Reflections on Term 3, 2020

Busy, busy, busy! 

I was fortunate to get called up for an interview early in Week 1 and I found out, several weeks later (due to several mix ups with staffing - even though I foresaw that there would be problems with my qualifications and called ahead to ask all of the questions!) that I was selected for the position of Teacher Librarian! All the study and thinking stopped being a 'one day' and became a reality - I was to start Week 2, Term 4. Initially the role was something I decided to pursue when I had some extra time while working a corporate position as I could get my work completed most days in the office and my take home work load was significantly reduced. I didn't want to squander such an opportunity so undertook further study. When I saw the TL position advertised it came after a few difficult interactions with colleagues that really made me question what I was doing and whether I had made the right decision to return to the Head Teacher role. I mulled over what to do for quite some time - going backwards and forwards until I simply had to make my mind up, inform my supervisor, and write the application. I got to the point where I felt okay to leave the decision in the hands of the universe - put my best foot forward and wait to see what happened. If it was the right door then it would open up and it did. 

After I accepted the position I really had to get serious about what needed to be completed on my faculty Head Teacher 'to do' list in what remained of the term. Many of the items were additions to the faculty and not necessarily things that someone else would like to take on so they came off the list straight away. I had three good terms of 'a poem a day' and writing workshop but I can't mandate things when I am no longer the Head Teacher so they came off the list. I ordered the last few things needed for the faculty - enough A6 notebooks for the incoming Year 12 cohort to complete the Writer's Notebook activity, a little bit more stationery, and some desk top drawers so I could recycle the cardboard shelves I bought years and years ago that became awful dust collectors and a filler of valuable real estate in the staffroom. Everything needed a tidy. My aim was to leave things in a nicer state than I found them and I think I succeeded in this small goal. 

Overall I returned all of the books to the Seminar Room, finished off updates to the Scope and Sequence filed assessment paperwork and faculty paperwork in a folder and popped it on the faculty shelf. I threw out superfluous junk sitting around the place, took lost property to the Front Office, bought a few more packets of biscuits for the faculty cookie jar, and scanned all of my resources (I still have about 10 folders to go but I will get to those a bit later in the term - hopefully I will have them completed by the end of the year). Early in the term I had some posters laminated to decorate my classroom so I spent a few hours putting it all together to leave as a temporal legacy. I put everything away in the Seminar Room and did a quick tidy of the Book Room. The Book Room really needed another 12+ hours but I just didn't have any extra time. It was workable when I left it - everything hanging around was returned to its place. The Book Boxes stared at me sadly during the clean - they will likely sit there indefinitely but there is nothing I can do about that now. That is one thing that is difficult about leaving - half completed projects or grand ideas that I didn't have time to implement.

With a new position in a workplace outside the suburb I live I knew the routines on the home front would have to change. This was nearly the clincher for me. I am 35-minutes further away from my child and not being there to get him ready in the morning and to drop him off is something I have had to grapple with - do I miss these little moments to have more time generally? It of course it seems like a no-brainer but I am still anxious about daycare and not being able to be there immediately if I am needed. If I am honest, though, the times I was needed I still had a class of 30-students so couldn't leave school for 30-45 minutes anyway so I am likely in a better position now with a reduced face to face teaching load. 

So a week and a half into the role I am driving for a lot longer each day - I have to leave around 7am and I get home at about 4.05pm so my partner is doing daycare drop off and I pick baby up in the afternoon. Overall, because I have less managerial responsibility I can get my work done during the work day and I tinker for a little bit in the afternoon and leave at 3.30pm. Even with the travel, though, I am getting to daycare for pick up earlier than I have all year. I have gained some time because I am not required to attend Executive Meetings and I am not preparing for Faculty Meetings or composing Faculty Memos in lieu of Faculty Meetings. I have some space in my work day now to get things completed because I am not part of the hierarchical structure that I once was - I am no longer instructing staff on how to respond to classroom management issues nor am I collecting students who are misbehaving. I don't have to patrol areas of the school. There are so many things that I am no longer responsible for and to be quite honest, it is such a relief. Some people really enjoy these parts of the role or can be indifferent to the process to a point because there are many other parts of the role they enjoy. I found the managerial elements so very wearing. Establishing myself as an 'authority' whose instructions must be followed or else? Well, I can say, it isn't for me, I don't want to expend energy that way. My days of being a big stick are over. 

Having 'extra' time takes a bit of adjustment. Without the pressure of due dates and letting people down the things I want to do—hobbies just don't get done. I almost need to schedule my 'want to do' list like I would do work tasks - is that a bad thing? Do other people need to do this? I am not sure. I just get so distracted and I lose focus and it is only upon reflection that I realise it has been a year since I have picked up a paintbrush, that my watercolours have been sitting for four months, I haven't been for a walk since before the school holidays, I have read only seven books this whole year and I haven't opened my writer's notebook since I don't know when. I know that I have been doing a lot but the realisation that things that fill me with joy are not completed with any regularity is sobering. I do have a few health things to sort and I have to bear a nightmare from my childhood that is lingering in the wings but I need to make some organisational changes to honour the time I have clawed back. It is sometimes a bit tough to start a new gig in Term 4 but what is great is that I am getting used to how everything works and by the time the new year rolls around I am going to be raring to go.

