Day 9

 

We are done! Which is really crazy if you think about it. We started this course at the start of the year ... and now we are almost at the end of term 3. Where has the time gone? 

Today, we went through the things we had covered over the past 9 weeks (I'm not going to lie, I had to go back to my notes, which is almost a 1B5 book completely full, as it had been a while). Then we discussed sharing and how we can add it to our classroom authentically. 

I really liked the idea of adding just simple discussion options with reading tasks e.g. vocab tasks but sharing their understanding of the vocab or sharing their understanding of the task whether it is orally or on the blog. 

One thing I would love to know is how to engage the year 7/8 students with blogging as they now can't stand it and it is a battle for me to get them to post to their blog. I would love to know if anyone has any ideas. 

DESCRIPTIVE FEEDBACK

Descriptive feedback was an area we covered. These three simple prompts (Reminder, Scaffolded and Example) were such easy ways that we can implement feedback either on the blog or through comments on their work.  

We also looked at how we could engage with our whānau. Sharon and I came up with the idea of creating our own little library which was full of books that the families of the class enjoyed. This would mean that a child could check a book out (which has been suggested by a student and their family) and enjoy it with their own family. This would be a cool way to promote reading engagement at home. 

Day 8: Creating

 

Today we have been looking at creating in response to reading (and writing). Create is all 

about engaging and empowering our learners. It is more than just using Google Slides or Google Draw, it's engaging the students to apply and share their understanding of the topic/learning. 

One thing that really stood out was the different tools we can use. In my class, I try and give them the opportunity to choose their tool (I tend to have a range of logos to spark their memory). And, depending on the task my instructions are either tight or loose. For reading, the small creates are usually tighter - aiming or focusing on something in particular. However, the end create tends to be looser with the children being able to add in their own part of creativity. For inquiry or R.E the create tends to be more learner chosen and open to interpretation of showing their understanding. 

I love being able to offer these different create opportunities. My students are currently creating their own cathedrals that could be built in CHCH (as our one fell down in the earthquake). This is being done on Minecraft. The students had many options (including making a model using materials) but they chose Minecraft. As a child, I never had the opportunity for this, there was only one computer in the class that had to be shared. Nowadays, our students have access to their own devices. How crazy time has changed. 

I have added below a couple of different sites that could be used in the classroom using AI. I used these websites to create this background for the poem. 

I 

Day 7: Thinking

 

 It was great to finish this session knowing that the things I have been doing in class are things that have been brought up today. Something that stood out was the 4 C's for 21st-century learners. Giving these students the opportunities to think critically, communicate their understandings or their points of view, be creative in showing their understanding and enable the chance for collaboration is something that I do and will continue to do. 

When we focused on the levels of thinking, I was shown different ways that students can do this. From getting them to analyse (identify particular features that communicate or reinforce the main idea) a text to have a discussion of what the author is wanting that is beyond the lines of the text. I think it is critical that students still have the opportunities to be exposed on a literal level as this is needed to be a foundation of their understanding. 

A way that they can analyse, which I would like to try, is to get them to highlight the text using two colours (one for evidence or a point of view and then another for the opposite) and then explain their understanding or thoughts on the point of view and if they agree. This would then lead to a robust discussion. 

I also liked how we were exposed to some strategies to support synthesis as I find this one of the harder strategies to teach. I would like to see how these could be implemented in the classroom as I feel like there is so much to be learned from it. 

Something that I will continue to bring up and point out in lessons are these two key things. Where I will offer students the opportunity to discuss the authors' purpose or the position the author is placing them in. We want them to challenge what they read. 

  POINT OF VIEW

 PERSPECTIVE 

Day 6: Vocabulary and Decoding

Day 6: Vocabulary (and Decoding) 

Today we had a big focus on vocabulary and the positive impact it has on our learners in class and also in their lives. Vocabulary is something that is used in all areas of our lives, we think in words, we talk in words, we listen in words and we write in words. Giving our students enough exposure to more than just the Tier 1 words is vital. However, this needs to be explicit and intentional and not left to chance. When students are exposed to new words, they tend to map the word as a mental placeholder, and only with repeated exposure does the word become extended mapped (kept in the brain) with an understanding and can use it productively. 

There are four main focuses that we need for systematic planning and teaching: 

• Word Consciousness - encouraging the student's interest and awareness of the words they are learning. Doing this in fun and engaging ways. 
• Deliberate, robust teaching of words. This is where we give them explicit instruction to help them use the vocabulary knowledge across a range of contexts. 
• Skills for cracking unfamiliar words - using our spelling skills and our knowledge about syllables to help us. 
• Morphology (incl. its importance in subject disciplines) - understanding the smallest chunks within words that make sense. Understanding prefixes and suffixes. 

Today's lesson encouraged us to do more than the typical "find the word's definition, write it in your own words, and put it in a sentence." Instead, today encouraged us to look at ways that we can make it fun and engaging to help recall and understand the word. 

