Kia ora,
I hope this finds you enjoying the holiday break, breathing the Spring air and recharging your depleted batteries. Some of you will be soaking up the stimulation of conferences, while others of you will be soaking up the sun (if it appears!)
We are looking towards term 4, with its last minute revision, reflection on the year and planning for 2010, the Year of the NZC. Hoping to manage your time better? Here are some time-saving tips from TeachersTV :-) And if you are still not receiving emails from the forums, here's a reminder of how to set them up .
Meanwhile, here's wishing you all a safe and well-earned break. Let us know what's on your mind and we'll do our best to provide support.
Best regards,
Karen: Team Leader (Online Professional Development)
In this issue
News from:
Literacy Online
English Online
ESOL Online
Literacy Online
As a teacher myself, I know I'm always looking for fresh ideas for the classroom, new ways to engage learners, ideas to meet the needs of particular individuals, innovative teaching approaches and so on. I hope that the ideas presented in this month's newsletter provide you with some 'literacy inspiration' for you and your learners.
Community
On the forum
we have been sharing useful websites that support literacy development including Create Debate, an online debating site, and Lolly Leopold, which is dedicated to NZ writer, Kate De Goldi's well-known children's book character. These sites and others are listed further on in this newsletter.
On the wiki we have been sharing ideas on writing frames - a skeleton or outline of a planned text that includes prompts for learner writers. Writing frames are especially useful for secondary school learners as they are required to write more complex texts. Perhaps you would like to add your own writing frame ideas or if you have some subject specific ones, you can put them on the wiki.
National Standards: Update
A recent keynote address at the NZRA Conference (September 2009) from Denise Arnerich explained how the National Standards would enable 'adventurous educators' to monitor students' progress using a range of assessment tools, formal and informal. It was the intent to blend the National Standards and the New Zealand Curriculum in an approach that would support all students.
Teachers would be supported by a range of modules and professional development, currently in development.
To access information, including the current timeline, on the standards, go to our National Standards page .
Ka Hikitia
The Māori Education strategy - Ka Hikitia: Managing for success
- has been revised. A key difference is the way in which akō has been unpacked to include 'language' and 'identity'. What might this look like?
New Zealand Curriculum
Why is literacy a shared responsibility? It useful to remind ourselves of the section in the New Zealand Curriculum that explains why all learning areas have a part to play in supporting students to access the specific knowledge and skills, using English.
Teaching as Inquiry
The NZC site has developed several new digital stories that explore how literacy can be enhanced for Māori and Pasifika students, through an inquiry process. Have a look at:
- Story 4: Will incorporating explicit instructional strategies when teaching narrative writing have a positive impact on students’ writing?
Also:
Teachers as learners: Improving outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students through inquiry
The materials in this document emerged as a consequence of the commitment of teachers throughout Aotearoa New Zealand who took up the opportunity to participate in the Quality Teaching Research and Development Project (QTR&D). QTR&D was an explority project founded on the beliefs that all young people can succeed at school and that one of the keys to enabling students to achieve their potential is effective classroom teaching. Its purpose was to help teachers improve teaching and learning outcomes for the Maori and Pasifika students by providing the teachers with opportunities to inquire into their classroom practice and to participate in tertiary study.
Key Competencies Online
If you are still feeling 'fuzzy' about the Key Competencies then this is the site for you. It gives background information about the Key Competencies including why they matter and what they look like in leading, teaching and learning. It even includes some resources for the school and classroom. This is a very useful site, especially if you feel unsure about how you can incorporate the Key Competencies into your planning. You will find this site at http://keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/ .
Websites to support Literacy
Lolly Leopold - a site devoted to Kate de Goldi's character from the Lolly Leopold series. Lolly is even in a book club with other members of Room 7 and the characters review books they have read. A must to look at!
Author and illustrator, Colin Thompson's site is another fabulous resource. It tells of the ideas behind his books, how he creates his illustrations and you can even download some of his illustrations onto your iPod.
In author, Mem Fox's site, she reads some of her stories aloud as well as telling us the stories behind them. There is also useful information for teachers including advice on how to read aloud effectively.
Writing Fun , a site by Jenny Eather is an interactive site for educators and learners to assist with writing a variety of genre including recounts, procedures and descriptions.
Create A Debate is another great site. Here students can contribute to a debate or start their own one. You could hold an online class debate if you wanted to. This resource could be especially useful in an upper primary or secondary programme.
For a goldmine of phonics and phonemic awareness worksheets, have a look here . These activities aim to help students memorise important consonant and vowel sounds. Also, see Sounds and Words , a draft online resource for to aid teachers of years 1 to 8 in the instruction of phonological awareness and spelling.
Hot Off The Press
The following new Literacy resources are now available:
- Te Wharekura 87
- School Journal Part 2, Number 3, 2009
- School Journal Part 3 Number 3, 2009
- Eke Panuku 22
eFellow Robyn Hurliman
We are lucky to have Robyn Hurliman, a 2009 eFellow with us on the forum this month. Robyn's eFellow project is looking at whether blogging discussions from literature circles will help her Year 4 class to think more critically about what they are reading. She will be sharing with us her findings so far and also telling us about how she ran her project. She is full of brilliant ideas so there will be something everyone can take away from this discussion. To access it, simply log into the forum and follow the thread. It is also a chance for you to ask Robyn questions too - think of it as an online workshop!
