New Curriculum resources... Yippee!!

English Online have launched their new resource site to help us out with getting our teeth into the new curriculum - here's the link

Enhancing English - New Curriculum Resource

I suggest you bookmark it and read it every day over the holidays!!!!

10 best books of 2007...

Have you read any of them?

Check the link below and see what Amazon calls the best of the year..

Top 10 books 2007

Amazon's new e-book tool - Kindle...

Do you think that this will ever replace the feel of a book in our hands.....

Amazon - Kindle ...

What say you????

Using Wikis for Yr 10 Research

I've just started experimenting with wikis for collaborative research with 10GB -



You can check out my initial pages and the task that I have set them. In the side bar you can access some of the ones they have started creating - only in their infancy and unedited (!!!!).

http://10gbresearch.wikispaces.com/

Of course you won't be able to access some of my vodpod - if they are from Youtube...aah the wonders of technology and watchdogs....

2008 English Conference - Takapuna, July 9-11

Next year's NZATE conference is fairly close to home at Takapuna Grammar (well reasonably close.....). Nice logo too.


Here's the link so if you want to follow what's going to be happening there you can.

http://www.textualsea.org.nz/

You may even want to think about attending .......

Curriculum Assistance Online

At the HOD conference I attended today there were a number of links/resources/papers discussed that will be of use to us as a department when we come to look at implementing the new curriculum.

Levels 2, 4, 6, 8 have been 'unpacked' on the English Online link here - http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/enhancingtheenglishcurriculum/

It provides definitions, links to current resources and will eventually (hopefully) cover all levels of the curriculum.

Vocab game with a twist - FreeRice

Free Rice is a vocaublary 'game' with an humanitarian twist. Launched October 7, 2007, FreeRice.com presents the user with a vocabulary word and asks him/her to select the definition from a list. Get it right, and it moves the user to a more challenging level. Get it wrong, and it moves the user to an easier level. For each correct answer, the site donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food program.

Check it out with your classes.....

Give them a reminder...

How about sending those seniors a reminder about study!

http://say.expressivo.com/zHYC5BwS

Brain Games

Thanks to a link on the Katikati College website I've come across a heap of brain games and activities.


I've added a sample one here -



Have a look at this link - http://school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters/

The New Curriculum

Here's a link to the new curriculum online support site -

http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/

It's worth having a look around if you have the time.....

Are you in the 21st century?

Check out this thought provoking article from last year's Time magazine -

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1568480,00.html

What do you think?

The latest copy of NetGuide has a special feature on education - I have a copy in the office if you'd like a read.......

Just what you needed to know....

How many of these facts did you already know?

The English word with the most consonants in a row is latchstring
Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order, as does arsenious, meaning “containing arsenic.”
The only word that consists of two letters, each used three times, is deeded.
Rhythm and syzygy are the longest English words without vowels.
The longest one-syllable words in the English language are screeched and strengths.
The longest words that can be typed using only the left hand are stewardesses and reverberated. The longest word that can be typed using only the right hand is lollipop.
No words in the English language rhyme with orange, silver , month, or purple.
Indivisibility is the only word in English with only one vowel which occurs six times.
Bookkeeper and bookkeeping are the only words in English with three consecutive double letters.
Only four English words end in -ous: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

(from the English teacher's blog - http://blogs.enotes.com/english-teacher-blog/)

Wearable Arts

If you didn't get to the Wearable Arts Awards you missed a great night!!

Here's the English Department entry - Sage did a great job modelling it.

Next year we might think about having a display of BOOK DAY costumes as well.

Managing the information...

If any of you are like me and have a large number of sites you look at to find information, maybe you would benefit from using a RSS aggregator.

What is this? In simply terms its a site that tracks and updates you of any new info posted to any of the sites that you have linked to it.

I use http://www.bloglines.com. Whenever I find a new site that I think looks worthwhile I add it to my bloglines list. Any new postings are linked directly to my site. It can be set up to be updated hourly, daily, weekly...... I have NZ Herald, Reuters, TKI, the Ministry of Ed and a number of educational blogs linked to mine.

If anyone wants help or me info just let me know....

You're Watership Down!

by Richard Adams

Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Great site for Junior Classes

This site is operated by the same group who operate Studyit - it os specifically designed for junior students. There is a specific section for literacy, topic areas, homework help and interacticve games.

Take a moment to have a look -

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/index.php

Ways of Integrating ICT into class activities...

Check out this link for a range of useful activities -

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/ict/ideas/index_e.php

NZ BOOK MONTH

Take a look at this site for info on NZ Book Month - have a go at the competition and you might win 50 top NZ books!!!!!

http://nzbookmonth.co.nz

Literature Week and The Library Blog Competition

I hope that I don't have to remind everyone about 'Literature week' in Week 10 - Ken Catran is the guest author - we have a pile of his books in the library. He will be here all day on the Monday and will be working with a group of students in the afternoon in a writing workshop.

Check out his page on the Book Council site -

http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/catranken.html

For Alison

No doubt I speak on behalf of all the department to say we are very happy that we have retained your services, but are bewildered by senior management appointments!! I hesitate to say anything else in fear of becoming melodramatic, cliched or even twee!


Hey congratulations to Darren's Year 9 English class for a great presentation today in assembly - to go where teachers fear to go! What's that programmed called on Friday nights??!!!

Student Writing and Technology

Anyone wondering how to incorporate technology such as 'blogging' check out this site - 

http://scifi.21classes.com/

Have a look at the creativity of production that these kids are up to.....

What book are you?

Check out this link -

http://bluepyramid.org/ia/bquiz.htm

Answer 6 simple questions and see which of the 64 books they list is 'you'.

This is going to be the staff question for the magazine also - so you might get a head start thinking about it .....

Apparently I am -

Perceived as a revolutionary and groundbreaking person, you have changed the minds of many people. While questioning the authority around you, you've also taken a significant amount of flack. But you've had the admirable guts to persevere. There's a weird guy in the neighbourhood using dubious means to protect you, but you're pretty sure it's worth it in the end. In the end, it remains unclear to you whether finches and mockingbirds get along in real life.

Check out this tool -

Came across this easy peasy tool on flickr yesterday -

www.dumpr.net/musemr.php

So easy to play around with and great images created - I think the kids will love it.