Raising Standards the easy way #cLc #Uniservity #LearningPlatform

As part of an East Sussex training day I was asked to set up and carry out a project using the cLc Uniservity Learning Platform to raise standards in Literacy. I chose to focus on riddles as one of the Writing tasks for KS1 NCTs as it was an area that the children had previously not done very well in.
That was all about to change!

Starting point

We had been using the learning platform throughout the school year. The class were all confident in logging in and navigating through the learning platform to find the appropriate page.

Some children had begun utilising the LP at home to communicate using the forum. Children have spent time working on their own homepages, using the text editor and the inbuilt sound recorder. The children have used the text editor to update and make comments on a wiki about the school and its locality as part of the Uniservity online collaboration.

What We Did

A description of how was the LP was used to support learning

To begin with the children were asked to follow a link on a forum post to explore a website which had a number of riddles, some good and some not so good.

This was set as an Easter homework so that children could share the riddles with parents and bring in any others that they may find at home. To allow access to the resource the text was dictated using the inbuilt sound recorder.

The children were encouraged to use the forum to share their favourite riddle from the website and any others that they may have found that they liked.

We had lots of riddles that were very simple 1 or 2 lines.

The children then found some better riddles, that were longer and used a greater variety of connectives and words that the children called 'time starters' (sometimes, usually, always etc.) and used the forums to establish their own success criteria for the writing of riddles.

The children then used these success criteria to write a riddle of their own about food. The food that they had chosen was kept secret from all of the other children. The children then used copy/cut/paste to import their riddle onto the learning platform wiki 'Rocks Park Riddles' 

The children then used the version comment tool to try and guess the answer to the riddle.

This was then followed up with some unaided writing to create a second riddle, utilising the features of a riddle that had been learnt. The improvement in the level of the writing was marked.

Impact Assessment

The children used the learning platform to find and read riddles which they then shared with the class. They enjoyed choosing their favourite and therefore spoke about them with enthusiasm and enjoyment.

The children were immersed within the typical words used during the riddle writing process, from looking at a variety of riddles on the learning platform, and were able to draw on these examples when it came to writing.

Writing for an audience, we know, is key when developing good writing. The children were enthusiastic at the opportunity of publishing their own work and in turn wanted to make those adventurous word choices and creating exciting writing.

The children witnessed a range of riddles on the learning platform, whether their own or from other websites. They then produced a range of riddles drawing on the presentational features they had experienced.

The children always respond positively towards the learning platform and this is evident in the work they have produced and the ongoing nature of their comments on each  others riddles.