Month: August 2014

Mr Stink Diorama

chris hope

This term we’ve been busily working through our new novel study, Mr Stink by David Walliams (see my bookshelf on the right). We’ve been using an audiobook to listen to the chapters which are read, very entertainingly, by David Walliams himself and Matt Lucas, both of Little Britain tv fame. The audiobook means that all students, regardless of reading ability, can work together at the same time on their studies to help develop their comprehension skills. We listen to two chapters per week and I’ve created questions and activities, thoroughly researched, which we work with after every listening. Recently, the students were required to create a diorama of one of the scenes, either a scene of the characters in a coffee shop or of the characters in a shed. The students seemed to really enjoy this creative task and a couple of their examples can be seen below.

Georgia's Diorama

Georgia’s Diorama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson's Diorama

Jackson’s Diorama

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ritihia's Diorama

Ritihia’s Diorama

Star Bloggers

chris hope

This is a short post to give a bit of a “shout-out” to a few bloggers who’ve recently gone above and beyond the usual expectations to demonstrate their blogging and writing ability. The blogs are an incredibly useful asset for myself as they give a great insight into the ability of the students. As the students are producing writing that’s visible to everyone (myself, school admin, parents, friends…) the assumption is that the finished product is representative of the type of work the students would be proud to have displayed, in effect their best work. Blogs can also reflect the attitude of the students. Whilst some rarely post unless instructed to do so by myself, others make a great effort in order to demonstrate their ability in such diverse styles such as recipes, personal thoughts, holiday posts, formal school tasks and hobbies. Some students who deserve a big pat on the back for their great writing and inspiring efforts are Aimee, Demi and Kianne.

The Podcast’s Evolved!

chris hope

Anyone who happens to be a regular visitor to this blog will know that we’ve been podcasting for some time now. Over that time we’ve experimented with various ideas in order to produce a finished product, but at last I think we’ve finally found the best way.

We originally started by doing the whole lot on the iPads using Garage Band. Whilst this was totally adequate for us at the start we found that as our skills developed we needed a better platform that would allow us to be a little more creative. The iPad’s inbuilt microphone proved inadequate when working with large groups and younger students with quiet voices. To compensate for this I purchased the RM Easi-Speak Pro microphone and what a great tool it is (check it out on their site).

Having sorted the microphone out we returned to the iPad and Garage Band to create the theme music with each student producing their own original track. To edit them and put them together I tried Audacity and it worked perfectly (another great integrated learning opportunity for the students). To gauge the final product for yourself check out Rii-Rii’s podcast below. Bear in mind this was a casual, fun first trial!

 

QR Code Maths Revision

chris hope

Last week we spent a little time revising some of the mathematical topics and concepts we’ve been learning in the classroom. However, we didn’t simply open up our books and start reading (I’m much too kind to do such a thing), instead I created a set of QR codes with maths problems on them and put them onto laminated A4 sheets. I also wrote clues for the students to follow (like a treasure hunt) and an extra code on each card. The extra codes were all a part of an order of operations problem so they had to be placed in the correct order for it to give the right answer. It all sounds tricky, but the students enjoyed it. The cards were placed around the school and the students, in groups, set off with their maths books (for reference) and an iPad (to scan the codes) to follow the clues and solve the problems. I’d have to admit that it was tricky to set up, but I’d also say it was worth it. Check out the photos.

A QR code

A QR code

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scanning a code.

Scanning a code.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working out the problem.

Working out the problem.

 

 

Blogging Task #5

chris hope

Watch this short video from BTN which is all about “Web Secrets” and tell me in at least two substantial paragraphs what you think. Do you do anything that your parents don’t know about? Do you create fake profiles? How much would you be happy with your parents seeing? Why do you think parents want to check what you do? You can answer all these questions (and more) and give reasons for your opinions and answers. What do you think most kids opinions are on web privacy and what are some of the things they get up to? Remember, parents have been around long enough to have experienced consequences of the actions they made as kids – you have not, you still haven’t experienced the full force of some really bad decisions (and you may not for years). So, who knows best?

Rotational Symmetry

chris hope

We recently applied our skills with technology to demonstrate our understanding of rotational symmetry. First, we all grabbed an iPad and went for a walk around the staff car park; we were trying to find car wheels that demonstrated rotational symmetry. When we found them we used the iPads to take photos and uploaded them to Google Drive for use later. During one of our laptop sessions we were then able to use the Draw application on Drive to create and present our work. Have a look at the two examples below from Demi and Pharyn.

Rotational

Rotational Symmetry - Demi

Mosaic Fun

chris hope

This week we were lucky enough to have a visit from a mosaic making group who led us through the process of making mosaics. This was a very creative and enjoyable activity which linked in perfectly with our studies of the Romans. The students picked out a template for their mosaic and then, following a brief explanation, set about creating their artistic masterpieces. The photos below demonstrate the stages involved and show the students deep in concentration as their artistic and creative sides were let loose. Thanks to our amazing Art specialist, Ms Sveinbjornsson, for organising this great activity.

Olivia

Olivia

Sarah and Long

Sarah and Long

 

 

 

 

 

Drying

Drying

Finished

Finished

TARDIS Holiday Project Part 2

chris hope

Seeing as I try to encourage my students to write posts about the things they’ve been doing I thought I set an example by doing the same (for a change). If you’ve visited this blog over the last few weeks you may recall a post where I explained how I was trying to build myself a DVD cabinet in the shape of a TARDIS from the TV series Doctor Who (scroll down to read it). Well, the project has moved on and, whilst not completely finished, I thought I’d post an update. To be honest, the final part will be the light which goes on top of the cabinet and as I’ve no idea how I’m going to make it I thought I’d better post now as it could be a long, long time ’til this gets done. The photo is below and an image of the version I modelled mine on can be found on this site (scroll down a tiny bit). Hope you like it.

TARDIS

TARDIS