Literacy Resources

As we are about to start the new school year here in the UK there is one thing that is certain.  Times are tough, budgets will be squeezed and yet we still want to engage and motivate our children.  I am always amazed by the amount of money that some schools are prepared to spend on software when they could be making more of what is available online and free.

Steve Cayley the e-learning advisor here in Devon shared this blog post with us and I have to admit to agreeing with a lot of what it says.   I am going to take point number 2 – make use of web-based applications and elaborate upon it for  primary aged children and focus specifically on literacy.  Hhere are the top 5 items I use in my work with teachers and schools and would like to see in all classrooms.  And they are all FREE!

1. Wikis and blogs.  These are so easy to set up now adays and allow children to write in very different ways.  Wikis allow children to crowd source, something that they will definitely need to learn how to do, and blogs allow the boundaries between reader and writer to be blurred.  They do different things but should be in every teacher’s toolkit.   If boys and writing is an issue for your school then these two tools are a godsend.  The research suggests that boys like to write in the role of expert and these allow children to do exactly that.  Blogger and PBworks are both easy to use.
2. Google Docs.  These are so useful.  They are word-processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools that can be accessed by any number of people/children to create a document.  And children would be able to access them at home as well as in school.  Google Apps for Education is also a good place to start exploring.  I always enjoy using gmail in the role of a character from a book that children are engaging with in literacy.  I have many many gmail accounts -  the bfg, bluejohn, grommet and peterinparadise.  Children email the character their questions and I respond in role.  It is a type of hot-seating but the delight that most children experience when they receive an email from from the character in a book is priceless.
3. Twitter and Skype both bring the outside world in to your classroom.  Twitter allows children to ask questions of a safe network of to gather data and Skype allows you to speak to experts and people of interest.  Children of all ages use Twitter with the support of their teacher.  In fact if you are a teacher and are not connected to others through twitter it might be time to start.  Link to those with similar interests and you will be amazed at the support and learning that are an every day occurence.  I am @joysimpson.
4. Voice Thread.  This is an amazing tool with elements specifically designed for those working with children.  It allows you to share a range of images and for children to then add their thoughts orally or typed.  This is great for activities that require an opininon or as a collection of information.  There is enough available for free on this site to make it well worth while.
5. Comic makers. Comics are a great form of writing in their own right but they also help us to make visible for children some things in literacy that can sometimes be invisible. I particularly like using comics as a way of making pace in narrative visible. Comic author/illustrators use different size and shape frames which can be linked to hte movement of eyes across the page and then a discussion about the speed of your eye movement. Was it quicker in some places than others? How did the author make that happen? How does this relate to the story you are writing? Artisan Cam,  Make Beliefs  Comix and for all those fans of Dr Who a Dr Who Comic Maker are worth looking at.  You will need to investigate each one to see if it meets your criteria in terms of e-safety looking particularly at where the comics are stored, who can see them and how flexible they are.

And then there are all the great blogs to link to that share ideas and are of course free and available for all to use.  But that is another blog post.

So what are you going to try out this year and how much will it cost?

class1a on animation from Matty Dawe on Vimeo.

During an animation project that has spanned this year, I have been concentrating  on what progression in animamtion looks like.  Now that I have a little time I want to spend some time reflecting on what the animation did for literacy learning.  I want to think beyond the work that has already been undertaken about camera shot and the level of detail written,  the link between scenes and paragraphs etc.  These have all been well documented  as part of the bfi work.

Because the animation was linked to poetry three times during the year, the teachers involved in the project found that their choice of poetry changes as we moved through the year.  By the third animation they were quite clear about choosing poems with strong images that were accessible to children.  Not revelationary but in terms of the poems they would have normally chosen for literacy there was a difference.

So how did linking poetry and animation affect learning in literacy?

