Literacy shed

An amazing link to stimulate discussion/creative writing/themes with added prompt questions - great for starters or plenaries...
http://www.literacyshed.com/

The dramatic impact that learning through talk can have on our students...

A useful blog link for how to teach a novel...

http://howtoteachanovel.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/six-ways-to-improve-close-readings.html

Teaching a prose text

After our session on 27th November, you will hopefully have an understanding of the ways in which we can deliver prose texts to our students.  Here is an overview of the main pedagogical approaches we encountered in the session:

Carousel - set 'stations' up around the room with a varied range of stimuli that link to one, some, or all of the key areas: themes, characters, language/structure analysis, social context and the writer's intentions.

Silent debate - students work in silence to answer questions/respond to stimulus on A3 sheets whilst you tour around to extend through writing questions.  When they move to the next station, they need to extend/question each others' comments.

Use music, poetry, images or other pieces of linked literature to give the students an idea of the 'bigger picture' of the text.

Use exemplar writing to show what the skills or assessment objectives look like in reality.

Use A3 grids/graphic organisers to act as an ongoing record of their close analysis of key sections.  Create your own version for each chapter/section and use this for the students to reflect upon their own notes at key moments in the scheme of work.

Inspiring ways of teaching drama

Doing the Right Thing - introduction to key moral issues in An Inspector Calls

This is a multiple choice activity to get you thinking about the moral choices we all have and whether there is a right and a wrong way to act.

·   Alone, circle the action you would take in each of these situations. Then talk in a

small group about the following:

-   is there is a right or a wrong thing to do in each situation?

-   are there situations where it would be difficult for you to do the right thing?

·   When you have finished your discussion, feedback as a whole class on the issue of whether or not people in a community have any responsibility for each other.

1.  You see two primary aged children shoving another child against the wall. A fight

is obviously going to begin. Do you:

a)   Ignore them because you don't know what has been going on

b)   Go up to them and try to stop the fight before it starts

c)   Tell an adult that you think a young child is about to get beaten up

2.  Someone who doesn't speak English gets on the bus and tries to ask the bus driver if the bus goes to the hospital. The bus driver is impatient and can't be bothered to make the effort to understand. Do you:

a)   Push past the person, show your pass and get on

b)   Tell the bus driver that the person wants the hospital

c)   Speak to the person and reassure them that this is the right bus for the hospital

3.  An old person falls down in the street. Do you:

a)   Pass by because you are in a hurry

b)   Rush to help them

c)   Slow down so that someone else will help them first

4.  There is a bottle bank near where you live but no one in your family uses it. Do you:

a)   Think nothing of it because one family’s bottles won't make any difference

b)   Put a box in the kitchen and tell everyone to put the empty bottles in it

c)   Tell your family that you'll take bottles to the bank each week in return for not doing the washing up

5.  A beggar asks you for money outside the station. Do you:

a)   Ignore them because you disapprove of begging

b)   Apologise for having no change

c)   Pass by because you are in a hurry

d) give them money

6.  Your class is involved in raising money for a charity. Some class members openly

take some of the money for themselves. Do you:

a)   Do nothing

b)   Try to persuade them to put it back

c)   Tell an adult in the hope that it will be dealt with by them

Cyclical lesson structure

Perhaps an idea to help you to structure the planning of whole lessons over the coming weeks...

Creativity in English

Get past the cheesy opening graphics and there are some interesting ideas!..

Bloom's Taxonomy of thinking skills

At which skill level do students currently perform?

 

How can teachers facilitate the learning to access higher level thinking skills?

 

Perceptions of teaching/English teachers to reflect upon...!

Use these clips to discuss your perceptions/society's perceptions of teaching - how does it compare to your experiences?

