Success for Boys

This site on tki includes a directory of programmes, resources and information to help schools engage boys in learning. It includes success factors for boys and what appeals to me most is of all some activities and games in supporting boys to write. 

One example is The Game of Awesome.                               

The heart of this resource is the Game of Awesome.

The game presents undefined pieces of a story like

“best friend” and “showdown”, then asks players

to choose specific ideas that fit these pieces in

interesting and appealing ways. These then become

the building blocks of stories.

The game is fun, easy to master, and has a layer of

easy strategy to keep the attention of older students.

Several variations to the game are also available,

each providing different challenges and developing

different skills.

http://success-for-boys.tki.org.nz/

Teaching dialogue

Some awesome ideas for teaching dialogue using some cool digital tools.

Another extract from The Literacy Shed

Just making a link to our discussion about developing vocabulary and connecting with our session 7 quote from Roald Dahl.

Motivation for writing

Here is the link to the video animation about Usain Bolt that I was talking about this morning. There are teaching ideas under the video clips or you could simple relate it to the idea of 'dreams'.

Response writing to the post on 'determination'

Relentless effort, day after day after day. Rain, shine, tired, sore. Striving towards each goal, setting another, relentlessly onwards. Planning. Aching. Yearning. Knowing defeat, taking those feelings down deep inside where it will burn; fuelling the fire, the passion. Determination; onwards, higher, faster, stronger. Honing those skills; measuring success in millimetres, each gained through sweat, pain, tears and planning. Being a living definition of inner fortitude; striving ever on; four years of plans, goals, early mornings and early nights.

Here it is, the moment. Four years, here we are. Let’s go! It’s all come together, the focus comes down to now. Shut out the crowd, replay the plan through my head. I’m ready, I’m the best I can be. Time to bring it home. Determination!

Leon 

Writing response from space video

Alien Tortilla

 

I move my body slightly to the right so one of my eyes is peering ever so slightly through the small glass hole. I can feel my hearts racing, my blood veins are expanding, I am feeling emotions of nervousness. I quickly check that my connection cord is still tightly attached to me, the last thing I want is to somehow become disconnected from my craft.

I focus my eye again through the small glass hole, I start taking mental notes of the characteristics of the alien. It has some sort of fabric covering most of her torso and lower levels, her head is covered in a curly type material I have never laid eyes on before. It is stationed in some sort of control room with numerous small objects. It appears to be opening some of those small objects and smearing the discoloured contents onto a round disk. Layer upon layer it continues to smear these contents, I can only assume it is assembling a type of explosive weapon. It is very clumsy with the contents and parts fly around the control room, shockingly it swiftly scopes the floating contents into it's mouth. I am shocked, this alien is appearing to rejuvenate itself with explosive contents. It has smeared the final contents onto the disk, I start to panic and considered my retreat back to the craft. Out of the corner of my eye ball I see the alien roll the disk up and take a bite out of it. It then signals with its limb, it points one of its digits upwards and its mouth curves into a half circle.

Sarah

Writing response from space video

And cut the director announced ! Fabulous Janie, we’ve got it, moving on to scene 3 now. I breathed a sigh of relief and stretched my cramped arms. I was helping with the set up for scene three so I had to move quick. I rolled up the tortilla and placed it back in the props cupboard The thin string is much easier to see when it is rolled up on the stick to keep it untangled. I climbed down the ladder and walked through to the next set. Next we were filming a shot that involved rocks floating past the space ship window. Great! more dangling thin wires and sitting in uncomfortable positions while we film again and again. When the internship advertised an exciting space experience to see the lives of astronauts in action I had not expected this. 

Issie

A great result for NZ women's hockey!

Have a read of this article about the NZ women's hockey team and think about the word 'determination' as you read. Write down your thoughts, ideas and feelings about this story in your writer's notebook.

Writing and Reading Progressions in kidspeak and teacherspeak

Another resource for you to use when analysing writing scripts and assessing reading needs.

https://sites.google.com/a/matata.school.nz/literacy-progressions/home

Remember if you are going to use the google docs, make a copy first before using it!

Writer's Notebooks in the classroom

Two Writing Teachers post about using the writer's notebook in the classroom

An interesting read.

Writing response to space video

I've had enough!  Packaged mackerel and leek tortilla, again!  Every time I wrestled one of those packets opened, I envisaged Rocket, my cat, getting his jellymeat pouch. No wonder he only sniffs it and walks away without eating a bite. That's exactly what I felt like doing now - but no walking away here. Tearing the top off another sachet, I squeezed the gunk out of the contained silver envelope. Whoever thought this was food, let alone appetizing - needed some serious cooking education. My mind drifts back to the list of cookbooks on my shelf at home. Chelsea Winter, Annabelle Langbein, Jamie Oliver - Oh, God, what I'd do for a good hot meal - bugger, concentrate Helen! I reach out and grab the tortilla that is acrobating it's way in slow motion like a distracted clay bird towards the ceiling. I'm so over having to chase my food like some predatory animal. I had a vision of caged chickens, contained in their pen - and being fed their 'portions'. Oh my god! The realization - That’s me! I'm caged with my portions. 

Simile 

Helen

Writing response to space video

Writing piece to entertain..

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1……. BLAST OFF! I wonder where it’s gone? Flames! Smoke everywhere. It was there a minute ago but where’s it going? Everybody watching. Looking. Smiles on their faces. I don’t know why. Space, everybody tells me, that’s where it has gone, space. What is space I wonder?

“How far away is space?” I ask.  “Could I go there?”

I look up to the sky and I can’t see the rocket ship any more. What do they do in this place called space?
Amy