Your monthly round-up of resources, news and notices.

Dear English Colleagues,

The Autumn leaves are swirling madly round my sodden garden and the kids' gumboots take up their scattered residence by the front door for winter. It must be May....

We are well into term 2 and the year is in full swing. National Literacy standards, the alignment of NCEA standards with the curriculum, the new curriculum itself...the only thing we can be certain about is that change is on its way. We might be dismayed by this thought - but perhaps some opportunities might present themselves as the dust clears? Coherence, the national ducks lining up in a row, clearer messages? Watch this space as the news unfolds.....

On English, ESOL and Literacy Online, we are working towards the end of June as the time by which all key material will have moved from various sites to these three sites for primary and secondary teachers. Next month, we hope to have a new design for this newsletter - and some news about the changing standards to share with you.

Meanwhile, stay warm and well, everyone.

Subscribe to these newsletters here.

Ngā mihi nui,

Karen Melhuish
English Online Facilitator
karen.melhuish@learningmedia.co.nz
http://englishonline.tki.org.nz

OUR COMMUNITY

The latest from your devoted Conference organisers:

"The committee for 2009 have been working overtime to provide all our teaching colleagues with an interesting conference. Keynote speakers include: Bill Manhire Victoria University, Rose Hipkins NZCER, Apirana Taylor poet and writer, and Professor Andy Goodwyn, University of Reading UK. We have a wonderful dinner organised with plenty of Waikato flavour and enrolments are flowing in. However we still don’t have a full quota of people willing to present workshops. If you requested a workshop application and did not submit it, please do so immediately.

There must be creative and inspiring teaching taking place in all our schools. If you intend registering for the conference gather some great resources from your own department and think about sharing them with your colleagues. We will keep the workshop applications open until 15th May. For information and application form contact Margaret blackm@paradise.net.nz "

OUR COMMUNITY > NZATE

• virtually.together: this is a new regular feature in the NZATE Journal, English in Aotearoa, aimed at keeping the teaching community involved in these online communities. In this quarter's article Journal article_April 09 (Word 108KB) , Karen describes how teachers might use the English Online learning framework to support students' reading experiences.

OUR COMMUNITY: Teaching, in the Blogosphere

• Shakespeare or LOST? : On the NZCER blog - Shifting Thinking - there has been an interesting discussion comparing the timelessness of the Bard to one of the most compelling series on TV. What do you think?

• Using Different Texts : On the blog, Mr W's Blogging Great Thing, the writer discusses the new Literacy outcomes that have been published in his native Scotland as part of their Curriculum for Excellence. He uses Wordle as starting point for his discussions but his ideas have resonance when we consider that standards for Literacy are being developed here in NZ.

• Blog: Are computer games a literary genre? : Do computer games waste the lives of those who use them - or are they driven by powerful, compelling storylines worthy of literary merit? Two viewpoints are explored in this piece from the Guardian.

OUR COMMUNITY > Subject Leaders

• Support for secondary middle managers: A new resource for Secondary School Middle managers working towards giving effect to the NZ Curriculum is now on the NZC site. It covers aspects of effective pedagogy, systems and professional development, as well as activities to use in department meetings.

• Educational leaders: Dedicated to building school leadership capacity : whether you are an aspiring school leader or are already in role, this new site from the Ministry of Education offers resources, research and discussions to help you focus on what's important.

WHAT DO OUR LEARNERS NEED? > Curriculum

• Critiquing your English units: facilitators and English specialists have generated planning resources in preparation for the PPTA Curriculum Support Days . The resources can be accessed here , although it is highly recommended that teachers work through them as part of dedicated professional development.

• English Curriculum resources are being developed by the English Community as we speak and several generous people have shared them on the Forums. If you have resources to share, please do use the Teacher Resource Exchange so we can begin to build up resources together.

• NZ Curriculum Online website can be accessed here, and you can sign up for monthly emailed updates on new additions to the site: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz

• NZ Curriculum Resources to support English: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/nzc_resource_bank

WHAT DO OUR LEARNERS NEED? > NCEA

• Assessment Reports from the 2008 exams : The Assessment Reports for both the NCEA and Scholarship exams of 2008 are now available from the NZQA English page, organised according to level.

• Moderators' Newsletter : the latest edition is available on the English Resources page. The newsletter addresses issues emerging in the latest moderation round and offers guidance for teachers.