Overview of sessions

Date	Links to Professional Studies Programme	Theme, focus, location and leader	Homework for next session
25/9/13 1	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 23/9/13 – Classroom Management	‘Attributes of engaging English teaching that meets the needs of all students’ Shenley Brook End School. Kirsty McDermott & Charlotte Hawker	· Find and bring a short term, medium term and long term plan to the next session · Read a contemporary young adult fiction book and prepare to share your thoughts                             9th October
9/10/13 2	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 18/11/13 – Assessment for Learning. 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Planning for Progress in English’ Shenley Brook End School. Kirsty McDermott (Lead) & Charlotte Hawker	· Complete Medium term plan on the book of choice. · Plan and deliver a drama based activity in a lesson – get written feedback (teacher, student(s), trainee…) ·         Read 'Starting the lesson', reflect upon content and how you can embed ideas into your own teaching. 23rd October
23/10/13 3	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity.	‘Inspiring Ways of Teaching Drama’ Oakgrove School Charlotte Hawker (Lead) & Kirsty McDermott	· Bring in a copy of your favourite poem – be prepared to talk about it with the group. ·         Read 'The flow of the lesson: learning' - reflect on own teaching and impact on lessons. 14th November
14/11/13 4	16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure	‘Inspiring Ways of Teaching Poetry’ Shenley Brook End School Kirsty McDermott (Lead) & Charlotte Hawker	· Visit your school library and interview the Librarian – what is the role of the library in the school? What is the role of the library within English? · List the ‘ingredients’ of a novel e.g. character(s), theme(s), genre…. * Read 'The flow of the lesson: the place of feedback' - reflect. 27th November
27/11/13 5	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Inspiring Ways of Teaching Prose’. Oakgrove School Charlotte Hawker (Lead) & Kirsty McDermott	· What annoys you? Bring in 3 images/objects of items/concepts/people who annoy you. ‘Pet Hates’. · Observe a lesson – how is talk used? Make notes. * Read 'The end of the lesson' - reflect. 11th December
11/12/13 6	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 23/09/13 – Behaviour management. 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 25/11/13 – EAL 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Speaking and Listening – How the verbal word supports the written word.’ Shenley Brook End School Kirsty McDermott (Lead) & Charlotte Hawker	· Undertake a peer and self-assessment task with a class you teach. Bring in an example of the work created. 22nd January 2014
Theatre	Trip to MK Theatre	Trip to MK Theatre – Panto.	Trip to MK Theatre – Panto.
22/1/14 7	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 21/10/13 – The Structure of the School. 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 18/11/3 – Assessment for Learning.	‘Marking and Assessment in English’ Shenley Brook End School. Kirsty McDermott (Lead) & Charlotte Hawker	· Create a media mood board Wednesday 5th February 2014
12/2/14 8	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 20/01/14 – PSHE/Citizenship. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Media and Non-fiction Texts’ Shenley Brook End School in LTC Charlotte Hawker (Lead) & Kirsty McDermott	· Subject Knowledge Audit reflection. · Bring in an example of a starter, plenary and generic thinking activity. Wednesday 12th February 2014
26/2/14 9	16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 21/10/13 – The Structure of the School. 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils.	‘Starters, Plenaries and Thinking Skills’ Shenley Brook End School. Kirsty McDermott (Lead), Charlotte Hawker & the trainees.	· For the next session the focus will be differentiation – How does your school placement plan/provide provision for the more able, less able and EAL students, both within English and as a whole school issue. Undertake research e.g. interviews, observation, content analysis… Wednesday 5th March 2014 · Film yourself teaching part/all of a lesson. Bring to the session. Wednesday 7th May 2014
13/3/14 10	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 21/10/13 – The Structure of the School. 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 25/11/13 – EAL 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Differentiation’ Oakgrove School. Charlotte Hawker (Lead) & Kirsty McDermott.	· Devise a questionnaire about English – select one class to complete the questionnaire. Bring the results to the next session. Wednesday 26th March 2014
26/3/14 11	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 17/03/14 – Assessment for Learning: Questioning and Dialogue.	‘How to use questioning in English lessons to promote progress.’ Oakgrove Charlotte Hawker (Lead) & Kirsty McDermott.	· Revisit Subject Knowledge Audit and reflect on Knowledge. · Lesson video needed for the next session. Wednesday 7th May 2014
7/5/14 12	9/9/13 – Classroom Observation. 16/9/13 – Planning Lessons and Lesson Structure 21/10/13 – The Structure of the School. 04/11/13 – Equality and Inclusion and Teaching Communication Pupils. 13/01/14 – Planning for Diversity. 10/02/14 – Student Voice.	‘Transition’ Shenley Brook End Charlotte Hawker, Kirsty McDermott & Trainees