Kia ora, and welcome.
I recently attended the NZATE annual conference at St Peter's College, Cambridge. In workshops, queues, key notes and over muffins, I received all kinds of feedback about these sites. I wish I had had a t-shirt printed so people could find me specifically for this reason because all the points people made were welcome, useful, and thought-provoking. Forums for primary ESOL teachers and HoDs English? Looking into these now. Shared collaboration for HoDs as they develop schemes for the NZ Curriculum? Let's do it on the wiki. More Teaching and Learning sequences? We have two in the pipeline as I write.
But the most important point that people raised - and one which I addressed in my workshop - was that of navigation around these sites. Teachers said they couldn't find resources, weren't sure what the home page meant, were wary of the new forums, and didn't like the idea of posting items that were attributed to them.
So, in this month's newsletter, we will try to allay some of those concerns (using my new favourite educational 'toy', Voicethread !)
- How to use the sites to help you plan : A short presentation to help you understand the teaching as inquiry framework and navigate the sites.
- Teaching as Inquiry: we help you unpack the three big questions; click on the blocked headings on our home pages. Read about how the inquiry cycle is being explored in the recent Ed Gazette that explored this theme (Ed Gazette, Volume 88, Number 13, 27 July 2009 )
- Make the forums work for you : a quick guide to how the new forums work and how to set them up so you can read, participate and receive regular updates.
- Newsletter sign up : tell your colleagues to keep updated by subscribing for the monthly reminders on our community newsletters page.
Go something to add to the newsletter? Contact me.
Ka kite ano
Karen Melhuish
Team leader: Professional learning online at Learning Media
In this issue
News from:
Literacy Online
English Online
ESOL Online
Literacy Online
Welcome, from Cath Braddock.
Have you read about the Foundation Learning: Literacy strategy? Its goal is to improve English language and literacy learning and achievement and equip all New Zealand students with the necessary literacy knowledge and skills to be successful throughout schooling and as citizens. The Literacy Online site is a part of this strategy to help you develop knowledge, skills and ideas for developing and advancing literacy skills with your learners. I hope you are finding this site useful and I welcome any feedback through the forum on how you think this site could be improved.
In the Literacy forum, we have been chatting about boys and literacy and what the NCEA consultation means for Literacy at Level 1. There is also a thread asking for your ideas regarding comprehension strategies - have a look! This is your chance to share your thoughts, ideas and ask questions of your community.
On the wiki, we have two new resources that aim to help students tackle new vocabulary in any topic across the curriculum. Have a look at guess the word and concept circles. If you can raise awareness of the wiki in your school and encourage contributions, the richer this resource will become.
What do my students need to learn?
The national literacy strategy: this is now called Foundation: Literacy learning. To read about how it will inform Literacy direction in New Zealand, go to our professional learning page.
National standards
Consultation has now finished, although you can still read about the themes that emerged during the consultation period on our page dedicated to the development of the standards.
PISA 2009
PISA 2009 : the key focus this year will be the literacy of our 15 year old students, a timely focus in the light of the development of national standards for reading and writing.
What do I need to know and do?
Success for boys : a new site on TKI dedicated to raising boys' achievement through professional development for their teachers. It includes current research and school stories that explore ways to build on the evidence of what works for boys.
Encouraging an individual approach to writing: A videoconferencing opportunity
There is an exciting writer 'vc conversation' (organised by the New Zealand Book Council) running on Friday 7 August at 1pm: 'Encouraging an individual approach to writing' with writers Jennifer Beck, Brian Falkner, and Fleur Beale.
If you are interested in participating in this session, check to see that your school’s VC equipment is free, then email Ken Pullar at OtagoNet (ken@otagonet.school.nz ) for further information and to book in (with the year level and group size to be involved). Students involved in previous sessions have found these video conferences enjoyable and very worthwhile, especially if the students are ready to get involved. Note that all sessions are being recorded, so the consent form (available from Ken Pullar) needs to be completed by all students who are active participants in the ‘vc conversation’.
Our site
How can Literacy Online help you?
When thinking about how to expand students' vocabulary , the Literacy Online site has some excellent resources you can access for ideas in this area. There are also some ideas on the wiki located in 'Developing literacy across the curriculum' - primary and secondary to help students tackle subject specific vocabulary. Perhaps you've got some ideas you could put on the wiki too!
Do you teach a senior English class? Have a look at the Teaching and Learning Sequence, 'Featur-ing ' on our site. This resource was developed as part of a year long writing programme during which Year 12 students write in a range of text forms. 'Featur-ing' focuses on a writing a feature article and students can be assessed against AS 90376 - Produce crafted and developed formal transactional writing.
