2019 "Self-portraits"

Here are some of our finished portraits as inspired by Nate Williams (see original post here).

So happy with how they have turned out!

CORE Ed Professional Inquiry Module 3 assignment

Considering a collaborative inquiry...discussing the student voice inquiry I am involved in...

https://prezi.com/view/foLTuXuAORa5pMIFo61M/

Pop art portraits

A bit of a delay with sharing this lesson/unit idea:

Term One had a sketching and portraits focus so we started the term with some pop-art self-portraits (after looking at the different types of portraits that might be produced)...it was a lot of fun and the art is very creative. I got the inspiration from a Facebook post but am not sure whose!

I took black and white photos of the kids then printed them out on A3 - the kids turned them over to trace around their main features and facial shape, neck/shirt etc with pencil.

They then used black crayon to go over the outlines and to split large areas (eg face and hair) with dark lines before using coloured crayons (including white) to draw patterns inside each different space.

Next step was to use bright dyes in each section - don't they look awesome?!

Lesson or unit starter ideas

The sort of things that those of us who have been teaching as long as me already know, but it doesn't hurt to have a reminder occasionally...

http://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/5-simple-anticipatory-sets-that-make-a-big-difference/

Making OTJs

With Term Four being a crucial term for assessment and reporting at all levels of the school, here are a few links to some NZ MoE information on reporting from the TKI Assessment Online site:

Making an overall teacher judgement

Definitions of achievement in National Standards

Clarifications about National Standards - addressing some common misunderstandings

(sometimes it’s easy to get confused, so important to make sure we hear/read/understand clearly…)

Our NZC - innovative in education

Dr. Julia Atkin: Expressing the essence of the NZ Curriculum from EDtalks on Vimeo.

Fictional writing motivation images

My pupils are keen to write some fictional imaginary stories so I have gathered these images for inspiration...looking to inspire discussion about mystery destinations or adventures that may be occurring or about to occur...

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We will be focusing on (Level 3) selecting main ideas, using written language features such as direct speech as well as using a good range of descriptive language and (Level 4) writing in the third person.

I've got a couple of text models (using excerpts from actual novels or school journal stories - thanks Susan Brocker an Roald Dahl in particular!)

And our reading texts for the next few weeks will of course also be based on fictional texts so we can make reading-writing links and see how authors use those skills in their own writing. I'll link some of the pupils' work once they get underway -hopefully there will be some fantastic pieces of writing to share!

CORE ED Talks - supporting Maori learners

Alex Hotere-Barnes - Addressing Pākehā paralysis with non-stupid optimism from EDtalks on Vimeo.

Engaging learners - how might we go about it?

Some ideas from NZ and international educators c/o the Learning Network NZ...

CORE MLP116 course assignment

Created by Jo Stanway and I for Module 1 of the Modern Learning Practices post-graduate course that we are completing online with CORE Education.

Module 1 was about Rethinking Learners in the 21st Century... (sorry about the large pictures,not sure how to get Drive to publish it in a smaller format, I suggest you go full screen!)

Supporting pupils with dyslexia

A couple of resource links that we received this week:

From the DyslexiaDaily blog - 17 ways to support students with learning difficulties

This video comes via this link from the DyslexiaDaily blog - great if you need to inspire someone with dyslexia to see that they too can be a high-achiever!

Zentangles

Our art focus this term is design and pattern 

and we created these little landscapes using the zentangle style...

Our inspiration was this picture courtesy of blog 'Amoeba Handmade':

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M.I.N.T.S.

I have decided that my Year Sixes are not taking enough responsibility to use capitals correctly so have put together this incentive...

Pupils will get to take a mini mint whenever they have correctly used:

M for the months of the year (and days!)

I for the pronoun 'I'

N for names (people, places, countries, brands, important groups)

T for titles such as Mr, Mrs, Dr, Sir, madam

S for the start of sentences. 

Thanks to Raewyn Green from the Southland Campus of the University of Otago for the acronym hint!

ANZAC resources

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25 April 1915 - 100 years since the first ANZAC battle began...

Class mini-inquiry "Walking With the ANZACs" blog-posts:
#1 Intro videos


Poppy art idea "That Artist Woman" blog         Quiz

Link to the ABC Gallipoli documentary website - videos sharing the first day of the campaign - 25 minutes if watched back to back

Second ABC link - online 3D interactive documentary - very well done, lots of info, maps of the area, timeline, mini clips etc

Radio NZ - oral diary                     NZ Army museum

National Library online links  and  WW1 resource guide

National Library online images           NZ History WW1

NZ WW1 100 years website               TKI resources

Rachel Boyd blog - Anzac Day resources and videos            WW100NZ pinterest board


Definite read for anyone with a Year 6+ classroom! My pupils thoroughly loved it:

NZ author Susan Brocker's website

NZ War Memorials map              Stretcher bearers and donkeys            The Unknown Warrior

Research NZ soldiers          NZ Archives research a soldier           NZ Curriculum Online

English unit (NZ)            Teach Ezy maps of Gallipoli           Starters.co.nz NZ unit plan

Make a paper poppy                Last soldier to leave the beach           WickED Anzac resources

Imperial War Museum (UK)           NZ Battle of Gallipoli             Photo links

Walking With an Anzac           Capital E Theatre resource             Poppy Time lesson ideas

Someone has put a lot of effort into telling a little of the Gallipoli story with Lego:

2015 - first episode of TAKE TWO NEWS

All about the Year Six Welcome evening, featuring Black Cap cricketer, Hamish Rutherford...this event is held to celebrate our Year Sixes as leaders of the school...



