SpellWrite Online Professional Development

Attended a PD. course after school concerning the use of the new online SpellWrite site to improve childrens' spelling. I have battled with spelling in the classroom over the years, and this year in particular I have a band of 'high-needs' spellers in the class. Because of this I was looking forward to the course and what it could offer me.

First, the positives. It did look like a site I could use in some form in the classroom. Being a 'Spell Write' programme it very much linked spelling with writing, arguing that words cannot be taught in isolation. Lists need to be formed from a student's writing, with some topic work relative to what is being studied in the class at any given time. Within my Work Work reading rotation the children could input their spelling words into the  Spellwrite program and use the program to learn them at home. It had a really nice Look cover write function that would be useful.

I was however quite disappointed because I was hoping for more of a how to get your children to spell lesson. I felt that it was a sales pitch without too much substance. This was the general consensus of the other attendees to the PD session. There is a $50 per class charge for the program at this stage I will probably purchase it out of my classroom budget and give it a trial run for a term or so.

Spell-Write Online

Science Staff Meeting 22.7.2015

I ran a staff meeting on the scientific method and outlining the changes that have been made to the Science Resources. I had the staff in groups, conduct simple experiments and then we discussed how they could be adapted for each level to demonstrate the scientific method. We then talked about the science room changes and the science expo. It was a good discussion and I was able to allay some fears about the expo and what was required from each class.

Power Up Trip to Kawerau Geothermal Power Station

Finally my group's trip had arrived. it had taken a lot of planning with Mighty River Power especially since their health and safety requirements are so strict. This was an opportunity for the Power Up team to get a real look at this sustainable method of generation and it tied in well with our the school's geothermal focus for term 2.
We were able to see more than I expected and the learning and comments from the children was excellent.

Using an IPad to assess P.E. Skills

While teaching small ball throwing I wanted to use video as an assessment tool for the children. My idea was to look at the mechanics of throwing and have the children analyse their own actions. I used the IPad to record their action assess themselves against set criteria.

See video exampleThrowing video

I was really happy with how it turned out. The children focused on their technique and we're honest in their assessment. It really enabled them to study their action and identify what they do. Next time I would do a formative and summative video.

The following is an article/blog sent by Linda during the holidays. I really liked it as a simple reflection for me to think about in starting a new year. Aspects like communicating expectations and giving appropriate feedback are so obvious but often forgotten.

It looks like a really helpful website as well.

http://www.middleweb.com/17182/new-teachers-create-shiny-happy-classroom/

Chinese Speeches

Chinese Speeches

We have been writing and learning our Chinese speeches. I have been surprised at how well the children cope with these as I personally find the Chinese language difficult to learn. 

We decided to record our speeches on the laptops while showing the assessment scores at the same time, partly to avoid having individual children on YouTube clips.

States of Matter

States of Matter Unit

The children really enjoyed this unit as it was very hands-on involving experiments, market day creations and the ability to present what they have learnt in different ways. 

Fun for me as well!

States of Matter from Room 10 on Vimeo.