#NZreadaloud3

Week 2 has seen the start of #NZreadaloud3.

This is a literacy initiative I started at the beginning of the year for classes around New Zealand to connect and collaborate through the reading of ONE book....written by a New Zealand author.

There are 53 teachers and classes around New Zealand participating ... from Whangarei through to Kaikoura!

Everyone is very excited! Edmodo is our platform for our online literacy circles.

However we also do some of our learning in a 'read aloud notebook'. Yesterday we discussed what the cover tells us about the story...there were some very insightful thoughts and ideas. Then we read the blurb and the kids added to their original ideas. Here are some examples of the thoughtful predictions and justifications for their thinking.

It's going to be a GREAT story...we are already in suspense after Chapter 2!

Geometry through problem-solving

Term 3 has started with a rush!

We have Production this Term AND #NZreadaloud3 starting in Week 2.

Our Maths focus however is GEOMETRY. We are attacking this through a problem-based learning approach.

Here are the questions for week one and two...we will add our answers as we discover them!

Reply to this post as to your thoughts on this approach to learning about Geometry....

What the kids say about LearningMYway!

At the end of Term 2 we decided to gather some student voice! We wanted some feedback about LearningMYway! Was it working, what 'bits' were working? What is the level of learners understanding about LearningMYway? Did they understand enough to know what was working for them and what aspects they need to work on?

We were excited with the comments they left on the slide show...we also loved the way they 'personalised' their slide... you can tell a lot about a person from the 'graphic' they use:)

Check out what our learners said about LearningMYway...

This one was so funny that I just had to add it. The faces are incredible.

Time Out!

We are in the middle of Student Market Place...an entrepreneurial programme whereby students come up with a business idea and plan and make their product.

Mitchell and Connor have worked tirelessly on their 'cubees'. Quite a time-consuming product requiring perseverance and work ethic. Today...the intensity 'got too much' and they felt the need to LET LOOSE!!

Gotta love it!

#theONE6oneword

Okay...so the end of Term 2 is upon us. 

Students have been reflecting on their learning for their student comment attached to their report.

I thought it would be cool to do another #oneword mid-year as it was something we did at the beginning of the year too.

Here is a video put together with all the kids #theONE6oneword for mid-year.

You could also check out Twitter under the same hashtag as some of the kids have tweeted them out too!

'Sticky Learning'

What is 'sticky learning'?

Sticky Learning is a fun way of saying... 

'what learning have you done that is MEMORABLE'

This week on a Twitter Chat I host called #BFC630NZ we shared how we make learning in our class 'sticky'... through the use of images (as well as other techniques.)

For us in 'theONE6' this week has been FULL of 'sticky learning'. We participated firstly in a Skype with Yellowstone Park and secondly in a Google HangOut with Susan Brocker....the author of Wolf in the Wardrobe. This beautifully written story is the one 23 classes have been reading around New Zealand for #NZreadaloud2.

After a shaky start with 'sound issues' (all 7 classes had their microphones turned ON and all we could hear was all the kids excitement - that being 7 classes of 25-30 kids!!!) we all realised our mics needed to be off when it wasn't our turn!

I had set up an 'order for questions' to the author (Susan had these also so she was prepared)... so off we went... each class asking the ONE question they had decided was the one THEY wanted the answer to.

We found out some interesting things about the story and about Susan. For me, one of the most interesting things I found out was the book only took her 3 months to write! I thought it would have taken longer! I also found out that the idea for her main character 'being a boy' was more because the name Finn popped into her head one day and it just went from there!

The best thing for myself and Jemma is that our students have really enjoyed participating in #NZreadaloud2 as it provides us with opportunities to do some amazing 'sticky learning'. We have all found out about wolves (only 100 in Yellowstone Park), we have connected with kids across New Zealand, we have talked with the author of the book, we have learnt along the way WHAT WE DO TO GET MEANING FROM TEXT!

For anyone out there...sign up for #NZreadaloud3 and watch the difference in your students' engagement with ALL literacy!

theONE6ers'.... we would like you to REPLY to this blog post with a comment about the Google HangOut AND some learning which was 'sticky' for you...what was something memorable about the #NZreadaloud2?