Clubs, over 1300 entries were received. With the help of educator Jill Eggleton, children’s author Kyle Mewburn and What Now! TV presenter Charlie Panapa, 20 stories across three age groups were selected as the best in the country. Imaginations are thriving! Read these great stories written by NZ children between the ages of 5 and 13 and see for yourself.

ISBN : 9781869439958 Scholastic New Zealand Limited, September 2010 $20



Kevin has both of these in stock at Take Note Kerikeri phone 09 407 9721, or try your local bookseller...

Two writing teachers blog

From the Stenhouse publisher's newsletter, here is a snippet about a teaching writing blog and new book which is available to preview online...

The blog post I saw used a picture book to illustrate ways for children to write the noises a cat and dog make beyond miaow and woof...
http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/beyond-meow-and-woof/

and here is a post about helping student writers to "show, don't tell"...
http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/show-dont-tell/


Ruth Ayers and Stacey Shubitz, creators of the popular blog Two Writing Teachers, have translated years of wisdom on writing instruction into a cornucopia of practical advice in their new book, Day by Day. Ruth and Stacey provide encouragement and manageable, bite-sized "discussions" that teachers can review daily to continuously improve their practice.



This blog includes various quotes "words that are speaking to me" - here is one...

You have to be brave to take out that white sheet of paper and put on it words that could be evidence of your stupidity. — Sol Saks

It's a book by Lane Smith

I did a post back in January about this new book by Lane Smith, with its Youtube trailer http://libraryzest.blogspot.com/search/label/Lane%20Smith

Well, it is published now, and just as funny as I expected, and I came across this teacher guide from Walker Books Australia with ideas to extend it in the classroom - and there is a cute printable postcard at the end. http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/statics/dyn/1283737199726/Its-a-Book-Classroom-Ideas.pdf

(This is the Teacher site at Walker Books http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/Teachers/Classroom-Ideas )

and check out Lane Smith's website http://www.lanesmithbooks.com/Home.html

and his blog Curious Pages in which he talks about how the book came to be and elements such as the pork pie hat in homage to Buster Keaton, and the jackass in children's literature...
http://curiouspages.blogspot.com/2010/07/lane-smith-on-its-book.html
and delights in other children's books...
"A site for all your reading disorders. Looking for books about teddy bears or rainbows or feelings? You’re at the wrong place. Here we celebrate the offbeat, the abstract, the unusual, the surreal, the macabre, the inappropriate, the subversive and the funky."

And here is a link to Kate De Goldi talking to Kim Hill about this and other books last Saturday
sat-20101009-1145-Childrens_Books_with_Kate_De_Goldi_four_new_picture_books-048.mp3

Ralph Fletcher and student writing

Ralph Fletcher http://www.ralphfletcher.com/index.html

Using your writer’s notebook
http://www.ralphfletcher.com/tips.html

Pyrotechnics on the page - preview the entire book online at
http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9202&idcategory=108

Boy writers
http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9033&r=&REFERER=

How to write your life story
Have a look at Writing Fix where this book was "Mentor text of the year"
http://www.writingfix.com/Classroom_Tools/MTY.htm

Kate De Goldi on writing

Here is the link to Kate De Goldi's post on the NZ Book Council blog as follow up to her visit to Northland schools in 2008, with her advice for children on becoming a writer...
http://bookcouncil.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

How do you become a writer ?

1. First you must be a passionate, attentive and wide-ranging reader…
   
2. A good writer is second of all A Noticing Person - a good writer is alert in the world, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling...
   
3. A good writer Records : you must note down everything you observe... keep a notebook...keep several.
   
4. A good writer Connects: once you get into the habit of noticing and recording, inevitably you start making connections between things...
   
5. A good writer takes what they have observed, recorded and connected up and gives it back in surprising ways... Two of the best tools are simile and metaphor…

And a bit more detail on encouraging that "noticing" from a talk Kate gave to teachers at REAP:

• All writers are readers and they are also incredibly observant people – they use their senses – need to encourage children to do this too – list the senses
• Ask the children to write down everything in the room that is red – from biggest to very smallest things…
  
• Then listening – their bodies, near them, in the room, outside…
  
• Be observant, notice…
  
• Smell – list a smell they love, one they hate… try to avoid bodily functions – no fart smells, also try to think beyond food - think about the smell, describe it in detail, what it is about it that they like, if it had a colour what colour would it be, what shape…
  
• Encourage children to be in the world in a sensory way and to include this in their writing… Start the day recording 5 things they noticed on way to school.

Writing Fix

This is a website worth exploring for ideas and inspiration, particularly around using picture books as "mentor texts" for writing activities in the classroom, also writing prompts / idea generators with interactive games for kids to select options...

http://www.writingfix.com/

http://www.writingfix.com/Traits_Primary.htm#forkids

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor

A wonderful "small" story of newly formed friendships, mystery and unexpected discovery, set in South Carolina, and along the way too some great vocabulary...



Popeye (a one-eyed boy thanks to his uncle's mis-aim with a BB gun) is waiting disconsolately for the rain to stop and something to happen, when sure enough it does - a motor-home with 6 kids aboard gets stuck in the mud outside his house and things aren't quite the same again.

Popeye's grandmother knows words and gives Popeye a new one to learn each week, and these are seamlessly introduced into the story adding richness and humour. The first word is vicissitude and by the end of the book the reader has been introduced to nomad, reminisce, quandary, plethora, mesmerise, diverse, avuncular…among others, and some sparky kids and gone-but-not-forgotten coon dogs...

