NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS CURRICULUM SUPPORT Literacy Being Part of Something Fantastic! Advice and Guidance for Practitioners [NATIONAL 4] This advice and guidance has been produced to support the profession with the delivery of courses which are either new or which have aspects of significant change within the new national qualifications (NQ) framework. The advice and guidance provides suggestions on approaches to learning and teaching. Practitioners are encouraged to draw on the materials for their own part of their continuing professional development in introducing new national qualifications in ways that match the needs of learners. Practitioners should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes which have been issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority. http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/34714.html Acknowledgement © Crown copyright 2012. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at enquiries@educationscotland.gov.uk. This document is also available from our website at www.educationscotland.gov.uk. 2 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 Contents Overview of materials ............................................................................... 4 Contents .................................................................................................. 4 Topic ....................................................................................................... 4 Section 1: Exemplification of suggested learner activities ........................ 5 Activity 1: Fundraising ............................................................................ 5 Activity 2: Community project ................................................................ 12 Activity 3: Improve your spelling ............................................................ 17 Activity 4: Spelling plurals ..................................................................... 20 Activity 5: Past tense .............................................................................. 20 Activity 6: Grammar review .................................................................... 22 Section 2: Practitioner guidance .............................................................. 23 Activity 1: Fundraising ........................................................................... 25 Activity 2: Community project ................................................................ 28 Mobile learning ...................................................................................... 33 Activity 6: Grammar review .................................................................... 33 Sentence construction using online word magnets .................................... 34 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 3 OVERVIEW OF MATERIALS Overview of materials The following support materials are intended to guide those preparing learners for reading and writing skills in the SQA Literacy Unit (National 4) (6 SCQF credit points). Contents Guidance at this level includes advice for practitioners on approaches to learning and teaching, and exemplification of learner activities. In order to get the most out of these materials, practitioners are advised to refer to Section 2: Practitioner guidance before using any of the activities in Section 1 with learners. Topic The focal theme for these materials is ‘Being Part of Something Fantastic!’ Here, the focus is on developing the Curriculum for Excellence capacities of being a responsible citizen and an effective contributor. As part of this, the activities also encourage learner involvement in community settings and external partnerships. In addition, teaching materials focus on social practice and workplace experience, with suggested approaches and ideas that aim to develop literacy skills relevant to working life and promote learner confidence in this practical area. 4 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Section 1: Exemplification of suggested learner activities Activity 1: Fundraising You are a member of a local football team/cheerleading team. You are trying to organise a fundraising event to raise funds to send the whole team abroad to a specialist training camp. As a team, you have been asked by your coach to explore various avenues for fundraising. The coach has called a meeting at the beginning of the month to listen to any suggestions and arrive at a decision as to the best way to take the fundraising forward. Each member of the team has been asked to make notes of ideas or suggestion and bring these along with them to the meeting so that any relevant ideas may be developed. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 5 SECTION 1 Task 1: Planning the event Make notes of all of the relevant things about your fundraising idea which need to be taken into account at the meeting. These are items that you will be presenting to a group of people in the form of suggestions about how to raise funds. What is your idea for fundraising? What things do you think you may need to include in your proposal? Areas Notes Date Dates/times Budget Income/donations/costs Venue Transport links/disabled access/permission/licenses required/health and safety/first aid Collecting money Security/cheques/cash/sponsorship forms Publicity Invitations/posters/distributers/phone calls/mailing list Other 6 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Task 2: Presenting the idea You are going to present your suggestions and ideas to the rest of your team. This will be done in the form of an individual presentation. Make sure that you are fully prepared to speak to the team and that you have a clear idea of what you will be saying. Be prepared to talk for around 3 minutes to your team and to answer questions from them. Your team will be listening actively and commenting on your performance at the end. They could be given a peerassessment sheet to help them undertake this task. The following table may assist you with this activity. Introduce yourself to your audience. State the main points that you think need to be covered in your presentation: BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 7 SECTION 1 Take each of the main points you wish to discuss with your au dience and make notes about it. This will help you give more detail in your presentation. Ask your audience if any of them have any questions which they wish to ask . Thank your audience for listening. 