In this section, I aim to share classroom stories from around New Zealand that I think will interest and motivate other teachers. Find below what I hope will become a growing list of different stories.
Some will be stories of innovative literacy practice; some will be stories of progress and/or achievement by particular students; some will be reports of motivating lessons that I have observed.
Some will be snippets of stories; others will be in-depth stories. Whatever the type or length of the stories, I will write them as ‘possibilities for other teachers’ to emulate. We can all learn from each other.
If you think you’ve got a story worth telling from your school or classroom and you have some photos to go with it, please contact me via the contact page and let me know.
I aim to make the range of stories as wide as possible in terms of year level and types of schools, and different contributions are very welcome.
I was astounded by the quality of a set of stories written by Year 1-2 students at Merrin School (situated in Christchurch; decile 8; a high proportion of ESOL students) and asked the teacher (Jeanne Coker) how they had been motivated. Jeanne talked enthusiastically about the importance of play-based learning in their school and how she had developed Learning /Ako … Read More
Over the last five or so years, I have been busy creating an Online Resource for teachers, with over 100 videos of me launching writing lessons, undertaking shared writing and writing workshops with students, and leading professional discussions around instructional writing. As I move around the country observing teacher practice, I see some fabulous lessons which I think need to … Read More
Jimmy, a Year 6 boy of Samoan heritage, is currently achieving one curriculum level below national expectations for Year 6. He declares emphatically that he doesn’t like writing and says that “It’s boring” and he doesn’t see “any point” to it. So how do you go about inspiring an under-achieving year 6 writer? Chris Kell, his teacher at Ranui Primary … Read More