Wednesday, March 9, 2011
At Russell School this morning, we kicked off by looking at the entry conditions for the Elsie Locke Writing Prize. These include only work by the students, a 500- to 600-word maximum, and the theme of a journey, real or imagined. We looked at a previous winner on an interactive whiteboard and teased out what we think are its prize-winning qualities. Then we brainstormed ideas for journey-related non-fiction, including journeys through both time and space (and journeys that do not necessarily use a human narrator). Some stunning ideas began to emerge (for example, the insight that to give your whakapapa on a marae is to tell a journey through time back through your ancestors).
And there were fresh oysters at morning tea in the staffroom, a gift to the teachers from a parent who works on an oyster farm.
In the afternoon at Paihia, we used topic webs to capture our thinking about what our script could be about (that is, the events in it), some key words we might use, the setting, a working title, and some characters. While the students were all able to do this, this part of the writing process is already testing the limits for some children.
They’ve found a neat way to convey some basic safety messages about travelling safely in and around Paihia School. They are imaging that aliens have come to Earth and that two alien children have joined Room 5. The only problem is, they have no idea about how to get around safely! This is a really neat idea.The children are inventing zany names for the alien children and are already thinking up funny “safety” situations they can put them in!
A swim at Tapeka Point turned out to be the perfect way to end a busy day. The only problem is, I didn’t think to bring swimming togs. A two-dollar pair from the Russell op shop solved the problem.
Don Long
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