Oh yes, Teachit Primary is well and truly up and running now. Go on, take a look! There are fabulous resources going up each week, so keep checking what’s new by clicking in the Latest additions section of our Resource libraries.
As it’s autumn, this newsletter begins with suggestions for a fun and practical lesson based on ‘We're going on a conker hunt!’ So if you're bonkers about conkers, Michelle Singleton has just the thing for you! And to give you some practical pointers that will be of real value to you in the classroom, Jo Heffer has chosen some of her favourites from our resource library for you to have a look at in our ‘Resource watch’. We also want to keep you informed with what’s going on with Literacy in the primary classroom, so have a read of our literacy update by Josephine Brady.
We’re going on a conker hunt (with a little bit of ICT) | Michelle SingletonThis is a great way of extending the story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and a simple way to get the children outdoors finding out about their own environment, without even realising what they are doing. Use the story of the bear hunt as a starting point for exploring all the different actions the children can follow during the story. Build a simple obstacle course in the hall and encourage the children to think of different ways of moving around the course, e.g. climbing over, going under, through, between, etc. Now take the story a little further by exploring a walk. This could be a walk that the children are familiar with near to school or it may simply be one you make up. Start by taking a series of photographs which show a variety of different things that the children might see on their walk and things which could involve them in carrying out an action. (Make sure that they are digital images if you want to create a digital storybook at the end of the process). The images suggested below are really useful as a starting point, although you can probably think of plenty more. (If you can’t take the children out, take additional photographs yourself or take images from the internet – try Teachit Primary's Image bank.)
The outcome for the children will be to create their own story, 'We’re going on a conker hunt', based on the story of the Bear Hunt. The photographs that you’ve taken could be laminated and used as a resource to spread out on the carpet. Or the images could be used within your interactive whiteboard software and the activity carried out on the whiteboard. Look at the images and talk to the children about where they could go on their walk. Encourage the children to talk about the different actions they carry out, e.g. run along the path, skip over the bridge. If you’re arranging the photographs on the carpet, write the children’s actions on pieces of paper which can be moved around with the photographs. If you’re using the whiteboard, add the images to individual pages and move the pages around for the children to tell the story in different ways. Write the actions under the images and move the text from page to page. Encourage the children to think about the ending of the story. Where is the conker going to be hiding and where will you have to go to find it? – e.g. through the muddy puddle, around the nettles, etc. When the children are happy with the story they’ve written, explain to them that they’re going to make a storybook of their own, that they’ll be able to see and hear on the computer. Download the free software package Photostory3 from the Microsoft website www.microsoft.com. This is a really simple program to use and will allow you to sequence the images the children have chosen. You can also add text and record the children’s voice with the image. When the story has been completed it can be saved as a video that you can add to your website or simply use as an electronic storybook – a great way to save and show your storybook. Have fun on your conker hunt! Michelle Singleton is an ICT Teacher Adviser for Lancashire Learning Excellence Resource watch | Jo Heffer
Firstly, in the Foundation Stage library I was struck by the very simple idea behind the High frequency words loop game. This fun and interactive game can be played with any number of children and requires them to use good listening skills as well as working on their reading. Each child is given a card that looks a little like a domino, containing two words. The child reads one word on their card and a child with a matching word then reads out the second word on theirs. It continues like this until a whole loop has been completed. It's an activity that will not take very long, but used on a regular basis will very quickly reinforce those high frequency words. Moving on to KS1, take a look at Sorting fiction and non-fiction bear sentences. This mix of sentences requires pupils to use their understanding of different text types. I like the fact that the fiction sentences come from the wonderful Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell. This is the sort of activity that invites lots of talk and negotiation and can easily be differentiated depending on the sentences you include. It’s a resource that can be transferred to the interactive whiteboard, and to take it one step further you could include extracts from other well-known bear stories. On to Key Stage 2, enter the wonderful world of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone which contains a wealth of ideas that will capture children’s imaginations. The Harry Potter activity pack is full of excellent ideas for using the novel to develop children’s own writing. Using extracts from the book, children are provided with opportunities to write letters, newspaper reports, diary extracts, recipes for potions, commentaries and glossaries. There are cross-curricular links with Maths, Science and Art as well. It's the sort of pack that you could use as a project on its own or alternatively you could dip into it and use different parts depending on the text type you are working on. Finally take a look at the Say what you see resource. This is suggested for Key Stages 1 and 2 but I don’t see why it can’t be adapted to be used orally with younger children. This resource has strong links with Art and the idea is that pupils study a picture and jot down everything they see. They use these notes to write a piece of descriptive narrative. They share their writing with a partner who is asked to draw from the description. This can be compared with the original, which will give the writer a good indication of how effective their writing has been. These are just a few of the many wonderful resources to be found on Teachit Primary. Take a look and discover what might work for your pupils! Jo Heffer is a Primary Literacy Consultant for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Literacy update – a vision for the future? | Josephine BradyThe new school term started with Ed Balls writing a letter to all primary head teachers outlining his vision for the future. In terms of literacy, there is much to anticipate:
For me, his focus on children as writers was especially welcome because although literacy has maintained a very high profile over the past decade, arguably the teaching and learning of writing has been largely overshadowed by the dominant reading agenda. However, when I think more deeply about how the ‘Every Child a Writer’ is to succeed the ‘Every Child a Reader’ initiative, I can’t help but think that we are missing a step.