Our events
September 8: International Literacy Day and International Adult Learners' Week
Since 1967, International Literacy Day has been celebrated around the world as the focus of learning festivals, to recognise that the basic learning needs of all people of all ages should be met in each and every country, both developing and developed. In 2000, the event was expanded to become International Adult Learners' Week in order to provide a link between individual national adult learners' weeks, to promote the sharing of and learning from the experiences of other countries and to amplify the co-operation between agencies that work to promote adult learning at international level.
September 13 - Roald Dahl Day
If you and/or your learners are Roald Dahl fans, you might like to celebrate Roald Dahl day. The Roald Dahl Day website has lots of great ideas of things you can do with your class (or entire school!) and includes interesting lesson ideas. The material on this site is linked to the United Kingdom curriculum so you will need to remember to adapt the activities to link into the New Zealand Curriculum and the learning goals for your students.
English Online
Kia ora and welcome, from Karen Melhuish.
Well done to everyone who convened and organised last month's NZATE Conference. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent at St Peter's and I envied those of you who stayed for the full three days. No doubt the next edition of the English in Aotearoa journal will share some of the delights.
The previous English Online site has experienced technical issues in its final moments (it just didn't want to leave!) but technical glitches have been addressed. All key items are on this site and the community pages are live.
In the forums, we have been chatting about how to find Apirana Taylor's The Kumara Plant, teaching creative writing online, and resources for Mr Pip, Year 13 short stories and V for Vendetta. Can you help?
On the wiki, Sadogashima has suggested a Japanese animation, Spirited Away, for Year 9 and text lists from the previous English Online site (including Jabberwocky Top Tens) have been added.
New Zealand Curriculum
- PPTA curriculum support days and resources : Here's a link to an Ed Gazette article about how English teachers tackled the PPTA days, in Wellington, recently.
- NZ Curriculum Online: stay up to date by subscribing to NZ Curriculum Online emails, or even follow them on Twitter: nzcurriculum
NCEA
Managing re-assessment : new rules and procedures are now available to guide schools around re-assessment opportunities. From 2010, secondary school students will have a maximum of one reassessment chance for internally assessed NCEA standards.
NCEA standards alignment
Consultation has now closed for NCEA standards alignment . Materials from the consultation process, such as the draft matrix and standards for Level 1, are still available.
Wanted: Schools to trial the new draft assessment resources for NCEA
Gain an early understanding of draft internally assessed NCEA standards by trialling assessment resources in your classrooms.
A standards review is under way to ensure that the standards used for NCEA align to the curriculum’s achievement objectives. As part of this, assessment resources for the draft internally assessed standards derived from the New Zealand Curriculum are being developed. These resources (assessment activities and schedules) need to be trialled in secondary schools to check that the standards fit their purpose.
Learning Media has the Ministry of Education contract to manage the development of the assessment activities and schedules, the trials and the development of annotated examples.
We urgently need schools to trial one or more of these Level 1 subjects (Latin, English, and Accounting) in Term 3 this year.
Please read Trialling information-1 (Word 42KB) attached for more details, and if you would like to be involved, and have your principal’s permission, please email ncea@learningmedia.co.nz
The other Level 1 and Level 2 subjects will be trialled in Term 1-2, 2010. If you are interested in trialling next year, please email us at ncea@learningmedia.co.nz , telling us the name of contact person who will coordinate the trials in your school, and the subjects your school wishes to trial.
NZQA website
Recent items of interest on the NZQA website include:
- Exemplars for external assessments: Exemplars of student performance in the English exams of 2008 are now online, with further levels to follow. Access them via the English resource page on the NZQA site .
- Subject endorsement to further motivate top students : Extra recognition for secondary school students who perform exceptionally well in specific subjects will be included in NCEA results from 2011.
- Motivation and achievement at secondary school report : The Ministry of Education has issued a summary of longitudinal research on the NCEA and student motivation and achievement. It reports the results of the final two years of a four year research project to investigate relationships between the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) and how students think about their learning and achieve academically in secondary school.
- Understanding NCEA: Online video/DVD : NZQA has released a new DVD called Understanding NCEA. It discusses New Zealand's senior secondary qualification, NCEA, through the eyes of parents, teachers and students. Topics covered include: the structure of NCEA; certificate endorsement; and multi-level learning. Distributed to all secondary schools earlier in the year, it is now available online.
Our English page
Visit our English page on NZQA for all NCEA English-related documents.
What do our students need to learn?
PISA 2009
PISA 2009 : the key focus this year will be the literacy of our 15 year old students, a timely focus in the light of the development of national standards fro reading and writing.
The haiku challenge
The haiku challenge : 21st Century learning, captured in haikus, on the NZCER Shifting Thinking blog. A concise way for you to express what you believe to be the key aspects of learning that are most important for our students.