This would make a great little read aloud at upper primary. I also really enjoyed another book by Barbara O'Connor - How to steal a dog.
http://www.barboconnor.com/pages/books/novels/bk_popelvis.html

“Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits into the world.” Steven Stahl, 2005

From http://www.ldonline.org/article/Teaching_Vocabulary
Incidental vocabulary learning
The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that most vocabulary is acquired incidentally through indirect exposure to words. Students can acquire vocabulary incidentally by engaging in rich oral-language experiences at home and at school, listening to books read aloud to them, and reading widely on their own. Reading volume is very important in terms of long-term vocabulary development (Cunningham and Stanovich, 1998). Kamil and Hiebert (2005) reason that extensive reading gives students repeated or multiple exposures to words and is also one of the means by which students see vocabulary in rich contexts. Cunningham (2005) recommends providing structured read-aloud and discussion sessions and extending independent reading experiences outside school hours to encourage vocabulary growth in students.

Reading and writing - influences on each other

The Reader in the Writer - Myra Barrs and Valerie Cork - this is an interesting and inspiring book based on research about what impact teaching children’s literature would have on the development of children’s writing...



1. What do children take from their reading of literary texts and how do we know? How does what you read influence your writing?
Used samples of writing throughout the year – to track progress, and changes, development in the children’s writing. Encouraged children to move out of their usual style of writing – tried out new language, found that students "took on the language of the text they were reading.”

• Children’s knowledge of writing styles extends both their writing and their reading. Here the role of reading aloud is very important – students need to hear the words. Parallels with ELP Chapter 5, page 112.

2. How far do certain classroom practices support children in learning about writing from literary texts?
Researchers used questionnaires, classroom observations, individual case studies, drama.
Most effective practices identified were:

• Reading aloud “brought to life by skillful reading aloud.” Reading aloud “makes the writer’s voice resonate in classrooms.”
  
• Discussions around the text after reading aloud
  
• Drama work around texts – led to strongly imagined writing in role
  
• Planning writing – but not too prescriptive
  
• Building in response and collaboration - working in pairs – sharing and helping each other with their writing. Reading your own writing aloud is important – need to listen to your writing to work on it.
  
• Sustained writing time – look at fewer texts more closely.

3. Are the experiences which help children to develop as writers the same as those which help them to develop as readers?
Less evidence gathered here – but suggested strongly that children’s reading was developing alongside their writing. Children much more aware of the texts they read and styles, narrative voice – curious about the way they were constructed.

4. What kinds of literary texts are particularly supportive to children learning to write?
Researchers gathered lists of books that had been used by classes and some books were used by all classes. Findings were:

• Traditional tales – demonstrate patterns and structures of narrative
• Poeticised speech
• Emotionally powerful texts – books which elicit a strong emotional response – helps children to take on another viewpoint.
  

For more information see http://www.clpe.co.uk/researchandprojects/research_01.html

What are the implications for teachers? Library teams?
Which books have you found useful to inspire and develop student’s writing?

Picture books and writing

Anastasia Suen’s Picture Book of the Day blog at http://picturebookday.wordpress.com/
and her Book of the week blog at http://asuenbooks.wordpress.com/ might be of interest.

These blogs recommend a picture book each day of the week (some days have a special focus eg Non-fiction Monday, Poetry Friday) with a 1 or 2 line plot summary, a short quote from the text (in italics), and a suggested writing activity for one of the six traits of writing

The six traits of writing were identified in the 1980s as a way to help young writers look at their own writing. They are

1. Ideas
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions

The books featured in Anastasia Suen's blog are American, but many are available from National Library and may trigger ideas for similar books / activities.

Here is a link http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503 to more information about the 6 Traits which has been expanded to now include a 7th - presentation...

The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:

• Ideas, the main message;
• Organization, the internal structure of the piece;
• Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;
• Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;
• Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;
• Conventions, the mechanical correctness;
• and Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.

The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate

It was going to be hard to match the original version of this story published in 1984 by Shortland Educational Publications with delightful illustrations by Jo Davies capturing the spirit of the story so perfectly, but Gecko Press have done it, with a new edition of Joy Cowley's story illustrated by Sarah Davis. As the author herself says "I’m in love with this book! Everything about it is utterly beautiful: the design, the colours, the characters... [Illustrator Sarah Davis] has turned it into a classic that people will hug for generations."



Here is a link to Joy's website, with various resources for getting to know Joy - her books and her life, and this page has some useful tips for "Getting young authors started" http://www.joycowley.com/stories.shtml

The artist, Sarah Davis is a New Zealander, now resident in Sydney, and here is a link to her website and her blog called Pseudoarmadillo, a Links page with various connections to "internet goodness" and a few pictures from her Sketchbook.

Joy Cowley’s book for new writers

Celebrated children’s author Joy Cowley distils 40 years of experience as a writer in her new book, Writing from the Heart – How to Write for Children.

Writing from the Heart is essential reading for practising or intending children’s writers – and could well be used by senior students or teachers as a guide to “best practice” creating engaging and exciting works for children of any age. Joy covers plot development, discipline, dialogue, humour, presentation and editing, and there are chapters on the special genres of early readers, fiction for children and teenagers, poetry and plays.

Writing From The Heart is published by the Storylines Children’s Literature Charitable Trust and all proceeds go to assist Storylines in its work to promote children's books and literature. It is available from good bookshops and directly through the Storylines website http://www.storylines.org.nz
RRP $25.00

Video clips for the classroom

From the Reading Rockets September newsletter

WatchKnow Classroom Video Library : http://www.watchknow.org/
This wiki, guided by teachers, makes educational video available to any classroom free-of-charge. So far, WatchKnow has published and categorized more than 15,000 videos including offerings in literature (fables, fairy tales, mythology) and language arts (ABCs, vocabulary, writing). WatchKnow is a great kid-safe alternative to YouTube. And, you can add your classroom video to the ever-expanding library.