8 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Visuals Think about any visuals you would like to use. In groups, have a look at the following four ways to present visual information to go with your talk. Which looks the most professional? Which is the most exciting? Which is the easiest to create? 1. MindMap 2. Xmind Free. See video demonstrations at: XMIND Demo Part 1, Basic Operations (2 min) at www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aiRz X2LO7Y XMIND Demo Part 2, Structures (2 mins) at www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUMU wcMbTz0 See video demonstration (5.5 min) athttp://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=iDPQiYT66g4&featu re=channel. 3. PowerPoint 4. Prezi Part of Microsoft Office. See a 5-min demonstration of how to make a presentation at http://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=VUqIDs5M ZxM. Free. Click the arrow to navigate round the Prezi presentation in the demonstration (2 min) at http://prezi.com/hgjm18z36h75/whyshould-you-move-beyond-slides/. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 9 SECTION 1 Peer feedback on performance Listen actively to the presentation. At the end you will discuss it. Make notes in the boxes below. Focus on the positives and make some good suggestions. Part of the presentation Introduction Things you did well Suggestions for next time Main points in the presentation Answers to questions Eye contact and body language 10 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Tips for individual presentations When you are presenting information to an audience, you need to do it in a way that your listeners understand. Remember do not read your talk straight off a piece of paper. You task is to talk and listen, not to read. Make eye contact with your audience and use body language to help you communicate what you are saying. Ensure that information is conveyed effectively by using straightforward vocabulary with any jargon explained. Speak clearly and at an appropriate pace. Make sure that you speak loudly enough to enable everyone present to hear. Make sure that your talk is structured with a clear begin ning, middle and end. Be prepared for questions. Always be prepared: prior preparation prevents poor performance! Task 3: Promotional material The meeting has taken place and your event has been approved. You are now required to produce promotional material for the event in the form of leaflets to advertise it and to sell tickets. Your aim is to get as many people as possible to attend, therefore the event has to be appealing. Your promotional material could include details such as: What the event is Date Venue Ticket price Where tickets can be purchased Any other relevant details. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 11 SECTION 1 Activity 2: Community project Example scenario You are currently undertaking a course studying painting and decorating at college. As part of your college course, you are r equired to complete a project within the community. A decision has been reached to work within a sheltered housing complex, re decorating the dayroom for the service users. Following the tasks below, plan the schedule for this work. Task 1: Letter You are required to send a letter to the warden of the complex, Mrs Mills, requesting details of the work to be undertaken. You need to know what is required in terms of the duties to be undertaken, colour schemes , etc. You also required to ascertain any specific times of entry as well as health and safety regulations. You should aim to write about 300 words. 12 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 The following layout should help you set out your letter: Your name Your address Contact number Recipient’s name Job title if applicable Recipient’s address Today’s date Dear Mr/Ms/Miss/Dr (add surname) or Sir/Madam or use their first name (if you know the person), ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………. Yours sincerely (if your letter begins Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss /Ms) Yours faithfully (if your letter begins Dear Sir/Madam) Your signature goes here Your typed name goes here BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 13 SECTION 1 Task 2: Planning You have to make a list of the tools and equipment required for the job as well as planning your work schedule for the project. Mrs Mills requires the schedule of work in order to minimise disruption to service users. You need to take into account: preparation of the room, eg stripping paper, sanding, etc the size of the room the materials required for the project, eg paper, emulsion paint, gloss paint, etc any tools and equipment you may need to buy the time required for the project. Mrs Mills has requested that the room be prepared, papered with lining paper and the walls painted with lilac emulsion paint. The