Mr Warne's Blog

Can you spot everyone in Class 4? 

What is The 100WC?

‘The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.’     Ursula K. Le Guin

We ask children to write in school but often there is no apparent purpose that they can see other than pleasing their teacher! This can prompt some very reluctant writers in our classrooms. The 100 Word Challenge seeks to address this problem.

It is a weekly creative writing challenge for children under 16 years of age. Each week a prompt is given, which can be a picture or a series of individual words and the children can use up to 100 words to write a creative piece. This should be posted on a class blog and then linked to the 100 Word Challenge blog. The link is usually open from midday on Sundays until midnight the following Saturday.

By setting a limited word count with a focused theme and a guaranteed audience beyond the class teacher, children have far greater motivation for writing. Those who are reluctant writers feel safe with only 100 words to write, whilst those more advanced writers can really extend themselves with the word restriction.

One of the special things about 100WC is that those entering a piece are encouraged to visit other blogs and leave a constructive comment. Peer ‘talking’ to peer is very powerful and we have seen a real improvement in some writing that has come from suggestions from other children. It also provides another teaching point for teachers to show children how to comment constructively.

Above all – it is fun! Children feel challenged and then really rewarded when they see the comments (please see Team 100WC). Do join in and see writing improve!

So now you have been inspired to get Blogging with the 100 word challenge - Time to get writing!

  Mr Warne 

So - with Christmas just around the corner what else is there left to achieve in our WW2 topic?

The class have been looking at Anderson shelters and will be shortly using Google Sketchup to plan our own CAD images and movies of our new creations.

 The original plan was to source materials and have a go at building an Anderson shelter in the school grounds! I have had a few set backs yet still have the dream that this might well still happen. The backup option is for the class to make their own life size shelters using more practical materials. I would still be looking for parental help on this project so watch this space!