The epigraph on the website's header quotes Thomas Edison, talking about the film projector in 1911 "Suppose, instead of the dull, solemn letters on a board or a card you have a little play going on that the smallest youngster can understand."

Mirror - a new picture book from Jeannie Baker

This innovative and effective new picture book by Jeannie Baker is a work of art - clever, simple, powerful, gentle... The covers open to reveal two books, the English on the left, the Arabic on the right, which you can read simultaneously to reveal the parallel stories of two boys - one in inner city Sydney and one in a small, remote village in Morocco, North Africa, and how their lives are different, how they are the same...

Here is a link to Jeannie Baker's own website http://www.jeanniebaker.com/ which says about Mirror
"These worlds couldn’t be further apart, yet with the showing of the parallel lives of the two families, we see a simple truth. We see that in the context of strikingly different lifestyles, remotely different countries, landscapes, differences of clothing and all. The families are essentially the same. They care for each other, they need to belong, to be loved by their loved ones and be a part of their community. The simple truth is that even with all these differences we are all the same. We are the mirror of each other."

The Walker Books website has a fantastic Classroom Ideas kit for teachers about using this book : http://www.walkerbooks.com.au/statics/dyn/1278035825169/Mirror-Classroom-Ideas.pdf
This resource was put together by Jeannie Baker and the Western Sydney Young People’s Literature Project and is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration for ways to use Mirror with students to generate thoughtful responses, discussion, activity and understanding...

And if you are lucky enough to be travelling to Sydney in the next month, there is an exhibition of the art work at the Museum of Sydney on until 10th October.
http://www.hht.net.au/whats_on/exhibitions/exhibitions/mirror_by_jeannie_baker

Mirror - by Jeannie Baker ISBN 9781406309140 Walker Books, August 2010
A must-buy for all school libraries.

Reading website for emerging readers

This website was shared on a library listserv - don't know if you would find it useful with your students ?
http://www.roythezebra.com/index.html

• Reading website for emerging readers.
• Free reading games, ideal for interactive whiteboards.
• Online guided reading stories and teaching resources with lesson plans.
  

Article : Second Graders’ Reading Behaviors

Here is the link to the reading from Heather Hardy's session :

Second Graders’ Reading Behaviors: A Study of Variety, Complexity, and Change
by Elizabeth L. Kaye, College of Professional Education, Texas Woman’s University
in Literacy Teaching and Learning, Volume 10, Number 2

http://www.readingrecovery.org/pdf/Journals/LTL/LTL_Vol10_No2-2006/LTL_10.2-Kaye.pdf

Motivating struggling writers

Lynne Shearman's great powerpoint on Motivating Struggling Writers is available under the "Powerpoints from Workshops" label on the right hand side...

Welcome to the Bream Bay Cluster

Hi to the teachers at the Bream Bay Cluster National Library workshop last Thursday... If you are reading this, then good on you for visiting the JuLS blog!

I've followed up by email to you with all the various bits and pieces, including the powerpoint, articles and links, but just to say that the wonderful collection of picture books we shared is available to browse online at the BBCJuls LibraryThing account.
Just go to http://www.librarything.com and log in with the details which I've emailed to you.

Don't forget that all the books are from National Library and can be borrowed from Curriculum Services - free phone 0800 356 000.

What good readers do...

Have a look at these classroom activities to help children learn to think about their thinking and the strategies they use to solve problems :

making animal creations from playdoh
http://www.wested.org/stratlit/ideas/animalcreations.shtml

and identifying what good readers do...
http://www.wested.org/stratlit/ideas/readingprocess.shtml

ICT Games

Mandy shared this resource ICT games - good for junior school, for numeracy and literacy, computer games and online activities...
http://www.ictgames.com/

Carl's Corner

Lynne shared this great resource - great for literacy conventions, alphabet etc
http://www.carlscorner.us.com/
Watch out for American-isms !

Sparklebox

Here is a resource shared by Raewyn at Juls Kaitaia today
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/
Great resources for literacy and maths for new entrants...

Tumble Books - A Fantastic Online Resource

Hi guys, this was mentioned at an ICT course I went on a while ago and I felt it worth sharing. Tumble Books is a great website where you can find a range of books (with activities to accompany them online) at different levels. You can select a book and it will read it aloud while showing some animations/pictures to go with the story and some of the texts even highlight the words that are being read aloud. Worth a look . .

Here's what to do (this is how to get into the site the 'free' way)

1) Google Tumble Books

2) Scroll down until you get to the site that says 'Login to Tumble Books' - click

3) Click on 'click here' (this will take you to the Tumble Books site)

4) Use the search up the top to find what you are looking for

5) Select a book and click 'view online'

A fantastic resource - Good luck hope you find some use for it.

Michelle :-)

Just checking to see if I can do it. What a great day!

Book introductions

Chris just did a great book introduction for Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman - a wonderful wordless picture book about adventure and friendship, available from National Library (here is the online request form page).


Here is the link to it on LibraryThing

Book introductions - they are so effective in helping a child make some connection to a book and to excite interest, support understanding, engage...

Here is a link to a book "Catching readers before they fall" by Pat Johnson and Katie Keier which is available to read online.
Page 92 has a section on quality book introductions.

What makes a good Year 1 - 4 teacher ?