Reflections on Term 2, 2020

Just a short one for a reflection on Term 2 - telling really. I didn't get a chance to finish because the term was such a nightmare - school at home and from Week 3 we returned back to school.

Here are some of things that characterised Term 2:

- Zoom meetings

- Hand sanitiser and students at first complying but gradually becoming more difficult

- Buckets of wipes and wipes in every single place except the bin

- Continual change

- Preparing for gradual return from Week 3

- Online learning records moved from 7-12 to 11-12 because we now have a master document

What a year!

LCN616: Inquiry Learning — Designing with inquiry

OVERVIEW AND RATIONALE

Undertaking the inquiry process led me to a more specific question focused on supporting the development of creative writing skills in the classroom through inquiry learning. As I worked through the inquiry process and conducted an assessment of the resources generated by the search terms connected to my original question, my thinking became clearer. It became evident that I needed to include a more specific focus that would lead to the most impact on my classroom practice and subsequently on students’ writing skills. The refined question became:  

How can inquiry learning be used in the high school English classroom to support students to develop their creative writing skills?

During the initial inquiry I was employed as Head Teacher English and henceforth was concerned with ways to engage students in the development of their imaginative writing skills. My recent appointment as Teacher Librarian and the allocation of 11 periods of ‘Communication Skills’ has changed my reach in many ways, but my students would likely benefit from the inquiry learning process. There is no set syllabus for the classes that I am currently teaching but resources are predominantly focused on writing skill acquisition and consolidation, so the inquiry question remains relevant. Inquiry learning would not only provide students with an opportunity to engage in the writing process in a more authentic way and the level of investigation required would allow for the explicit teaching of research skills while students explore ways to improve writing which is would also be beneficial.

 

ANNOTATED LIST OF PROFESSIONAL AND SCHOLARLY SOURCES

Source 1.

McLean, I. (2016). Speculative Fiction: A genre study using inquiry based learning to improve imaginative writing in Stage 4 English. English Teachers Association of NSW mETAphor, 1, pp. 40-44.

                                                                                                                                            

This source was written for the NSW English Teachers’ Association journal mETAphor. The English Teachers’ Association of NSW is a non-profit teaching association which is able to hire a small staff based on income from membership, publications, and professional learning events. The association’s journal is published quarterly and is provided to financial members. While the journal is not peer reviewed, it is a trusted and valuable source of knowledge for teachers of English in NSW. There is a committee comprising association staff and volunteers who are English teachers from the public and private education sectors so in essence, all stakeholders are represented. There is trust placed in the association to provide quality resources to members and effort is made by the mETAphor committee to seek submissions that capture authentic classroom experiences and practical approaches to the classroom.  The source is reliable in the sense that it is an example of inquiry learning in an English classroom. The focus on imaginative writing links directly to the inquiry question and the article explains an approach to the practical application of inquiry learning. The article was published in 2016 which means that it links to the current NSW Stage 4 English Syllabus which increases its relevance.  

 

The article draws on the respected work of Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari and refers to resources from Guided Inquiry Design: A framework for Inquiry in Your School (2012). McLean gains credibility through this reference as it indicates the processes used in the classroom are based on a trusted model (2016, p. 40). The article details what kinds of activities and resources are provided to underpin the inquiry in the classroom giving great support to a reader who may want to undertake a similar process with their students. The school where McLean works is named which provides contextual details and there is a reflection on the impact of inquiry learning and how it improved the level of engagement and the quality of work submitted.

 

Overall, this source was the most relevant to the inquiry question and the fact that it linked with prescribed readings for the Inquiry Learning course and that it is based in NSW added to its usefulness.

 

Source 2.

Wiebe, S. (2010). A Poet’s Journey as A/r/tographer: Poetic Inquiry With Junior High School Students. LEARNing Landscapes, 4(1), pp. 239-253.

                                                                                                                                            

The second source I perused after searching for inquiry learning in the English classroom was in many ways an esoteric exploration of the significance of poetry, but it did eventually delve into inquiry in the classroom, and Wiebe (2010) raised several key points about the impact of inquiry learning and the role of the teacher during the inquiry process. Wiebe’s (2010, p. 245) discussion of the classroom environment required to facilitate inquiry learning is what was most useful in this article and his exploration of the theory underpinning his decision to ‘let go’ and give students more agency was significant. The article was more reflective than some of the instructional pieces I read which was a contrast that allowed me to reflect upon the way that many teachers maintain the traditional approaches of their own teachers. 

