We have been told recently that the research is all showing that there is a gap between the literacy of boys and girls. As their tutor, I don't have a lot of time with them a day (20 minutes) but I wanted to try something. I had started watching episode one of James and the Giant Peach which os being read by Taika Waititi and friends. We also had a conversation about this in our department meeting. I decided to show the readings during morning tutor times. the episodes are a good length each to match the time of tutor periods.
There was some interest from the boys then they drifted into watching their own things and chatting. Then I noticed something. They were "watching, not watching", except for one boy, M, who was totally engrossed.
The next morning, it was "oh, are we watching that again?", but they still did the "watching, not watching" trick. You know what Y10 boys are like. Too cool for school. They were sneaky watching, again except for M, who was openly loving it and didn't care who knew.
The third morning, we had a great video to watch that was from Samoan Language Week. M's reaction as he came in was "are we not watching James and the Giant Peach today?", quite upset about it. We watched the lovely school video then onto our book episode.
I have made an effort not to watch ahead. I told the boys that I love it as I remember very clearly my junior school teacher reading it to our class, along with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wanted my first viewing of this to be with the boys as they were seeing it. I love it. I love their sneaky watching, not watching reactions, I love M's open loving it.
Also, it was still on the screen when my Y13 class came in so one of my boys in Y13 got it up on his device and spent the whole double period watching it.
Can schools just hire Taika to read loads of books. The boys love it!
This photo is from the first morning when we had just started. The boys were still coming in during tutor so they weren't all there yet.
Here is the link to Partners in Health, the reason why Taika Waititi is doing this.
Here is the link to episode 1 on YouTube, the rest of the episodes can be found from there. We are up to episode 3.
Hi Karen, I love that from sharing the link in our dept meeting, you kicked straight into showing the episodes during tutor time, and that your tutor class is so enthusiastic about watching this series. From our conversations about how receptive your students have been to watching the Taika Waititi and Friends - James and the Giant Peach episodes, I'm interested to see how receptive they may also be when you start leaving Roald Dahl books in your room, and whether that positively impacts their desire to read more during tutor time. I'm also interested to know if the students may develop a deeper interest in Taika Waititi as well; whether that be as a film maker, actor, or both. Also keen to know your feedback on Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Keep me posted!
ReplyDeleteYup..thats my next step. Getting some books in the room that they can just pick up and read if they want. I want to check out op shops to get some cheap copies. I know Arna did a similar thing in her classroom. A load of cheaply bought or donated books that could be just picked up off the shelf and there was no stress about returning them.
DeleteI loved your updates about your tutor and how much they've enjoyed watching this series sequence with you. Also their reaction to the end of book and series.
DeleteHi Karen, I too remember being so fascinated with hearing the story of 'James and the Giant Peach' on radio, along with the classic 'Bad Jelly the Witch' lol. You've totally picked up on how 'watching, not watching' is how year 10 boys work & the fact that you are sharing the excitement of seeing it the first time with them, adds to the connectedness they would feel with you. That time so early in the morning sets the scene for the rest of the day. I'm about to click on and watch Taika in action! Thanks for the awesome blogpost!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dot. I remember it so clearly and this just brought it all back. Sitting on the floor with the rest of the class listening to the teacher read. She was really good at doing all the characters differently. I can almost feel the girl sat behind me as we listened, doing my hair. I had really long hair at that age. It's funny how memories are kicked off and how detailed they are.
DeleteI know I am a biased "aunty" but my boys are awesome.