ECL310 by Matt C

Weekly Reflections

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Prompt 8

Whist browsing through the picturebook hashtag i disocovered a promotion for a new childrens book, excerpt from original post below:

‘Introducing: Little Bot & Sparrow!

My new book from Roaring Brook Press comes out in September. Way back in Jan of 2014 I posted that my goal that year was to get a children’s book made of these two. Over two years later I’m thrilled to finally share this book with you! It’s been a long crazy road, and I’ll tell the story sometime, but I’m glad to finally be here!

To celebrate I’ll be doing art drops of two Little Bot & Sparrow drawings while I’m in Chicago this week. If you’re in the Chicago area or know someone who is, one of my drawings could be yours! I’ll post more on that tomorrow.’

Through discovering this I was able to understand more clearly what a valuable resource Tumblr can be, it allows us to share and promote new texts and ideas and through the use of hashtags allows us to discover some really useful teaching tools and share our experiences and ideas.

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Prompt 7

CREATE – From viewing the images and reading the text, we understand that Albert feels that the shops signage could do with some improvements. It is your task to create new shop area with new logo that would be more appealing to everyone.

EVALUATING – Albert does not appreciate how he is treated at school, what are the reasons behind this? Do you think everyone at the school will be rude to him.

ANALYSING –  If Albert’s situation was different, do you still think he would be treated the same way. Perhaps if his parents had a different job, or he was a different person.

APPLYING – Albert’s situation isn’t ideal, but is not uncommon. Think about a time when you may have been in a similar situation or felt similar feelings. Was it easy to overcome? and what tactics did you use to approach it. Is there any advice you could give to others in this situation? What would you suggest for Albert.

COMPREHENDING – Albert’s father seems to be quite stressed about the Chinese restaurant across the road, although his mother isn’t. Why do you believe they feel this way?

KNOWLEDGE AND REMEMBERING – Simple review of story facts, such as the location of the restaurant, what were the names involved (people, restaurants), what was Albert’s favourite food? 

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Prompt 6

For this prompt, the video i selected was ‘Discover the diversity of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages’. Throughout the video we are able to hear and learn about the diversity of the indigenous language throughout Australia. Similar to some other Front loading exercises we could have the students discuss what prior knowledge they have on indigenous culture and language, what experiences have they had? Student’s can discuss why there are so many different languages and how many individual ‘countries’ exist within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples of Australia, and how each has its own language. Link Below

http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1916032/discover-the-diversity-of-australia-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-languages

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Prompt 5

First Reflection: As the sun died, the cold silence of night fell upon me, the lack of food had left my stomach so hollow i felt nearly transparent, i had no strength to go on.

Second Reflection: For many, waste had become a right. 

Third Reflection: Another effective front loading activity for the class would be to make predictions. There are a few variations on this, but either as a whole, large groups or small groups, students would be shown a picture from the text with no visible words. Following this they will be asked to create their own predictive text to match the image, then their choices will be discussed either as a class, or in small or large groups.

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Prompt 5

First Reflection: As the sun died, the cold silence of night fell upon me, the lack of food had left my stomach so hollow i felt nearly transparent, i had no strength to go on.

Second Reflection: For many, waste had become a right. 

Third Reflection: Another effective front loading activity for the class would be to make predictions. There are a few variations on this, but either as a whole, large groups or small groups, students would be shown a picture from the text with no visible words. Following this they will be asked to create their own predictive text to match the image, then their choices will be discussed either as a class, or in small or large groups.

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Prompt 4 - Classroom Display

In my most recent rounds. I was able to observe a simple classroom display that related to some classroom charter goals that were decided on by the students at the start of the year. These simple goals displayed quite prominently for students to refer to when they need, or to be directed towards to when they query how they should approach their work. I found it a simple and effective way to maintain direction for the class. There are many other ways you can use displays in the classroom, such as completed work, or connections to a ongoing scope and sequence for the term. They also add an element of connection and ownership between the students and their classroom,  and provide a sense of home and comfort when the students have an involvement in creating or deciding on the displays.

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Prompt 3 - Multiliteracies

The term multiliteracies itself comes from the new ways we communicate and learn. The information we receive daily comes from multiple sources and formats. Personally over the last week I have communicated and absorbed information through the following formats.

Email: The primary form of communication in my current industry, I email multiple times daily between myself, customers and colleagues, these can communicate the answer to questions, new policy information and personal information. Sometime is it also just used for a conversation.

Facebook: To be honest, I probably use this more than I should. I used to to communicate socially with family and friends, upload thoughts and images of my daily goings on.

Instagram: Primarily viewing other peoples images and uploads, commenting them or ‘liking them’. Although the text in this format is limited compared to other formats it usually provides some context for the images viewed.

Newspaper: It’s nearing the end of the football season so I’m daily absorbing articles and information regarding statistics, injuries and opinions in text format from the sports section.

Textbooks: The joys of university study, completing weekly readings of these provides me with information important to my studies.

Blogs: I am also an avid reader of multiple sports blogs, allowing me to communicate and engage with other like minded individuals about a common interest almost instantly. 

Text Message: Another common form of communication for work and personal purposes, allows me to be organised and stay updated with my closer connections.

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Prompt 2 - Prediction Activity

I have decided to use an activity I saw during recent rounds regarding predictions for a text just by ‘Judging a book by it’s cover’, the original activity is found on the education.com website. The chosen text was Diary of Wimpy Kid and was conducted in a 5/6 classroom. Activity as follows:

What You Need: 

A book your children have not read Paper Pencil Envelope 

What You Do: 

1. Pick a book your children have not read yet, and have them look only at the outside cover (without reading summaries or descriptions). 

2. Have them write at least one paragraph about what they think the book is about. Encourage them to be in depth with their predictions and write what they think will happen, what they believe the characters will be like, and anything else that comes to their mind when they study the cover of the book. 

3. After they've made their predictions, put away the paragraph they have written in a sealed envelope and keep it until they've finished reading the book. 

4. Encourage them to revisit their initial remarks after the book is complete and analyze how their opinions have changed. If the book they're reading is one that you are also familiar with, you can have a short book club session with them to discuss the entire book as well as their first impressions. 

5. The first things that come to our mind (the judgements we make when we see something) are usually indicative of our inner opinions and prejudices. Use this time to talk to your children about your mental outlooks and judgements. It just may be an enlightening experience for everyone!

This activity can be adapted and reduced in size for an earlier year level by having everyone just write a single prediction over the course of 10 minutes then placing them all together in an envelope before the text is read, a short picture book would be most effective for this task. Then once completed drawing a few out at random and asking some questions on whether they were correct, and why those particular predictions were made.

https://www.education.com/activity/article/judge-book-cover/

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Prompt 1 - Possum Magic

One of my most vivid early memories of a group reading lesson was the truly wonderful Possum Magic. The text honestly filled me with a sense of wonder and helped me developed a love of reading. I myself had a very close relationship with my own grandmother who used to make some of the food from the text incredibly well, leading to a real connection to the text for me. Possum Magic has so many great elements for an early childhood text, it’s ability to display a sincere and loving relationship and have a fantastically engaging narrative has created an instant classic. To this day it is still my go to present for any young child’s birthday.