Creating images from words (reading)

• Animation and poetry are both about images, amongst other things, and we know that good readers often visualise or create images from the words they are reading.  By linking the two together the children became much more expert at creating images that were suggested by the words in poem.  The animating ‘forced’ the children to think in terms of images.  This impact on their reading was quite pronounced as the children were expecting the poems to create images for them which had not been the case duirng the first animation.  If you have children who do not comprehend texts effectively, animation may be one tool that can support this development.

Creating words from images (writing)

• For some of the children, creating  images and then creating  poetry from the animation allowed them to tap into ‘dormant’ vocabulary.  That is vocabulary whicc we have but don’t often use in our every day interactions.  The Anglo-Saxons called this our word-hoard.  We use approximately 5000 different words in our day to day communication yet we know so many more words.  For developing writers it is important that we show them how to tap into their word-hoard to bring words forward.  It is also important that we show them the process of seeing images and attaching words to them.  This is after all what many writers do and what Pie Corbett in Talk for Writing calls imaging.  Animating allows us to make these two invisible processes visible for children.

Storyboarding (planning)

• It was interesting to see what the children did when storyboarding.  Writing is normally a task undertaken by an individual, although many schools do encourage children to write in pairs.  Many primary age children do not understand the concept of planning, writing too much in the plan and then writing out again for the actual text.  The primary purpose of storyboarding when animating was to create a shared visual understanding of what was to be made.  This demanded many skills of the children; the ability to articulate ideas, persuade and negotiate.  It was this process that meant that by the time the children had storyboarded they really had a clear idea of what they were about to make. The purpose of planning was clear to the children and had an impact on the planning that they did when writing supporting the understanding of the two processes – planning and then writing.

These ideas mean that animation is an ideal learning tool for use in literacy and not just once a year.  What else should teachers know about animation?

Other posts about animation

I haven’t taken part in this type of activity before but I thought it would be a good way to end the academic year.  Darren Rowse on Problogger suggested that bloggers write a post with the following seven links (in bold) so here are mine.

Your first post – My first post explained why I started blogging and I am suprised to see that the the reasons still hold true today.   I am not sure that anyone ever read that post but I still use the site I shared – Reading Zone.

A post you enjoyed writing the most - I don’t have one post that I most enjoyed writing but have a series based around animation.  I think the reason that I enjoyed writing them was because they tracked my learning through a project and the act of writing frequently helped me to sort out my thoughts

A post that generated the most discussion – the blueprints posts have generated a lot of discussion but not online.  These will form the basis of our Talk for Writing  work over the next few terms.

A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written - I love the Guardian’s books blog post Ten Rules for Writing Fiction particularly rule number 3.  It might come as  a surprise to some teachers.

Your most helpful post - The most helpful post that I have written is for teachers and explains one way of downloading from YouTube so that the videos can be used in the classroom.  In fact I think this post is due for an update because there are so many ways now. The other post which has had a lot of readers and is therefore quite helpful is the list of guided reading books for children reading atNational Curriculum  levels 3, 4 and 5.

A post with a title that you are proud of - well this is something that I need to work harder at.  I don’t have a title that I am proud of but my favourite book title of the year is A Drove of Bullocks by PatrickGeorge.

A post that you wish more people had read – this one has to be the post I wrote about progression in animation.  I wish more people had read it and commented, suggesting ideas as  that can only improve it.  So.  What do you think?

What would your seven links be?

Ingredients

• A willing teacher
• Viewing opportunities
• Reliable software  (Zu3D or I Can Animate)
• Suitable camera (Hue webcam)
• Groups of children with something to say
• Models that the children can manipulate easily (2D, scissors, toys, paper, photos)
• The 3 Cs (critical, creative and cultural)
• More than one opportunity to animate throughout the year linked to the curriculum
• A microphone

