Using SOLO taxonomy for thinking skills in English. I recently used SOLO taxonomy with my middle ability Year 7 pupils for their ‘Introduction to Poetry’ scheme of work.
For more on SOLO taxonomy, click on any of the links in this post to the blogs of some brilliant SOLO practitioners. SOLO taxonomy structure sheet by Tait Coles - click on image to see a larger version Over the past few years, I’ve introduced the topic by getting pupils to tell me what poetry is and then for the group to come up with a shared definition. This always seems a difficult task, because the greatest minds and poets have never really agreed on a shared definition of poetry. The questions always arise: is rap music poetry? After reading the brilliant blog posts of Tait Coles, Darren Mead and David Didau a while back, I thought it was about time I had a go at using SOLO taxonomy with some of my pupils and what better opportunity than their approach to poetry? I wanted them to find an understanding of what poetry is. Pupils then fed back with their ideas. Like this: Lure of the Labyrinth & Villainy, Inc. « Trails Optional. Lure of the Labyrinth is a multimodal text combining illustrated comic style text, and problem solving puzzles.
The character is on a quest to find their missing pet but must disguise themselves as a monster to fit in and go into the Labyrinth. As they journey through the maze more elements of the story are uncovered and mathematical based logic puzzles are presented to be solved. You create an account before you start, and as an educator you can set them up for your class ahead of time. The combination of the interactive problems and self guided exploration of the story brings alive a story of adventure in an amazing world.
The mythological beasts and creatures you encounter provide an opportunity to explore mythology and imagination. Villainy, Inc is another interactive literacy math game by Thinkport, the makers of Lure of the Labyrinth. The problems offer multiple tools to solve the problems and multiple ways, numerical, manipulative, and visual methods of solving the problems. How we became a school that reads. Interest in reading usually drops off once children go to secondary school. The Rooted in Reading scheme is helping reverse that trend. Photograph: www.alamy.com For 20 minutes every afternoon at Kirk Hallam Community College you will find every pupil quietly reading in their form classes.
Not books that they have to read for a specific lesson or subject but books that they have chosen to read for their own enjoyment. Interest in reading tends to drop off in secondary schools and it is not just development in literacy that this affects; it has a knock on effect on learning across the curriculum. We were keen to reverse the trend and create a culture within our school which really celebrates reading and encourages young people to share their thoughts and ideas with one another. To give structure and focus to these library sessions, for the past four years we have been using "Rooted in Reading", a programme based on a series of reading passports.
Could you be one of our bloggers? Guardian open journalism: Three Little Pigs advert - video. Critical Thinking: A Necessary Skill in the Age of Spin. The ability to think critically is one skill separating innovators from followers.
Critical thinking reduces the power of advertisers, the unscrupulous and the pretentious, and can neutralize the sway of an unsupported argument. This is a skill most students enjoy learning because they see immediately that it gives them more control. Devastating Consequences That said, young people -- without significant life experience and anxious to fit in -- are especially vulnerable to surface appeal. Targeted advertising affects their buying and eating habits; choosing friends for the wrong reasons can lead to real heartache.
Every educator is in a position to teach students how to gather information, evaluate it, screen out distractions and think for themselves. A World of Illusions Seeing beyond superficial appearances is especially important today because we are surrounded by illusions, many of them deliberately created. How False Ideas Creep Into Our Belief Systems Understanding Motivations. Macbeth. No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.
Table of Contents Characters Act 1 Act 1, Scene 1 Act 1, Scene 2 Act 1, Scene 3.