2015 TAKE TWO NEWS - The Year Six Welcome Evening from Edendale Primary School on Vimeo.

Passion Projects as a LIteracy Programme

I've been devising a change for my literacy programme for my Year Six class - I don't know why I do this... well, actually, I DO know (it's because I am always trying to fine-tune my class programme to give the pupils the very best possible learning experiences...) but I have come up with (to quote Blackadder) "a cunning plan" to incorporate reading and writing by using the Passion Projects idea in a different way, one that will suit the way I operate...I'll try it out and see how it goes at least!

You can read my overview of intentions and term overview of topics here: click this link!

Basically, the plan is that at the start of the term I will offer up five different topics for literacy sessions - pupils will indicate which topic they are most interested in.  Guided groups will be developed from that, and I intend to incorporate relevant writing tasks alongside the reading tasks eg read an article about animal cruelty, write a letter to the SPCA commending them for their work - pupils may come up with ideas for writing as the unit progresses too (I want them to be guiding the direction of some of their tasks too...)

I need to have some aspect of control over the topics offered to the pupils as if I want to stay sane while building up the resources and lessons for four or five different groups I will need to keep certain limits on what is offered, while still giving pupils choices).  I have broken down some different topics into four terms - topics that twenty years of experience has shown are popular with pupils, while also trying to use topics that have relevant application to their world in 2015 and to have topics that will provide a good range of reading materials and writing contexts.

I have also aimed to cover a range of curriculum areas, with the topics being based on non-fictional themes, but choosing topics for which I will easily be able to find and incorporate fiction texts (ie in School Journal) that fit the theme as well, for instance in the unit about team sports we might read a narrative story about sportsmanship. I have also thought about topical events eg the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli and the Rugby World Cup.

I have thought of a range of EOTC experiences for the pupils to take part in at the end of their unit as incentives for completing a great range of tasks during the term. I have a goal to involve more parents, whanau (family) or community members as part of my class programme, so to have a couple of parents take a group of pupils for a morning fishing or to visit an exhibit at the aircraft museum, will be a good way to increase those connections.

For each unit, once I know which pupils are in that group, I will select the most relevant reading and writing learning outcomes to address, based on pupils' ability and next learning steps - these will be presented to the pupils for their comments and reflections on progress.

Wish me luck! I am off to start building up a class blog-post of online resources for each of Term One's topic units, as well as a Google Drive page for each unit (where the pupils of that group can look to find their independent task list, and I hope to also use the Google Drive for collaborated reflections and other shared tasks for each group/unit).

Reading - Hit for Six task

An idea based on this post by USA teacher SmartChick for ways to make the most of articles in magazines for children; I am sharing it here so I can find it when I want to use it in Term One...can be applied to any informational text...

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I've given it a cricket analogy (the Cricket World Cup is being held in NZ early in 2015). - the pupils I will have in 2015 took part in a cricket skills programme in Term Four of 2014, so the cricketing terms should be familiar to them.

HIT FOR SIX

To hit the ball over the boundary on the full (without bouncing inside the boundary line) is called 'a six' as it earns the batsman six runs for his total and is the ultimate shot a batsman can score.

Here are the steps: (Specific reading skills in brackets)

1. Gear up: before reading the article, look at the title and illustrations then write three questions about it. (Predict/Ask questions/Use prior knowledge)

2. Ready the bat: read the article then write three (or up to five) interesting facts that you learned. (Find information/Retell/Select relevant details)

3. Keep your eyes on the bowler: skim the article to find at least three important vocabulary words. Define what each word means. (Use vocabulary in context)

4. Swing the bat: explain the main idea of the article. (Select key ideas or themes/Evaluate/Identify author purpose)

5. Follow through: write a summary of one section of the article. (Find information/Summarise/Select key ideas or themes)

6. Celebrate the shot: ask two or three questions about this topic you would like to find out more about. 

Take Two News episode

My Year Six pupils take turns to work in teams of three to write, film and present a short video about a current event or issue happening at our school...I do the editing using Windows MovieMaker...


2014 Take Two News - We Sell Worm Tea! (Team Kahu, Year Six) from Edendale Primary School on Vimeo.

2014 Term Four Week Three

What did Team Kahu get up to this week?

We cooked green bananas to get a taste of Pacific (fish and) chips!

We journeyed around the Pacific on a magical flying carpet ride (thanks to Google Earth)!

We heard the road safety messages presented by Share the Road, ahead of the major sport event, The Cycle Tour of Southland!

And we were excited to hear back from NZ author, Susan Brocker!

An absolute favourite prompt - Frosty Man and the BMX Kid

This video, promoting the beauty of New Zealand's scenery (and the have-fun nature of the general Kiwi population), is a favourite prompt of mine - it lends itself to all manner of writing ideas...

today we are using it as we plan our own movies for possible entry in the Great Southern Media Mash 5-day Movie Challenge; the pupils needed to see how a message can be shared via the medium of a made up story...