14 May - World Fair Trade Day
14 May - World Migratory Bird Day
15 May - International Day of Families
22 May - International Day for Biological Diversity
Professional Reading:
Reading to Learn - these articles from Educational Leadership have a reading focus. Some you can access online. If an article that you are interested in reading has "Buy article" under it, I can print the article for you (you just need to let me know).
Study: Why students might struggle with basic lessons
Material that is initially easy for students to understand might be difficult for them to remember -- a phenomena that researchers call the "stability bias." New research shows that classroom lessons that are more difficult for students to comprehend at the onset and require more in-depth study will actually be easier in some cases for them to recall at a later date.
The role of HoDs in promoting student achievement
Literacy Strategies:
Question the Author - a comprehension strategy that requires students to pose queries while reading the text in order to challenge their understanding and solidify their knowledge (Beck et al., 1997). Primarily used with nonfiction text, QtA lets students critique the author's writing and in doing so engage with the text to create a deeper meaning.
Picture Dictation - general description of how to use this strategy
(info from TKI)
The teacher describes a picture, or sequence of pictures, to students who draw what they hear. The aim is for close listening, the drawing should be quick and simple.
Normally the exercise takes about 20-30 minutes, depending on the length of the dictation.
Prepare a text that is appropriate to the level of the learners, is written in simple visual terms and has a series of steps.
1. Tell the students the number of visuals they will be drawing, or the shape of the picture if there is only one.
2. Read each step aloud to the class twice, allowing time for the drawing.
3. Where there is a series of visuals, the students work in pairs to retell the sequence.
4. The students check their visual against the original.
Social Sciences example
I've used this strategy when students are working on understanding a complex concepts - such as the tragic hero in Shakespeare. I read out short descriptions of the different aspects of the tragic hero which the students draw. When we have finished they have to go back and write a caption relating to each picture showing that they understand what makes up a tragic hero.
General resources:
I thought it was timely (due to the Pasifika/ Maori mentoring session that is on tonight) to send out information about the Pasifika Education Community on TKI. There are videos and other resources to support teachers to better meet the needs of our Pasifika students, including developing a better understanding of the different Pasifika cultures.
- This video “Strengthening Relationships” is an introduction to how we can better meet the needs of our Pasifika students through the relationships that we have with them.
- This video collection considers the diversity of our Pasifika students' groups and their communities.
