#NZreadaloud is a literacy initiative I started in Term 1 2015.
There were a few purposes why I needed this.
Firstly to flatten the walls of our classrooms and get our learners CONNECTING to other classes across Aotearoa so the kids can 'learn together'.
For #NZreadaloud4 theONE6 has connected with classes from Mahana School, Oamaru Intermediate, Waikanae School, Wainuioru School, as well as 2 home-school boys in Wanaka. We are enjoying the conversations which have started in our Edmodo groups and on Twitter.
Another purpose was to find a new way to engage kids in reading. While independent reading is really important, being 'read to' is something which kids still need too. The most important part of this is to BRING THE BOOK ALIVE! No point reading aloud if you are not prepared to 'get into character' (this is the part I love!) Might take a risk and video myself one day!!
Reading Aloud also offers us an opportunity to demonstrate and model 'how we make meaning from text' through us THINKING ALOUD. So during the read aloud I will ask/write questions, make predictions, take notes of key characters and their traits, note page numbers for language features, make connections, draw images and anything else which I think will be important for understanding. While I am doing this - the kids are doing this too... at the beginning I am happy they take the same notes as I do. Once they get the idea they always find their own technique!
Here are some photos of what my notes look like (thanks to Sophie for being my 'writer today) as well as some great examples of student note-taking...
Having used Seesaw (an online portfolio site) with a small group last year I decided I would definitely roll it out to everyone this year.
It is such a clear interface and very easy to learn how to upload examples of work and explain the learning it is evidence of.
After just ONE week of signing the kids up and having a 'practice' session with everyone, many kids are now understanding the power of being able to identify the learning which is important to them AND the purpose for uploading and sharing. It is very exciting to see kids grasp the idea of an online portfolio and who are now making their own decisions about what to take a photo of and share.
Here are a few screenshots of some recent examples...
Those of you who are already using your portfolio regularly... what is it which makes this something you are motivated to do? What advice have you got for others who are not so self-motivated YET?
In theONE6 we are working on embedding reflection into everything we do. It is such an important part of the learning cycle - the ability to think about what we have done, haven't done, why something didn't go the way it was meant to, what made other things successful, and what we are wondering about.
Thinking about thinking is called being 'metacognitive'.
ONE way we reflect is through a tweet consisting of 140 characters. This is a skill theONE6ers' have been learning since week 1. There is a real skill in composing your tweet to ensure it includes the appropriate hashtag, your name, and of course your question or message which needs to be clear, concise, with the right amount of detail BUT at the same time uses only 140 characters.
This week's Tweet Task was to ask a question AND think about your own response to it... all in 140 characters.
Today in theONE6 some of us participated in out first #KIDspeakNZ chat.
#KIDspeakNZ is an initiative which was started by myself and 6 other teachers around New Zealand to show our learners they have an opportunity to 'share their voice'. That if they have questions they want to ask of other kids their age...why not ask through a Twitter chat. If they have issues or topics of interest and want others opinions... why not run a Twitter chat.
Today's questions came from students at Bohally Intermediate in Blenheim. They were keen to ask others about collaboration, connecting, and school values.
Well done to a number of students in theONE6 for participating... your voice DOES matter and these are terrific 21century literacy skills you are developing:
a tweet summarises your thought into 140 characters
participating shows you are building skills of connecting & collaborating
tweeting gives you a chance to voice an opinion or something that is important to you
Below is the STORIFY of our chat today...
If you enjoy participating in Twitter chats... tell me WHY in the comment box. If you don't enjoy them I would love to know your reasons too:) Reply in the comment box please.
I am of the belief that for a classroom to be student-centred the kids need to know "their voice matters". It is one of our mantras! So in #theONE6 the kids talk more than me!
Something else REALLY important in theONE6 is REFLECTION. We have briefly discussed why reflection is important to embed into the learning cycle. One way we reflect in class is via Twitter. Doing it this way means I can capture their 'reflective moments' in 140 characters. Doing it this way means I can 'storify' the tweets or take screen shots and share them and use them for my own observation of my learners' thinking.
Below are some reflective tweets which some of the kids did last week where they share why they think their voice is important.
