How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
They loved reading what someone else had written, and many now know the meanings of new words, eg flogging, mugger, walking the plank, criminal... Lots of fun
“My class enjoyed the colour poem writing, which we published as a class, and read to junior classes.
They found the anagram poems more difficult, and we will work further on learning what a metaphor is. They felt success once theirs was written (and relief?!)”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
We looked up our buddy class on a map (google) and their school and sent our class a email with photos once we received their work to show them how excited we were. We are thinking of swapping work throughout this year. So we have made a new pen pal class
“First time doing the school writing kit. I and my students enjoyed the process of creating words and poems. Was great to see other photos on facebook squad page as this reinforced that I was on the same track. Read the teachers instructions a few times and this was easy to work through once I got my head round what was required. Students enjoyed colouring in and we had it ready to go 1 week before deadline. We will do this again next year.”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
My students were so excited to receive our parcel from our Buddy School. They were very appreciative of the extra work our Buddies had put into the poster decorating it and adding photos to it. It also gave them a reason to put a bit more effort into thei
“Initially the new look Get NZ Writing Kit appeared to be quite complex, but working through it, step by step was easy. Our colour poem was amazing. Continuing through the steps to fill in the Class Poem Sheet to send to our Buddy class was much less time consuming than the previous school kit and became the focus for two writing lessons. Completing the word bank activities became much easier because a colleague shared their amazing template online. Putting the poems together from the word bank was fun!”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
The students wondered about their class swap and hoped they would like what they wrote. They were a little disappointed that our postcards from our buddy class weren't coloured but accept that everyone is busy.
“The poetry style gave students a new way of looking at words and objects. Some students found it quite tricky while others latched onto it with gusto.”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
They loved getting the mail and were interested in reading what other children had written
“They loved putting the pieces together to see the large picture The items in a tin were a real hit, the visuals made their writing and adjectives quite amazing and were a great introduction to adjectives. Personally, I as the teacher, found the download instructions quite confusing and wondered if I had done it correctly and if I should have included anything else in the package.”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
The other class did not include all their postcards (12 missing). Although I did contact them and they are going to send them. Their postcards were not done using the items in the tin, which was disappointing.
“Writing activities were good, but would like to see more creative writing rather than just making words.”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
Students love being able to send their work off (they were extremely proud) and to see what other people had created.
“Students and I loved this activity we got thinking about new and exciting sticky words. Got them thinking about poetry in a different way also!”
How did the swapping of mail with another class add value to the GNZW experience?
This kept the kids focused on doing a good job especially in presentation of their postcards, as they knew they were going to another school and wanted them to be good.
“Found this a bit tricky myself to start with but soon got into it and the kids loved it. My class changed from the initial registration and ended up with kids from year 2 - 5, which made it hard for some of the kids (I know it wasn't designed to go that low). Overall we loved the kit and got a lot of great vocabulary and class discussions from it.”