paint has to be low odour. She has also requested that the woodwork be painted with white gloss paint. Prepare a set of instructions to Mrs Mills and a project time proposal document that will indicate how long the job will take. Task 3: Discussion Class discussion Can you think of any areas of your course where you could volunteer your services and skills to a good cause? Note: Discuss this with the practitioner and always work within the guidelines given to you from your centre and with full permission (refer to your centre’s guidelines on visiting external organisations). Make notes of any ideas which you have for helping out in the community. Use telephone directories and online directories to identify any external organisations that may benefit from you volunteering either your time or your services. Use a method of planning (eg a mind map) to get ideas from your class. Discuss with your peers suitable places and organisations, and the services and skills you could provide them with. Try to arrange a meeting to talk to members of these establishments either by telephone or face to face. (Do not make contact with any external agencies or individuals without prior consent from your practitioner.) 14 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Establish if there is anything you could provide to help with: making tea/coffee for charitable organisations ground maintenance and gardening services helping out at a local place of worship fundraising activities for charities. Make notes of important issues to ensure that you follow correct procedures. Give these notes to your practitioner to check and for guidance. Task 4: Website analysis and evaluation Look at various local organisations online and choose one as a voluntary project. Read the website for your preferred organisation and comment on the following areas: Examine the website and summarise the information it contains in your own words. Who do you think the author has written the website for (the target reader)? Do you think that the website contains facts or opinions? What is the purpose of the information contained in the website? Do you think it is to inform, to entertain, to highlight an issue or does it have another purpose? What do you think about the layout and structure of the website? Is it easy for the reader to find information? Are there any maps , graphs, photographs or video clips? Comment on the language that the author has used. Is the text written formally or informally? Do you understand all of the words ? Is the language simple to understand? Is the language effective? Give examples. Evaluate the text. Does it meet the purpose you stated? How helpful did you find the text? What are the strengths or weaknesses of the text? BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 15 SECTION 1 Task 5 Write a proposal to your practitioner outlining the services you could provide on a voluntary basis. (Do not make contact with any external organisations without permission from your practitioner.) You should aim to write at least 300 words. Proposal 16 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 Peer/practitioner feedback on your proposal SECTION 1 Activity 3: Improve your spelling Why do I need to spell well? It makes a good impression at work. People find spelling mistakes annoying. You can help your own children with their spelling in future. How can I improve my spelling? Read more: find things you want to read and read every day . Try to use a new word each week. Try spelling new words you hear. Use the look – think – cover – write – check technique. Spelling games Play online spelling games, eg: Speedy Speller http://www.spellingcity.com/speedySpeller-spellinggame.html?listId=6347487 Unscramble http://www.spellingcity.com/unscramble -letters-to-formwords.html?listId=3849537 Letter fall http://www.spellingcity.com/letterFall-spelling-game.html?listId=3828554 Spell Check http://www.funbrain.com/spell/ Memory techniques: look – think – cover – write – check Look at the new word. Are there any patterns you can see? Think about possible problems, eg silent letters. Cover the word up and imagine it in your head as a picture. Write the word in the air with your finger, then on the palm of your other hand with your finger and then on paper (but don’t look at the word – do this from memory). Check to see if you are right. There is an example of this at http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/mem2.html . BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 17 SECTION 1 Activity 4: Writing tips – spelling plurals Use some of these rules to help you when you are producing a piece of writing and having to use plurals. Plurals Usually to change a word from singular to plural we simply add s, for example letter becomes letters and pen becomes pens. There are some cases, however, where this rule does not apply. If a word ends with sh, ch, s, ss, z or x, we add es instead of s, for example glass becomes glasses and wish becomes wishes. Can you think of any more? Use the look – think – cover – write – check technique to learn the spelling of these words. 18 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 If a word ends in y where the letter before the y is not a vowel we change the y to ies, for example library becomes libraries. Can you think of any more? If a word ends in o we change the o to oes when it becomes plural, for example cargo becomes cargoes. Can you think of any more? If a word ends in f we usually drop the f and add ves to make it plural, for example leaf becomes leaves. Can you think of any more? Use the look – think – cover – write – check technique to learn the spelling of these words. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 19 SECTION 1 Spelling mistakes - plurals Look at the sentences below and correct the spelling mistakes in the plural words. I am looking for a job in one of the main citys in Scotland. I would like to work in either the construction or hospitality industrys. Two of my friends’ wifes work in hospitality and they make their dutys sound interesting. I would like to be involved in the activitys Activity 5: Past tense In this activity you will put verbs into the past tense. The form of a verb tells us when the action was done , ie in the past, present or future. In groups, you will be given a set of cards. Each card has a present verb on one side, eg ‘go’. The present tense shows we are talking about now or a present habit, eg ‘We go to school every day.’ Turn the card over and write the past tense of the verb, eg ‘went’. This tense describes something we did in the past or a finished action, eg ‘We went to the park yesterday.’ Now team up with a learner from another group. Show your partner the present tense card and ask him/her to spell the past tense of this verb. Don’t show them the answer! Give them a hint if they get stuck. At the end reveal how many verbs your partner got right. 20 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 1 Buy See Cook Ride Swim Write Bring Eat Do Drink Run Wave Sing Smile Dance Walk Look Type Say Phone BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 21 SECTION 1 Activity 6: Grammar review Look at the PowerPoint presentation ‘Grammar’. In your group, make a poster with a definition and example of one of the grammar points below. Add visuals to help your classmates remember the definition. Look at all the finished posters and use the information to fill in the table below. Grammar Definition Example Noun Adjective Verb Adverb For more help look at web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/parts.h tm. 22 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 Section 2: Practitioner guidance The exemplification of suggested learner activities will focus on developing the capacities of being a responsible citizen with respect for others commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic, social and cultural life and able to: develop knowledge and understanding of the world and Scotland’s place in it understand different beliefs and cultures make informed choices and decisions evaluate environmental, scientific and technological issues develop informed, ethical views of complex issues and an effective contributor with: an enterprising attitude resilience self-reliance and able to: communicate in different ways and in different settings work in partnership and in teams take the initiative and lead apply critical thinking in new contexts create and develop solve problems. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 23 SECTION 2 Learning objectives It is important that, as with all suggestions provided here, learners are fully aware of the learning intentions for each lesson that will be delivered. These could be written down in their notebooks/jotters. This will make them aware of the general expectations of the work they will produce and help them to reach the objectives. Literate for life It could be emphasised to learners just how crucial it is to be literate and how being literate could assist them achieve their overall goals in life and help them cope successfully in a variety of situations. Obviously one of these situations could be their chosen career path. These exercises will develop the knowledge and skills of the learner and concomitantly build their confidence. Competence in literacy can improve learners ’ confidence and help them improve the skills necessary to become responsible citizens and effective contributors. Competence in literacy can allow learners to become fully engaged in all aspects of their lives, as they have the ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings. Log books Learners could use a log book or diary to monitor their own progress, setting out the learning objectives of the lesson and chart ing their progress in achieving them. This allows feedback from the practitioner and learners are able to recognise areas of the literacy skills which require work. The social practice model Using the social practice model, learners can be introduced to areas where they already communicate effectively in society. Learners may use text messaging or social networking sites, or they may communicate through online game consoles by giving instructions to others. W hen these skills are highlighted to learners they may then begin to investigate other areas where they communicate and begin to see relevance. Reading Many learners may read books, but many learners tell practitioners that they do not read. Practitioners could point out promotional material, web pages, transport timetables and instruction manuals as examples of material that these learners possibly do read. Engagement comes with the realisation that the world is full of texts and we need to be able to und erstand them. 24 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 Contextualisation The suggested learner activities may be modified to suit contextualisation in certain areas, but they will be based around encouraging learner involvement in community settings and external partnerships. Activity 1: Fundraising In this activity, the writing tasks, such as the letter or the proposal, can be tailored to offer the chance to produce formal continuous prose , as required by the Unit Specification. There are opportunities for generating talking and listening evidence throughout this activity. Task 1: Planning an event 1. Learners could be encouraged to research various methods of fundraising. 