What do we need to know (content)?
Beyond textbooks: (Re) discovering nonfiction : An interesting post on the NCTE blog about the way non-fiction is perceived to have 'a negative association with dry, fact-filled textbooks.' Do you agree?
Shifting Literacies blog
Malice is in the eye of the beholder : 'We all know the story of Cinderella, the classic fairy tale of rags to riches. But I’m sure most of us have never stopped to think about why this story continues to be read to children around the world, the complexity of the characters, and the social messages that you can extrapolate from it....' A recent post on the Shifting Literacies blog from NZCER.
The best sites to learn about advertising
A recent post on Larry Ferlazzo's blog provides an interesting list of sites that can support our work exploring visual language in advertising . Here on English Online, the following resources can support students' exploration of advertising and visual language effects:
- New Zealand Curriculum: Viewing and presenting achievement objectives
- Content: Viewing and presenting : understanding visual language, structures, ideas and purposes.
- Pedagogy : Strategies and approaches for teaching viewing and presenting
- Sequences/units:
- Advertisements and you! (Years 7-8)
- Advertising (Year 13)
Harry Potter
Harry Potter and multiple literacies: Sonja, on the e-learning network, muses on the juxtaposition of print and visual language through the Harry Potter experience . Why not add your thoughts?
What do we need to do (pedagogy)?
e-Learning: Digital learning objects : Here's a refresher of the wonderful English/Literacy resources available on the Learning Federation site.
- Letter detective: shops: five activities : an interactive activity to support early literacy (Year 1+)
- Dream machine: similes (Years 5–6)
- Poetry anthology: clerihew, Ezra Pound couplet, cyber: Creating their own poetry anthology. (Year 10-12)
- Secondary English : a wide range of resources and ideas to support Years 8-12, for both making and creating meaning strands through, for example, poetry, the language of protest, and the representation of women.
- The English catalogue : browse all the resources to support English that are currently on the Learning Federation site.
Success for boys
Success for boys is a new site on TKI dedicated to raising boys' achievement through professional development for their teachers. It includes current research and school stories that explore ways to build on the evidence of what works for boys.
Virtual learning experiences
Looking for a way to provide exciting and engaging environments for students? Have a look at the Virtual Learning Experiences site, which lists the top 25 virtual learning experiences for students. Of particular interest to this community might be the Rare Book Room , where you can view Shakespeare and other historical texts in the original.
Engagement and shared learning using Voicethread
Have a look at how Voicethread , an online platform for sharing and discussing images and videos, can inspire students to work together to develop and share their ideas. Here are three examples that I think are worthwhile places to start:
- Class book review of Louis Sachar's There's a boy in the girl's bathroom
- A stunning and compelling digital story, with multiple character voices.
- Ideas for using Voicethread in education
Romeo and Juliet
Are you teaching this play to your students? Romeo and Juliet at the Globe online presents a wonderful performance at the Globe Theatre, as well as interviews with the director and actors, as audio files that can be used as classroom resources. This site also includes resources to support the use of e-learning to teach speaking and listening.
Character perspective
Using video to teach character perspective : From a recommended blog, Enhanced English teacher , comes this great idea for teaching different character's perspectives and voices. The writer uses To Kill a Mockingbird as an example.
What is the impact of the teaching and learning?
How and why are we gathering information?
Two timely and interesting posts from Derek Wenmoth on the topic of how to 'measure' how effectively students are learning what we are intending them to learn:
- Measuring the right things
- Without data, you are just another person with an opinion
Our Community
Educational Leaders : Many HoDs attended Linda Stockham's workshop at the NZATE Conference, and this website includes the key ideas that she explored about what it takes to lead a successful department and the support that is available in New Zealand for those all-important middle managers.
And do the English subject leaders out there want their own forum? Let us know .
Department schemes and plans
Why re-invent the wheel? Revising your scheme to give effect to the New Zealand Curriculum? Seeing opportunities to improve your programmes? Use the wiki's section for the department to share what you have done and invite others to help you.
English Online professional support: This page provides resources for subject leaders, together with links to further support.
Literature News
Roxborogh Reviews
Tania Roxborogh's reviews of young adult fiction.