 

The article is published in the LEARNing Landscapes journal which is peer reviewed and open access. The journal is a subsidiary to LEARN which is a non-profit educational organisation supporting the English speaking community in Quebec. The journal provides arts educators with a range of theory to practice approaches to pedagogy. Submissions are accepted based on adherence to the style guide and theme of the issue. The LEARNing Landscapes journal’s requirements are outlined clearly on the website which suggests transparency and rigour (LEARNing Landscapes Journal, n.d.). The fact that the journal is open access is interesting as the this may impact the author as far as collecting royalties for their work. On investigation it is interesting to note that the author of the article is on the Editorial Board of the publication. Overall there is a genuine exploration of inquiry in a Year 9 English class which links to my inquiry question (Wiebe, 2010).

 

Source 3.

Brown, H. (2004). Walking into the Unknown: Inquiry-Based Learning Transforms the English Classroom. The English Journal, 94(2), pp. 43-48.

                                                                                                                                            

The third source of interest described the inquiry process in an English classroom in America (Brown, 2004). While it did not specifically focus on creative writing there were references to writing workshop as students were required to present their findings via a website and copy that they wrote so this cemented its relevance (Brown, 2004). While Brown’s article was published in 2004 the reflection captured is still useful. It is important to note though, that the reluctance of students to use the technology due to their typing speed and difficulty using the software would be less likely to be an issue today as technology is more prevalent in schools and households (Brown, 2004, p. 46).

 

Overall Brown focuses on improving students’ engagement with the research process (Brown, 2004, p. 43). The implementation of inquiry learning provides students with the opportunity to engage authentically with an area of interest and find a deeper connection to their studies (Brown, 2004, p. 44). I found the article to be very honest in its representation of the classroom dynamic and found the inclusion of student dialogue and feedback helpful (Brown, 2004, p. 46).

 

The publisher of the article—The National Council of Teachers of English—is a highly respected organisation supporting English language arts teachers in the USA. The organisation has been around for over 100 years providing professional learning, resources, and a range of journals which are available for purchase on top of membership fees. The English Journal is peer reviewed by three outside reviewers and supports teachers in middle schools and junior and senior high schools (NCTE National Council of Teachers of English, 2020). It is published bi-monthly and past issues are stored online dating back to 1912 for members to access (NCTE National Council of Teachers of English, 2020). The longevity of the organisation and the English Journal indicates that it is a trusted authority in the area of English language arts and the experiences captured are a true representation of pedagogical practices. The article is structured clearly with headings and the expression is detailed and coherent and it acts as an instructional document (Brown, 2004).

 

Source 4.

Boas, E. (2016). Developing an inquiry approach. In E. Boas & S. Gazis (Eds.), The Artful English Teacher (pp. 103-129). Australian Association for the Teaching of English.

                                                                                                                                            

The fourth source I have included is a chapter from The Artful English Teacher (2016) which I noticed, on Twitter, had received commendation from the Educational Publishing Awards Australia. I was fortunate to attend a workshop presented by the author and I work with the other editor through a volunteer role with the NSW English Teachers’ Association. The high praise this text has received indicates its worth as a teacher resource and the article that links with the inquiry question provides insight into the theoretical underpinnings of inquiry learning, ideas on how to engage students with the process in the classroom, and several ‘snapshots’ of inquiries (Boas, 2016).

 

The resource was created for the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE). The AATE supports the state English teaching associations and produces its own professional learning, resources, and journal to support teachers across Australia. To capture the impactful nature of inquiry learning in the classroom there is reference to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to provide a link to the expectations of teachers. The ‘snapshots’ provide an overview of a range of inquiries providing a scaffold that links to my inquiry question (Boas, 2016, pp. 109-127). While the structure of the inquiry is different from Source 1 the underlying premise is the same and the theoretical exploration as well as practical ideas make this a very useful source.

 

Source 5.

Hewes, B., & Hewes, L. (2016). Are Humans Wild at Heart? And Other Epic English Projects for Year 9-10. Hawker Brownlow Education.

                                                                                                                                            

I have been following the blog and Twitter accounts of the authors of this text for some time so have some familiarity with the processes outlined in Are Humans Wild at Heart? And Other Epic English Projects for Year 9-10 (2016). The delineation between what is typically included in inquiry learning process and the structure of ‘project based learning’ (PBL) as described in this source is an important consideration when conducting further research (Hewes & Hewes, 2016, p. 19). There are some similarities to the other sources I have found but also marked differences in the way the authors set up the process of inquiry. Two of the sources I have located, McLean (2016), and Brown (2004) organise inquiry learning for students to undertake individual inquiries into areas that they are personally interested in. Boas (2016), Wiebe (2010, and Hewes & Hewes (2016) set inquiry up as a collaborative effort with individual components along the way. All sources include explicit teaching on a ‘just-in-time’ basis to support students with their skill development and research skills (Kirschner et al., 2012, p. 83).

