Wondering if I can create a version of the reflection map that we used at the sharing event but do it with the year three children and others from different age groups next week in school...would need a good amount of floor space...hall perhaps or outside even better!
Headings might also be different...choosing our poet/interviews...meeting Alice...playground rhymes and chalk...shoe box worlds...weather mobiles...working outside...writing poems...getting ready for our celebration...Celebration Day...what have we learnt?...What would you like to do next?
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Friday, 23 April 2010
memory stick!
Iain, I left this at the Sharing Event - please could it be kept in a safe place and I will call in for it next week on my way home! Thank you.
sustaining the work already started
One thing that came up in our final staff meeting with Alice is that we are really short of good poetry anthologies to use with the children in school; Alice was saying that most of the anthologies we do have are quite limited in the range and style of poems that are included. There are so many poems around that we shouldn't limit children to only hearing/reading funny poems or nonsense poems. Poems can cover every human emotion and children can enjoy hearing serious poems or thoughtful poems as much as adults. We do them a dis-service if we only expose them to poems that entertain but never make them think or see the world in a different way.
It would be great if we could use the remaining money in our budget to resource some really good quality anthologies for use across the school. This would help to sustain the work that has already started through this project.
I am also planning to publish an anthology of the children's own poems from the project through a free online company. Families will then be able to order a copy to keep and school will be able to order some as well. It would be a brilliant way to create a permanent and lasting 'legacy' (if that is the right word) from the creative project and a way of celebrating the fantastic work created by the children.
It would be great if we could use the remaining money in our budget to resource some really good quality anthologies for use across the school. This would help to sustain the work that has already started through this project.
I am also planning to publish an anthology of the children's own poems from the project through a free online company. Families will then be able to order a copy to keep and school will be able to order some as well. It would be a brilliant way to create a permanent and lasting 'legacy' (if that is the right word) from the creative project and a way of celebrating the fantastic work created by the children.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
wow words!
One of the impacts of the project is that the children are more confident at trying out language and using more adventurous vocabulary in their writing. They have written some great descriptive work recently and I think that stems from the way they were encouraged to think about words through poetry.
One thing to think about is whether our emphasis throughout the project on breaking the rules means that their more formal writing has suffered; full stops and punctuation still have a really important place in the way they express their ideas across the curriculum.
It is possible that the project has actually helped the children to think about the rules of writing more because you cannot break the rules unless you are clear what they are in the first place. Also the children do recognise that writing has different formats and I think the project has highlighted that in a very practical way for them. It has given a reference point for thinking about how we organise ideas in other types of writing and the children are much more confident at talking about the features of their writing and what needs to be included. It seems that they are able to use the tools of writing (punctuation, connectives, openers) more effectively because they are more confident with the vocabulary that brings it to life.
One thing to think about is whether our emphasis throughout the project on breaking the rules means that their more formal writing has suffered; full stops and punctuation still have a really important place in the way they express their ideas across the curriculum.
It is possible that the project has actually helped the children to think about the rules of writing more because you cannot break the rules unless you are clear what they are in the first place. Also the children do recognise that writing has different formats and I think the project has highlighted that in a very practical way for them. It has given a reference point for thinking about how we organise ideas in other types of writing and the children are much more confident at talking about the features of their writing and what needs to be included. It seems that they are able to use the tools of writing (punctuation, connectives, openers) more effectively because they are more confident with the vocabulary that brings it to life.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Sharing event at PICL
Reflection day coming up on Friday. Will be really interesting to see what other schools have been up to. Need to reflect a bit more between now and then as the Easter hols have put a bit of distance between the project and now. Children in my class are going to write letters to Alice our poet tomorrow so that will be a useful way of helping them to reflect on their learning and whether their view of poetry has changed or developed since the beginning of the project. Think we might record some of our thoughts on video camera to add to the recordings from earlier as well.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Where to now?
Since the project has come to an end we've been thinking as a school how to sustain the impact cross the year groups. Alice spent her last two days working with Year five and six on mini poetry workshops so that other year groups could begin to think about using poetry beyond the confines of the curriculum.
One thing that came out of the final staff meeting discussion was that we don't want to follow the literacy framework with regard to poetry anymore because it limits how the children think about and create poetry. The traditional shape poem is one example that we have used in school before but it can become very frustrating because children stop thinking about the words they are choosing and become constrained by the shape they are trying to fill.
The project gave children the freedom to play with words and use their imagination in a way that more structured poetry writing cannot always do. We were not asking the children to write in a prescribed style or to have a set number of lines in their poem because we wanted them to be able to break the rules and follow their own ideas and imagination by looking at things around them from a new angle or perspective.
At first they found this difficult because the 'rules' hovered over them and stopped them from just writing down the idea that struck them. So a child would talk about all the wonderful ideas they had been thinking but then say that they didn't know what to write; almost as if the ideas and thinking had no connection to the actual writing process of the poem they were creating.