• Wide Reading , Close Reading and Writing standards: NZQA has published comprehensive advice to support teachers during the management and assessment of these types of standards, including, unpacking key statements, key details from Moderators' Reports and examples from student work.

• NCEA Standards Curriculum alignment: for current news and draft matrix/information, visit www.nzate.org.nz.

• Best Practice Workshops for Secondary Teachers: Understanding National Standards. These 4 hour workshops will be conducted by NZQA secondary moderators. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/for-schools/bestpractice/index.html

• NZQA and English: all the NCEA resources, gathered on one handy page. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/resources/english/index.html

WHAT DO OUR LEARNERS NEED? > Literacy Standards

• National Standards: Literacy and Numeracy : a link to the site now appears on the home pages of these three sites. Work is underway to develop the standards for consultation in term 2.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Information and Media Literacy

• Literacy 2.0: what kinds of skills do students need to navigate the multiple forms of media that are part of today's 'flat earth'? Jason Ohler's article, 'Orchestrating the Media Collage ' from the ASCD Journal (March 2009), Educational Leadership, explores eight guidelines for teachers to help promote the crucial skills that their students need.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Content Knowledge > Teachers' Notes on tki

• Teachers' Notes for Sounds and Words, the School Journal and Ready to Read are now available from relevant links on these sites' home pages.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Content Knowledge > Literature > Shakespeare

• Twit-terature: have you had a play with Twitter yet? Here's an example of how concise writing can still capture great ideas: the complete works, each Shakespeare play in no more than 140 characters!

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Knowledge of Pedgaogy > Maori and Pasifika learners

• Do your beliefs match your practice? The professional development resources, Ki Te Aoturoa ,challenges teachers to explore how far their teaching practices align with their beliefs. As we review our pedagogies in the light of pp. 34-36 in the new NZC , this is a vital conversation to be having.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Knowledge of Pedgaogy > e-learning

• E-learning Research Network : This network is a place for teachers, educators and researchers to share the evidence about the impact of on teaching and learning.

• ICT in English and Literacy : recent posts include news from Claire Amos, one of the e-Fellows exploring literacy, and 30 great ideas to use e-learning to inspire creative writing.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Knowledge of Pedgaogy > ESOL

• Selections : Newly added to ESOL Online, Selections 2009 is a compilation of texts for ESOL students in years 7–13 with accompanying teachers’ notes and an MP3 audio file. The Selections series is designed to provide high-interest reading material for ESOL students in years 7–13 who require supplementary materials to support and scaffold their literacy and language skills and understandings across a variety of curriculum contexts.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW AND DO? > Teaching and Learning Sequences (Units)

• Have you found them yet? The site has six brand new teaching sequences (units). Have a look and tell us what you think.
  

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF OUR TEACHING? > Assessment Tools and Processes

• Assessment tools search: Use this search tool on tki to find assessment tools suited to the levels and learning area(s) you are teaching.

• New ARBs resources Two new Level 5 resources have recently been added to the Assessment Resource Banks, and are currently featured in our New Resources section; “Up from the Ashes" (WL2514) is an English resource that focuses on student ability to use contextual clues in order to infer the meaning of a word, while "A soil food web" (LW2069) is a science resource that focuses on reading a food web, and also potentially provides evidence of students’ systems thinking.

• Explaining assessment to parents : these useful resources on the Team-Up website provides clear advice and support for parents of secondary school students.

• Assessment at primary school : interested in finding out what effective practice is happening at other schools, in terms of using data to inform planning? Have a look at this report from ERO

OUR BOOK NEWS

• Book Reviews on Radio NZ National in May, on Nine to Noon.

• Roxborogh Reviews: Tanya Roxborogh shares her thoughts about recently published literature for young (and old) alike. Reviews first published in the Otago Daily Times. In this Update:

Kyla by Frances Cherry (Scholastic pbk)
About Griffen’s heart by Tina Shaw (Longacre Press pbk)
Tough Enough by Tania Hutley (Scholastic pbk)
My Candlelight Novel by Joanne Horniman (Allen & Unwin, pbk)