There were a couple of ways that we could do this. 

1st is to ensure that they know the ways to break down and decode the word, using the syllables and knowing these were one way. Another was using morphology, finding the smallest chunks of the word that make sense, etc.  These are things that even apply to us as adults. 

We had a range of activities that we were exposed to, all easy ones to use on their devices. It encourages discussion which is such a powerful tool. I really liked the Which Would You ...? It was an activity that uses their new vocab in a fun and engaging way. It will be great for them to have these meaningful discussions. 

I also liked the Spotlight Sheet as this gives us teachers a quick formative assessment of what the children know and how we can mold our teaching around this. 

I am looking forward to using these vocabulary activities in my class as these will be more engaging and fun to use for the students. 

Day Five: Planning a Reading Programme

 

Another Friday, another great learning day. It was reassuring to see what was instructed about Planning a Reading Programme are things I do already. Fitting everything into the timetable is something that is complicated enough as it is, so my take away is that things need to be concise and focus on quality over quantity. With the time we have, we want to make sure we are giving them the best learning opportunities to succeed and grow as readers and writers. 

It was great to see the apps that they suggested were ones that I am familiar with and have used regularly. 

In my class, we like to be competitive so the use of Literacy Planet is a great way to focus on the key aspects of phonics, spelling, grammar, comprehension and sight words. This is something that I have just set up to introduce into the class next week as it gives them key learning opportunities in a way that will engage them. 

Epic is another great resource to be used in the classroom. This is an app that has hundreds of book options. These range from non-fiction, fiction, read to, audio, videos and graphic novels (these are a huge hit for my year 7/8s). I really liked the idea today to get them to choose a text that is based on the theme or topic we are focusing on. For example, when they are doing D.E.A.R they are encouraged to find a book that has a science fiction setting or a text about the sun as they are the topics that they could be reading about for the week. 

On a side note, Anna shared a great idea where you use Epic to find the author's purpose of the text by using the book covers. I have now designed an activity that my students will use next week where they have to use the skill of skimming and scanning to complete it. 

Having high expectation activities and finding ways for students to self manage was something that stood out to me today. Ensuring that the activities meet the following are crucial. 

In my class, my students are year 7/8 so they are close to going to high school where they will need to be able to manage themselves, complete work to a high standard and learn. Exploring the different ways that we can plan and show this to the children as allowing them to have visibility is crucial. I find allowing the children to choose what order they get work done or giving them a set order works best for my learners. 

Incorporating more reading to write and writing to read was an interesting concept and I really enjoyed the opening sentence activity we did and I look forward to doing this with one of my learner groups. 

RPI Day 4: Guided Reading

 

What did I learn that could improve my capability and confidence in teaching reading?

There are many purposes to guided reading and it was actually really great to see these in a list. Most of these I do anyway so it was nice to see that I do this correctly with my class. The list included activating prior knowledge, making connections, say/locate specific vocabulary and use these in their own sentences, prompt predictions, etc. 

Another thing that really stood out to me was the difference between background and prior knowledge and the questions that we ask them are vital in them making those connections. 

Today also reinforced how important  comprehension is. That this is something I can keep doing even with the senior kids I teach. 

We need to use a range of questions that allow them to recall, locate and challenge their thinking. 

What did I learn that could be used with my learners? / What did I learn that could be shared within my wider community, of either practice, or whānau/aiga. 

I really enjoyed seeing the fluency rubric and being able to use this against the preordered readings my students gave me. I really liked that it was broken down into more than just 'fluency'. This is definitely something that I will be sharing with my colleagues as it is a quality resource that will allow the students to be critical learners. I will introduce this to my class, introducing reading too and then they can assess each other. 

Another thing I found very helpful were the graphic organisers. I already have some, but it is awesome to be able to access pre-made resources. This will help save time when planning. 

RPI Day Three: Text Selection

TEXT SELECTION: 

Today was another busy and full-on cognitive day encouraging us to think about the texts we select and their intended purpose. 

The facilitators made us think about whether we are meeting the needs of our students. Are our students being represented in the texts that they are reading? Are we giving them opportunities to look out the window and at the wider world? Are we opening up that opportunity? Sometimes without realising it we give them our own bias and look at things that we like. How can we do better? 

I really like the idea of using the coverage sheet in our teacher workbook as this allows me to see what I am covering and if I am using a variety of different texts, genres etc. For next term, that is something that I will be really focusing on and seeing how can I allow my students to feel as though they are being represented. I also want to look at the coverage of styles of texts. I use videos, digital articles and school journals regularly but want to try and ensure I am using audiobooks or podcasts or different types. 

Another moment from today was the use of levelled groups and mixed ability grouping and taking away the stigma of those reading groups where students automatically assume the worst. Next term, I will be looking at grouping students by goals that they need to achieve and see if that works. This will also allow for extended discussions with my lower readers as they will be exposed to this. 

This won't be an everyday whole-term thing but I would like to give this a go as I can see how it would benefit my learners.