A beautiful phrase spoken verbally would end up being squeezed into a correctly punctuated sentence and lose all its natural rhythm and impact. Once the children could move beyond that stage they were able to write much more effectively but it did take a while for some to grasp that.
One thing that came out of the final staff meeting discussion was that we don't want to follow the literacy framework with regard to poetry anymore because it limits how the children think about and create poetry. The traditional shape poem is one example that we have used in school before but it can become very frustrating because children stop thinking about the words they are choosing and become constrained by the shape they are trying to fill.
The project gave children the freedom to play with words and use their imagination in a way that more structured poetry writing cannot always do. We were not asking the children to write in a prescribed style or to have a set number of lines in their poem because we wanted them to be able to break the rules and follow their own ideas and imagination by looking at things around them from a new angle or perspective.
At first they found this difficult because the 'rules' hovered over them and stopped them from just writing down the idea that struck them. So a child would talk about all the wonderful ideas they had been thinking but then say that they didn't know what to write; almost as if the ideas and thinking had no connection to the actual writing process of the poem they were creating.
A beautiful phrase spoken verbally would end up being squeezed into a correctly punctuated sentence and lose all its natural rhythm and impact. Once the children could move beyond that stage they were able to write much more effectively but it did take a while for some to grasp that.
Friday, 5 March 2010
getting exciting!
We are inbetween workshops now and starting to work towards the final celebration day - only 2 weeks away and lots to do between now and then!
The plan is beginning to fall into place and we are busy in school completing mobiles, shoeboxes and poems before Alice returns to help us bring it all together.
It will be great to share our experience with parents, governors and other classes and hopefully along with the fun there will be some parts with lasting value and purpose as we look to incorporate our experience into the creative curriculum across the whole school.
Our celebration day will bring the outdoors and the indoors together and as visitors walk round the poetry trail they will be able to actively engage with the children and even have a go for themselves!
The children are really beginning to think about language and words in more interesting ways and this is coming through in other writing as well.
Writing our thoughts down as they come is becoming more exciting because the rules can be ignored and words can be organised in a freer way to make a positive impact on the reader or listener.
The plan is beginning to fall into place and we are busy in school completing mobiles, shoeboxes and poems before Alice returns to help us bring it all together.
It will be great to share our experience with parents, governors and other classes and hopefully along with the fun there will be some parts with lasting value and purpose as we look to incorporate our experience into the creative curriculum across the whole school.
Our celebration day will bring the outdoors and the indoors together and as visitors walk round the poetry trail they will be able to actively engage with the children and even have a go for themselves!
The children are really beginning to think about language and words in more interesting ways and this is coming through in other writing as well.
Writing our thoughts down as they come is becoming more exciting because the rules can be ignored and words can be organised in a freer way to make a positive impact on the reader or listener.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Three days in
We have now completed three days of our project and after half term we have a whole week focus in school which will be really exciting. It is quite tiring to do everything else alongside the project and to keep a clear focus because the project does take over the normal rhythm of the week. Being off timetable at those times does add extra excitement to the classroom and there is a buzz of interest and energy from the children that is contagious but also leaves us more exhausted by the end of the day.
Half term provides some space for reflection and thinking about the next stage of the plan as well as keeping an eye to the final product on the celebration day.
How will we share our work with the school community...video clips, photo competition montage along the walkway walls, shoebox worlds, presenting poetry, photos of the project itself, performances of poetry, footprints with pieces of poetry, display of written poetry, journals, class book, poetry map, skipping rhymes, favourite poems...tents...?!
Half term provides some space for reflection and thinking about the next stage of the plan as well as keeping an eye to the final product on the celebration day.
How will we share our work with the school community...video clips, photo competition montage along the walkway walls, shoebox worlds, presenting poetry, photos of the project itself, performances of poetry, footprints with pieces of poetry, display of written poetry, journals, class book, poetry map, skipping rhymes, favourite poems...tents...?!
Thursday, 11 February 2010
responding, recording and reflecting
An action filled, busy day with our poet. Children responded well to skipping and clapping rhymes on the playground, and then the hopscotch word play afterwards. Some great collaboration between pairs and small groups, exchanging ideas and sharing their work.
Was great to be able to record some of the children on camera and on video/audio recordings - will be able to build on that skill as the project progresses. Will be great for the children to take responsibility for more of that and maybe for some older pupils to contribute their skills as well.
'I like messing about with words and changing the order.'
'Poetry is my favourite subject now!'
Reflection book is set up and ready so tomorrow the children can begin to add ideas, thoughts, comments, photos and captions to it and we can build up a picture of our experience and learning together. (Different coloured paper and simple ways of mounting eg. ripping edges of paper to create interesting effects).
I think I will put some questions and sentence starters with the book to encourage different kinds of reflection...What are you learning? What do you like about working outside/about this project? Have you discovered any new ways of learning and working? Today I have learnt...I think that...Poetry is...Alice is helping me to...In my journal I like to...I want to get better at...
Definitely a team work approach between Alice and myself; she brings many of the ideas but we structure the session together and both ask questions to help the children reflect on their experience at the end of the sessions. Freedom to be creative but within a structure...
