T3 Online Toolkit Reflection: Empower Reluctant Writers

Empowering Reluctant Writers

Identify the road blocks (Barriers) 
- no ideas
- lack of vocab
- spelling gaps
- no motivation (engagement)

Engage Students - 'The Hook' (You need to be a charismatic teacher to motivate them to write).
Brainstorm the genre so the students know what's expected of them.
What does 'descriptive' mean?
How could you be descriptive in your writing?

Time the kids

Google docs
Use voice typing and model how to name and organise the doc including saving it to the correct folder. Get them to say the title they want and search for a picture for their description using the explore tool. Comment on the student's google doc to give them feedback/feedforward. 

Wall displays: have lots of descriptive words around the room e.g. look for other words instead of small, good etc... 

Link to slide presentation.

What does this mean for my practice?
I am currently trying different ways to motivate students to write with quick whole class activities to build mileage. We are working on quick writes which is going well. Students are given 10 minutes to write in response to an image from Pobble365. The students need to beat their words from the previous day which allows them to measure progress. Three students are chosen at random to share their piece of writing with the class and others are encouraged to praise them. We then carry on with writing lessons based on genre. 

I like the idea of using google docs and the quick brainstorm about a genre. So far I haven't made my quick writes genre based however this could be an effective next step to include in quick write sessions. 

Toolkit - Multi-Modal Literacy

On the 17th of June my colleague Tina and I presented a toolkit on multi-modal literacy at Kaitaia Intermediate School. We had a fairly good turn out of five participants. It was incredibly nerve-racking but also rewarding. It was my very first toolkit and I'm glad we had a positive response and lots of time for teachers to have a go at creating their own multimodal slides while we assisted them with tips and tricks.

Term 2 2019 Toolkit Reflection: Digital Footprint

Digital Footprint? What my learners need to know.

CyberSmart Curriculum is broken down into four main categories:
1. Smart Learner
2. Smart Footprint
3. Smart Relationships
4. Smart User

This needs to be covered every year especially public/private information as it is extremely important and students forget some of the information (they need lots of reminding).


Profile pictures: reflection of who you are. they show up as soon as your name is googled even if you have a private account. Think about what message your image is sending to the world? Your picture is a reflection of you. Ways to empower learners. John Parsons believes that students should have profile pictures with their family so they look supported and not isolated to viewers.
No photos should be taken in bathroom or bedroom. These are private rooms that others should not see. This sends a bad message to viewers. Don't share a profile picture where people can find you outside of school hours, licence plate numbers, street addresses... Use google draw to alter any images that have personal information in them.

Information: Private info where people can find you (future plans), birthdate - credit card/identity theft, student emails (everyone doesn't need to know this), online games that gather information (grandmothers name, pets names...)
The school is not such a worry as our students wear a uniform.
Think: do people really need to know this?

Relationships: Who you are online reflects the real you. If you are a troll online then people aren't going to like you. Practise positive, helpful, thoughtful comments with a question.

Not everything is real on the internet!
Spot the real or fake info/pictures: common sense lesson plan. Set a fake research project for students to investigate and see if they realise it's fake.

Thoughts/Reflection:
This toolkit was very informative and gave practical ideas for how to teacher the Cybersmart curriculum. I need to upgrade this area of my class site so students and parents have easy access to the modules, information and lessons around the Cybersmart curriculum.