Typing a Story

Another new skill Mrs George has taught the children is to type their stories on to their iPad.  Using the topic of their cross country training a co constructed sentence was quickly put together.  After the children were able to say the sentence they recorded themselves saying it and then set about saying it as they typed.  If they couldn't remember the next word, they played the recorded sentence back again.  For some it was finding the letters that was a time consuming process, while for others it was remembering what word they needed next, listening to the recording and then typing it in.  The  recording gave the children independence to be able to complete the task without having to check in with the teacher.  They were also able to listen to see if they had correctly sequenced the words in their story.

New Skills in Term 3

As the children move up through the reading levels they are looking for activities that challenge them and let them extend their knowledge as they are beginning to read to learn instead of just learning to read.  While they like the familiar format using sequencing and word work, they have also begun to attempt to create their own activities and try their hand at finding further information from their text.  They have found that orally recording their tasks is another way the activities are able to be completed along with retelling stories, listening to their fluency and justifying their answers.
I have been able to used the Solo Taxonomy Venn diagram template that I drew up in Term 1with a group of learners.  We used it orally with the children helping me to write in the words.   They were amazed to be able to quickly see similarities and differences that weren't specifically set out in the text but with further discussion became apparent.

Using the Venn diagram to compare similarities and differences.