ecl310AL

Multiliterate Learners in the Middle Years

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eclprompt8 - Picture books search with #hashtag

This weeks prompt involved researching #picturebooks using another social media platform.  I found that Pinterest had numerous resources and teaching ideas for different picture books and it also has a handy toolbar at the top with different categories such as 'Ideas', 'Illustrations', 'Kids', 'Picture books', 'Layout', 'Design', 'Art' and much more.  It's a great way of searching for pictures books that relate to a specific learning topic and also a particular age group.  In comparison with last's weeks search on Tumblr, I found Pinterest much easier to utilise, however Tumblr was interesting as it is showed new pictures books and was more personalised.  I do think that the #hashtag is a viable alternative to classroom research, however like any online platform care should be taken in what students are viewing. 

[hallwayskirsten]

I hope you’ll enjoy the trailer for my upcoming picture book!

Illustrated by supertalented artist Dasha Tolstikova

Published by indie rockstar Enchanted Lion Books

Available this fall!

PS The idea for this book was born out of a chat with my 5-year-old son. 💗

Trailer by Sarah Christensen Fu

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This new book called 'The Jacket' by Kirsten Hall looks really interesting and has so much potential for engaging classroom activities.  I like how it encourages readers to consider books from a different perspective. 

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eclprompt6 - Indigenous video

Tiwi music:  keeping an ancient culture alive

<http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1647173/tiwi-music-keeping-an-ancient-culture-alive>

This video could be used for a frontloading lesson for a variety of dreamtime children story books such as ‘Tiddalik the Frog’ or ‘The Little Corroboree Frog’ as an insight into the importance of these stories to aboriginal people and also in particular to how these stories were passed on through song, dance and retelling to each generation.  Have a discussion about other ways Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people recorded their stories (e.g. cave paintings/drawings). 

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eclprompt5 - Frontloading 'Dust'

      Feeling hollow and transparent in the cold night with no food or strength, he died.

        Discarding the tasteless food the same way we have become desensitised to the plight of famine.       

 Frontloading activity for text ‘Dust’ (before reading the text). 

Examine the front cover of the text. In small groups discuss why you think they donate money to Save the Children and how do you think this relates to the text?  Each group shares their discussions with the class.  In partners, research what ‘Save the Children’ is and summarise one way that the foundation is impacting the world by saving children.  Share summary with the whole class. 

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This is a work-in-progress display that I helped implement on teaching rounds.  It was based on an inquiry unit on health and involved students researching online to create a list of super foods.  They then chose a super food and researched it further using the 5Ws and 1H.  Students then used their chosen super food to create a 'Super food Hero' and used speech bubbles to introduce their hero and explain why they were super.   The display is a great visual aid for students to assist them in their learning as they can go back and look at what they learnt - plus learn more through what other students learnt. It also takes a multimodal approach by incorporating the use of creativity, technology and literacy. 

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eclprompt3 - Meaning from text

This week I have made meaning from text in the following ways:

finished a novel by Francine Rivers

followed the instructions and filled out a basketball score sheet

I have read and followed a recipe off Taste.com

read numerous text messages on my mobile and instant messenger

read an invoice

read lecture slides and academic texts

read school reports

read numerous emails

I would have to say the most common form of text I have read this week on a regular basis is email, text messages and Facebook messages.  These texts are all quite short, and usually straight to the point. 

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eclprompt2 - Prediction Activity

A prediction activity for this text could be getting students to answers the question of... "I think this will happen....because...."

You could start off with explaining that you aren't allowed to open the book and you can use the front cover and its clues to predict what you think will happen and why you think that. 

Students could also work in groups and divide up the clues where one student works on the text clues and one student works on the illustrations and another student works on what you already know about i.e. schema.  This way they end with three main prediction points about the text and they share their findings with the teacher or class. 

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Interactive Literature

My earliest memories of being read to were from books such as The Hungry Caterpillar and books that you had to do something interactive with such as opening flaps or moving something around.  An example I can think of is 'Dear Zoo' by Rod Campbell.  Reading to my own children when they were little, I also discovered that they loved interactive books