What makes a good Year 1 – 4 teacher ?
Supple joints High literacy Multi tasker Rich vocabulary Multi-listener Talking talking talking Organisation Child involvement Busy Mess Approachable to parents Flexible Focussed Clear idea of where at / where to Specific Belief in literacy Knowledge of techniques Open minded Sense of humour Different voices Aware Sensitive Creative Know your resources Able to access information Reflective Highly motivated Know your limits Affirmative with parents Empathetic not pathetic Focussed on strengths and needs Targeted teaching to strengths and needs Patient Organised Caring Intuitive Resourceful Flexible Healthy High expectations Enthusiastic Good professional knowledge Open minded Persistent Established excellent relationships with child and caregivers Knowledge of school community Knowledge of wider educational community Firm Consistent Sensitive Multi-tasker Anticipate possible problems Pro-active Creative thinker and do-er Patience Perseverance Problem solving Positive reinforcement Praise Consistency Encouragement Fun Calm Role model Passionate Child-speak Empathy Expectations Modelling Creativity Open-minded Realistic Self-reflective Approachable Knowing the learner Prepared Constant feedback

Ideas for what to do with weeded books

Some fun activities are suggested in this article available from the SCIS Connections newsletter :
eg making bookmarks and place mats, dioramas, book art, etc...

http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/a_new_life_for_weeded_books.html

UK list of "the best children's books ever"

From The Guardian newspaper, Best Children's Books Ever by Lucy Mangan

Increasing numbers of children are starting school without having been read to. But which are the books to get them – and keep them – hooked? Lucy Mangan introduces our guide to the best. So whether it's to fight the White Witch or snuggle up with the Moomins, make yourself comfy...
The following – a combination of personal recommendations, enduring classics and currently popular borrowings from school and public libraries – are suggestions and starting points only, of course (and the age ranges attached even more so), but hopefully there will be something, somewhere for everyone.

Best books: 0-2 year-olds

Best books: 2-4 year-olds

Best books: 5-7 year-olds

Best books: 8-12 year-olds

Best books: 12-years-old and over

This article refers to a recent survey of primary school teachers which found that over half of them said they were teaching children who had never been read a bedtime story... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/7652760/Children-missing-out-on-bedtime-stories-say-primary-teachers.html )

Two things :

• I wonder what the story is (no pun intended !) about bedtime reading with the children in your class - how many have bedtime stories each night / most nights ? and who reads it to them ? where do they get their read-aloud bedtime stories from ?
  
• What do you think would be on our list of "the best New Zealand books ever"
  

Hello from Shirley T

Hey Guys,
Hopefully I am posting a blog. Really, it's my second attempt. I tried last year but failed. If you can read this, then I HAVE SUCCEEDED!!! And if I can do it, then you can too.
I will put something more worthwhile next time.
Cheers, Shirley T.

Follow up from National Library session on picture books last term

Hi JuLS teachers - I thought I'd do a quick post on the blog to follow up from the busy afternoon session last term - from the evaluations some people liked it but some people found it too rushed - I'll ensure more discussion time next session...

The focus for the session was to celebrate the picture book and some of the ideas were :

• getting to know them yourselves - increasing your knowledge / setting yourself reading challenges / sharing children's literature in your school with other teachers - the importance of teachers as readers
  
• reading picture books aloud every day / more than once a day to your students and encouraging parents to read aloud http://www.literacyconnections.com/ReadingAloud.php
  
• borrowing from National Library Curriculum Services - here is the online order form link http://www.natlib.govt.nz/cis-online-request
  
• focussing on the wonderful rich vocabulary - word of the day, word wall...
  
• visiting LibraryThing and setting up a class LibraryThing of your favourites http://www.librarything.com/
  
• exploring the pictures / teaching visual literacy - looking for the details, allusions and references, use of colour and space etc - What is going on in this picture ? (seeing and interpreting) What else can you find ? (from observations to stories in pictures) What do you see that makes you say that ? (visual evidence to support opinions)
  
• talking about authors and illustrators - getting to know their style, discussing preferences
  
• using the language of books - jacket, spine, endpapers...
• sharing reading responses - eg using the Aidan Chambers tell me questions to facilitate thoughtful reading responses and discussion
  
• comprehension strategies such as making connections
  http://www.readinglady.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=2&MMN_position=4:4
  
• using picture books as mentor texts to inspire students' own writing http://www.writingfix.com/picture_book_prompts.htm
  
• using wordless picture books - teaching ideas from ReadWriteThink (IRA website) http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/creative-writing-through-wordless-130.html and here is a booklist http://nancykeane.com/rl/317.htm
  
• developing extension activities around books - examples shared around The Smartest Giant - art, reviews, website activities, writing etc http://www.gruffalo.com/index.html
  

Phew, it was a lot in one session ! You might like to look again at the powerpoint which I sent out and review the various handouts ?

We'll start our next workshop together (workshop 4 - 9th June Whangarei / 16th June Kaitaia) by sharing what things you have done with your students and picture books in your classroom and be inspired by each other's practice... As well as general feedback, please bring along at least one idea in particular that you'd like to share with the rest of the group.

How about posting something about what you have done on the JuLS blog ?! What picture books have you read read recently that your students loved ?

Did you get a chance to read the Michael Rosen talk ?

By the way, has anybody done anything with maps in their classroom ?

