Literacy development & online training

 

Here is an overview of the different learning stages children go through, and the levels children work at in the English group. Included are suggestions for links to relevant learning games in case you would like to follow your child's progress up close:

BASIC LEVEL1: Learning the letter names; the basic ABC; how are the letters called? This is usually covered in Kindergarten, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries. We work with letter cubes, stamps and lots of hands-on games to teach or enhance this knowledge. Starfall is an Americanprogram which kids seem to like a lot. This link helps kids practice the letters and their sounds:http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/load.htm?f

BASIC LEVEL2: Knowing the sounds of the letters is the basis for all reading and writing. The letter is called 'E' (ee), but we say 'e' as in 'egg' - and so on. Jolly Phonics is the basic program we use to learn the sounds. More info: http://jollylearning.co.uk/

DECODING & BLENDING - Once the first letter sounds are known (S-A-T-I-P-N in Jolly Phonics), the decoding of simple words such as c-a-t and s-i-t is a small step. These words are called C-V-C words (consonant-vowel-consonant). A game to practice decoding skills is:http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy/phonics/play/popup.shtml, orhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/cvc/index.shtml

READING: We use the Oxford Reading Tree books and a series called Jolly Readers (non-fiction books, three levels of non-fiction readers, from the publisher of Jolly Phonics. Oxford Reading Tree now offers more than 230 booklets featuring Biff, Chip and Kipper Stories (now joined by 36 brand new adventures). The books contain parent/teacher guidance notes in every book. More info: http://www.oup.com/oxed/primary/oxfordreadingtree/introduction

TRICKY WORDS: Once your child starts reading English, (s)he will quickly run intot words that are 'tricky' - they can't be sounded out, such as C-A-T. Words like bike, cake and hope have the 'magic e'(which hops over the consonant and makes the vowel say it's name) - such as the sound 'ay' as in cake. This game helps to get used to 'magic e':http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tricky-words/five-prize-bikes

Other tricky words are the ones with long vowels, such as words with ay, oa, ee, oo, ea etc. The kids learn that 'when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking'. Learning to read these is easier than actually spelling those words correctly - but with practice also that will happen - usually not before third grade though! A fun exercise in the classroom (as one of very few 'frontal' instruction moments) is:http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/fpoem.shtml

Email Standards for Teachers

Today I received an email from a colleague who teaches 10th grade. Her email, sent to all 100 staff members of our comprehensive school, is addressed to 'all those concerned' and goes on to describe the detailed mental and academical issues of four pupils in her class, including their names and surnames. Something is not quite right here, as sensitive digital data should only be shared with those directly involved. Another colleague prefers to write long rambling emails to make a point about one of his many grievances, simply to get it off his chest. His mails generally serve no other purpose than to annoy the living daylights out of all recipients.

I suggest this mental check before the send-button is hit:

 • Should this be sent?
• By me?
• Right now?
• Like this?
• To these recipients?
• Really??

Furthermore, read all relevant incoming emails on a daily basis and respond by the next day, even if it's with a simple ' thanks for your email. I will reply in more detail shortly.' Administrators ideally should also read  their emails in the weekend, and reply to urgent matters within 24 hours. Staff can read and reply to weekend emails by Monday end of play.

And last but not least: keep it brief but friendly! If necessary, use emoticons to soften the potentially perceived harshness of your words... A 'thumbs up' symbol beats an exclamation mark, whereas capital letters make it look as IF YOU ARE YELLING, and too many dot dot dots make you seem ..... rather insecure.

Of course some stone age colleagues will keep up the spamming; then just ignore or delete them from your digital life. Or both!

Listen to Me!!!!

Perhaps the four exclamation marks in the title will help. If I shout long enough and loud enough, someone will hear me. The web is full of swimmers, diving for pearls, looking for a place to land briefly, to read something which can be shared. The web is also riddled with opinionated egomaniacs. Especially comical are the graying and wrinkled pensionados, who believe they have nothing but interesting things to say. Surrounded by fellow graying loudmouths, they scribble away about the importance of connectvity, about how the Web changed the world. It certainly changed their world. Instead of having to listen to the yapping of his also graying  wife, the connected graybeard climbs the steps to his little home office and starts yapping  away himself. He fills a quick blog post about his latest digital purchase. This simply has to be shared, his experiences and insights might benefit thousands of followers. And attract new followers! He scans his Network and retweets similar insights. About the importance if being connected. Collaboration via the web. The upcoming webinar in which he will speak. The benefits of online conferencing - although he sure as hell misses the hotelbars and the cute little conference hostesses. No such things online. When his wife calls him down for coffee he counts the amount of re-retweets. Still only two. The lack of interest  leaves him with an open aching space where his stomach used to be. His pale bony fingers tap away on his iPhone: "Internet Ceases to be Efficient." His wife asks him something, but he is oblivious. Copies a quote from a fellow Internet Guru and comments on it, tweets it. The first reply shows up after 1 minute. Without reading it, he leans back, happily thinking about the 35.000 ego-yaps that he tweeted into digital space in the past years. A monumental  achievement. When he has his supper, he sees that 37 followers retweeted his latest ego yap. He is satisfied. Another useful day.

Cyberbullying in Holland: banga lists

Cyberbullying comes in many forms and shapes and the latest one is called a Banga list. Banga is street for slut. Girls with a certain reputation may find their names on one of those lists, gaining instantaneous and - potentially- eternal Internet notoriety - whether the slander is true or not. These Banga lists are similar to the German 'isharegossip' site, they are a platform for bullies. In Germany isharegossip was hacked, forcing its owners to shut itself down. In the UK and the US cyberbullying has become a punishable offense. In the Netherlands on the other hand cyberbullying seems to be taken with a large pinch of salt. A number of so-called pragmatic Dutch don't see the Banga lists as a cause for concern. Statistics show that 4% of teenagers are being cyberbullied. Even though this number seems low compared to some US studies where up to 68% of teens are reported to have been cyberbullied, 4% still represents 60.000 children. Peter Nikken, professor Media Education, is not impressed: "It's normal that kids bully one another, that's what they do." Media researcher Linda Duits shares his view: "It's not as if you'll never find a job again when your name is on such a list. Besides, bullying is part of youth culture." De Volkskrant presents these two expert views to conclude that the Banga lists are nothing but a media hype. Yet many girls will beg to differ. Finding themselves on a Banga list, their reputation is up for grabs. Does Ms Duits know for a fact that this digital sleeze will be removed from the Internet in a few year's time? What about the effect on the girls themselves? Cyberbullying has to be taken seriously. It is extremely harmful simply because social media multiply and accelerate its effects. One 13-year old's suicide last week coincided with the publication of her name on a Banga list. Still, the Volkskrant certainly won't jump to conclusions and is happy to leave this media hype where it belongs - on the world wide web. Let's hope it will not stay there forever.