Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Literacy

page 6

The observation is flawed in that it does not reveal how accurate N.B. was in her telling of the story because there is no record of what was actually written on each page as she was telling it. Unless of course, we had the book to hand. The same can be said of the illustrations. It is therefore difficult to gage how much of the story was told from memory and how much was inferred by reading the pictures.

One indication that the story was told from imaginatively reading the pictures is the fact that both Callum and L.L. made the same error(37-38) and N.B. didn't correct them until after she had turned the page and saw their mistake.

N.B. role-play of the teacher was delightful, her attention to detail is noted straight away in the way she held the book (17) facing L.L. She turned to L.L. and Callum when asking 'What's That?' then would give them positive reinforcement when they got the right answer.(18, 24, 33) At the end of the story she even thanked the children for being 'good listeners'(48)


part2

I think I observed reasonably well, however I noticed that in my evaluation I state that N.B. turned to L.L. and Callum for a response. This is not documented in the observation, it was remembered when writing the evaluation. I should be more careful to note this body language, the observation seems a bit lob sided in favour of 'Vocalisations' over 'Actions'. The children were sitting quietly, not moving extensively, but I have a feeling that I skimmed over a lot of what I saw in favour of noting down what I heard.


Page 7

I was impressed with the fluency in which the story was created from pictures. I thought of taking this a step further by facilitating the children in writing and illustrating their own story-book. I will take 2 sheets of paper and give the child 2 sheets of paper. We each draw 2 scenes and then the child may construct a narrative to fit the drawings which I will write on the page. The pages are then stapled together to form a book.

The opportunities offered by this exercise are as follows,

1.May increase confidence and self-esteem as the child realises that they can make up stories from their own drawings just like they do when reading the pictures of other books.
2.The book is created by the child, so every word that is written in the book by an adult should be taken directly from the child. Subsequently the child should know every word on each page which will help when it comes to recognition of these words
3.Gives the imagination a good work-out, firstly when the child is drawing scenes for the book and then when relating these picture scenes to each other while creating the narrative.










Features of Learning:
1.develop confidence and self-esteem; make and express choices, plans and decisions. (E,P,SD)
2.have fun with language and making stories; pay attention to instructions from an adult; use own drawings to express ideas and feelings. (C, L)
3.drawing with pens and pencils; express thoughts and feelings in pictures; recreate/invent situations (E, AD)
4.drawing and colouring in increases control over fine movements of hands and fingers. (PD, M)

Expressive & Aesthetic Task

page 4

The experience I chose to observe was using droppers instead of brushes with paint. The paint droppers where a new experience to the children that week. In previous weeks they had become accustomed to using brushes or stamps. I saw this as an opportunity to observe how the children coped with this change. The child I observed was one who I had previously noted working well at the paint table, he likes to spend time creating his pictures and is adamant about taking them home.

I therefore deducted that he would spend time trying to figure out how to use the droppers to create a picture he would like to take home.


Page 7

The observation aside from the fact that I participated in a non-participation narrative, was very successful. I noted D.R. adaption of his schemata from using a brush (6-10) through using it like a quill pen (11-12) to his discovery of the more conventional method of using a dropper(17-21).

On top of this, the situation D.R. got himself into by literally piling on the paint(26-28) leading to my intervention(29). Inspired my next step of creating symmetrical prints after using a separate piece of paper to spread the paint between the 2 pages(31-33)


page 8

Following on from the new experience of using droppers with paint. I saw the opportunity of introducing the concept of creating symmetrical prints (butterfly prints). I drew a butterfly and a nature scene with a central tree in perfect symmetry photo-copying off 50 sheets of each.

The opportunities offered by this exercise are as follows,

1.It makes it easy for the children to create something beautiful. The nature of the task means that children who are generally quite messy or uninspired can still create a painting that is pleasing to the eye. This can build their confidence and self-esteem.
2.The technical nature of folding the paper allows the children to exercise their fine-motor skills as well as introducing them to the concept of a 'half' and their ability to follow instructions and mimic.
3.The results of the exercise will offer a visual feast of patterns and colour to stimulate the right side of the brain along with symmetry to get the left side working.
4.It will build on this weeks introduction of the droppers offering those who have tried the droppers something new and hopefully attract those who have yet to try the droppers. Exercising and creating new fine-motor skills.
5.As a handy side effect, it will ensure that the mounds of paint stay on the paper rather than drip off onto the floor.

Page 9

Features of Learning:
1.develop confidence and self-esteem. (E,P,SD)
2.pay attention to instructions from an adult. (C, L)
3.visual stimulation; recognise pattern and colour; introduction of mathematical concepts ('half' and 'symmetry'); awareness of everyday technology (dropper). (K, U)
4.Investigate and use a variety of media and techniques. (E, AD)
5.develop increasing control of the fine movements of hands and fingers; practice in the use of tools. (PD, M)

My Role:
I will create simple symmetrical drawings to photocopy, I will then show the children how to create the symmetrical print. I will continue to support and encourage them until I feel that a few children have the technique and can therefor model the technique to any other children who missed my demonstration.