I'm looking forward to seeing you in week 8 and 9 of this term.
Cheers, Jeannie

The power of words

I've come across a couple of interesting books recently about the power of language - in particular how a teacher talks in the classroom - and some chapters are available to read online :

The Power of our Words : teacher language that helps children learn by Paula Denton http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/bookstore/tupowerofwords.html

Here is the first chapter : http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/pdf_files/pow/pow_intro.pdf
It is easy to read and annecdotal - these are the subheadings

• Language molds our sense of who we are
• Language helps us understand how we think, work and play
• Language influences the nature of our relationships

and the Goals of teacher language :

• Developing self-control
• Building a sense of community
• Gaining academic skills and knowledge

Choice words : how our language affects children and learning by Peter Johnston
http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=389&idcategory=0

and if you google "choice words peter johnston" it will bring up 120+ pages of the book at Google Books
http://books.google.com/books?id=tJJqZ_uSVxcC&dq=choice+words++peter+johnston&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=OHzLS6qmKIaasgOGxcyTAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

Hi All,
I have a couple of Junior novels to recommend (if they are not in your library you may like to request them)
Hunter by Joy Cowley AND River Song by Belinda Hollyer,
I have been onto Juls Library Thing to add them.
Let me know what you think
Cheers Vera

Art and picture books, visual literacy

There are a couple of interesting articles on the School Library Journal website about encouraging children to look at and appreciate the art in picture books, based on workshops run at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art www.carlemuseum.org

Part 1 - If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s a picture book museum worth? By Wendy Lukehart -- School Library Journal, 1/1/2010 http://tiny.cc/artinpicturebookspart1

Part 2 - How do a museum’s philosophies work in a public library setting? By Wendy Lukehart -- School Library Journal, 2/1/2010 http://tiny.cc/artinpicturebookspart2

Here are a couple of short extracts from the articles :

Thumbnail Sketch of Visual Thinking Strategies VTS - from Part 1 article

The leader invites the group to take a few moments to look closely at an image and then asks these, and only these, open-ended questions:

• What’s going on in this picture?
• What do you see that makes you say that?
• What else can you find?

The leader continually paraphrases student responses, all the while increasing the accuracy of the language without making participants feel corrected, validating individual views, connecting observations, and pointing out differences of opinion.
Participants must provide visual evidence to support their interpretations.

VTS is both the name of a curriculum and a framework for looking at a single image. For much more see: www.vtshome.org To see a short video of children engaged with VTS, click on: www.vtshome.org/pages/videos

Whole Book Approach Guide - from Part 2 article

Spend time with the book before sharing it with a group ; consider how each element contributes to meaning. Use these questions as a guide to draw attention to aspects of the design and illustration that are noteworthy.

• Jacket: Think of the jacket as a poster for the book and use VTS questions. (See Part 1 of this series)
  
• Spine: Does the jacket image wrap around the spine? Consider the lettering.
  
• Cover: Is it cloth bound? Embossed? What are the colors? Why?
  
• Format: Portrait? Landscape? Square? Shaped? Why?
  
• Endpapers: How are they the visual overture for the art in the book?
  
• Front Matter: How do these pages ease you into the book?
  
• Gutter: How does the artist accommodate or use the gutter between the verso and recto pages?
  
• Typography: How are all elements of the book proper arranged on the facing pages? Consider the absence or presence of frames, the use and pacing of double and single spreads, font choices, placement of text and pictures, etc.
  
• Medium and Style: How does the artist’s choice and use of medium(s) suit the story? How does the medium generate attention to artistic elements (color, line, shape, etc.) and principles?
  

The following link offers an edited WBA reading led by Megan Lambert at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: www.picturebookart.org/Noggin2

"Picture book a day" blog

I've just come across this blog which may be of interest - Anastasia Suen’s Picture Book of the Day blog at http://6traits.wordpress.com/

This blog recommends a picture book each day of the week (some days have a special focus eg Non-fiction Monday, Poetry Friday) with a 1 or 2 line plot summary, a short quote from the text, and a suggested writing activity for one of the six traits of writing

The six traits of writing were identified in the 1980s as a way to help young writers look at their own writing. They are

1. Ideas
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions

The books featured in Anastasia Suen's blog are American, but many are available from National Library and may trigger ideas for using similar books / activities.

Here is a link http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503 for more information about the 6 Traits which has been expanded to now include a 7th - presentation...

The 6+1 Trait® Writing analytical model for assessing and teaching writing is made up of 6+1 key qualities that define strong writing. These are:

• Ideas, the main message;
• Organization, the internal structure of the piece;
• Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message;
• Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning;
• Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language;
• Conventions, the mechanical correctness;
• and Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.

Assessment Resource Bank news - 2009

NEW ASSESSMENT RESOURCES

English:
'Learning vocabulary through reading' has been added to our support material section. This page lists English resources that provide teachers with assessment data on student ability to understand new or unfamiliar words as they read, by using background knowledge, context clues, and word part clues.
All listed resources have been published this year, with the addition of two new English resources. They are: WL2657, Nippers: "awkward"; WL2656, Nippers: "spectators". Both resources are based on a Part 4 School Journal article, "Playing with words". http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/new_english.php

Maths:
One level 4 and six level 3 resources have just been published.
The contexts include:

• deciding whether a graph is suitable to display category data;
  
• placing decimal numbers in the correct order and positioning them on a number line;
• identifying fractions that are greater than a half;
  
• identifying fractions that are greater than one;
  
• showing or explaining how two different fraction numbers can represent the same fraction;
• finding subsequent shapes in several patterns and showing how to work out another shape based further on in the pattern; using given numbers to work out rules. http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/new_maths.php

ALIGNMENT TO THE NEW CURRICULUM
The ARB resources are currently being aligned to the new curriculum.
From the 19th of October, all resources will map to the new curriculum. This means that the classification search pages will use the new strands and objectives of the new curriculum.
If you have any questions about the alignment to the new curriculum, please contact us.
http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/contact.php

Writing activity

I've just been helping Vera do her previous post about the neat activity she did for her kids using the Ready to Read "Going to the beach"... It reminded me of a wonderful activity I saw many years ago at Peria School - the students (junior school) each chose a favourite picture from the New Zealand Geographic magazine - usually a double page spread, A3 size. It might be dolphins coursing through water, a Maori hunter creeping up on a moa, bungy jumping off the Sky Tower, a shark with wide open jaws etc... The children then were photographed in a pose (it would be so much easier now with digital cameras), then the child was "cut out" from the photo and stuck onto the NZ Geographic picture with blu tak, then it was photocopied. Although black and white it made a very effective illustration for some great story writing, putting the child as a character in the picture and action... "Here I am, creeping silently up to the lion sleeping in the sun..." sort of thing. I guess now you could do it with Photoshop so much more easily but this is a more low tech version from a decade ago !

