Category: Ponderings

Where to begin?

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It’s been quite a while since last I posted to this blog, which is not to say that I haven’t had anything worth sharing – simply haven’t made the time to log in and begin!

Working in an International School continues to have its challenges but also rewards. Simply listening to the students and cruising through the fiction collection is introducing me to new authors and stories I might never have come across in Australia. I am also looking to reacquaint myself with classics of children’s literature, discovering along the way that many of these books ‘hit the spot’ for children who, due to their expat life and friends, are willing to explore more widely. I even found out that my Year 3 students had never heard of The Day My Bum Went Psycho by Andy Griffiths! We are currently remedying that situation… Some of the terminology has to be explained (that was the first time I had ever needed to explain the term ‘mooning’ to a child) but that hasn’t stopped them from enjoying it – one boy was literally rolling on the floor with laughter! A struggling reader, I am sure that this is one book he will be aiming to read for himself, and may perhaps be a powerful motivator for other disinterested children too.

Update on the Blind Speed Dating

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A few of the books borrowed by year 5 and 6 students after the Blind Speed Book Dating:

I find it interesting to see that the range of books being borrowed includes more demanding classics  such as The Hobbit or The War of the Worlds, humorous titles eg from Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings, and animal books like Ace and Black Beauty. Some books have been in hot demand, with students placing reserves on titles snaffled early by their classmates.

I think it will be really interesting to follow this up further next week, through asking students to comment on the book they chose from the blind date – has been a good read? Would they recommend it?

Off to grab a book for the weekend!

Tuning in to My Channel

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My theme this weekend is YouTube. Specifically how to make the best use of YouTube videos in the classroom. Did you see the announcement of YouTube Teachers? I spent an hour or two clicking through all the links on the Teachers’ page, joining up (to see what develops), following the advice on setting up my own Channel, reading other bits and pieces.

Things I learnt:

I have created a playlist of videos about Pete the Cat videos (see end of post), and plan to spend some more time learning how to value-add to playlists.

Why this sudden video-awareness? It was the combination of showing Pete the Cat on the IWB to my Prep class and reading about the new YouTube Teachers initiative, all on the same day. I feel that I haven’t made much effort up till now to explore the possibilities of linking hands-on reading experiences with online variations – partly due to lack of equipment, partly due to just not getting around to it. For children growing up with so much of their lives linked to television or computer screens, it is not hard to understand their desire to see the animation or video of a story. I would like to spend some time thinking about how to match videos and reading in order to bring a richer experience of story to my students. So many books have complementary videos, songs and websites now that I could find myself guilty of negligence if I do not find ways to weave different media together when exploring a theme, or books by a particular author or illustrator.

So far I am talking only about videos etc to support the reading of storybooks – partly because it was on my mind this week, partly because there is so much information already out there (and indeed in the 10 Tips section of YT Teachers) on using a variety of formats to enhance teaching and learning activities. For instance I took a brief look at Charlie and Lola online, but didn’t find much of value – I need to investigate and see what else is there before reading a story to my students.

So, I shall leave it at that with the intention of exploring further ways to mingle traditional print media with online resources to create a more varied and enticing world of story for my students.

To send you on your way with a smile on your face and a song on your lips, I give you Pete the Cat and his White Shoes!

 

Plus ça change…

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Looking around me at work this week I am reminded of the French quote above, and little swift googling seems to indicate that it originated with Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr.

“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”

Why start a post about working in Hong Kong with a quote famous in French literature? 1) I don’t know any Chinese idioms yet and 2) it just captures the moment so well!

Neurons in the brain

Neurons in the brain; CC licence courtesy of Rebecca-Lee

With my classes at the moment it is the same routine of getting to know the students, establishing boundaries and guidelines, and talking about library topics as I would have when beginning at any school. Today I used the “I went shopping” game technique (Google Books excerpt from the book where I probably discovered it) of stringing names together one after another to start to memorise the names of all the students in my classes – so that would be approximately 150 students across 6 classes today. Honestly I could feel my brain physically throbbing with the effort of creating all those new neural connections!

As well as learning names I was book-talking – for Year 5 I am highlighting Colin Thompson this week, displaying some of his novels and picture books, and pointing out intriguing features that may encourage some of the audience to try out his work (hey! The Floods have their own website!).

After lessons with Prep, Year 2, 3 and 5, I would go back into my office, put a few things away, check what I was doing next, and go back out to get ready. Within the Library there are no real differences – the role of books in promoting reading for pleasure, the provision of a variety of resources for information gathering, the balance between providing a welcoming space and keeping that academic focus. Stepping outside I am reminded that I am in a very different place – 5th floor of a 9 story building, with a view (on clearer, less smog-filled days) across the suburbs of Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, the rumble of traffic and splashes of brightly coloured signs in a language I do not understand providing an exotic backdrop for a familiar role.

Coming up for my classes are activities looking at locating materials on the library shelves, series fiction, genre, wide reading passport, understanding CC, and some as-yet undecided units for the younger grades – could be author studies, could be Encyclopedia Britannica, still to be finalised.

This week has been Chinese Week at school, to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival, marked by a Lantern Festival on Monday night – please follow this link to see the Guinness World Record lantern sculpture! I went to the festival with my family on Monday night, and it really was spectacular!!

Naturally we have had a display of culturally relevant books in the Library, and with the younger grades I have been reading a picture book by Colin Czernecki entitled “Paper Lanterns” – and was very pleased to read the list of people he consulted to ensure that his book was a realistic and respectful representation of this aspect of Chinese culture.

"Paper Lanterns" cover, linked from author's website

The last page of the book is a picture of glorious scarlet lanterns emblazoned with a Chinese pictograph each, which together create the Chinese word for friendship 友谊  (you-yi) – my key learning for today. What a lovely image to finish a story!

Moving Out, On And Over

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Big Yellow Wheelie BinYesterday was my last day at Hutchins – for a while at least! I spent most of the day sorting out my desk, putting piles of worksheets in plastic pockets for filing, and tossing old  papers into the Big Yellow Wheelie Bin. I have two usb memory sticks loaded up with my library programs, units of work, previous years’ work (for reference if needed), activity sheets – anything I could think of to make life easier for the two TLs who will be sharing my position for the rest of the year. I have passed on all the debating club materials to the colleague who will take that over. I even remembered to bring home my work mug.

In between clearing out my office, supervising the library and taking my last class (yr 3, traditional folk tale then flags of the world – Book Week themed) I was also saying goodbye to colleagues. I was deeply touched to realise how many friends I have made at Hutchins – there were so many people wishing me well, telling me how much fun I will have and how the time will fly, and asking me to be sure to keep in touch. I have really loved working here, and will be glad to return in 2013, refreshed, reinvigorated and ready to rug up warmly with our return to the cooler climate!

The rest of this weekend will be spent packing up the house – something we have been working on for a couple of months – in preparation for flying to Hong Kong next week. I have been too busy, too preoccupied, too tired to be excited before now, but this morning I woke up with a definite feeling of anticipation! I am really looking forward to the adventure and challenge of tackling life in a whole new country and culture. I have already received a lot of great advice and support from staff at my new school, which has given me confidence that it won’t be a case of jumping in the deep end and fending for myself upon arrival. Also I discovered an interesting side-effect of clearing out my office and reviewing my work of the past 3 1/2 years: I have a new belief in my own ability to create a variety of teaching and learning activities suited to the needs of my students and the knowledge and skills I wish them to acquire.

What I Do

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