Method

1. Start with viewing experiences and build them in as regular slots throughout the year.  Offter the children opportunities to see animations that extend the range  that they are familiar with. (Cultural)
2. Following these viewings, allow for time to respond to the animation.  This could be through discussion, use of toys or models, writing or drawing. (Critical analysis)
3. The first time that the children use the software, model how to use frames.  Use 12 for a lead in, 6 for a pause and 1 for action.  The pauses are very important as they can make the difference between a comfortable and an uncomfortable viewing experience.  Think of them as punctuation! (Creative)
4. Try to animate something other than narrative at first because it takes a long time to create a small amount of animation and stories are often long and demand longer animations.  Poetry is good.
5. Allow sufficient time to make the animation and add sound.  This can take some time at first but the more you animate, the quicker this process becomes.
6. View your animation and think about what you would do differently if you could do it again. (Critical analysis)
7. Upload your animation to Vimeo so that others can view it and leave comments for you. Watch other children’s animations on the Persistence of Vision Channel. (Critial analysis and culture)
8. Repeat the whole process as often as possible but at least twice a year if animation is undertaken in every year group in the school.  If not animate three times during the year and try and convince others to have a go.

On Wednesday, the Persistence of Vision group met for the last time.  As usual we shared our thoughts about the animation work that had been going on in the classrooms and looked at the animations that the children had produced.  Having made 3 animations throughout the year we are now starting to become much more aware of what progression might look like and continue to be delighted by what children can do when given the opportunity.

One of the things that you will notice with this group of animations is that the teachers have moved away from 3D animation.  There are a variety of reasons for this based around the dexterity that the children need to create and manipulate the models successfully.  It was also felt that the use of shapes provides a constraint which encourages the children to be creative in their problem solving approaches.  In the Penguin animations made by Yr2 children the teacher photocopied an image from the internet for the background – the low tech way of greenscreening!  Block Posters is a great site for uploading images and getting print outs in sections.  Much easier than using the photocopier. The children created the kennings and then animated their ideas around them.  To see all four visit our Vimeo channel

Penguin 3 from Gail West on Vimeo.

Linking to this creative approach to problem solving, one class were looking at the use of water in religion and decided to link this to their literacy.  The children wrote snippets of poetry around water and then animated their ideas.  What I am interested in this series is the way in which the children have dealt with water and the different ways they have animated it.  My favourite is Who Let the Bubbles Out?  This series were made by Yr 4 children.

Who let the bubbles out! from Matty Dawe on Vimeo.

Becasue each of the animations that we have made are linked to poetry, one aspect that we discussed in detail is the importance of the poem chosen for literacy.  Each of the teachers talked about making a much more considered choice based around the images suggested in the poem which is not how they would have approached their decision making previously.  The next animation was made by a group looking at Bluebottle by Judith Nicholls on the wonderful Poetry Archive. I love the way they have represented the lord of the flies and the way the wings change position as the fly dives.  In fact flying is not an easy thing to represent in animation and the children have handled it well.

Bluebottle_Group2 from Stokenham School on Vimeo.

One aspect of progression that has become apparant is that children are now starting to think about how to animate much more complicated aspects such as water and flying.  They are also experimenting with the way in which shapes can suggest character or objects whic in writing we would call showing writing as opposed to telling writing.

This has been an exciting project to be part of  and one which will linger a long time in my work.  I have to leave with the last thought from one of the teachers involved

I can’t imagine doing poetry next year without animation.  It would seem like something was missing.

I am in the middle of trying out Zu3D  animamtion software and am very impressed.  However, what really caught my eye was the site that they recommended for royalty free music – Incompetech.  This site is jam-packed full of royalty free music that can be downloaded and used for whatever you want as long as you credit the creator.  Read the wonderful terms of use here.

The main issue that really sells Zu3D to me is the multi-layered sound track that can be added.  Currently I am using I Can Animate but we have to import it into MovieMaker and then add sound and there is a limit to what you can do including only having one sound track.  I know we could use Audacity but that just adds another layer of things for teachers to learn when sometimes the animation software is enough.

The Zu3D website is full of useful resources for teachers and children.  I really like this idea of using photogrpahs for backgrounds and importing Pivot Stick Figure animations in like these. I love the PE one!

