Making the most of tutor time Ideas from those in the know

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1 Making the most of tutor time Ideas from those in the know This resource was written by network members for network members. When we asked network members what they do to promote literacy during tutor time, so many came back with activities that they have implemented in their school. This resource is the culmination of all of those ideas. In some cases they have been paraphrased, but in all cases they are tried and tested. Whole-school literacy activities Coordinating tutor time activities across the school is an effective way of cascading wholeschool priorities and strategy, and can also help instil a sense of community and cohesion amongst both staff and students. A word about vertical tutor groups: if your tutor groups have students from a mixture of year groups, it s still possible to run literacy activities that work for everyone We run a buddy scheme within tutor groups students in the older year groups are partnered with the younger students, and they read together once a week. We provide fun games and quizzes to tutors that seem to appeal to all age groups, such as Countdown-style word games and conundrums (tutors project an interactive countdown clock on their interactive whiteboards at Inter-form/house competitions Every year we run a house storytelling competition in the library during tutor time. Teams of students from each house, from Year 7 through to Year 11, take part in a storytelling performance. It really creates a buzz across the school and gets students of all age groups working together. We do a whole-school spelling competition which starts off in tutor time. In the first stage, tutors quiz their students to find the tutor group champion, who will then compete for the prize for their year group. Each year group champion will then compete to decide the ultimate school spelling champion. Linking to whole-school initiatives I organise an initiative called Word for the Week, where particular words (one per week), chosen by different subject departments, are ed out to tutors with a definition and activities designed to improve literacy skills. For example, the word meta-learning was chosen by our Science department, and was given to tutors along with activities such as an origami task to help students work out what type of learner they are. Charity fundraising We used the 50 book challenge idea and resources from National Literacy Trust Where s Wally fundraising activity pack. Each tutor group had a week in which to collectively read 50 books, and raised money in the process. You can find fundraising ideas, activities and resources in the Where s Wally fundraising pack at /schools_fundraising.

2 Staff engagement avoiding any straws that may break the camel s back Teachers and busyness they fit like hand in glove. Therefore, the most important factors in introducing literacy as a tutor time activity are minimising workload and communicating the benefit of students becoming more skilled readers, writers and oral communicators. Below are strategies which will help to get staff on board: Staff survey We think it is important that staff feel part of the process in identifying issues and coming up with solutions. Nearly all staff we speak to have an opinion on our students literacy skills and so we got them to voice their concerns and suggest solutions through a staff survey. We discussed the results at a staff meeting. Independent student activities We know how busy our staff are and so we try and make sure that the activities require little or no preparation on their part. Quite a few of the activities which we provide involve self-directed learning either in small groups or students working independently. Literacy role models When it comes to reading, our tutors always read too when we run our Drop Everything and Read. Some of the tutors make sure whatever they are reading at the moment is somewhere obvious on their desk whether that is a newspaper or a widelyacknowledged tome. We try to get staff to talk to their tutor group about what they are reading, especially after the holidays. Threading literacy through the PSHE patchwork Although we do some specific literacy activities in tutor time, such as reading and word games, we also try and make sure that literacy is embedded in PSHE as well. Whenever we are covering a subject such as bullying, we encourage tutors to think about literacy as well. For example, we suggest particular short stories or related recommended reads. We encourage tutors to run debates or to get students to prepare short presentations. Feedback on impact We think it is important that staff receive feedback regarding how initiatives have gone and the impact they have made on our students. It tends to keep people motivated. For example, after our big focus on reading last year, we made sure that tutors saw the increase in book borrowings for students in their tutor group.