We may recall the story of Winston Churchill borrowing a few lines from H.G. Wells or Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan drawing ‘inspiration’ from the work of Lucilla Andrews. What better company to be in? As the literary great, T.S. Eliot, said: ‘Mediocre writers borrow. Great writers steal’. With the political spotlight turning to focus firmly on writing, perhaps, as primary teachers we should be sharing this sentiment and actively exploring the convergence. Children need to see and value the concrete links between their reading and writing for themselves. Our young, developing writers should be taught to celebrate unashamedly the fact that they are standing on ‘the shoulders of giants’ every step of the way … as we all are! Josephine Brady is on the NATE Primary Committee and is a Senior Lecturer in English at Birmingham City University Meet a Teachit Primary contributor | Jennifer Jenkins
After the workshop day I diligently gathered together the 40 resources each contributor had been asked to submit for the initial launch. At first it seemed rather daunting but when I sat down and actually began to look through my resources I found I had far more than that anyway! My resources ranged from worksheets to PowerPoint presentations, story scripts to phonics flashcards. As long as it was my own work and didn’t use images that were someone else’s copyright, they could be submitted. The system used for submitting resources was very simple and user-friendly. All of my 40 resources were accepted and I then went on to submit lots more from my collection. As a launch contributor I was entitled to the ‘golden handshake’ of double royalties on any resources I submitted in the first six months after the launch – something I am making the most of! All contributors receive royalties on resources that Teachit publishes. I’m not sure what to expect yet but that first cheque will be very welcome anyway! I don’t make resources especially for Teachit Primary; I submit resources I’ve already made as part of my everyday teaching career. I managed to obtain copyright for some of the images used in my resources by emailing websites and companies. Another good way is to take your own photographs. The thing to remember is to keep your resources simple, bright and easy for a teacher to see how they could use them in their own lessons. Not all of my resources have been accepted by Teachit Primary. If you get an email saying your resource will not be published this time, don’t worry about it – there will be plenty more resources that will be accepted. Submitting resources to Teachit is a brilliant way to share your ideas with other teachers and for you to get a reward for all that hard work you have to put in to make your own lessons good. Have a look at your own resources next time you get five minutes (I know it is rare!) and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of brilliant resources other teachers would love to get their hands on. Jennifer Jenkins teaches at St Paul's C of E Primary, Nuneaton Do you know your way around Teachit Primary yet?
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The resource libraries on Teachit Primary are really jam packed with fantastic ideas to support teachers in Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. My task is to select just a few of my favourites, which really is a challenge as there are so many I like.
Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Malorie Blackman speak about being a writer and I was struck by one core thing: the number of books she devoured as a child. This, of course, is nothing new, but I do think we often forget how derivative our early attempts at writing really are! In 1997 in her book Differently Literate, Elaine Millard, the present chair of NATE, took great pleasure in tracing the journey of children’s reading into writing. Similarly, in 2001, Barrs and Cook explored the influence of literature on children’s writing development (‘The Reader in the Writer’). Yet, in the last few weeks, I have spoken to a number of KS2 children about their writing, specifically posing the question ‘Where do their ideas come from?’ The most common response was ‘they just come to me’ like magic I’d imagine! Some, rather reluctantly and with a degree of embarrassment, admitted they were heavily influenced by popular television series or particular books (e.g. the Alex Rider series). But why so coy? I think there is a step missing between ‘Every Child a Reader’ and ‘Every Child a Writer’ and it is simply: ‘Every Child a Reading Writer’.
My name is Jennifer Jenkins. I am a Year One teacher, Literacy Co-ordinator and RE Co-ordinator working in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Last summer I was asked to get involved in an exciting new project working with a web-based resource site called Teachit. At the time they were a secondary-based company (who I have to admit I had not heard of in the primary world!) and were looking to venture into the primary sector, with a little help from Warwickshire LA. One of the county’s Literacy Advisers asked me if I would be willing to go along to a day’s workshop that would introduce Teachit and invite me to contribute my own learning resources. I liked the sound of being paid for my own resources and thought I would give it a go!
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