 

Hawker Brownlow Education publish a range of educational texts for Australian teachers and as this is their primary concern, there is an element of authority carried with the name. Bianca Hewes has included a range of resources on her professional blog, so the text is ultimately a culmination of many years work in the sphere of PBL (2020). As one of the author sis an English teacher and the projects are created for an English classroom, they provide a thorough overview of ways to explore aspects of literature and have students respond creatively (Hewes & Hewes, 2016, pp. 154-158). 

 

INFOGRAPHIC

The infographic provides an overview of the process, strategies, and resources that support inquiry learning processes in an English classroom. A brief overview of each section has been provided (Lamb & Johnson, 2014, p. 58). To begin there is an introduction to the inquiry process with the blurb: ‘Get students excited about the inquiry process, build the field of knowledge, research (provide support!), develop the inquiry question, gather sources, and share the learning (Kulthau et al., 2012)!’ Some teaching strategies are provided under the explanation: ‘Transform the classroom space by shifting the power structures and making it 'ours' to see the impact of inquiry learning (Brown, 2004; Wiebe, 2010).’ The final section is a reminder of the resourcing required and the tools students may need to share their work: ‘Students need to access quality sources and at the culmination of their project a way to share their learning (Hewes & Hewes, 2016; Boas, 2016).’ The images are included to add visual metaphors and break up the text (Lamb & Johnson, p. 58). The colours are muted – orange, aqua, white, and cream with a mixture of white and black text. The font sizes vary depending on how much information is included in each section.

 

REFLECTIVE EVALUATION

My experiences with inquiry learning were minimal before undertaking this research and while I have used elements of inquiry before it was not in a sustained manner. I can see great possibilities for inquiry learning in the English classroom and especially in the library space. My pedagogical preference aligns with constructivist learning and a ‘just in time approach’ when teaching core skills for writing workshop. This inclination appears to have been an effective apprenticeship for inquiry learning (Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari, 2015, pp. 15; Hewes & Hewes, 2016, p. 1). 

 

It is heartening to realise, when reflecting upon the Information Search Process (ISP), that my experience of ‘information seeking’ very much aligned with the model and the challenges and emotional state I worked through are an accepted and integral part of the process (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 1). The ‘initiation’ stage left me feeling apprehensive when I considered a possible topic area (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 7).  I wanted to research something I was interested in that would be useful to me at some point but what would stand the test of time considering I was possibly changing careers? I landed on imaginative writing as focus as it is relevant to both an English teacher and a Teacher Librarian. I moved from the initiation stage to ‘selection’ quickly, but I found the development of inquiry questions rather daunting. I created two sets of inquiry questions and two mindmaps as I found it difficult to narrow to a topic that would have enough breadth but not to the point that I would be overwhelmed by information. By the second mindmap I was focused and feeling a little more confident and I found the process of brainstorming supported the ‘exploration’ stage (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 9).

 

The ‘exploration’ stage, eventually, was enjoyable as I do relish an opportunity to investigate resources (Kuhlthau, 2015, paras. 9-10). Fortunately, after only a short spate of frustration, I realised by working through a range of search terms that I needed to adjust the question, and this brought back a manageable number of results. I was led down several ‘rabbit holes’ to find useful articles on writing instruction and other work by Kuhlthau, Maniotes, & Caspari which will assist me to develop strategies to support students using the library. I did have to refocus myself at this point to gather relevant resources for the ‘collection’ stage rather than a range of interesting but unrelated items (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 9).

Unlike the ISP model, I did not feel relief or disappointment by the time I reached the ‘presentation’ stage, (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 12). Instead, I felt as if I may have been prematurely confident as I was unsure how I would present the findings in a suitable infographic. I found myself doubting my sources once it came to the analysis and development of the infographic and whether they were ‘good enough’ to be included. I reasoned, however, that I did find each of them helpful in different ways and they were part of the learning process. Overall, I included five sources in the infographic but captured only a fraction of the information in an effort to keep the display to apply principals of design (Lamb & Johnson, 2014, p. 58). 

The next stage of my learning journey will be implementing the inquiry question with students – I would love to see their inquiries into what makes imaginative and creative writing impactful and I would like to read finished pieces of writing at the conclusion of the inquiry process. Further to this, I would also like to investigate how other types of writing have been supported through inquiry learning.  As part of my professional development, as I found the inquiry process so useful to determine the purpose of my research, the process will support me with contributions I would like to make to the NSW English Teachers’ Association journal mETAphor now that I have the capacity to methodically work through a process to develop and answer a question. I would also like to develop a suite of resources to support students at each point of the inquiry learning process now that I have a greater understanding of the affective, cognitive, and physical actions that come into play during inquiry (Kuhlthau, 2015, para. 1).