2. The table provided is an example that practitioners can adapt to suit their learners. 3. Learners should be encouraged to develop their research skills and to explore the opportunities available. 4. Encourage learners to make notes when completing this exercise and perhaps build a portfolio of evidence of research for their individual proposal. 5. Learners’ learning logs/diaries could be a useful exemplar to use for this exercise. 6. Learners could investigate suitable venues, costs, publicity , etc. 7. For different ways to split your class into groups see http://www.girlscoutsnorcal.org/documents/LE -Fun_Splitters.pdf. 8. Learners can do their planning remotely via Glow or social media networks. Why use social media? See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtGY-SVZRRY. Note: You should follow your centre’s e-safety guidelines and protocols regarding the use of YouTube and social networks. BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 25 SECTION 2 Task 2: Presenting the idea 1. Learners should be instructed in presentation skills (see tips for presentations). 2. Individual talks could be practiced one on one, followed by group discussion, followed by the individual talk to groups. Task 3: Promotional material 1. Learners could be shown various promotional materials , eg posters or leaflets relevant to their own organisation. Online promotional material could also be examined. 2. Learners could discuss the benefits (or not) of promoting on social networks. 3. Vocabulary exercises could examine different types of language in different contexts. 4. Exercises, quizzes and worksheets could be devised by the practitioner or completed online on a relevant site, eg: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english. 26 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 Group work cups To assist learners with working effectively in small groups try the following: Give out one set of stackable plastic cups per group: one red, one orange, one green. The colours have the following meanings: - red = We are stuck. Please help us now. - orange = We have a problem to ask you about, but it is not stopping us continuing with the task. - green = We are getting on fine. We don’t need help at the moment. The practitioner sets up the group work task and monitors groups. Each group puts the colour of cup on top of their stack that indicates the status of the group. Cups can be used in lockstep (where the practitioner is teaching from the front and all learners are focused on him/her) so a learner can show: - red = I have a question - orange = slow down - green = I understand When a group shows a red cup, the other groups showing green cups must answer the question. Benefits of this technique: Fosters learner autonomy and group cohesion. Encourages team organisation through allocation of team roles. Instant feedback on the degree to which each group/learner is performing effectively. Engages kinesthetic, tactile, creative learners . BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 27 SECTION 2 Activity 2: Community project The idea exemplified here has a painting and decorating focus. However, this is only an example. Practitioners should contextualise to an area of relevance to their learners. The focus of this activity is researching, evaluating and planning to contact a volunteer organisation selected by the learners. There are also opportunities for generating talking and listening evidence throughout this activity. Task 1: Letter 1. 2. Letters could be shown of various types of written communication, eg formal letters, informal letters and letter templates. Practice exercises could be undertaken such as writing a letter to a practitioner. Giving written feedback to learners Try this method of giving learners feedback on their written work. Instead of grades use: + (= this is better than the last work you did) – (= this is worse than the last work you did) = (= this is the same standard as the last work you did) Task 2: Planning and Task 3: Discussion 1. Planning the proposal could be discussed in depth with the learner. Timelines and costing could be examined, 2. Discussion of alternative projects of voluntary work could be co ordinated by the practitioner. 3. Formative exercises in giving and writing instructions could be undertaken. Scenario discussions 1. You can use www.polldaddy.com as a teaching tool. 2. Use it as part of a case study or problem-solving task related to this activity. 28 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 3. Learners vote on next step or outcome. 4. View the example below of a creative writing task using Poll daddy at http://story.heathfieldcps.net/. 5. Learners read the chapters then vote on the ending they want to add. Task 4: Website analysis and evaluation 1. Reading help notes and instructions could be taught for this exercise. 