Literacy in the news
Margaret Spellman is a working teacher-librarian at McKay West state school, Queensland, and her area of expertise is encouraging co-operation between public and school libraries to improve child literacy in Taranaki. Read more about it in this online article .
English Online
Kia ora,
The recent ERO Report - Readiness to implement the NZ Curriculum - suggests that, with only one term to go, many of you work in schools that are well down the track in preparations for the New Zealand Curriculum. How clear are we about what this means for those of us involved in teaching English? What we all need are examples of planning in progress, units in draft, schemes in development...who has some to share and who would like to work with others to develop exemplars together? Do get in touch.
And best of luck to those of you, and your students, involved in the final preparations for the exams this term. Don't forget to remind them about Studyit for NCEA students .
Kind regards
Karen (English Online / englishonline@learningmedia.co.nz )
Community
We are growing! Nearly 800 of you are now registered for the English Online community. Good to see you.
On the English forums this month, we have been exploring
- what it takes to support new teachers effectively ,
- how to teach film structure and use film terms at L3
- the website Create a Debate .
- responding to mock exams and revision
- In the T&L Sequences/Units forum , we link to resources that have been developed for the Survival teaching unit.
New additions to the English Online wiki include resources to support the study of films such as Hotel Rwanda for US 12431 , and Mean Creek .
Thanks to all who have shared and contributed this month.
NCEA
- Up to date news
on the progress of the alignment process from NZQA.
- The draft English matrix on TKI
- Literacy NCEA standards (draft material)
The New Zealand Curriculum
The Connected Curriculum
These NZEI videos exploring the curriculum , featuring Lester Flockton, help unpack various aspects, such as the learning areas, the pedagogy and the principles. Worth a look if you haven't yet had a chance to explore them.
Teaching as inquiry
Teaching as inquiry on the NZC site
explains what it is and what it might look like in practice.
virtually.together
How does English Online support teachers through the inquiry process? Have a look at this article, originally written for the 'virtually.together' feature in the NZATE October 09 journal. Download the article here:
Journal article - October 09 (Word 402KB) (Word)
Digital learning stories
These digital learning stories show teachers using the inquiry process to improve learning outcomes for Māori and Pasifika students. Story 4 looks at using instructional strategies to enhance students' writing.
Information literacy
'Knowledge is abundant but the ability to use it is scarce' (InfoLit Online).
The proposed matrix for the NCEA standards at Level 1 includes standard AS 1.9, 'Use information literacy skills to present conclusions'
Useful resources on information literacy
- Information literacy resources : the resource and links page on English Online.
- Information literacy on the SLANZA's website : links and resources.
- A selection of different models for information literacy : Approaches, models and resources from ICTNZ
- Digital information literacy online : A set of interactive, multi-media modules to work through, from Otago University.
- Don't buy it! Get media smart: an engaging site designed to teach students how to be discerning media readers.
English: Is the writing on the wall?
The death of cursive handwriting? An interesting article (19/9/09) from the Chron (US) that has prompted a wide range of comments.
Pedagogy: Social media
... in the classroom
Do your students tweet? Does your class have a Facebook page? Here are 13 enlightening case studies of social media in the classroom (Edutastic)
... and outside the classroom
The top seven social networking sites for kids: explores where young people chose to gather online.
The Lit Bit
Using Google Lit Trips
New York children take a Google Lit Trip : an example of how one teacher used Google Lit Trips to support the way she taught the class novel.
A word from The New Zealand Book Council
The New Zealand Book Council has a brand new website! Best known as the managers of the Writers in Schools programme, the Book Council has expanded its online services, with a reviews database covering the past 10 years of Booknotes children’s book reviews, and a new online shop to enable you to purchase Literacy Pin-Up posters and WordSpace DVDs featuring many of New Zealand’s leading writers. Pop to The New Zealand Book Council via this or the above links, and see for yourself.
Roxborogh reviews: Tania Roxborogh shares her thoughts on the following titles:
- Duet by David Hill, (pbk, Mallison Rendal)
'...It’s a story about two great kids – like yours and mine. Kids who are kind and interesting and involved in music and who, through the way love, life and the world works, make some decisions which have serious, sad, ongoing consequences...'
- The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson (pbk, MacMillian)
'...One of my students, after she put the book back on my desk said “I don’t want to read another book. This is the best I’ve ever read and, if I read another, I might take away from what I feel now.” '
- What I Was by Meg Rosoff (pbk Penguin)
'...There is something beautiful and captivating about Finn and the narrator acknowledges he is in love with this strange young boy who is self possessed and living a world completely different to his own....'
- The Declaration by Gemma Malley (hardback, Bloomsbury)
'...This is the sort of book which is great as a class set to be studied by students at high school. Set in the future, in a world struggling with diminishing resources, a drug has been discovered to guarantee life eternal...'