REFERENCE LIST

 

Boas, E. (2016). Developing an inquiry approach. In E. Boas & S. Gazis (Eds.), The Artful English Teacher (pp. 103-129). Australian Association for the Teaching of English.

 

Brown, H. (2004). Walking into the Unknown: Inquiry-Based Learning Transforms the English Classroom. The English Journal, 94(2), pp. 43-48.

 

Hewes, B. (2020). Bianca Hewes. https://biancahewes.wordpress.com/

 

Hewes, B., & Hewes, L. (2016). Are Humans Wild at Heart? And Other Epic English Projects for Year 9-10. Hawker Brownlow Education.

 

Kirschner, P.A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R.E. (2006). Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75-86. 

 

Kulthau, C. C. (2015). Information Search Process. Rutgers School of Communication and Information. http://wp.comminfo.rutgers.edu/ckuhlthau/information-search-process/

 

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2012). Guided Inquiry Design. Libraries Unlimited.

 

Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., & Caspari, A. K. (2015). Guided Inquiry (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO.

 

Lamb, A. & Johnson, L. (2014). Infographics Part 1: Invitations to Inquiry. Teacher Librarian, 41(4), pp. 54-58.

 

LEARNing Landscapes Journal. (n.d.). Disclaimer, Copyright and Ethics Statement.  https://www.learninglandscapes.ca/index.php/learnland/Disclaimer-Copyright-Ethics-Statement

 

McLean, I. (2016). Speculative Fiction: A genre study using inquiry based learning to improve imaginative writing in Stage 4 English. English Teachers Association of NSW mETAphor, 1, pp. 40-44.

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume(issue), Pages.

 

NCTE National Council of Teachers of English. (2020). English Journal. https://ncte.org/resources/journals/english-journal/

 

Wiebe, S. (2010). A Poet’s Journey as A/r/tographer: Poetic Inquiry With Junior High School Students. LEARNing Landscapes, 4(1), pp. 239-253.

ETA Early Career Teachers' Big Day 2020 - Teaching Creative Writing

Here is my presentation from the ETA Early Career Teachers' Big Day professional learning held on Saturday 19 September 2020. Thanks to those who came along! It was definitely a different experience presenting via Zoom but it is always great to develop new skills.

Teaching Creative Writing

A Writerly Life - Suggested Texts for Writing Inspiration 3/4

A book about the writing process is a thoughtful and I think, useful way to mull over one's writing progress. I have compiled a list of books about writing that I love. I buy books in this genre often and I am always reading one from my collection. The books included in this list have prompts for writing, advice around getting words on the page, how to approach the mechanical aspects of writing, developing a writer's notebook, responding to texts, and general guidance for developing a writing routine.

1. A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher
'Writers are like other people, except for at least one important difference. Other people have daily thoughts and feelings, notice this sky or that smell, but they don't do much about it.'

'A Writer's Notebook' is book supporting the development of a writer's notebook. Fletcher provides many useful gems in this book and it doesn't matter that it us aimed at upper primary school children - good ideas are good ideas. Fletcher has written several books supporting the writing process and he wrote my favourite article about writer's notebooks here.



2. Children's Writer's Notebook by Wes Magee
This is a marvellous text is filled with writing prompts that relate to the work of a range of children's authors. The activities are straight forward but undertaking them will force your writing into a new direction. It is possible that the responses to the exercises will never leave the pages of your notebook but you will gain through attempting them and you never know, you may uncover a brilliant story!

3. Creative Writer's Notebook by John Gillard
The 'Creative Writer's Journal' is just like the 'Children's Write's Notebook' and I leapt at the chance to buy a copy (it is pay week this week, right?!). This text provides a range of prompts drawing on a range of well known authors - check out the list on the cover. The prompts encourage movement from the style and subject matter your writing usually takes and they also give great insight into how you may respond to other texts and authors in the future.



4. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Words and writing are what paint and canvas are to a fine artist, a way to interpret and see the world and in Lamott's case, when struggling to find her place as a teenager, to gain some acceptance. The power of story is evident throughout the book.



5. Write Every Day by Harriet Griffey
A straight forward text that focuses on the writing practice and a range of specific forms of writing. Griffey provides an overview of prose, poetry, and memoir as well as mechanical aspects like voice, dialogue, character, plot, and structure. The writing quotes are my favourite - I was able to find a few more texts on writing via the included quotes. Sample pages are available at the link.



6. Making Stories by Kate Grenville and Sue Woolfe
How great is print on demand? Making Stories was published in 2001 and while that feels like yesterday, it is 19 years ago which is a long time for a book about Australian writing to remain in print (or print on demand!). I was able to order a copy recently and I am eagerly anticipating its arrival. The book captures the drafting process - I think this offers an important insight into the writing process. The strength of a piece of writing is in ruthless revision.



7. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
The Artist's Way is a way to be introspective about the writing process and what is holding you back. It is presented as a 12-week course with some reading and activities to work through the development of the creative self. The renowned 'Morning Pages' originate from Cameron's work and are a worthwhile component of the book - three A4 pages each morning can break down a creative block and help find clarity with a writing project.