Vera suggested that you could use this activity with the National Exemplar writing indicators for recount - consider what moves writing from Level 1ii to 1iii and identify the learning for the student, eg

• Write your thoughts and feelings that really show or tell the reader about how you feel at this point
• Add enough information so that the reader can feel as if they are there with you...
  

Going to the beach

Here's an idea, that I made up for my own BIG kids from a much loved ready to read, you could try this idea with your class, but include lots of written text for reading...

There is my photo can you spot my son in the back seat ?
Cheers, Vera

Click on the picture to enlarge it...

Hi Everyone,
Its great to start the year off with our first Juls workshop in Whangarei.
Welcome Carolyn Henwood, good to catch up. I hope you enjoyed the first workshop.
I am looking forward to workshop one in Kaitaia.
Cheers Vera Unka

Running Record analysis

Posted on behalf of Heather Hardy :

In terms of using "strategic activity", here is an example for your consideration

http://tiny.cc/RunningRecord143

Is the child self-monitoring ?
If so, how does the child monitor his errors, or not ?

Family reading resources

Here is a link to the UK Literacy Trust - a useful site with heaps of resources to help foster early literacy in the home.

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/familyreading/parents/index.html

Reading mileage activity

I have an 'activity' for Juls teachers, if you wish to participate, and then share with your colleagues at a Juls workshop if you wish...
Cheers, Vera.

This activity comes from : Best practices in literacy instruction, Third edition 2007, edited by L. Gambrell; L. Morrow; M. Pressley , page 101.

• Track the volume of reading that struggling readers in your classroom or school do over a 1-week period. You can think of 'struggling readers' as 'at risk readers' at any level if that helps.
• Compare this to the volume of reading better readers do.
• Use the books (count the words) that the reader sees at Guided reading time and home reading time.
• Just track one at-risk reader and one reader (this will help keep the task manageable).

• Are struggling readers doing at least as much reading as better readers?
• If not what can be done to expand the reading volume of struggling readers?

• Share your findings with other Juls teachers.
• Share what you did to change the amount of reading done.

Waima School Library

Congratulations Waima School on your recent ERO report (November 2009) ! Glenys drew my attention to it, in particular this great comment about the library...

Library. The library is attractive and inviting for children, who benefit from having good access to it. One class uses the library for their daily reading lessons. The board funds a part-time library resource person and ensures that the library is well stocked with interesting materials that include Maori titles and high interest texts for boys. The boys’ section is a recent initiative to motivate boys as readers. Students also have input into the reading resources that are purchased for the library.

So, maybe ERO don't talk about the library in their report on reading and writing in Years 1 and 2, but they know a good library when they see one !

How about posting a photo of the library on this blog, eg the Boys' Section ?

Another wonderful Picture book about faces and feelings

Dear all,

I have just come across another truly wonderful picture book, - that would be especially great to use in the junior classroom at the beginning of the year when the teacher is discussing feelings and faces etc with students.

The title is What's That Look on your face; All about faces and feelings.
The author is Catherine Snodgrass

Once again this title is available from National Library Auckland.

Michael Rosen on the power of the picture book...

The wonderful author and poet Michael Rosen was Britain's Children's Laureate in 2008 /9. Here is the link to his website for the full text of his Patrick Hardy lecture - http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/patrickhardy.html and there are other gems there too so it is worth exploring...

His Patrick Hardy Lecture talks about the relationship between education and books, a checklist of questions and suggestions about a school's "book culture", and a paean to the picture book and all that it offers to mind and ear and eye... " This is not just a matter of how we read, it’s why we read."

Here is an extract from the Lecture (slightly edited) :

So I’ve become more and more interested in looking at how schools do or don’t help create this book-loving culture. Here’s my checklist of questions to ask of a school, to see if it really is serious about books.

1. Does the school have in place any kind of home-school liaison where someone talks with individual parents about specific books, libraries, book departments, magazines, book clubs, book shows, that might interest this specific child and his or her carers?
   
2. Does the school hold book events all year round with writers, illustrators, story-tellers, librarians, book enthusiasts coming in and talking and performing for the children and parents?
3. Does the school not only invite in a syndicated book fair but also invites in local bookshops, specialist bookshops and has books available for borrowing or buying to support the visiting writers, speakers, performers and story-tellers?
4. Is there someone in the school trained and interested in running the school library and who is on hand to give advice to every teacher to help them with their class libraries?
5. Does the school run book clubs for teachers, parents and children?
6. Does the school give every parent information – perhaps in the form of an attractive pack – on the local library, the local bookshop? Does the school take children and parents to these venues?
7. Do the school and individual classes adopt an author or illustrator for the week, or month or term and investigate, explore and do creative work around that author and illustrator?
8. Do the children make books of their own? Are these readily available for everyone in the school and parents too? Does the school encourage parents to come in and make books with the children? Does the school celebrate and cherish these books as much as it celebrates its most important activities?
9. Does the school encourage children to pass books between each other by means of book swaps, prominently displayed reviews, assembly presentation of ‘this week’s good read’, book posters and the like?
10. Does the school seize every possible moment - eg visits to museums, visits from specialists of any kind, school trips – to support these events and activities with books, eliciting from all and sundry what their favourite books are or were when they were children?
11. Are there regular whole school projects (like, say Black History Month, or ‘The Sea’) where a topic or theme can be supported by books of all kinds, all genres and all ages? Is the school on these occasions inundated with books?
12. Are assemblies and classrooms frequently a place when children are encouraged to become fascinated by something – anything! – to do with a book or what’s in a book?
13. Are the head’s study and teachers’ desks places where special, intriguing, exciting, ever-changing, odd, old, weird books lurk?
14. Does the school keep and use book reviews of children’s books from Books for Keeps, Carousel, Times Educational Supplement, Child and Junior Education, The School Librarian, the broadsheet review pages and the internet?
15. Is there at least one time every week where children will have nothing else to do with a book other than to read it, listen to it, and chat about it in an open-ended way?

