Monday 30 March 2009

Ideas for integrating NEWS using the COGs topics

"At our school, we structure the NEWS topics according to our COGS or Subject topic. For example, we are doing a topic about 'Powering On' and some of our News topics include:

1. Find items in the home your home that you have to push or pull and relate back to the class.
2. Go to the playground and test the play equipment. Describe what you needed to do to the equipment to make it move faster and slower.
3. Choose a piece of transport which you have used. Describe how the piece of transport works.

This helps to cover outcomes in the topic (as there is never enough time to teach everything) and it is more relevant than giving children free choice each week.

The children are given free choice in the beginning and end week of each term.

Throughout the sessions, we discuss the use of note cards, how they stand, volume and clarity.

We also introduce chn to the speech genre as well as the typical NEWS set-up for saying 'Good morning/ afternoon' to everyone.".......Sian Joseph (Sydney) K-3Teacher Resources


"We do a similar thing at our school with structuring news and cogs along the same lines.

This term were are doing COGS c, Grow and Change so our news has covered topics about changes between our grandparents lives and ours, how we have changed since we were born, how our interests have changed etc.

We alternate free choice with assigned news each week, (week on/week off) which gives the kids the chance to tell about their weekend and birthdays etc.

It works out really well most of the time, with the ever lasting challenges of volume, pace, monotone etc!" Leanne K-3 Teacher Resources

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