8. The Joy of Mindful Writing by Joy Kenward
A beautiful book that will easily fit into a laptop case, handbag, or maybe even a pocket. There are a range of 'Mindfulness' Exercises included as well as writing examples which makes it an excellent text to prompt and inspire writing outside one's comfort zone. Also, this would be a great book to support HSC English Standard and Advanced Module C: The Craft of Writing (always thinking about how things would work in the classroom!).



9. A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves
Oh, this one is another nice one. There must be a particular sentiment from writers who write about writing that the book they write must be printed on nice paper or have a unique aesthetic. I am very much on board with this. Reeves' book is printed on cream coloured paper with burgundy writing. It includes advice on the writing process as well as a prompt for every single day of the year. If stuck, this could be the perfect remedy to get writing on a regular basis. There is even a section on writer's notebooks (pp. 19-20) which, of course, I was interested in. Reeves includes advice from the greats and the quotes and references she included have led me to some great resources.

10. Writing from the Senses by Laura Deutsch

Another relatively short book that highlights the impact of sensory writing. There are writing prompts, tales, and advice throughout this book all aiming to encourage the writer to find inspiration in their surroundings. I think the prompts would be great for a writer's notebook.

Happy reading, and writing!


N.B Images are the author's own and further information on each title can be found at the hyperlink - mainly Booktopia, for consistency's sake.

A Revision of English in a Pandemic World

What a catastrophic start to the year - an extended bush fire season, smoke, constant heat waves, flooding rains, and now a pandemic. I tell you what, while I do tend to prefer the indoors I do like fresh air on occasion but it has been an inside life lately - poor baby has not seen as much of the world as I would have hoped.

In response to all of these events I would probably try to crack a smile and say something like 'what else...?' but honestly, I do not want to know. I do not want to tempt fate. I did joke glibly a few weeks ago and I regret it now, that I could use a little break from face to face teaching - call the holidays a few weeks early so we can hunker down for a bit - then I would be able to catch up on my school administration, sort everything out for my uni assignment, clean the house, and do things like dig my winter clothes out.

Big mistake!

The last three weeks of term were horrendous. There were not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Baby got sick, too, so we were all having a bad time. I sought answers to the questions being asked of me, and answers I need to be able to move into Term 2 with some semblance of order and I got some, and made some acceptable decisions for others. We are all making the best out of an untenable situation.

These are a few of the activities adapted from the Children's Writer's Notebook by Wes Magee. I would recommend the book. It has over 70 prompts, many of which would work well in the classroom.

1.   Draft a 250 word story for small children about a young creature (for example, a crocodile, panda, or polar bear) who goes to the moon. How does the young creature adapt to his or her new life and surroundings? What does he or she do? Who, or what, does he or she meet? As the story ends, the young creature returns to planet Earth unharmed. Be sure that the language you use is appropriate for little kids.

2.   Draft a short story of 250 words. Send one character on a journey. Leaving the house they could go through the woods to an island or perhaps out into space. Who, or what, does the child encounter? What happens? The child returns home safely after the adventure. Reread your story and chop any unnecessary words.

3.   Make a list of FIVE childhood toys. Give each toy a new name — for example, a cuddly dog could be called Hugbug. Now write a brief description of each newly named toy (40-words for each toy), so that they become familiar as characters. Choose a setting that you know well, such as a beach, a field or a garden. Write a short story of 250 words, describing the newly named characters’ adventures.

Extension: Select two of the characters you created during the first activity last week. Write a conversation between them. It could be a conversation about something they found or lost. Bring in the feelings that the characters experience. Bring the conversation to an end with a single word.

Reflections on Week 11, Term 1, 2020

It has been another enormous week, and I guess just like the world over, I am sitting here incredulous about the situation we are all facing.

Going to the grocery store is a strange juxtaposition of a familiar environment with strict rules - hand sanitiser on entry, a security guard passing patrons a trolley after it has been wiped down, tape on the floor everywhere to ensure customers are maintaining social distancing requirements, cordons funnelling shoppers into the store to prevent too many from entering at once, signs everywhere listing product restrictions - toilet paper x 1, baby wipes x 1, hand towel x 1, tissues x 2, canned goods a total of 2, pasta x 2 (if you can get any). There's no limit on fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs are usually in stock, there is more meat lately, dairy has maintained a constant supply. Baby formula keeps me on my toes. Baby became unwell and became lactose intolerant, we tried introducing regular formula three times and three times we switched back to lactose free. We are coming up to the time when we should introduce regular again and I just don't know what to buy - it is often in short supply so I am trying to buy one as we use one, and then I have two cans in the cupboard - two weeks stock just in case. I buy a few packets of pear and prune whenever I see it in the store because we go through that very quickly. It is an unfamiliar way to exist in a land of plenty and relative safety a layer of unease has been added to existence.