Was great to be able to record some of the children on camera and on video/audio recordings - will be able to build on that skill as the project progresses. Will be great for the children to take responsibility for more of that and maybe for some older pupils to contribute their skills as well.
'I like messing about with words and changing the order.'
'Poetry is my favourite subject now!'
Reflection book is set up and ready so tomorrow the children can begin to add ideas, thoughts, comments, photos and captions to it and we can build up a picture of our experience and learning together. (Different coloured paper and simple ways of mounting eg. ripping edges of paper to create interesting effects).
I think I will put some questions and sentence starters with the book to encourage different kinds of reflection...What are you learning? What do you like about working outside/about this project? Have you discovered any new ways of learning and working? Today I have learnt...I think that...Poetry is...Alice is helping me to...In my journal I like to...I want to get better at...
Definitely a team work approach between Alice and myself; she brings many of the ideas but we structure the session together and both ask questions to help the children reflect on their experience at the end of the sessions. Freedom to be creative but within a structure...
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Day Two
Yesterday Alice worked with the children to help them discover different ways of writing poetry down and we particularly focussed on story poems, creating a very imaginative, fun, collaborative poem that followed the children's own ideas.
The idea of developing a story verbally really makes the children use their imagination and articulate their ideas. Questions that enable the children to go deeper and take their idea further can be really effective and children who may be more hesitant to say anything at first are soon drawn into the story and can contribute on an equal footing with more confident children.
Could this be used in smaller group work to encourage speaking and listening skills, or to act as a stimulus for written work?
The idea of developing a story verbally really makes the children use their imagination and articulate their ideas. Questions that enable the children to go deeper and take their idea further can be really effective and children who may be more hesitant to say anything at first are soon drawn into the story and can contribute on an equal footing with more confident children.
Could this be used in smaller group work to encourage speaking and listening skills, or to act as a stimulus for written work?
Saturday, 6 February 2010
The gap
It was noticeable this week that there is a gap between the ideas that the children are able to verbalise and how they put those ideas and creative thoughts onto paper. The process of translating thoughts and conversation into words on the page is something we need to spend some time developing because it will then enable the children to communicate in a way that has impact and clarity in their written work.
How can we encourage and equip writers to sift through all the material they collect and observe in the early stages of the creative process, so that the most effective words and language can be discovered and be given greater impact and quality in written or spoken form...?
How can we encourage and equip writers to sift through all the material they collect and observe in the early stages of the creative process, so that the most effective words and language can be discovered and be given greater impact and quality in written or spoken form...?
In the classroom
Well we have had Day One with our poet, Alice, this week, working outside and beginning to look at the world around us in new ways and with new imagination.
The snow added some extra sparkle and magic to the experience.
' the snow makes things which usually look boring, look different and interesting' (Y3 child)
We have started to record ideas, sketches and words in our poetry journals now and the children are keen to share their ideas with each other and to read their work aloud.
Alliteration and simile/metaphor are already being used without any prompting;
'the pond shivers...the playground smiles...the tree is like a jellyfish with a walking stick.'
Will be good to see how all of this develops.
The snow added some extra sparkle and magic to the experience.
' the snow makes things which usually look boring, look different and interesting' (Y3 child)
We have started to record ideas, sketches and words in our poetry journals now and the children are keen to share their ideas with each other and to read their work aloud.
Alliteration and simile/metaphor are already being used without any prompting;
'the pond shivers...the playground smiles...the tree is like a jellyfish with a walking stick.'
Will be good to see how all of this develops.
Back in the autumn!
Well, we have received so many applications it is really exciting! The work involved in getting to this point has been hectic but we have;
involved all the key stage two classes and many of the key stage one classes in dreaming and imagining how the outdoor grounds could help our learning. We are keeping all those ideas because they will provide a basis for any other work we want to develop outside;
we have drafted and planned a brief, with the input and ideas given by the school council. That part of the process was great because the pupil voice was taken seriously and their views helped to focus our ideas. The children had so many thoughtful ideas about the kind of person that they would like to work with and the skills they should bring to our school, and it was a very positive conversation;
we have had input from one of our school governors, who has been invaluable in helping us think through the process, asking questions that have helped us refine what we are looking for;
we have waited to see who would respond to our advert and brief with eager anticipation...!
involved all the key stage two classes and many of the key stage one classes in dreaming and imagining how the outdoor grounds could help our learning. We are keeping all those ideas because they will provide a basis for any other work we want to develop outside;
we have drafted and planned a brief, with the input and ideas given by the school council. That part of the process was great because the pupil voice was taken seriously and their views helped to focus our ideas. The children had so many thoughtful ideas about the kind of person that they would like to work with and the skills they should bring to our school, and it was a very positive conversation;
we have had input from one of our school governors, who has been invaluable in helping us think through the process, asking questions that have helped us refine what we are looking for;
we have waited to see who would respond to our advert and brief with eager anticipation...!
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