Draw, Label ,Caption, Expand - Four simple, structured steps to help our reluctant writers

1. Draw first.  Label/Caption second. Sentences third. Paragraphs fourth. Work fast. It’s not an art project.

2. Make sure the caption captures the scene. Work hard to make these few words convey the most important information to your readers.

• Good. I’m throwing the Frisbee with my dog.
• Better. As I turn to the throw the Frisbee, a huge gust of wind blows up.
• Best. No matter how windy it is, my dog still loves catching the Frisbee. But as I turn to throw it, a huge gust blows up that almost knocks me over, and I think for a minute that it might carry him away when he jumps in the air.

3. Turn labels into sentences. Any word or phrase can become a sentence.

• Birds. The birds can hardly fly because the wind is so strong.
• Wind. A huge gust almost knocks me over.
• Trees. They’re flopping all over the place.
• Dog. His tail is wagging and he’s full of energy.
4. Have a reluctant writer work with a buddy to turn their sentences into paragraphs by adding new thoughts and ideas.
 
No matter how windy it is, my dog still loves catching the Frisbee. But as I turn to throw it, a huge gust blows up that almost knocks me over, and I think for a minute that it might carry him away when he jumps in the air. His tail is wagging and he’s full of energy. But I’m looking at the trees in the distance. They’re flopping all over the place. The birds can hardly fly. Even with all the energy in the world, I don’t think my little dog has much of a chance.

Memory Games

Using pictures of people with their names attached is great way for children to build up their memory skills. These skills can then be transferred when remembering how to spell words or what tasks are in what order etc..
Take a look at the video below..it explains it really well..

A Great Way to Remember Lists!

Food for Thought - Why do we invest so much time and energy teaching our struggling learners how to spell correctly if the below is true?

Liam's Storybird using Essential Spelling List 3a

All About Me on Storybird

New "Stories in the Learning Den" Blog

This is a new blog linked to The Learning Den that uses storybird.com to help children learn words from their Essential Spelling Lists.
"Stories in the Learning Den" will be made up of stories that Mrs R and her merry band of helpers have made on www.storybird.com .
Each story includes words from Essential Spelling Lists. We will be concentrating on words from lists 3,4,5 and 6 in our stories. The words that appear in the stories from each list are shown inside(brackets).
Enjoy!
You can navigate straight to this new blog by clicking on the link on the right hand bar of the Learning Den blog.

Holiday Homework - Thinking Outside of the Box

A key skill that can help all children in their academic, social and emotional lives is the ability to think outside the box. You can help encourage this skill from an early age through a variety of activities. Even if children struggle to read, if we routinely read with them we can use this reading time to create activities that nurture and encourage their critical thinking abilities. Using critical thinking as a life skill is vital. 

When you share a book during the holidays consider spending an extra ten minutes to go further than just reading the text aloud. Here are some activities to try....

1. Predictions

   
   • Periodically stop reading and ask for a prediction about what might happen next. Ask for a few different scenarios, too -- the child's first impulse will be to predict the story's actual ending, as stories tend to be on the predictable side. If you ask for a few different endings, though, they will have to think outside the box to come up with novel ideas.

   Open-ended Questions              

    

   • When you finish reading a book to or with a child, ask a few open-ended questions. This can be any question that doesn't have a one-word or one-phrase answer, such as "How did you feel about the story" or "Who was your favourite character and why?" These questions encourage thinking outside the box in order to both create and articulate an answer, which will encourage thinking critically in an alternative manner.

   Retelling                                   

     

   • Read a book then ask for the story to be repeated in a child's own words. This encourages thinking outside the box in order for them to articulate themselves. By telling a familiar story in their own words, a child has to carefully consider how things are described and how stories are told. This encourages creative storytelling and general self-expression.

   Connecting Stories

   
   • Read a child two or more stories, then ask them to tell you some connections between the stories. Start with the basic connections, such as the gender of the main characters, then move into more-complex, creative connections, such as what the characters wanted and why they wanted it. Children will have to think outside the box to find these deeper connections in between stories, which will both help them understand the stories and improve their ability to think critically.

Flynn's Storybird

Flynn wrote this story in the Learning Den today...it's great!
Look Beyond....By Flynn on Storybird

Our latest story on www.storybird.com

Holly has been busy making her own stories on www.storybird.com . Here is her latest one! Click "open" in the bottom right hand corner to make it fullscreen.
Choc, choc, chocolate!By Holly on Storybird

Letters and Sounds

Letters and Sounds is a UK phonics programme. The programme is used in UK schools and works over six phases. It concentrates on activities that promote phonics, speaking and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending.

The Letters and Sounds Programme is a great resource in general but it has some particularly excellent strategies to support children who are struggling and need to revisit and consolidate some basic literacy skills. 

Click here to find free online activities and click here for supporting materials.

Mind Mapping in Year 3

This term, all classes at Muritai are exploring how to make and use Mind Maps. Here is an example of what some of our year three's have been up to in room 10:-
http://mrhaydenrays.blogspot.com/2011/03/big-part-of-reading-this-term-is-to.html#comment-form. Great work room 10!