Today, I want to explore with my teacher colleagues the upcoming National Simultaneous Storytime picture book for 2018, Hickory dickory dash by Tony Wilson & Laura Wood, and how it fits into our existing K-2 literacy cycle, and how it can address English outcomes for Stage 2 and Stage 3 students (see Objective C).
* aspects of Guided Inquiry activities for Stage 2 and Stage 3, team-taught, library lessons this year (Note: units use the KLA’s own syllabus outcomes plus related English outcomes)
* revisit the concept of pre-, mid- and post- surveys for students (from the SLIM toolkit) to collect both qualitative and quantitative data (action research)
* some possible strategies for improving student attitudes and successes with longer form fiction, such as novels (see Objective D).
The Teachers’ notes I wrote for Wilkins Farago Publishing are now online. I hope lots of school libraries buy their own copy of the picture book, One red shoe, and get good use out of it!
When I was testing the book out with our Stage 3 students, even the Stage 2 students were intrigued, although they only really discussed the red symbolism throughout, not the stronger themes about war/unrest in the Gaza Strip, but they came up with this digital slideshow:
My workshop: This session will look at how to make book trailers and their use in engaging students in literacy and reading activities. Applications used to make trailers will be looked at and discussed, also how they can be used as a resource in a school library and in classrooms and how they can help promote literacy and reading. Ways to engage students in these resources to augment their learning experiences will be modeled and discussed.
* Brainstorming (using Circle Time) – consider audience, theme, length, 30 images * Storyboarding (using a book rap template) – small groups * Will you use photos (“Creative Commons”), drawings, cutouts, puppets, toys, claymation, or actors in dress-up box clothing? * Upload – to Photo Peach or other Web 2.0 facility – Flickr slideshow, PowerPoint/Keynote, podcast/Youtube, IWB Notebook software? * Edit, adjust timing to the selected music * Share with wider community – monitor incoming public comments regularly, or close them off.
* Rap resources (NSW DEC) for making digital stories and book trailers
* This year’s CBCA Book Week theme is: “Read across the universe”. A starting point?
Further reading (articles by Ian McLean):
* ‘iInquire… iLearn… iCreate… iShare: Stage 1 students create digital stories’ in Scan 30(2) May 2011, pp 4-5.
Stage 1 students narrate how they inquire, learn, create and share with ICT and Web 2.0 to produce online Photo Peach slideshows at Penrith Public School. View the article online HERE.
* ‘Have blog, will storyboard!’ in info@aslansw Issue #2, May 2010, pp 5-8.
Stage 2 students at Penrith Public School created storyboards and PowerPoint digital stories as resources to support Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students working on the Bear and Chook books rap, which ran during the subsequent term.
* ‘Circle time: maximising opportunities for talking and listening at Penrith Public School’ in Scan 26(4) November 2007, pp 4-7.
Circle Time is a structured framework for social and emotional learning which promotes a positive class ethos. Moving from class teacher back into the school library, I incorporated Circle Time and information skills into a range of collaborative literacy and ICT activities, including book raps.
When I presented the above worksop at a MANTLE conference, earlier this year, members of the audience suggested a few possible captions, in keeping with Book Week’s “Read Across the Universe” theme, and my intention was to get the Stage 3 students, back at school, to complete the brainstorming of the rest of the captions during Book Week. As the events of that week overwhelmed us, I filed away the groups’ A3 planning sheets, but dug them out again this week – and was thrilled with their results. A reminder to those on iPads: the latest version of Flash is required, so you’ll need to use a regular computer to see Photo Peach slideshows.
