Using the Literacy (Progressions) to develop

Information Skills

Anne Giles and

Liz Vanderpump

What Great Teachers do DifferentlyTodd Whitaker Good teachers are what make a good school The task of a teacher is saturated with significance People NOT programmes make the difference Get better teachers and improve the teachers you have got Positive atmosphere and approach – treat all with respect You don’t need to like all children, but you need to act as

thought you do.

www.toddwhitaker.com/ (some good YouTube clips of his workshops)

Those who can, teach, those who can’t, go into some much less significant line of work.

Information skills Research or Study skills ( brainstorming discussing

reading, skimming, scanning, summarise, analyse, synthesise, evaluate

These are the skills students need to get meaning from texts through: -- Reading critically- Discussing with others- Gathering relevant information

Children can then –- Summarise and present in their own words.

DON’T LEAVE THESE SKILLS TOO LATE, THESE CAN BE

DONE IN SIMPLIFIED FORM FROM AN EARLY AGE

Integrated Curriculum

Transcends the boundaries imposed by traditional subject groupings allowing children to move across ‘disciplines’ as they learn about their world.

It involves the integrations of CONTENT and PROCESS. The content subjects are concerned with ideas about how the world works. The process subjects offer a range of ways of allowing us to represent how we see and make meaning of our world (real and imagined).

Pigdon and Wooley, Planning Curriculum Connections

Inquiry An inquiry approach to learning seeks to motivate

children to take ownership of their ideas and to create something that matters to them.

Guided Inquiry is based on the premise that deep, lasting learning is a process of construction that requires student’s engagement and reflection. It is ‘understanding driven’.

Most models are based on at least 5 or six stages or a combination of these. (Kath Murdoch list)

Ask yourself, in the process of this inquiry what are the children going to get better at?

Questioning Model and celebrate questioning ; “I wonder….” Use questioning to stimulate deep thinking.

Spend time reflecting on the questions you will ask.

Let children pursue finding answers to questions Use modelling books and post its – record the

questions that come from discussion. Work in a culture where children know what they

are learning and why. Deliberately teach the art of questioning. Record questions, pose others: ‘if we ask that,

what else could we ask?”

- question matrix, question strings, seven servants, question cards or dice

Example:

Learning intention: we are learning to describe how animals catch their prey.

YOUTUBE clip shown of the Goliath Tarantula. Shown first with no sound – children looking for clues to support the learning intention. Motivates other questions around the intention.

Summarising

Easy reading is important especially if you want children to summarise.

KEYWORDS - Activity

Keywords Using Keywords when reading. Children are

given a short time to skim read, and come up with keywords. Text is read properly, then teacher reads. Children are asked to highlight key words…. Retell the story using those key words. How close were they to the meaning of the text? Scan – Plane, Skim – Helicopter, Detail – bike ride

For younger children, they could thing of keywords for familiar stories.

Use before a guided reading session to see if they can predict the story and check to see if they are right as they read.

Use keywords ( can use objects too ) as a story starter

For younger children, they could thing of keywords for familiar stories. Use before a guided reading session to see if they can predict the story and check to see if they are right as they read.Use keywords ( can use objects too ) as a story starter

basics

Searching pictures – searching print (I spy books – also on line) Sifting and sorting – grouping pictures and

objects Give children a sentence starter:“as they walked to the edge of the cliff…”Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why?Add to the story and repeat questioning.

(reminds of unfortunately, fortunately stories)

Resources - on line Literacy Progressions

English Language Learning Progression – designed for ESOL but shows comprehensive planning

formats CONNECTED notes for Teachers

Child friendly search engines: KNET/Staff Area/Inquiry pages