Getting Children to Read Well with 'Into the Book'

 Thanks to Scott @ mytopten.com.au

Another great site for you all to bookmark for your teaching. 'Into the Book' is a magnificent site with printable lessons on various strategies for reading. Each strategy in reading has about 5-6 free activities (some hands-on, some written comprehension).

Two weeks worth of Poetry Lessons - 18 different styles to explore

I have put together a PowerPoint of what our students will be doing in writing for the next fortnight to explore poetry.  This presentation contains explanations and examples of each of the 18 major styles of poetry and also Poetry assessment rubric for your students to use to assist them in writing their own poetry.  You can either download the entire presentation or just use the slideshare presentation below.  Enjoy

Teach your students about stereotypes

Here is this weeks digital literacy activity.  This 2 hour lesson focuses on stereotypes.  What are they?  How do we use them to engage our audience?  And what happens when we challenge the stereotypes of characters? there is an interactive activity for students to create an advertising campaign and a task to identify famous characters that challenge and support our stereotypes.  The original presentation is available hereor you can simply view it as a slideshare below.  Hope you enjoy and look forward to your feedback.

Digital literacies activity 4 stereotypes

View more presentations from Kevin Cummins.

Excellent Interactive Myths & Legends Site for Creative Writers

Myths and Legends is a great site for pupils, teachers and all those who enjoy stories and storytelling. The British Isles is rich in myths, folktales and legends. Almost every town, city and village in Britain has its own special story, be it a Celtic legend, Dark Age mystery, strange happening or fable.

This flash based website has to be one of the best literacy offerings I have ever come accross so far for its depth of content media and its excellent sory creator tool that allows students to create their own animated storyboards of their own myths and legends.

The variety of stories in Myths and Legends aims to give inspiration to young people at school and at home to create and publish their own work. The site provides a multitude of tools and opportunities that enable pupils to submit their stories for the enjoyment of a world wide audience, with the prospect of receiving peer review and evaluation.

Most of the site is for the enjoyment and instruction of young people; just the story origins and teachers' area use language which may be more difficult for some pupils.

Differentiation is achieved by the range and flexibility of the tools offered. Children can, and do, respond creatively at their own level in a variety of media.

All the stories that we receive are moderated, but what you see is the pupils' own work. If work is not suitable to be published, the authors are given feedback and suggestions to help them revise their story or to think about when they create a new story.  Check it out here.