As promised, here is the finished slideshow:
Read across the universe by 5/6E
and an additional set of bookish/SF images that got the students’ conversations going:
and we were surprised to find that there are interactive “Yoda speech generator” sites (it started out as a joke that there might be one – and there were several!), such as: www.yodaspeak.co.uk/
In 2011, a group of Stage 3 students created a series of storyboards and a wonderful final science fiction digital story for the Shaun Tan Book Rap, inspired by such audio, visual (and audiovisual) delights as The lost thing. Poor Monloc the protector was lost in the Great PhotoPeach Data Crash of December 2012, but has now been restored to a new URL. His creators, the Lost Bottlecap Collectors, have all gone off to various high schools, but I know they revisit our school pages every now and then. We hope you (and they) will enjoy Monloc’s triumphant return from near-oblivion:
Monloc the protector by the Lost Bottlecap Collectors of Penrith PS
QR codes – those now-ubiquitous, distinctive, square barcodes – are on advertising posters, business cards and websites. For last year’s MANTLE conference, I made use of a QR code phone app, I-nigma, from iTunes. Apart from a few tests, I haven’t really done very much with this aspect of technology. But the possibilities may be endless!
I have created QR codes for the websites I am referencing in my MANTLE talks this week. For example:
Workshop 2: This workshop will look at how to make book trailers and their use in engaging students in literacy and reading activities. Applications used to make trailers will be looked at and discussed, also how they can be used as a resource in a school library and in classrooms and how they can help promote literacy and reading. Ways to engage students in these resources to augment their learning experiences will be modeled and discussed.
* Brainstorming (using Circle Time) – consider audience, theme, length, 30 images * Storyboarding (using a book rap template) – small groups * Will you use photos (“Creative Commons”), drawings, cutouts, puppets, toys, claymation, or actors in dress-up box clothing? * Upload – to Photo Peach or other Web 2.0 facility – Flickr slideshow, PowerPoint/Keynote, podcast/Youtube, IWB Notebook software? * Edit, adjust timing to the selected music * Share with wider community – monitor incoming public comments regularly, or close them off.
* Rap resources (NSW DEC) for making digital stories and book trailers
* This year’s CBCA Book Week theme is: “Read across the universe”. A starting point?
Further reading (articles by Ian McLean):
* ‘iInquire… iLearn… iCreate… iShare: Stage 1 students create digital stories’ in Scan 30(2) May 2011, pp 4-5.
Stage 1 students narrate how they inquire, learn, create and share with ICT and Web 2.0 to produce online Photo Peach slideshows at Penrith Public School. View the article online HERE.
* ‘Have blog, will storyboard!’ in info@aslansw Issue #2, May 2010, pp 5-8.
Stage 2 students at Penrith Public School created storyboards and PowerPoint digital stories as resources to support Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 students working on the Bear and Chook books rap, which ran during the subsequent term.
* ‘Circle time: maximising opportunities for talking and listening at Penrith Public School’ in Scan 26(4) November 2007, pp 4-7.
Circle Time is a structured framework for social and emotional learning which promotes a positive class ethos. Moving from class teacher back into the school library, I incorporated Circle Time and information skills into a range of collaborative literacy and ICT activities, including book raps.
UPDATE to Workshop 2:
During the above presentation, members of the audience suggested a few possible captions, in keeping with Book Week’s “Read Across the Universe” theme, and my intention was to get the Stage 3 students, back at school, to complete the brainstorming of the rest of the captions during Book Week. As the events of that week overwhelmed us, I filed away the groups’ A3 planning sheets, but dug them out again this week – and was thrilled with their results. A reminder to those on iPads: the latest version of Flash is required, so you’ll need to use a regular computer to see Photo Peach slideshows.
As promised, here is the finished slideshow:
Read across the universe by 5/6E
and an additional set of bookish/SF images that got the students’ conversations going:
and we were surprised to find that there are interactive “Yoda speech generator” sites (it started out as a joke that there might be one – and there were several!), such as: www.yodaspeak.co.uk/
Today was Penrith Public School’s annual reading picnic, this time celebrating our 97% success rate in the Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) in this, the National Year of Reading. It was also the second anniversary of our occupation of our BER school library. How the time has flown!
Our special guest was Judith Ridge, of WestWords. Judith is a recognised expert in the field of children’s literature, a former editor of the School Magazine and a member of the PRC selection and reviewing panel.
Parents, caregivers, toddlers and community members brought with them books, picnic rugs and snacks and joined the 400+ students and teachers for a relaxed afternoon of reading in cosy corners of the playground. Some students sat in class groups, and others sat with family and friends. And Mother Nature turned on some perfect picnic weather after several days of looming thunderclouds.