This series of points should not be a utopian wish-list. It should be addressed with exactly - yes, exactly – the same urgency and attention to detail that the whole panoply of reading strategies is given. For every sounding out of ‘per’ and ‘ther’ there is an equivalent attention to detail that can be given to any of these fifteen points.

And the obvious, mind-blowingly simple fact stares us in the face: in the very area where the book-loving culture begins, nursery, reception, years 1 and 2, there is, if you like, a world class range of ‘materials’ (!). No, I’m not referring to the Oxford Reading Tree or the Jolly Phonics books or any all-in-one, solve-all literacy pack. I’m talking about - the picture book.

There it sits like some massive inflorescence, budding and flowering and reproducing in all its delightful, complex and beautiful ways, all freighted with the same impulse – how to please, intrigue, and amuse young children and their carers and teachers. When we look at who makes these books, we are talking here about some of the best people to go through art school, some of the funniest, cleverest, most thoughtful people we have and I’m talking here about the whole team – whoever it is who makes up the words, makes the pictures, designs the books, edits, publishes and prints it.

They produce what is a complex art form, that passes on its meanings, makes its suggestions in ways that call on readers to make many, many creative leaps, many, many investigations, many, many connections between parts of pages, different pages, forwards and backwards through the book.

And it does this inviting, in many different ways: visually, orally, textually and in any combinations of all three. Eye and ear are constantly challenged to look and listen here, there and everywhere. The narrative, is in truth a multi-narrative: one moment told in words, next in pictures, simultaneously in both, sometimes complementing each other, sometimes in contrast with each other, sometimes, even in contradiction with each other. There are often more and more details to be found, there are rhythms to be remembered and re-found, there are shapes, patterns, tones, visual rhythms and compositions to be made sense of.

The strategies that we all adopt as older children and as adults in order to read, stick with and unlock stories are all to be found in picture books: plot and sub-plot, goodies and baddies, mysteries to be uncovered and guessed about, heroes on quests, heroes being tested, loss, compassion, achievement, solidarity, pain, intrigue, subversion, scheming, psychologising, resolution and much more.

What’s more, these books address a complex, multi-faceted audience. Picture books are not solely for or about children. They are artistic interventions into the many different kinds of relationships between children and adults. The reading-situation itself is nearly always one shared by at least one carer and at least one child, or at least one teacher and, nearly always, several children. The books are both for and about these relationships. In the books, parents comfort their children, or get the wrong end of the stick or are indifferent. Surrogate children in the form of animals and soft toys get lost or face tremendous ordeals. These open up moments of talk between adults and children as the book is read on many disparate occasions afterwards. How many times have I been asked by parents who’ve been asked by children, is there a mummy in ‘We’re Going On A Bear Hunt’? Is that larger female figure a mummy or an older sister? Is the bear sad? Did he just want to play? These are the brilliant gaps left by Helen Oxenbury (nothing to do with me, I hasten to add), where talk between children and adults arises spontaneously. And these are serious questions from the child, and of course, about that child itself. The child who asks about the missing mummy is a child, who like all of us, wondered what life would be like without mummy. The child who asks, ‘Is the bear sad,?’ ‘Did he just want to play?’ is the child who at one time wanted to play or join in and couldn’t and was left out.

Meanwhile, adults who, as they read these books with their children, wonder about their own childhoods and wonder about their own parenting, caring and teaching. If you’ve ever been a carer of any kind, it’s impossible to read ‘Not Now Bernard’ without knowing that you’ve been a not-now-Bernard person. It does the work of a hundred guides on parenting, a hundred TV programmes on why you are an inadequate parent. ‘Peepo’ is not just a book. It’s a game and, if this doesn’t sound too dull – it’s not meant to! – it’s a social document. There are a hundred details of the way people used to lead their lives, and any number of unquantifiable feelings attached to those people and objects. This is the stuff that history books leaves out: what it felt like to look in a mirror at the moment that a family faced up to the fact that the man was going off to war. Imagine a whole school project on, let’s say, how we used to live, or World War Two. As the school gears up for visits to the local museum, visits by old people, children go home to quiz their grandparents, a host of books come into the school from Nina Bawden’s ‘Carrie’s War’, through Michael Forman’s ‘War Boy’, archives from the local library or town hall, so ‘Peepo’ can take its place amongst it all. Perhaps the year 1 children will perform it, which will be videoed and there’ll be copies of the book for them to buy so that they never need forget what it felt like to look through those holes and find the next picture. Grandparents can say how they remember their parents talking about bomb shelters and rationing...You would be hard pushed to find any other artistic form that has the power and potential to help create conversations like this.

This is something far too valuable to be let to go into decline or restricted to privileged reading situations.

All this is a what I’ll call the ‘literacy of literature’ not the ‘literacy’, per se. This is not just a matter of how we read, it’s why we read.

I suggest that the question, - why we read – should be addressed with just as much attention as schools are giving to the question of how we learn to read.