Saturday. A tempting pile of books arrive for review. The first one to catch my eye because of its stunning cover, was Kyla by Frances Cherry. I put it on the top of the pile to read first because the last book I read of Cherry’s (Flashpoint) was great. Easter Sunday. I was planning to go to church as is my custom. I sat down in front of the fire and began…. a couple of hours later, hubby comes into the living room: thought we were going to church, he said. Oops! I had sniffed and snuffled through the first five chapters and then wanted to slap Kyla in chapter seven. By chapter eleven I want to wade into her life to sit everyone down and give them a sound talking to. This is a fabulous read: Kyla’s beloved grandmother has just died and now she has to leave everything she loves to live with her ‘nasty’ Auntie in Wellington. Of course, her Aunt is not nasty – just grieving the loss of her mother and struggling with suddenly acquiring a teenager into her childless life. Action wise, not a lot happens save a runaway incident but emotionally and story wise – so much happens. Mothers and teachers will recognise the behaviour of Kyla; young girls will understand Kyla’s frustrations. This is a wonderful novel to get as a present for your pre-teen and for the library. Happy ending to satisfy the most cynical of us – promise.

Another very satisfying read is Tina Shaw’s About Griffen’s Heart. It is book I will be recommending to everyone – no matter their age. Nearly 18 year old, James Griffen has a heart problem caused by a recent bout of rheumatic fever. He’s on the waiting list for a valve replacement but that’s not his biggest concern: it’s Roxy ‘the hottest chick in school’ who is stirring things up – not only James’s emotions but also his younger brother who loves living on the wild side. Well written, funny in parts and with delightful surprises, this is an excellent novel for the teenager in your family (and the library – yours and the school’s).

Tough Enough is a quick and entertaining read – a boys’ own adventure with all the conventions of a classic Enid Blyton (whom I loved as a kid so no rolling of the eyes). In parts, I found myself holding my breath. Tania Hutley has written an excellent novel for pre and early teen child. Matt Amos and his mum have arrived to a beach side camping ground in the middle of nowhere. Almost tricked into a dare, Matt must go into the bush, into Guts (Rough as Guts) McGrady’s house and steel his wooden stick. Guts McGrady is a murderer, everyone knows this but he hasn’t been arrested yet. In the middle of the night, Matt steels himself and carries out the deed, managing to get past Razor the ferocious three legged dog and into the house. What he finds there is not what he expects and leads Matt into a very exciting next few days.

My Candlelight Novel by Joanne Horniman
I’ve now discovered my new best friend writer: first, it was Keri Hulme; then it was Brigid Lowry; now it is Horniman. I’m sending this amazing quote to all my fiction writer friends:

‘Some say that books are an escape from real life. But the beauty of books is that they are crammed with real life. No one is more aware of real life, in all its trivia and glory, than a novelist. In novels you will find mention of things like measles, chocolate, ferry crossings (and eating chocolate on ferry crossings), train journeys, adultery (and adultery on train journeys), bacon, junkies, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, gas ovens, lost jewellery, wedding dresses, shower caps, snot, randy bakers, honey, miso soup, spider webs, lost mothers, abandoned children, rain forests, immortality, angels and toe rot.

Not to mention love. Novels are full of life’s impurities, and love must be the most impure thing of all.’

I loved this book: it’s dreamy; contemplative; quirky. The best book to get for your reader/writer female teen. Don’t worry about the plot line: that’s not so important as the quality of the journey. In the words of the narrator herself: It will be about birth & death and love & sex. I will make it something after my own heart, tender and dark, a little candle light novel, started this late summer night.

I am hunting out the prequel (though it’s not really) Secret Scribbled Diaries to continue the enjoyment of the reading experience.
A must have book for your household.

OUR THEATRE EVENTS

• Totally Shakespeare NZ09: Compleate Workes: In 2009, it’s time to celebrate Shakespeare’s Sonnets turning 400 by endeavouring to perform the whole canon in Wellington and embracing everything Shakespeare in New Zealand throughout the year! Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) fosters festivals in schools and beyond, and encourages fun with Shakespeare in his infinite variety. Encompassing international, professional, emerging professional, educational, community and allied troupes, organisations, companies and activities, Compleate Workes 2009 will present a feast of the Bard. From the international premiere of Cardenio to performances in a multitude of site specific spaces, the programme will even full the airwaves with the Sonnets being broadcast weekly all year. http://www.compleateworkes.co.nz/

• Shakespeare in Schools 2009 Nationwide Tour – Term 3 ‘Lear and his Daughters’ and ‘Macbeth’ by the Kore Theatre Company Bookings: Dr Lilicherie McGregor, Artistic Director, Kore Theatre Company, 2031 Ngunguru Rd, RD 3, Whangarei 0173; ph (09) 955 1170 , (021) 296 2910 ; email koretheatre@gmail.co.nz