- The Sea Wreck Stranger (Longacre, pbk) by Anna Mackenzie 'is the reason I did NOTHING on the weekend ... '
- Shadow of the Mountain (Longacre, pbk) by Anna Mackenzie. 'This latest does not disappoint: the pace of the story is solid, the writing and descriptions tight ... '
- Dangerously Close (Andersen Press, pbk) by Sandra Glover. 'Another well written novel that deals with trauma and secrets ... '
- Juno of Taris (Random House, pbk) by Fleur Beale. 'This is a riveting read: the characters are convincing and we warm to them ... '
To read the full reviews, download Tanya's reviews here: Roxborough Reviews_August 2009 (Word 24KB)
Montana New Zealand award winners
Montana New Zealand award winners : Jenny Bornholdt's The Rocky Shore has won the 2009 Montana New Zealand Book Awards Poetry prize a book 'that judges say has achieved something significantly new in poetic practice in this country'. Emily Perkins' Novel about my wife and Jill Travelyan's Rita Angus: An artist's life were also medal winners. Have you used any of the winners' writing at school? If so, how were they received?
Our events
- Feet First picture book competition : To enter this NZTA competition, a class must write and illustrate a picture book based on the theme of active travel. The winning entry will be professionally published as a picture book. A great authentic writing and digital opportunity! (Years 1-8)
- Storylines Festival of New Zealand Children’s Writers and Illustrators for 2009 : Organised by the Children's Literature Charitable Trust, this festival offers family days and school visits are scheduled around New Zealand between 23–30 August 2009 (Years 1-10)
ESOL Online
Kia ora and welcome,
I hope you’re teaching in a warm, dry classroom given the damp and chills outside. One thing sure to cheer you up (besides the happy faces of your students meeting their language and content learning goals) is the generosity of teachers such as Nan who share their valuable resources with the community. See ‘Assessment ESOL’ in our shared wiki space for translated versions of the ELLP oral language and writing matrices (Korean and Japanese).
In the ESOL Online forum , we have been chatting about the most appropriate ways to assess English language learners. Two clear consensus points in the discussion are that the ELLP are very useful for reporting against, finding out ‘best fit’ and establishing next steps, and that mainstream language assessments of English language learners are not appropriate in the first two years (at least). I find the ESOL Progress Assessment Guidelines are helpful in informing about selection of assessment tools and processes. You may like to have a look at this short, practical reading on assessment (from everythingESL ).
On the wiki, as well as Nan's additions, there are Word documents for you to adapt and use that list criteria from the achievement objectives of the English learning area.
What do our students need to learn?
NCEA - using immigration advisors (or agents): Those applying for an assessment of their international qualifications who are using an advisor when applying, or acting as an advisor to applicants, need to be aware of the requirements of the Immigration Advisors Licencing Act 2007. Read more on the NZQA international page .
What do we need to know and do?
The Dragon and the Taniwha, published by Auckland University Press
We all enjoy a thought-provoking read. This book looks at the relationship between the tangata whenua and Chinese. The book’s 12 contributors include Margaret Mutu, Richard Bedford, David Pearson, Robert Didham, Nigel Murphy and Mark Williams.
Asia celebrations
Celebrations engage all our senses, connect us to others, and foster a sense of place. Three new units of learning, at levels 2,4 and 5, have been added to the Asia Knowledge website to help explore the concept of Asia celebrations .
Our events
Māori Language Week
This is being held from July 23- August 2nd with the theme 'Te Reo i te Hapori' - Māori Language in the Community'. Māori Language Week has been celebrated for over 30 years, and Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori encourage everyone to join in again in 2009 - and keep speaking te reo after the end of the week! For more information see Te Taura Whiri . How have you been celebrating the week? Share your ideas in the forum.
New Zealand Diversity Forum
The 2009 New Zealand Diversity Forum takes place in Wellington on 23–24 August. Over 30 different organisations will be hosting forums and events promoting cultural diversity, racial equality and positive race relations.
Samoan Speech Contest
Years 7-13 Tauvaga Tautalaga Aoao – Samoan Speech Contest
If you live in Wellington, look out for this year’s Samoan Speech Contest, organised by F.A.G.A.S.A Inc for children in Years 7-13. Entries have closed but you can go along to listen on 10 September at the Lower Hutt Town Hall. For further information contact Ester Jane Temukisa Laban or Fa’atili Iosua Esera
Chinese Language Feature Films
The Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Chinese Language Association shows a Chinese language feature film (with English subtitles) once a month. Contact them .
English Language Partners New Zealand
English Language Partners New Zealand : Have you noticed the name change? Formerly ESOL Home Tutors, they have 23 locations, 200 staff, 3,000 volunteers and 1,000 new volunteers trained each year. Check out their resources, especially 'Now you're talking' and 'Song talk'.
The best sites to learn about advertising
The best sites to learn about advertising is a recent post on Larry Ferlazzo's blog, a site dedicated to sourcing helpful sites for teaching ELL, ESL and EFL. The blog post provides an interesting list of sites that are accessible to English language learners who are exploring visual language in advertising. See also the section above for similar resources on English Online. On ESOL Online: Content: Viewing and presenting