2. Formative exercises could be completed by visiting other websites, perhaps ones which are of interest to the learner. Note: Please refer to your own centre’s guidelines before learners are given permission to contact external agencies. Giving feedback to learners on their work Learners like feedback, but do they get enough and does it come in a variety of approaches to which different learners can relate? Feedback on tasks can come from the practitioner, learner peers and guided self-evaluation using checklists and reference to comparison work. The feedback should not be viewed as the end of the matter, however, but as the beginning of the new journey. After feedback on task performance, learners could be set a new practical task to address the ways that they can move forward and improve their performance. This can be self-selected from a learner-devised menu of tasks. Learners whose feedback identified a similar area of development can work in small groups to peer support each other and peer teach each other in small learning communities. On completion of these remedial tasks, learners get feedback and continue the cycle, formulating their own guided action plans for future tasks to develop their skills and knowledge. This is illustrated in the diagram below. Self/tutor/ peer evaluation Practical tasks Learners in small groups = BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 Helps learners formulate action plans for future learning 29 SECTION 2 Evaluation of performance in tasks is an important activity to incorporate in your lessons. The cycle below shows how repetition of task types (with different context and focus) provides learners with the opportunities to recognise their own improved performance based on the comparability of the tasks undertaken. However, the change in focus, theme and resources surrounding the task must be clear to ensure that learners do not become disengaged and feel that they are doing the same thing again. 30 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 Online video questionnaires 1. Learners can create and contribute to online video questionnaires to gather information as part of this activity. 2. Go to http://intervue.me/. 3. See a good demonstration and explanation at http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/. This explains how technology can be used to develop literacy skills. 4. The interview me website is based around the use of webcams. 5. The site enables users to create questionnaires and then get the recipients of the questionnaire to leave video -recorded answers. 6. The site is very easy to use. 7. Here are some example questionnaires: Blended learning How digital is your classroom? Mobile devices in the classroom BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 31 SECTION 2 Activities 3, 4, 5 and 6 1. Learners could use online exercises to improve their spelling and grammar, eg www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise. 2. Learners could be introduced to various techniq ues to assist with spelling, such as look – think – cover – write – check. 3. Learners could be introduced to areas where common spelling mistakes are made, such as homophones and silent letters. 4. The same techniques could also be used with areas such as grammar and punctuation. 5. The skills required to complete these activities could be built up using a variety of practitioner-devised resources and worksheets or by using online resources such as www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise. Extension This activity can be expanded by accessing online spelling games in class as team games on the screen or for individual work and homework. Learners could also review each of the following five popular games below and vote on the best for the class to work with that week or month. 1. Speedy Speller http://www.spellingcity.com/speedySpeller-spellinggame.html?listId=6347487 2. Unscramble http://www.spellingcity.com/unscramble-letters-to-formwords.html?listId=3849537 3. Letter fall http://www.spellingcity.com/letterFall-spellinggame.html?listId=3828554 4. Spell Check http://www.funbrain.com/spell/ 32 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 SECTION 2 Mobile learning Mobile learning or M-learning, in which learners use their mobile phones, is a good way to engage learners in grammar/spell checking for accuracy online and when doing research. M-learning focuses on the mobility of the learner, interacting with portable technologies, and learning that reflects a focus on how s ociety and its institutions can accommodate and support an increasingly mobile population. M-learning is convenient and accessible from virtually anywhere. M-learning, like other forms of e-learning, is also collaborative; sharing is almost instantaneous among everyone using the same content, which leads to the reception of instant feedback and tips. M-learning brings strong portability by replacing books and notes. The average attention span for learning on a hand-held device is 3–7 minutes. A video of learners using mobile phones in class can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYrlaonG-4I. Note: You should follow your centre’s e-safety guidelines and protocols regarding the use of YouTube and social networks. Activity 6: Grammar review 1. Use the PowerPoint presentation ‘Grammar’. 2. Learners setting SMART goals in relation to grammar might like to test their skills online to identify their learning progress. Useful websites include: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic-group/spelling http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/mag/spelling.html http://www.harcourtschool.com/menus/auto/18/54.html http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/170.html BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012 33 SECTION 2 Sentence construction using online word magnets 1. http://www.triptico.co.uk/tag/word-magnets/ 2. Software to download – desktop application – get service desk to load to your classroom PC. 3. Write text, click and text becomes magnets. 4. Good for interactive white boards. 5. Can add words or delete them as learners move words around. 6. Delete word by word to help learners remember the sentence. See demonstration on http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/magnets/index.html . 34 BEING PART OF SOMETHING FANTASTIC! (NAT 4, LITERACY) © Crown copyright 2012