MDTA Garageband Tutorial

Today I had the privilege to speak to the MDTA teachers's about using Garageband. It was a great opportunity as it made me brush up on my own knowledge and use of the program, and it took me outside of my comfort zone which is always a good thing. We went over various aspects of Garageband from the very basics like recording audio tracks to creating music for movies. The teachers responded well to the tutorial and by the end were able to use the basic functions of Garageband with some degree of confidence. It was great for my teaching practise to experience pithing things to adults. Initially it was a bit daunting knowing I was tutoring fellow teachers however once I got into the swing of things it was really enjoyable. Thanks Dorothy Burt for the opportunity.

Increasing reading engagement - Term 3 inquiry

This term my wondering has been "How can I increase the reading engagement of learners".  I was finding my children would read because they 'had to' to complete a task  However many didn't enjoy reading. My goal was to introduce my learners to the joy of reading. To do this I tried a couple of approaches.

1 - I introduced 'reading for recreation' activity which was a part of the learners weekly literacy program. Students Selected there book of choice from the library and the goal was to get through it by the end of the term. I bought some nice big cushions (which were actually dog beds) and made a comfortable reading corner for the students to relax and read in. I also provided some ear muffs so they could read in piece.

2 -  I started reading more frequently to the children, this was to show them that books aren't all 'boring' like some thought. We read through Roald Dahl's BFG and coincidentally by the time we had finished the BFG movie was released and we all went to see it. We had some great conversations after seeing the movie with many of the children saying they enjoyed the book better as there was more detail.

Overall I think I was semi successful in increasing the reading engagement of my students. Many students managed to finish their choice of book in the term and some managed to get through a couple. The students really enjoyed being read to, so much that if we didn't do it they were disappointed. It was great to see they were engaging with and enjoying what we were reading.

I will be carrying these two practise on into next term in the hope that bit by bit the students will continue to develop a love for reading.