And so to point 16: I don’t think any meeting held by teachers to help parents understand what literacy is, should ever be without the presence in the room and the time to look at them, of such books as Trish Cooke’s and Helen Oxenbury’s ‘So Much’, Tony Ross’s ‘I Want My Potty’, Shirley Hughes’s ‘Dogger’, books by Anthony Browne, Penny Dunbar, Michael Foreman, Mick Inkpen, Lauren Child, Quentin Blake, Colin MacNaughton, Emma Chichester Clark and many, many more – apologies to those I’ve not mentioned.

17. There should be Beano annuals and football programmes open at the Junior Supporters pages, there should be books that tie in with TV shows and films.

18. Teachers could and should wrap up a meeting with parents with a read-aloud session, say, of a Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler masterpiece, with compulsory joining in!

19. Parents and grandparents should be encouraged to bring in and show off the books and magazines, no matter how humble, that they’ve kept since their childhoods.

Go to Michael's website to read the whole talk from this passionate advocate for children's books and reading. This "book culture" is what was a missing element in the ERO report on Reading in Years 1 and 2 - see earlier post in this blog...

New junior books to consider for your class or school library

Dear all,

I have the opportunity to check through the new picture books that arrive at the Christchurch National Library Centre. I have come across these 5 titles which I feel may be suitbale for junior classrooms. They are all available through the National Library Auckland office if you wish to borrow them.

Do you know Millie by Gordon Winch ( about moving and making friends)

Click clack splish splash by Doreen Cronin

Robot by Jon Scieszka

The Wonkey Wonkey by Craig Smith (includes a cd of the author singing the words)

Not last night but the night before by Colin McNaughton

The toymaker and the bird by Pamela Allen (very sad!)

New Zealand ABC wall frieze

Have a look at this NZ ABC wall frieze / poster... http://www.kakarikigreen.co.nz/

A is for aroha, j is for jandals, n is for netball... lovely bright graphics and clear letters.

test post

Dear all,

I am now based in the Christchurch Centre of Natonal Library and enjoying the changing landscapes of Canterbury. I will try and remain an active blogger, - and add informaoitn as it passes me by. I am now based in a centre where there is a collection so I will keep my eyes peeled for new books especailly picture books that would suit the aims of Juls.
Take care and enjoy 2010 Dyane

ERO Report : Reading and Writing in Years 1 and 2

Here is a link to the newly published ERO report on Reading and Writing in Years 1 and 2, due to be sent to schools in Term 1 2010.

http://tiny.cc/EROreportReadingandWritingYears1and2

I was interested to see how the library fitted into effective teaching of reading and writing at Years 1 and 2 from ERO's perspective... I was disappointed.

The word library does not appear at all in the report.

The word libraries appears once in the report in the following sentence on page 18 :
Children had plentiful and appropriately levelled texts in their reading boxes, big books, poetry cards, reading games and in class and school libraries.

The word literature appears 4 times in the report, in each instance referring to professional reading about best teaching practice.

I can't believe that a report about reading and writing in the junior school does not mention the vital importance of ready access to a range of literature and engagement with stories for reading motivation and pleasure, teacher reading role models "readers are made by readers", well-resourced and well-used school libraries to enrich teaching practice, and the creation of a reading culture in the classroom and school...

LPDP report : Improving learning for all

You may be interested in reading the Literacy Professional Development Project report : Improving learning for all

This document is part of a set of materials for teachers and school leaders that summarises research articles and milestone reports from New Zealand’s Literacy Professional Development Project (LPDP). Online users can also access the hyperlinks indicated in blue in the text.

Here is the link to the report.
http://literacyonline.tki.org.nz/Literacy-Online/Community/Literacy-Online-update/LPDP

The Literacy Professional Development Project (LPDP) provides schools with an in-depth professional development programme that focuses on improving student learning and achievement in literacy through evidence-based practice. The project also has a focus on the professional learning that has an ongoing effect on student progress and achievement.

The introduction paper and four research reports, Improving Learning for All: Learning from the Literacy Professional Development Project(LPDP), focus on student learning, teacher learning, facilitator learning, and learning across the whole education system. They contain ideas of relevance to teachers, school leaders, facilitators of professional learning, and policy makers across the education sector.

The content of these reports has been sourced from previously published research conducted by the researchers (Professor Helen Timperley and Associate Professor Judy Parr from the University of Auckland) working within LPDP, in partnership with project members.

Glenys suggests in particular having a look at :
If the Teacher Is Clear about It, the Students Will Get It: Professional Inquiry for Teachers http://tiny.cc/Iftheteachers
and
It’s All about the Students: Helping Students Become Self-regulated Learners
http://tiny.cc/Itsallaboutthestudents

Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex appraisal

Here is a link to an interesting article about giving students effective feedback, shared by Glenys Brown.

www.uts.ualberta.ca/documents/Beyondfeedback.pdf

Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex appraisal
by D. Royce Sadler, Griffith Institute for Higher Education, Griffith University, Brisbane

Abstract
Giving students detailed feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of their work, with suggestions for improvement, is becoming common practice in higher education. However, for many students feedback seems to have little or no impact, despite the considerable time and effort put into its production.

With a view to increasing its effectiveness, extensive theoretical and empirical research has been carried out into its structure, timing and other parameters.

For students to be able to apply feedback, they need to understand the meaning of the feedback statements. They also need to identify, with near certainty, the particular aspects of their work that need attention. For these to occur, students must possess critical background knowledge.

This article sets out the nature of that knowledge and how students can acquire it. They must appropriate for themselves three fundamental concepts : task compliance, quality, and criteria – and also develop a cache of relevant tacit knowledge.

Keywords: formative assessment, feedback, qualitative judgment, peer assessment, criteria