Curriculum Workshop: ICT and English 12/12/13

ICT - Blogging, 'The Cloud', G Drive, Trackers...

English - Literacy in Lessons

Some ideas to use in class:

• WOW Starter: Find a WOW word! Find a word that you haven't used in your design logs, annotations, review, etc and incorporate it into the text.
• Add 5 WOW words to your review!
• Anagram starter: Solve the anagram to find today's keyword.
• Find the keywords hidden around the room.
• Synonyms: "a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example shut is a synonym of close"
• Hook - Friends
• Identify words students commonly use in their design logs that need to be improved e.g. big - thinking year 9.
• Starter activity: Link to Pointless game e.g. students to come up with the best synonym and one that no one else has thought of - Gold for a pointless answer.
• Text: Provide a simplified text - students to add description to improve the text - homework? Next lesson, starter - compare with exemplar or each others.
• Banned Vocab: Create a list of banned vocabulary.
• PEE all over your work - Point, Evidence, Explain

CPD Day 6/12/13

Session A: To boldly go to the threshold of my capacity ...

Session B: Using SOLO Taxonomy for differentiation

Use of HOQ

Session C: Literacy - A focus upon writing

How to Improve your Vocabulary - 100 words
http://world-english.org/improve_vocabulary_advanced.htm

Environment and Time:
How can we break up tasks? 'Pupil discussion' 'Think, Pair, Share' 
What kind of environment do pupils write in? 'No music - it's a myth that it helps them focus!'

Key Vocab:
Model how this should look (on the board? Printed Design Logs?)

Checking:
Pupils to check each others work by reading it aloud to each other

Resources here

FlipIT SIG

What is your project? Flipping the classroom

Who will you do this project with? 8x1

Where are you planning to upload resources etc? Blogger/Google Drive/YouTube/iTunesU

When are you planning to this by? Over the end of the second term

Do you have a timeline? Ongoing

How are you going to share your project? Through the use of my blog/pupil blogs

TeachMeet 3 Minutes: Blogging

Why blog?

1. It is quick and easy to set up (all Wildern accounts use GMail and have Blogger as it is a Google tool).

2. It is very useful for AfL. Using the 'Post Comments ' function, pupils are able to give instant responses to pose questions and discuss. This facilitates open discussion.

3. You can link your blog posts to other channels and vice versa using IFTTT (If This Then That). IFTTT is a powerful service that allows you to connect channels such as Twitter, Blogger, Instagram and many more....

4. Having a teaching blog allows students to quickly and easily access work for the lesson from in the classroom and at home (and no more excuses for homework, as it's all on there!).

This last point is an interesting one, as it ties in with the FlipIT SIG that I am a part of. I have now started planning 'lessons' in which the students can follow at home. This is where the LEARNING will take place. During their next lesson at school, students will then put the learning into PRACTICE. I am uploading resources onto my YouTube account and Google Drive and embedding/linking them onto my blog. Students can then choose their own learning platform depending on technology available at home.

Students' comments: 

"I know that I can come straight into Miss Rymill's lesson and get straight onto her blog and the lesson will be there. I don't need to wait for others to come into the room to make a start on the lesson."

"I forgot what my homework was about the other day and headed straight for Miss Rymill's blog - where I found the video I needed to watch, along with the questions I needed to answer." 

5. Lastly, blogging is a powerful tool which allows students to be creative, improve literacy skills and celebrate their learning and achievements.