The school also received a special package from author and illustrator Emma Quay! A beautiful giclée print (Mr McLean had to look up that term on Wikipedia!) and a lovely handwritten letter, explaining that this artwork is a preview of her forthcoming picture book, Not a cloud in the sky (2013).
Emma Quay’s letter and giclée print!
Our school captains present Judith with a school crest keyring.
Judith Ridge, who was very complimentary of our students’ work with digital storywriting, book rapping and our school’s blog and wiki, shared a quote from E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s web and Stuart Little:
“A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people — people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.”
A commemorative plaque has now been mounted on the wall of the school library.
This week is the last week of formal lessons in the school library. The Stage 2 and Stage 3 students are investigating the websites of Judith Ridge (WestWords, particularly the “Book Club” section), and the writing tips of popular author, Deborah Abela.
At a recent teacher-librarians’ professional learning day, Deb introduced us to the highly motivating Story Starter Scrambler machine, on the Scholastic website.
Deb’s very persuasive Youtube book trailers are at:
Grimsdon
The remarkable secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen
Ghost Club
To finish off we will read Chapter 1 of Deb’s novel, Max Remy, super spy.
Announcing another Stage 1 digital story based on the Book Week 2012 slogan. As mentioned a few weeks ago, I’m spending two weeks with each class group (about twelve selected students), identified by each class teacher, for 30 mins per day. In this particular example, the teacher wanted every student in her class to have the experience, so Year 1 students of a composite class started a story (theme, character building, some photos) and the Year 2 students finished it (more photos, sequencing, caption writing, editing, etc).
Remember that Photo Peach requires the latest version of Flash to view the digital story. ABOUT PHOTO PEACH:
Please remember that Photo Peach is blocked for student use by the NSW DEC’s web filters. For good reason. It has some very unsavoury stuff on it. Similar to Youtube, no one rates the material. Search “What’s popular” or “What’s new” on the site and you’ll find lots of other… inappropriate stuff. Just like Youtube and other Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis and blogs.
Every time I’ve used the Photo Peach site, it’s under MY username and (secret) password. We work on brainstorming and storyboarding offline, then upload photos or graphics under my direct supervision, edit in small groups, and view our finished products the same way. My username and password, and no one else can change it. No open browsing. Unless you close off open comments, these, too, have to be previewed before each use with students if you notice a new comment has been added.
I’ve written several articles about strategies for use. Click HERE to download a PDF from Scan teacher librarians’ journal (NSW DEC).
or our Guided Inquiry site, featuring lots of Stage 3 persuasive slideshows
or other articles ‘iInquire… iLearn… iCreate… iShare: Stage 1 students create digital stories’ in Scan 30(2) May 2011, pp 4-5.
or a similar idea using PowerPoint instead: ‘Have blog, will storyboard!’ in info@aslansw Issue #2, May 2010, pp 5-8.
Recent NSW DEC book raps have excellent online instructions for using Web 2.0 tools with students. Scroll down on the PDF linked HERE.
On the “Guided Inquiry” site, I have the following warning: “Teachers and parents: By the way, just a few points to consider with Photo Peach: Use it as judiciously as you would a series of Youtube clips. Don’t permit students to do open browsing; Photo Peach is a Web 2.0 facility that is open to anyone, and the slideshows are ‘unrated’. Also, if you notice that new comments have been added to a slideshow you’ve made, please preview the slideshow again before using it with students so you can monitor (and moderate/remove) unwanted comments. (Or close off comments altogether.) Consider a subscription to Photo Peach, which enables you to add your own or Creative Commons music, a wider range of transitions, and the capacity to download slideshows to your hard drive, web space or a CD.”
While there is some inconvenience with using Photo Peach, it’s still an amazing resource and the benefits outweigh the problems. Small group work enhances opportunities for talking & listening, negotiating and other skills.
Today, our whole school participated in the annual ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime with a reading of Nick Bland’s “The very cranky bear”.
The hearing support unit used a Youtube presentation in Auslan. It was so well done that, after I’d read the book to the Stage 1 group who’d used the school library as their venue today, we decided to play the Auslan performance as well.
National Simultaneous Storytime is an eagerly-anticipated annual event!