Week 11 was a continuing adjustment. Staff worked from home and went to school to collect things and do a bit of work here and there. The focus has been on establishing online learning and supporting senior students. Keeping abreast of social media during this time has been very useful and the sense of camaraderie offered by my online staffroom has been extraordinarily helpful and heartening. In response to a post online my colleague approached me about revisioning our approach to English online and then we met with the 2IC and came up with a plan for Term 2.

As all junior assessment was paused at the end of term. I have been given permission to organise a new due date to collect submissions for all the students who were unable to complete the first task. We will not be assigning another assessment task in Term 2 because it seems a bit silly to put that pressure on staff and students when we have no idea what the future looks like. If we focus on collecting the first task then we will have something and as many students managed to submit the task it will mean their work will still count.

The messaging around the term shifts regularly - a whole term online - maybe? Maybe not. To enact the plan I organised with my colleagues to come up with reading and writing activities. I drew on the 'Children's Writer's Notebook' for the range of activities for Year 7. The activities in the book are terrific and I modified a selected and developed an extension activity for most weeks - just for those who are able to work ahead. Students will be asked to hand in their best piece at the end of each week.

Hopefully this reduces the scores and scores of questions I have been fielding from students who 'don't know what to do' or are confused by a list of instructions and attached documents for the lesson. There have been continuous issues with accessing attached documents and websites - these queries are important, of course, and they must be answered, but I would prefer staff to have the time to give feedback on student writing, provide the teaching through their feedback - kind of like conferencing from a distance

Prior to Covid-19 I was in a great routine with my Year 7 group with Writing Workshop - writing off the page, draft #1, revising, draft #2, edit, teacher edits, and then publishing. I had an area in the classroom where students could collect notepaper and editing check sheets, I bought some staplers from Officeworks (they're pink!) and the writing was coming in. I could get through the scripts quickly, write some feedback, attached a sticker so the students knew everything was checked, and then have a brief conference during our double period. It was really starting to happen.

I really hope I am able to establish some of the same practises next term - a creative outlet is important in dark times.

Reflections on Week 9, Term 1, 2020

Week 9 was one of the biggest weeks of my career. Not for any reason worth celebration but because we systematically, in the space of 7 days flipped education from face to face to online. We all had a crash course in Google Classroom and we are, almost, officially online.

I have been working enormous days and caring for my partner and child while getting everything established. I joked, and I regret this now, that I would appreciate a little break to catch up on everything because I was tired. While there is a break from face to face teaching time now, the alternative, our online 'revolution' seems almost like I am shouting into a void and as for spare time. There's none of that.

I have modified assessment for 7-12 and have converted everything so it works on Google Classroom and students will be able to hand in their tasks online. Instructions have been written, hundreds of Google Classrooms notifications received and it is safe to say that this situation is less than idea. 

We are contacting families next week to ensure students are accessing materials. I really, really hope that maybe after a few days off last week that students will now get online to access materials and get on with the work I have put together. 

A few parents have asked to be part of the classrooms which I have no problem about, especially now that everything is set up and ready to go. I wasn't happy to add them last week when I was still trying to work out how to use Google Classroom but now, I am feeling a bit more confident.

I have made a few errors - using Google Forms to collect information for an assessment task. Forms makes information so easily collected, however, it also dumps the information in one area. When staff are marking their own classes this is not helpful - now everyone is going to have to flick through all of the student responses to find their own. Class lists are arbitrarily organised so it is not possible for me to collate the information into classes without sitting and doing it manually. I just do not have the time or mental capacity to do that at the moment.

The future looks interesting and I am not sure I am ready.

Reflections on Week 7, Term 1, 2020

What a massive week.

Tuesday night was Open Night - I used to have a short PowerPoint quiz with ten questions about the subject of English but they reduced the time they wanted parents and prospective students at each station so my team rallied and put together a little display and I basically yelled at bunches of parents who tried to listen over the fray of other faculties. I had no idea just how many people would attend - in my before stint as HT there would be about 20 people in a large group but the groups this year were around 40+. I should have set up on the other side of the Library instead of across from another faculty because it was wild. I noticed some lose interest and walk off which is really disheartening and possibly problematic for the school. I did have a few good conversations though. I spoke about the daily poem in Year 7, the focus on giving time to reading and writing, opportunities for students to engage in writing competitions, extra-curricular activities such as debating and public speaking. I had a whole bunch take one of the poetry booklets I had put together for parents to peruse which is cute - poetry should be in everyone's life! I got home from the evening and proceeded to bag up 80-cookies for the professional learning session on Wednesday. It was a huge night. 