3 Reading Tutor time presents an excellent opportunity for promoting and encouraging reading and for tutors to show students that they are readers themselves. It s also a good chance for students to read in school, in a more relaxed environment than in lessons. The following ideas would foster this kind of reading climate. Book boxes: put together a box of reading materials for every tutor group I make sure that there are a range of different materials available; a mixture of fiction and non-fiction (Horrible Histories, biographies etc) books, as well as magazines and comics. Each of our tutors appoints two student literacy coordinators to be in charge of looking after their tutor group s book box and return it to the library to be refreshed at least once a term. These students are recognised under our rewards system. I involve the students in the process of choosing the materials to go in their book boxes. With each book box I include instructions on how it should be used, along with a list of activities that tutors could use with their students, for example, hiding post-it notes with secret messages inside some books directing the reader to do something for a small prize but only if they keep the task a secret! Quizzes We use Renaissance Learning s Accelerated Reader programme during tutor time with all our Year 7s after they ve finished reading a book they complete a quiz about it. I make newspapers available to our Year 10s during tutor time, then once week we do a quiz on the big news stories of the week. Regular reading slots We have a Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) session once a week during tutor time, where every person in the school, including the staff, read something of their choice. I think it s important that tutors model for their students by reading themselves. For Year 7 and 8, each Friday is Get Caught Reading Friday. Registration time on this day is dedicated to quiet reading, and members of the senior team drop into classrooms unannounced and give reward stamps to everyone caught reading. Buddy reading: registration time is a great opportunity for struggling readers to get individual support We have reading mentors for all students who are falling behind in their reading. These mentors are Teaching Assistants who have been trained for the role, and they meet with the students once a week during registration. Every Friday during tutor time Year 10 mentors support specially selected Year 7 students through a reading programme. For further guidance about setting up a buddy reading scheme see the Schools Network paired reading toolkit at /schools_network.

4 Introducing new genres I prepare presentations on a different book genre for tutors to use once a week. The PowerPoint illustrates the main features of the genre and makes some appropriate reading recommendations (which are all available in the library). It s a great way to entice students to the library, and encourages lots of discussion during tutor time. Classroom displays: We give reading a visible profile in the classrooms used for tutor time. Tutors have the book they re currently reading out on their desks, and we have at the moment I am reading display boards in all form rooms, which both staff and students contribute to. You can find posters and other display ideas and resources at /schools (search for display ) Information literacy During tutor time, the school library is involved in teaching information literacy to students: note-taking in Year 8, careers introduction in Year 9, coursework skills in Year 10 and plagiarism and referencing in Year 12. These sessions teach valuable skills to students that help them within their regular lessons, and also remind them of what the library can offer. Monitoring progress in reading The student planners at our school all have a reading log in the back, and students are required to have this signed by a parent/guardian. Tutors use registration time to check that the planners are signed and to talk to students about their reading and progress. Our Year 8 students have a reading passport that they are taking with them through the year to collect stamps in to win prizes. Once a week tutors choose a piece of text (or use the piece that I provide) for their tutor group to read, and by reading this text they earn a stamp for their passport.

5 Writing Writing is the hardest of all of the literacy skills. It is therefore not surprising that students are more likely to arrive at secondary school with better reading than writing skills. Indeed, one of the top concerns from teachers in your school could be that students aren t able to articulate themselves effectively through their writing. Developing an effective writing style takes time and tutor time is not necessarily the best time for this. However, the bright ideas that members have sent in below illustrate that progress can be made during this period in the school day. Spelling We find that our students like competition between houses or form groups and so we hold a spelling-bee style competition between groups. The final is held in assembly. We also use tutor time as an opportunity to revise commonly misspelt words and quizzes are held in class. Grammar and punctuation know-how Tutor time is a good opportunity to reinforce grammar and punctuation rules which students traditionally find difficult. We provide tutors with simple PowerPoint presentations covering rules, such as use of the apostrophe. They also have an accompanying literacy booklet which includes fun (as fun as grammar can be) activities that the students can work through at their own pace. Sentence structure For students who tend to stick to simple sentences in their writing, it is important to keep coming back to the importance of variety. We provide tutors with guidance and students with a literacy booklet. In tutor time, groups model and practise using complex and compound sentences, completing short exercises along the way. Self-reflection journals Once a fortnight in tutor time, we give students the opportunity to reflect on their last two weeks in school. They write their thoughts down in the back of their planners. This is a good opportunity for tutors to recap on useful phrases and words that students should consider including (for example quality connectives).