What do you use for animation?

Over the summer holidays I normally update our texts that teach lists.  These are books that we think support the teaching of literacy.  On my desk I have a pile of new ones passed to me by our fantastic School Library Service so a big thank you to @bogchild for them all.  Here are a few of my favourite.

Tell Me a Dragon by Jackie Morris is a fantastical look at the dragons that we carry around with us.  The book ends with a an invitation for the reader to share their dragon.  The language is rich in description and enables us to create images out of the words.

A great patterned text.  Jacke also wrote the wonderful Snow Leopard which is also on our list.

Monsters – An Owner’s Guide by Jonathan Emmett and Mark Oliver is very funny.  The guide takes us through assembling the monster , taking care of it, trouble shooting and ending with a lifetime guarantee.   I did spot a monster called Bumfluff in the book.  I bet children find it faster than I did!

I have written before about the wonderful StoryWorld cards that support inventing stories.  The latest set by John and Caitlin Matthews is the Mad Professor’s Workshop.  There is a great range of cards, many which will remind you of stories that you already know.  How about the Mad Professor himself, the room of mirrors, the time ticket and the wrong ingredients.  We pick out a few of the cards, identify a blueprint and then tell a story using them.

Have you ever sat down to plan your guided writing sessions and wished for inspiration?

This publication is a practical tool for teachers to support them with planning quality, guided writing sessions. It is packed with ideas, clearly linked to high value aspects of writing to support teachers from FS to Y6 with moving children on in their writing. Many of the suggested activities include effective Talk for Writing strategies, which can also be used in other teaching contexts.

The book is divided into three sections each including an overview and subject knowledge, activities with progression and variations plus all the resources required.  The sections are based around the following key themes:

Composition and effect

• adaptation for purpose and reader
• developing viewpoint
• style and effect: choice and use of linguistic devices

Sentence Structure and Punctuation

• extending and varying sentences
• punctuation

Text structure and organisation

• text types
• paragraphing
• cohesion

At £19.95, this book is a must for all teachers of literacy.  Order your copy here.

We have been recommending Scooby Doo for some time in our texts that teach lists where adventure or mystery are taught.  The cartoon clearly follows an overcoming the monster archetype and the characters are stock characters.  They don’t change or develop, always playing the same role.  These elements are what make it an excellent text that teaches for Yr3 pupils.

Well now we can add gaming to the mix with The Temple of the Lost Souls.  This game sees Shaggy and Scooby Doo searching for the hottest chilli in the world to use in their cooking, and in the process trapping a monster.  The game would lend itself to creating a comic to tell the story.  This will allow children to choose the frames to represent the pace of the ’story’ and to add key aspects in text.  For a walkthrough of the game see this example.

For a great description of engaging boys (and girls) in writing there is a section in “I know what I want to write now!” Engaging Boys (and Girls) through a Multimodal Approach by Petula Bhojwani, Bill Lord and Cath Wilkes that explores making comic strips based on film.  Using comic strips based on games allows children to develop structure and theidea of key events.  Using comic strips based on film allows children to develop the notion of character and reactions to events which are not always present in gaming.

Have you animated with children?  Have you created a second animation so that children build on their learning?  And a third?

We are now two thirds of the way through our project exploring what progression in animation might look like.  Although I am not one of the group who is doing the writing up at the end  of the project, I have started to try and organise my thoughts into some sort of order.  The schools are uploading their animations to our channel  Persistence of Vision in Devon on Vimeo.

I have divided the progression that I have seen so far into strands and for each strand I have given an early, middle and late statement.  If there is a missing statement it is because I don’t know what it is yet.  I think for some of the strands I could go to various areas of the curriculum and use the statements there, e.g. for the group/collaboartive work statements I can adapt the speaking and listening objectives.

I would welcome your thoughts.  Please have a look at the document and leave and comments here on this blog.

Other posts about animation