PrimaryOdds'n'Ends

Well worth a few moments

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:50:47 +0000

Luke Abbott’s Keynote from the Waikato Conference, New Zealand

Luke gives the background to the development of mantle of the expert since 2002 as a powerful curriculum approach and his view of the future of education created, not by the establishment, but by teachers innovating from the ‘underground’.

Having been lucky enough to go on course this weekend and witness him work, I would say give the keynote a few moments.

The website below contains lots more information.

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Jamie Oliver on food

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:57:55 +0000

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Needles and haystacks?

Mr Ball — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:40:59 +0000

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Aardman animation

Mr Ball — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:52:28 +0000

Tate and Aardman tap children’s ideas for Wallace & Gromit-style movie
Tate teams up with Nick Park’s Aardman to give children chance to create characters, stories and drawings for animated film

Charlotte Higgins – Guardian 19/10/2009

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What is it about Britain?

Mr Ball — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:31:25 +0000

Devastating criticism of primary education dismissed by ministers
• Doing nothing would be weak, say headteachers
• Schools department calls report out of date

Polly Curtis – Guardian 16/10/2009

Two quotes from this piece in yesterday’s Guardian seem to sum it up

“There are recommendations in this report that could transform the Primary ethos and turn pessimism into hope.” Cambridge Review

“We completely refute the claim that primary standards have not risen across the board.” Vernon Croaker – School’s Minister.

One edgy, open to new possibilities, the other like the veritable prison door slamming shut behind you.

No discourse, no attempt to understand a blanket NO!

These lines are just too important to ignore.

But today’s report found growing concern about the international evidence that finds that some children are put off school if they feel they have failed formal lessons in the 3Rs at an early age.

The idea that children can learn things in anything other than a formal environment is anathema to the other lot too.

However, we do not agree … that politicians should end school for four to six-year-olds.” Nick Gibb – Shadow Schools Minister. But they only said that children should not start formal lessons until the age of six!

Start school at six, key schools report recommends
• Education ‘narrower than in Victorian era’
• Labour accused of ‘Stalinist’ approach
• Scrap Sats and league tables says biggest study

Polly Curtis – Guardian 16/10/2009

Still the best thing is to actually read the report.

The Cambridge Primary Review

In Brief

Background and Key Conclusions

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Hooray for Roald Dahl

Mr Ball — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:32:15 +0000

We’ve been rereading ‘The Twits’ and the BFG this half term. Dipped into Matilda and Boy too.
Interesting piece by Will Self in today’s Guardian.

Tails of the unexpected
Roald Dahl’s children’s books are full of barely submerged misogyny, lust and violence. The new film version of Fantastic Mr Fox is an ideal introduction to this fabulous, cruel world

Will Self – Guardian 17/10/2009

A link or two to some of the work our children have done.

The opening to the BFG

Describing Mrs Pratchett

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A class of ipod touches

Mr Ball — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:12:08 +0000

Oh Lord won’t you buy me a school load of ipod touches. ( With apologies to Janis)

What happens when you give a class of 8 year old children an iPod touch each?

from Learn for Life

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Pie’s (now where does that apostrophe go?) the man!

Mr Ball — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:39:53 +0000

In ten years of being a late trained Primary teacher, I’ve struggled with the seemingly impossible demands of the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy. As I think I’ve alluded to before the Literacy Strategy has caused more heartache and lost sleep than numeracy but then I haven’t got A level English but an engineering background. I’ve been ill with CFS for eighteen months and gradual recovery, finally brought me in front of the Pie Corbett ‘Talk for Writing‘ DVD yesterday in a CPD session.
TOTALLY INSPIRING! A BLOODY GREAT SEARCHLIGHT OF GOLDEN UNDERSTANDING IN THE GLOOM OF A TANGLED MASS OF LITERACY DIRECTIVES, TARGETS, CRITERIA AND ALL THE OTHER ASSOCIATED DROSS WE’VE HAD TO PUT UP WITH.

YES! It’s the LANGUAGE!

Imagination and enjoyment of use of language is at the centre of his work.

There was so much and we still didn’t watch it all. There’s a sense perhaps in which he’s rewritten the teaching of English for us more right brained people because I know some are happy with grids and charts.

But perhaps my notes will convey a flavour.

Be a Magpie – Alert to the world of language. I went home and made the classroom poster

The powerpoint on ‘Why Magpie’ comes later.

Name things – Not dog. Rotwieler, Dachsund…….
Alliteration – a butterfly or a princely Peacock

Book Talk – How do you develop the ability to be critical about books.

All things are accepted. You must be prepared to change your ideas.

Teaching Styles

Stand back, let the kids do it.

Tell us more – mirror back.

Using pictures

Write what you can see. Then try to recreate the picture in words. Overtly checking spelling as he goes, registering if he’s not sure of a spelling …. Reading out loud as he goes, checking the language for the threads.

Response partners learn how to comment – A variety of ways of encouraging response partnering. Author has the final say.

Storytelling very important – A basis of culture. Fundamental to being human. Can’t stress this enough. Jack Zipes and Augusto Boal give real meat to these ideas.

When teaching be constantly aware of the language structure as we teach. Make it explicit.

Learning Communal Stories – Cultural memory, story bank.

Call and response gradually fading out as the teacher so the children know it for themselves. Independence.

Audience & purpose – Go and tell it to someone else.

Storytelling and Writing

Imitation

Innovation

Invention

Working in pairs – retelling the story – opposite each other

Working on story plan – secure the plot, then add detail and flourish.

Turning into a written piece of work.

Reading as writer – What effect has the writer created? How did he/she do it? Reading as a writer.

Not Grammarians

Which is roughly as far as we got yesterday.

I hope my notes can begin to convey the roundedness of the ideas.

I wish he could write some of the exemplars for the literacy strategy . For me, he opens up the world with possibilities whereas rereading an exemplar or two yesterday, it closed me down again. They’re too dense, strangled in the weeds of ‘do this, do that.’

His focus on nurturing imagination also hit a nerve to do with art. I rediscovered Marion Richardson the other day. For those of you of a similar age we learnt to write using her patterns. But I then discovered she was highly influential in art education.

In essence a focus on imagination and memory in nurturing the ability to create art. And that’s not to say you don’t also teach, how to do it. No babies and bath water for those who like that scenario.

It ties in with focus of visualisation and memory that is need to encourage the mental abilities in maths.

Vision

Gosh I’ve used the word twice now. Perhaps a little old fashioned but isn’t this what we’re about.

If you haven’t already found it, a soupson ( remember to check spelling) of Pie Corbett can be found here from the everybody writes site.

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Ideas to Inspire

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:35:51 +0000

I have mentioned this site before but it’s getting even better.

In particular use of You Tube in the classroom

They have a RSS feed too to keep you up to date. See here One of a number of Primary related Blogs.

There is also a link to downloading and converting You Tube videos to use them at school.
Link here from elearnr to help with this.

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Rose Review Conference

Mr Ball — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:14:16 +0000

Early thoughts of the Primary Curriculum Review from someone lucky enough to go to early briefings.

Rose Review Conference from Redbridge Primary ICT Conference.

A video recorded at the time.

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