https://www.facebook.com/Wordsmiths-Story-Trails-653444384814656/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
I came across this on Facebook one day as I was scrolling through my newsfeed and it instantly caught my eye! These characters with their own stories and possibly mischievous actions could become an activity which the whole school could get involved in. I love the idea of pupils designing the characters and the characters possibly getting made into dolls which could then appear as visitors around the school or could make themselves houses in tree trunks to be found by pupils as a form of outdoor learning. These characters could lead to a very exciting way to write stories, possibly as children write letters as the characters respond, or as an imaginative story about who the pupils think lives in the tree trunk before exposing the characters themselves.
These characters would not be limited to literacy and art lessons but could be used for drama as the pupils could be transported to the moon with the astronaut doll or become a sporting legend with the tennis doll! They could also be used in role play for mathematics activities and a doll which represents a certain period in history or a certain country could be used to teach the children about history or geography. The possibilities are endless and seeing this has really inspired me to be as creative as possible when thinking about lesson plans when I am next on placement and when I am teaching!
This week in Spanish my lecturer provided me with numerous resources for teaching, when I am on placement and for when I have my own class. She suggested that we all begin to create files with different topics and online resources for that topic. I made folders for first level Spanish such as colours and days of the week which include worksheets which can be printed and links to online games and videos. This advice made me realise that four years is not as long as I first thought and being prepared with resources early on gives me more time and choice to be selective with and to make sure that I am using the best resources possible and getting the most out of them.
We also recapped on our previous learning from before Christmas, this allowed me to consolidate my learning and to work on the areas that I was previously unsure of. From taking higher Spanish at school I was able to learn a lot about the basics of the rules of the Spanish language but by working along side the two native speakers – my Spanish lecturer and student lecturer, I have been able to get used to the language and to understand and use comfortably Spanish terms which are used commonly by people in Spain. I am hoping to go on a weeks placement to Spain in May through Erasmus, so my continuing goal for this module is to become as comfortable and competent in the language as possible before then.
Learning about how to navigate Activinspire was a new experience for me and forced me to delve outside my comfort zone within technology. Working alongside my peers to create a game-based lesson for pupils allowed me to see the wide range off possibilities for lesson plans that Activinspire offers and allowed me to practise creating a lesson based on a first-level learning outcome and to consider what the pupils would already know and what they would be focussed on learning. By watching videos and viewing the games made by the other students in my class, I could see that this programme can be used for all types of lessons and all subjects, providing opportunities for pupils to take part in their own learning and to remain engaged through participation. As discussed in the Scottish Government Literature Review on the Impact of Digital Technology on Learning and Teaching, research shows that effective use of an interactive whiteboard in primary schools – incorporating it into all aspects of teaching and learning – has a positive impact on attainment throughout time spent in school.
I found myself to enjoy working with this programme and the practise that I got allowed me to become aware of a lot of its functions. However, I will need more practise with this as I want to be able to navigate it quickly and as effectively as possible, using all of its features. I struggled to remember where to find certain symbols to create a new page and to duplicate a page. Although with more practice and by watching tutorial videos I will become used to this and will become more and more effective in my use of the programme, hopefully before my next placement as this is definitely a programme I would like to use when teaching.
As well as learning about Activinspire, I became more confident in my ability to use Glow effectively. I navigated through different programmes within Glow such as TigTag, Twig and Glow TV. These are fantastic resources for teaching lessons of all subjects and can be used to link different subjects together through cross-curricular learning. TigTag and Twig were mostly science based but as all sciences relate to different subjects, these resources provide an interesting and active lesson for pupils and would allow me to begin or break up a lesson in an engaging way. While Glow TV provides numerous opportunities for pupils to get in touch with others from all over the country and to learn from them from a live video. There is also the option to re-watch all of the videos. I felt that these programmes were relatively easy to use but with more practise I would be able to build up a range of specific lessons from these that I find particularly relevant, especially when I am on placement.
Just another blogs.glowscotland.org.uk – Glow Blogs site