6 Speaking and listening Tutor time is the perfect setting for helping students to develop their communication skills. Away from lessons, tutors have the freedom to address all manner of subjects, whether it s a big news story, the previous weekend s X Factor result or a serious issue that s happening in school. Presentations, games, debate and discussion within a positive and relaxed environment are the order of the day Developing presentation skills We have an assembly once a week for each year group where students take it in turns to deliver presentations based on set themes, such as bullying and careers. Students can choose their own topic within these themes, but setting the themes ourselves gives consistency across the whole school. Discussing current affairs We watch BBC news during tutor time once a week, and then have discussions around what s hitting the headlines. On a more local level, we also have discussions based on the notes from Student Council meetings, so that students can debate issues that are affecting them directly. Talking games Every Thursday tutor time has a literacy focus, and we ve developed lots of games and challenges involving packs of word cards. For example, in one challenge, students pick a card and then describe the words on the card to their partner without using the words or derivatives (like the game Taboo). We have different sets of word cards depending on the ability and age group of the students, for example actions for students working at a higher level, and animals for students working at a lower level. Problem-solving challenges We use some tutor times for group problem-solving activities involving roleplay and drama. Students are given a scenario with various bits of information, and they have to get into character and work together to come up with a solution. Interpreting images Every so often, tutors project an image up on their interactive whiteboard, and begin a group discussion about the image; what s going on in the image, how it makes them feel, what people in the image might be thinking and feeling. It could be a photograph of something that s been in the news, or an image from a book or magazine. This has been a great way to stimulate discussion in an informal way.

7 Word play Monolithic; fresnel; biome; onomatopoeia. Of course, students will discover new exciting words across all their different subjects on a daily basis. But tutor time offers a moment to put a spotlight on the magic of words themselves, giving them a chance to revise those they (should!) know, and to unearth those they don t. Word of the week Each department chooses a word of the week which we communicate to all at the weekly staff meeting. We use exciting words, as well as important words which need reinforcing. A simple classroom poster defining the word is packaged up with some suggested games for students and guidance for tutors. We embed crosscutting themes within these units - at the moment, this is non-fiction text types. Matching pairs We find word games can be delivered quickly and with no preparation. Tutors, or students, come up with a list of ten words which are read out and groups have to come up with a word which has the opposite meaning. We try to encourage tutors not to accept the first word they hear, continually pushing students to think of an interesting alternative. For example, you say, patient, they say impatient, you end up accepting intolerant or bad-tempered. Find a better word. We think it is important to make sure students push themselves to search for better words or sentences, rather than settling for the first one that springs to mind. Tutors write a very simple lifeless sentence on the board and the challenge is for students to make it more exciting. For example Posters were put up to get men to go to war becomes Ubiquitous posters were found on every street corner in an attempt to encourage young men to sign up to the war. Word association (or Mallett s Mallet!) We find word association games are a fun way to get students to think about synonyms. A lot of teachers remember the original Mallett s Mallet TV show which helps. For those teachers born before or after this era, this is how MM works. In teams of three, one person says a word from a list on the board and then the second person has to say a word associated with the original word. The third person then has to say a word associated with the word they have just heard. And then it goes back to the first person, and then the second etc. The game stops when someone hesitates or repeats a word. We don t use sponge mallets though! Vocabulary quizzes As a school, we decided on a certain number of words which we felt every student needed to understand and know how to use words like evaluate, and connectives such as consequently. Use of these words is reinforced across subjects and then in tutor time, we make up team quizzes for students to complete, testing knowledge of these words. Countdown There are two rounds in the TV programme Countdown that students are generally familiar with and which we have played successfully during tutor time the letters round, where students have to make the longest word possible from randomly chosen letters, and the conundrum round, where students have to solve an anagram.