Download Tania's reviews in full here: Duet by David Hill (Word 28KB) (Word)
Can you help?
Members of the community have recently requested help with:
- graphic novels for juniors.
- resources for Z for Zacahariah , Bridge to Terabithia and V for Vendetta.
- units for US 12431 and US 12432.
Events
EDtalks Symposium 2009: 18 November 2009
The EDtalks Symposium is a one day event to be held at Te Papa, Wellington. The Symposium organisers and hosts are CORE Education , specialists in professional learning, thought leadership, online innovation, research and technology.
NZ Book Month
October 2009
Exciting opportunities to celebrate all things literary, for teachers, students and whānau. The NZ Book Council site lists some great ideas for ways in which libraries and schools can get involved.
Wordbank Competition for NZ Book Month
From 1 October 2009
For primary and intermediate school students:
- Level 1 (5-7 year olds)
- Level 2 (8-10 year olds)
- Level 3 (11-13 year olds)
'What we want from you is to choose a Kiwi fiction or non-fiction book that you’ve read (sorry, no song lyrics) and write a letter telling us what you felt about it. We’d like to know if it was inspiring, if it made you laugh, made you angry, if it taught you something or made you look at the world differently?'
ESOL Online
Kia ora,
I hope you are all feeling more relaxed, if you are on holiday at the moment. Many of you will be looking ahead to programmes in term 4, and for 2010. In the pipeline are several resources they have been developed to support your programme planning, so keep in touch with the community during October.
Margaret (ESOL Online / esolonline@learningmedia.co.nz )
Community
On the forum Sue Blackley has been asking about placement tests for international students. Juliet commented on the usefulness of the online site Language Enhancing the Achievement of Pasifika (LEAP), and that print copies are available from the MoE, Down the back of the chair
National Standards
Should National Standards: Reading and Writing assess the progress of ELLs? Denise Arnerich, at the NZRA 2009 Conference explained that The English Language Learning Progressions ( ELLP)
can be used to track the progress of students learning English:
- In Years 1-4, Foundation and Stage 1 may be used for up to two years to track ELLs' rogress.
- In Years 5-8, teachers may use Foundation, Stage 1 and Stage 2 for up to three years to track progress.
Readings
'When you don't speak their language: Guiding English-language learners through conversations about text'
A shared reading lesson showing how monolingual teachers can support beginning-level ELLs to make meaningful connections to texts when they may not speak the native language of their students. Download is available from The Reading Teacher.
Resources
From There to Here (PDF) (2MB)
Access these short stories written by students from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Scroll down the page to find a PDF of this very useful classroom resource.
Web resources for ELL students
A California educator who teaches English and social studies to English-language learners recommends several Internet resources that can enhance classroom learning. Some of Larry Ferlazzo 's preferred sites include English Raven , a good site for printouts; EFL Teaching Recipes , a site where teachers can share lesson plans; and, EFL Classroom 2.0 , a social-networking site for teachers interested in collaborating. Ferlazzo also recommends sites for students (Source: ASCD Smartbrief 25/9/09 )
ESOL unit standard tasks
Four ESOL unit standard tasks have been removed from ESOL Online following a review against the unit standard criteria. They are:
- Unit standard tasks for 2986: Begin to read independently texts to gain knowledge -Cycling in Asia & Teasing the lion.
- Unit standard tasks for 17363: Read independently information texts -Is that a soft drink bottle you’re wearing? & Cycling in Christchurch
Events
Diwali
12-16 October 2009, Auckland and Wellington
Celebrate Diwali with Asia:NZ’s school programme in Auckland (12-13 October) and Wellington (15-16 October), or check out celebrations in your local area as many councils are sponsoring events. Diwali marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year and is seen as a new beginning for all.
Innovations
The Chinese Digital Community
The New Zealand Chinese Association is currently working with Auckland City Libraries to establish the Chinese Digital Community . This interactive website aims to connect different generations of Chinese New Zealanders providing current and future generations with access to memories of those who have contributed to the building of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Conferences
CLESOL Conference 2010
Friday 1 October–Monday 4 October 2010
Theme: Context and Communication: Mediating language learning
Where: King’s High School, Dunedin
The Applied Linguistics Associations of NZ and of Australia (ALANZ and ALAA).
2-4 December 2009
Theme: Participation and acquisition: Exploring these metaphors in Applied Linguistics.
AUT University, Auckland.
Keynote speakers: Lourdes Ortega, Tim McNamara, Gary Barkhuizen.
Earlybird registration rates operate until 16 October 2009
Refugee Health & Wellbeing Conference
18-20 November 2009
Where: AUT University
Theme: Looking back and moving forward
Keynote speakers: Richard Towle, Dr Eileen Pittaway, Adam Awad
Organisations: A profile
Umma Trust
The Umma Trust was established in 2003 to undertake development work in Iraq, and at a local level to provide essential social services and support to Arabic speaking communities in Auckland. In January 2008 services were expanded to the wider Muslim community with a specific focus on vulnerable women, children and families.