Wednesday 18 November 2015

"Our Language Wall"

During the Global Read Aloud we started a language wall on our big whiteboard which is at one end of our room. It is the best way I have come up with which teaches kids about language features in an authentic context. 

How it works is as we read the chapters, we scaffold the kids to identify when the author has used some vivid language. We help them learn which language features are which, and add page numbers on the 'note-taking' board. When we have completed the reading for that day - we get the kids to then select a feature to add to the 'wall' using colour-coded post-its.

Colour-coding helps kids remember the particular feature and the page number is added so they can go back to the book if they need to.


What is SO COOL is watching the wall 'GROW'! As we read, we can add extra 'features' as they arise.


The book FISH by L.S. Matthews had some wonderful examples of a wide range of features. We also came across 'idioms' and began a list of these too. There were a few kids who were keen to take control of the wall and would regularly add stuff as we had come across them.




As we moved our way through the story our wall got more and more full of wonderful features. We are now seeing the kids using more language features in their own writing and it is so cool.




At the conclusion of the read aloud our wall was a fabulous vision of features and vivid vocabulary! 




Tell us if this way of learning LANGUAGE FEATURES has been good for you. 

Do you think it helped you learn the different types of features? 

Do you think it has helped you understand how vivid language can help make a story or piece of writing 'come alive'?

Leave a reply!








Oh for sunny days at the beach!

So on Tuesday 11th and Tuesday 18th 'theONE6' did our learning AT THE BEACH!

We were EXTREMELY lucky to get both days SUNNY and BREATHLESS!


What an amazing part of the world we live in! On days like these I have no desire to be anywhere else! 
So nearly 90 of us (3 classes) headed out at 8.30am ready to start our rotations for the day. The kids rotated around sandcastles, beach walk, swim, surfing, and lunch. 

Here are a selection of photos from both days... when we arrived - this was the view which greeted us!


We started our day this week with a LOVELY walk down the beach to the little river mouth... 



where the kids had a blast playing in the shallow water.


The surf lessons and surfing were obviously the highlight for everyone. The kids were in HEAVEN!







Sandcastle building and just being out of the classroom having some whanau fun was a special part of the day.







Once again - a highlight of my year! It is certainly a trip well worth organising and planning for. We were VERY lucky to get both Tuesday's with the sun out and VERY pleasant. 

Leave a reply to share your feelings about the day - what was your highlight?