News | Literacy
Accelerating literary achievement No matter what a child will or wants to become, comprehension, vocabulary and fluency are key ingredients to learning, understanding and finding success. With this in mind, the recently launched Literacy to You programme provides professional learning for teachers of middle years’ students (ages 8 to 13). It helps teachers accelerate literacy achievement for their students by providing practical classroom support. Teachers work flexibly, in the time of their choosing, to master the theory and practice of middle years literacy designed to accelerate their students’ progress, and then reflect online in a learning community with their colleagues. Literacy to You also
offers two live webinars and a range of interactive opportunities on the Moodle platform — the latest in online professional development in literacy. Leading online teacher educator, Core Education, has partnered with South Pacific Press to develop the online professional development programme. Core built the website and provided instructional design to complement SPPs literacy content. A Pilot was carried out in late 2010 in the Tawa Literacy cluster to test and refine the Literacy to You concept into an online professional development course for teachers, lasting 20 weeks.
online environment, and apply this to create a platform for maximum results. Literacy to You provides: Online professional learning and development Evidence-based overview of how to teach comprehension strategies 84 short texts for classroom use and formative assessment Proven pedagogy in an easy-to-use format Learning community of participants. Find out more from www.literacyto you.com
Core Curriculum project leader Mary Anne Mills, says Literacy to You provides the company with an opportunity to take its research based understanding of how professional learning works in an
BUSINESS/JOB OPPORTUNITY CHILDREN’S SPORTS COACHING FRANCHISES AVAILABLE ‘Giving Kids a Sporting Chance’ There aren’t many jobs where you can earn a full-time income working in an area you love – sport. Kelly Sports is offering you an opportunity to own your own business and make a real difference to children’s lives helping develop their skills and confidence through sport.
For further details contact: Paul Jamieson on (09) 4279377 or Email: paul@kellysports.co.nz
KIDS VOTING FOR THE 2011 GENERAL ELECTION AND REFERENDUM FREE KIDS VOTING RESOURCE FOR SCHOOLS
Kids Voting is back for the 2011 General Election and Referendum on the Voting System. Help create a future generation of active, engaged citizens through participation in the Kids Voting programme for 2011. This year’s election is more important than ever. Not only are we choosing the politicians and political parties who will lead us for the next three years, we’re voting on the system we’ll use to choose them in the future - a future where today’s students will be the ones making the decisions. Aimed at Years 9 and 10, the sequence of learning activities is aligned with the vision, principles, values and key competencies of the New Zealand Curriculum and relates strongly to the social sciences learning area. The Kids Voting resource engages students in a social inquiry exploration of the relationship between voting, New Zealand’s system of Government, and issues that face learners’ local communities. Kids Voting provides students with an opportunity to consider ideas and perspectives about New Zealand’s electoral and democratic processes and to apply their understanding to an authentic voting experience. “Kids Voting is an opportunity for students to vote for real candidates, on a real ballot paper, and compare the results of their classrooms’ election with the results of the real election” says Chief Electoral Officer, Robert Peden. Kids Voting is designed to work with the level 4 and 5 social studies curriculum so teachers can choose activities that are appropriate to their classes and requirements. “With Kids Voting, teachers choose the amount of preparation and classroom time allocated to Kids Voting. How much teachers cover will depend on how much time they have available” says Mr Peden. It is widely recognised that building first-hand experience of active participation by young people will increase their personal understanding, belief and confidence in electoral participation. The Kids Voting model is based on the premise that in order to increase political participation and voter turnout, improving knowledge, motivation and behaviour are necessary. Kids Voting therefore encourages students to learn about the political and electoral system in class and consolidate their learning through participating in an authentic voting experience. Election Day is Saturday, 26 November. Kids Voting elections will run from Wednesday, 9 November until Tuesday 22 November.
Register online at www.kidsvoting.org.nz or email info@kidsvoting.org.nz and receive instant confirmation. The resource is free of charge to schools and resources will be sent at the beginning of term four.
14 | Term 3, 2011 www.principalstoday.co.nz
www.kidsvoting.org.nz