The professional learning seemed to go well - the coffee van arrived on time, the catering was adequate (we did ask for more sandwiches because they catered for 38 instead of 75), I had the sign on sheet ready, stickers and a marker for name badges, Twitter signs, spare note paper and pens, water for our guest speaker (and cute and colourful Ikea cups for her to drink from!), the lucky door prizes, and aforementioned cookies. I wrote a short speech to introduce the afternoon and well, it fell pretty flat - I acknowledged the difficult start to the year - heat waves, fires, floods, and panic buying toilet paper and how all of these things impact us as well as our students and one way to reflect is to write and what a good opportunity for us to engage in our craft before sharing the activities with out students. I feel like maybe not everyone wanted to attend the professional learning so I am very glad I wasn't getting up to speak about a literacy initiative. I am glad I provided some space for staff to engage in their writing - something different, something fresh, something to engage us in our subject area in a practical way. Personally, I loved the workshop. I will write some of the things we learned in another post.

The rest of the week flew by with more things being added to my to do list than getting done but with two massive tasks ticked off the list the relief was palpable.

Reflections on Week 6, Term 1, 2020

This week is Year 7 Camp week and with an enthusiastic faculty that means lots of staff attending and lots of casual staff members back at school. My reflection on this week is, being a one woman show is a drag - I miss my colleagues when they are out - not just because they are excellent in the classroom and the kids are calmer but because they are great people and lovely to chat to during breaks! The reflection from our cleaning staff - the rooms are as messy as they usually are - dang it!

I spent a lot more time in the block over the camp days just listening out for things going pear shaped and making sure students were staying in the classrooms. If thee kids are in the right rooms then most issues are prevented. When they spill out things get a little precarious. It was useful though - I cleaned seminar room and created a workspace for staff and an area where I can keep book covering supplies in order and now, when I need to be in the block, I will have something productive to do (I find it difficult to concentrate on intellectual tasks when I have to get up often).

I sorted out all of the books that needed to go back into the bookroom, put all of the novels in big piles on the side cabinets (possibly to create a faculty library in the future), threw out a bunch of old posters and books that were beyond repair. I cleared every surface and wiped everything down. The professional library needs to be reordered so it is more appealing. I spent hours and a portion of the faculty budget over the three years of my first Head Teacher stint building up the faculty library but I don't think it is widely accessed.

There did used to be a working air conditioning unit in the room but it seems to have broken while I was out of school for three years - I need to problem solve this issue if I want the room to be useful. Small air conditioning units aren't overly expensive - it is probably worthwhile either fundraising or using some of the faculty budget, or a bit of both to purchase a new one.

I have finalised the PL agenda ready for the Twilight session next week and I have sent off to the HTs at the other schools, my Principal, and the Guest Speaker. I still need to schedule an email to alert the office staff of the arrival of our guest and the coffee person. I also need to call the coffee shop. I am really hoping they will deliver at 5.10pm so drinks will be hot and everything will run according to plan - fingers crossed.

I am in the middle of organising NAPLAN and I really haven't done enough to feel happy I am on top of it all - I still need to order the headphones, meet with last coordinator, new HT Admin, HT T&L, and co-coordinator about the scheduling and testing procedures. As it is all online there is no way the hall is the best venue. I am thinking about the library as a possible venue as it worked for other whole school online testing but ensuring students are calm for the duration of the tests will be the challenge. I have a training day next week detailing the online processes.

It is nice to be mostly well, I should not take health for granted because as soon as things are not going well it is awful. So I am thankful for that.

My partner convinced me to buy a new computer that holds its charge and wow, it is epic. It is so light and I can pop it in my handbag and the battery, of course, is just so good.

Uni has started and I forgot about the second lecture already. So much for a weekly routine. I suck at routines. I really have to get reading and the assessment task organised this weekend as it will soon get away from me with a big week at work next week.

I have a few big events heading towards me - Open Night, Twilight Professional Learning Session, the English Faculty Assembly (not the best timing but we are going to have some fun with it). Just smashing everything out and then there will be a bit of a lull. Hopefully.

We have got the Drabble competition (100-word story competition) happening and thankfully the artist who designed the poster was able to find his original poster so I altered it to say Week 8, 2020 and it is good to go. I have a keen bean who has written THREE drabbles already - it is great to see the kids engaging in the art of story telling!

I have signed up for a few professional learning events - the AATE Webinar and I have organised the Extension 2 class to attend a webinar as well.

Tweeting continues for the upcoming IFTE AATE If... Conference. I am using TweetDeck to get ahead on the scheduling and the more information is released the more there is to Tweet about. I hope  I am keeping the account active enough. I will aim for bi-weekly tweets and as more is released and once the program is firmed up I will be able to add a few more in between.

Classes are going quite well. I have had a few wins with my Year 10 group. It really takes time to get to know kids at this stage in their schooling. They aren't going to listen to someone they don't care about so I am working hard to earn their trust so I can then pull them along when they get stuck. I am not feeling as overwhelmed as I was earlier in the piece. I know we will get there and the class will become more of a community.