Resources to support the curriculum

LITERACY AND NUMERACY are essential to the learning success of children. Yet, with recent reports suggesting that 30 per cent of teachers are not teaching reading and writing effectively, and others revealing that one in five students are leaving school without NCEA Level 1 qualifications, teachers need to find additional ways to engage students.

Educational workbooks are increasingly being used to help engage students in mathematics. And alternative reading and writing programmes, such as the New Zealand Book Council’s Speed Date an Author programme, have also been developed to further stimulate students’ desire to learn.

Maryanne Tipler, an author at Caxton Educational, publishers of a series of mathematics text books, says teachers are the most valuable resource in the classroom but, with large classes and three or four groups at different stages, educational resources can be used to support the maths programme in a beneficial way.

“Our text books, for example, have been designed to be flexible so a teacher can use them in many different ways,” says Tipler. “They contain visual explanations of each numeracy strategy followed by a set of activities which teachers choose from to give to a group or class.” The activities range from straight practice, questions which stimulate mathematical thinking, real life questions, applying skills, puzzles, practical activities, through to games and challenges.

“The books are colourful and are full of lots of interesting illustrations. It is this and the variety and flexibility of the books that make them such a stimulating resource for both teachers and pupils,” says Tipler.

But it’s not just in mathematics that educational books and resources are finding favour with students and teachers. In a bid to encourage a love of books and reading The Duffy Books in Homes provide free books to over 100,000 New Zealand children through their schools, three times a year.

“The majority of children involved in the programme don’t have the resources to be able to afford their own brand new books so being able to order from a catalogue in the same way that students in more affluent areas can is a huge boost to their selfesteem,” says Linda Vagana, general manager of Duffy Books in Homes.

“Our schools report an increased positive attitude to books and reading once they join the programme – this has an immediate flow-on effect when it comes to literacy in the curriculum.”

According to Vagana, many schools use the programme as the basis for their entire literacy curriculum and build other elements around it.

“If children are proud of the books they own and treat them as treasured possessions then they are more likely to read them outside of school hours,” says Vagana. “There are also a number of additional benefits that schools regularly inform us of following the programme. These include decreased vandalism, improved attitudes not only to books but to the property of others in general, improvements in truancy rates, and improvements in rates of bullying,” she says.

Similarly the New Zealand Book Council promotes active reading amongst students through the running of several programmes that involve taking writers into schools.

Sarah Forster, education manager for New Zealand Book Council, says there can be great value in augmenting the teaching of writing using the specialist skills of professional writers.

“Classroom teachers do an amazing job of literacy teaching but a professional writer can take the experience further and reveal the tricks of the trade in an inspiring and empowering way.”

The New Zealand Book Council’s Speed Date an Author initiative is a once-a-term writing programme that is held in different regions of New Zealand, giving the students who participate the chance to meet and learn from their literary heroes in a fast moving but intensive way.

“We typically use six authors, each of whom shares their expertise for 1520 minutes on their specialist aspect of writing,” says Forster. “We ran this event for the first time in Wellington last year, and 57 intermediate students participated. The second ‘Speed Date’ event targets senior high school students in Taranaki as part of our Words on Wheels writer’s tour,” she says.

Forster says many writers and illustrators working today credit a visit from Margaret Mahy, or Joy Cowley, as being the first time that they realised that their dream was a possibility.

“If properly enhanced, the influence of a writer visiting a school can last for many years. But most of all, to be a good writer means first being a good reader and encouraging the school community to seek out and find inspiring, challenging and gripping stories is a great place to begin,” she says. By Leah Odgers

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Written with advice and support from Numeracy Project advisors ject advisors

Teachers excited with New Zealand Curriculum Mathematics

Freephone 0800 MATHS4U (0800 628 474)

Fax 03 366 7027 Email mel@caxed.co.nz www.caxed.co.nz