MR. LEE DIV. 5

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Never. Stop. Learning.

Encouraging Creativity for Kids

10/20/2017

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Picture
Encouraging Creativity in Kids
Vancouver Writers Festival
Studio 1398, Granville Island
​

This workshop, led by Marie-Louise Gay, was informative, inspiring and entertaining. The following will be a collection of ideas shared by Ms. Gay, distilled somewhat through my perspective into four broad categories.

Children ideas
  • Kids can cross between fact and fantasy effortlessly--adults, not so much
  • All kids love a good story and are curious
  • They have many (endless?) connections and questions
  • 9-years-old most often write to Ms. Gay (I wonder why?)
  • What do we do when kids don’t have ideas? (it happens!); give time or let them experiment
  • Kids need to want to read

Creativity ideas
  • A new or different environment gives different perspectives and ideas
  • Try to feel like a kid with new experiences
  • Inspire kids to be creative
  • Other books give ideas
  • Doodling gives ideas to kids
  • Reading and creativity are intertwined and interconnected

Writing ideas
  • Writing is often rhythmical, need to feel the “breathing” in the words and phrasing, like poetry
  • Picture books are about 50% text, 50% pictures
  • Know who your characters; display their unique characteristics through words, actions, body language, thoughts
  • Make the invisible visible: smells, emotions, memories through sensory language
  • Details and side-stories are key to making your story come alive for the reader
  • EVERYTHING can be a STORY
  • What happens next?; What if…?
  • On first draft, just write stuff down; don’t worry about spelling, grammar or nothin’--just write!
  • An eraser is as important as a pen/pencil; editing and revising is writing
  • Don’t describe everything; let kids discover on their own
  • Why do only writers get “writer’s block”?; why not other professions, like “plumber’s block”?
  • Humor is a good idea, especially in children’s books
  • Storytelling is a cycle: writing, sharing, editing, sharing, writing more, editing, and it continues

Teaching ideas

  • Students need time to get into “writing space”; they also need time to get out of a “cul-de-sac,” or times when they’re stuck in their writing
  • Reading to kids is so important, so real aloud like a storyteller, with feeling, flourish and flair; (books should are engaging, so don’t lull them to sleep (unless it’s a lullaby))
  • Students should visualize images in their minds from the text
  • Books are a doorway/portal/wormhole to a new world of imagination
  • Students can share and discuss in groups; then break off and work individually
  • Kids shouldn’t just be taught to read, but more importantly, have pleasure in reading books (Silent Reading time)

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2016 STA Convention notes

5/7/2016

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Richard Wagamese: Storytelling and the Face of Reconciliation
  • Indiginize the classroom. Bring in Aboriginal speakers, "living libraries."
  • It's not about being the best teacher but rather, telling stories.
  • Our gifts as humans are that we can DREAM and we can SHARE these dreams with others. This is our mission and purpose in life.
  • Bring the STORY to the classroom. A "Story Circle" can get kids to engage and talk. Soon students take ownership of this story time. 
  • We need reconciliation. First Nations people need to share their stories, history, culture in a meaningful, relevant way, through education. 

Project-Based Learning with an Indigenous Perspective

Essentially, this is an organization that deals with project-based learning, in particular, the Young Entrepreneur's Show. Of course, it's been a fixture at Surrey Centre for some time now with the grade 5s, and I'm looking forward to take part in it next year. The presentation included consideration for Aboriginal-related projects. 

Paul Pantaleo: Accelerating the Progress of Readers Experiencing Difficulties

THE SIX Ts OF LEARNING:
  1. TIME: more time for reading/writing
  2. TEXTS: "just right" books
  3. TEACHING: coaching, side-by-side, small group
  4. TALK: conversation, not interrogation
  5. TASKS: continuous text, longer options
  6. TESTING: effort and improvement

LESSON GUIDELINE:
  1. Reading (familiar/independent): 5 - 10 mins.
  2. Reading (independent/instructional): 20 - 25 mins.
  3. How Words Work: 5 - 7 mins.
  4. Home Reading (independent/instructional)

  • If a child reads 20 minutes a day, that's 3600 minutes in a school year, or 1800000 words! 
  • Children learn to read only by reading. Therefore, the only way to facilitate their learning is to make reading easy for them. (Smith, 1983)
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The Art of Aboriginal Storytelling

2/13/2016

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In this day and age, which do you think more thoroughly captivated and enthralled an audience of 29 young grade 4s? A cartoon about a raven and creation, or an Aboriginal presenter with a drum and stick? The speaker and the animal-skin drum won--hands down! Of course, a good story and storytelling skills were  also essential to make the stories come to life. It's rather fascinating how ancient "tech" and techniques can be superior to new tech in some cases. 

The drumming initially created the mood, the rhythm, the pacing, the tension and suspense, which carried on throughout the stories. Then the voice added another layer of interest, with its variations in intonation, pacing and volume. Sound effects included whistling, humming, buzzing and even singing, which added even more texture and realism. She proceed to use an interactive, participatory method of including students' names and responses in the story. She had the right facial and body expressions and movements (gazing off into the sky or the distance), as well as humour, to add even more to the storytelling experience. Of course, the stories themselves were simple but interesting with relatable  and classic themes. They also included repetition to assist in oral recall, reminiscent of Dr. Seuss and Robert Munsch stories.  

I would rather listen to a master storyteller any day than watch another decently made cartoon. And I think 29 other kids would agree with me.  
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    Daniel H. Lee

    This blog will be dedicated to sharing in three areas: happenings in my classroom and school; analysis and distillation of other educators' wealth of knowledge in various texts; insights from other disciplines and areas of expertise that relate and connect with educational practices.

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I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou