Teaching beginning readers using prompts effectively!

Today we had the wonderful Helen Squires. Help us to develop the best ways to support our developing readers. This session really helped me to think about which prompts I use regularly and the ones that I need to start using,

Teaching children who are at the stage of learning to read.

-We often forget the importance of reading to the children. This allows for development vocabulary and children will begin to use this language in their conversation with others.

-Observational drawing can also be a great way to develop language and the skills of noticing. Does the object look the same as you picture. What can you see.

When learner are focussed on decoding. You need to orientate the learners into the focus of the text. This is a short opening focussing on the Vocabulary in the text rather than opening up the topic by discussing the topic you sum up the main bit of the story. For example the little red hen: This is a story about a hen whose friends are too lazy to help her bake a cake.

Magenta- At this level the focus is not what you say you must see, what you see you must see. These book have the same phrasing across the pages. Again Orientate the book, this is a book about things we do at school. Children need to tap on each page. Children read in their own time not all together so you can catch each child as they read. Children will often point to space between words or after word. You stop them and say "you said cut can you see cut?"  If they don't know the word you tell them. Once they are one to one pointing less repetitive books are introduced. Once they have learnt the words get them checking "You said the can you see the." child "Yes I see the" They might point to the wrong word they can confirm they are wrong. "Tent" confirming cover word you said tent what would you expect to see for tent, t..t...t... Child T

Magenta is just getting the DOS-direction, orientation, sequence. This applies to arranging the magnetic letters. Then break it make multiple times then write it. This should be quick at the end of the book.

Red is where the text changes, this provides an opportunity to think. I go to school on is the pattern. On the last page it will change for example I go to school in. For this the child is likely to say "on" You say you said on do you see on. Then you tell them. Read the sentence with them. Confirming for changes. Have you still got more words to say. This is when the child changes to text but has not read all the word. The boy climbed up the mountain, The child say The boy climbed up the hill. You said hill do you see hill, h....h..hill. Then you tell them.

This is the level at which we try to lose the finger pointing, Then pointing is strong get it gone.
If children are struggling to stop finger pointing break it down into three words etc to build fluency.

The boy went to the supermarket... Child said the boy went to the shop. prompt: Try that again and think who went to the supermarket.

Still doing word work. Making or breaking. A word they know "Can" Get child to make can. give them m, r, t. Can you make Man. Can you make can, Can you make ran. Always go back to the word they know in between new words.

Yellow- This again build the stills of confirming and discounting. The sentence is the boy knocked on the door of the shack. The child say " They boy knocked on the door of the house" You said .... They could give them options. Cottage etc.

Word work adding endings, beginning, vowel sounds etc.

Many Hats

This term I have been both a researcher and a teacher. Taking on these two roles and considering what they mean for me and my class has been a challenge and a privilege. At times it was challenging changing hats and looking at my teaching and my learners through two different lenses. However it was also very rewarding. Having the structure of a research design and thinking carefully about how information was gathered and what action I took, why I took them and exactly what impact they had more critically as a researcher reminds me of the importance of stepping back as a teacher and looking at yourself through a different lense. You can't expect the same actions to produce different results so it is important to be very reflective and even critical of yourself to make sure what you are doing is the very best for your students and what they need to learn at this point and time in their life.

My two hats are important and having them in such a formal way this term has reminded me that if not in  a formal way I will always be a researcher as I inquire into my practice as a teacher.

By en:User:Eric Bouliane [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) 

Inquiry Update Term 2

This term my Inquiry has been focused on video self modelling to increase reading fluency. You might as why fluency. Research suggests that fluency is a key element that impacts comprehension. Reading fluency combines many elements and I believe understanding, thinking carefully about these will help the learner to develop these skills and use them effectively to build understanding. 

During this term learner have been recording themselves, watching these recording and self reflecting on their fluency.  I have noticed that engagement in this has been high however those learner who struggle to decode are less motivated to record. Overall I have seen an increase in understanding of what fluency is as why as reader it is important from a majority of my class. 

Next steps: Next term is our school production and film festival filming. During the term I want to focus on reading of plays and poems to father build fluency for all learner. The element I believe we still need to focus is expression. While phrasing and speed have had noticed changes the level of expression in reading across the class is still low. 

Creativity

Where do you believe creativity comes from?
How do we get it?

There are many myths about what creativity. Some people feel that creativity needs to be something completely new and coming up with original ideas is challenging. Sometimes we thinking about time and how being devoted to creativity is the only way to have creative ideas. Or even that feel that there are too many creative things to do and you have to be in the mood to achieve them. These are just some of the many myths creativity.

Jon Westenberg-This is one person idea's on this topic.

I don't know the truth about creativity. I don't know the best way. All I know is that you need to try! Creativity never happens if you don't try, so take risks.

Creating with your Mac

There are lots of cool things that our Mac computers can do. There are loads of keyboard shortcut and trackpads skills that we can use. We also have iMovie and Hyperstudio that we can use to create. 

Creativity Empowers Learning

Today the wonderful Dorothy Burt came to our staff meeting to share with use about how we can inspire creativity in our classrooms.

We need to remember that creating helps learners to embed the things they learner. We need to Hook learners into learning. We want our kids to be "Creators of content, not merely consumers."

When teaching movie making, normally the main focus is the teaching of Key Competencies. This type of learning provides an opportunity for learners to shine.

Sharing work in progress of not even finished work to inspire and celebrate what we have created so far.

Looking back at the creations of the past is inspiring. It was nice celebrating the teacher of the past and they things their classes created. There were so many great reminders of thing that week can do.

Creating is Not just done in the mind. It is the actions of doing multiple things and involves the whole body. Consumers are excited and enticed by: Sight, Sound and Motion.

We need sight, sound and motion to remember things. If we really want to get our kids remembering things and really engaging in learning then we need to think about how we include sight, sound and motion.

Thank you so much to Dorothy and the other teachers who have shared with us their create from the past. 

Term 2 Inquiry

Fluency

Much research suggest that there is a strong link between fluency and comprehension in reading. The literature explains that while this link could be present for a number of reasons. One is that when reader read fluently drawing on sight word knowledge and context to make meaning less mental energy is spent on decoding which allows mental processing to focus on comprehension. The other come from phrasing. Often the meaning in more challenging texts is aided by the phrasing of the text. By reading the punctuation correctly and using expression while reading readers gain more from the text.

This term I will focus my inquiry around how my teacher action can support the development of fluency for my class and how video modelling and self review can support these learners to become fluent readers. This inquiry also links to the research that I am doing for my Honours degree at Auckland University.

This week I am developing the self review criteria with the class and building their knowledge of fluency so that by the end of the week we can create and review our first videos.

I am excited to engage in this study of my practice as I think that an understanding of fluency has the potential to support many of my students to develop their reading even futher.

Forming OTJs in Maths-Jo Knox

An OTJ draws on multiple source of data to make a judgement about their ability in comparison to national standard.  You can't just use one piece of evidence as this is hazardous to forming a true picture.

Type of evidence you will include are:
-observations
-conversations
-test data
and other group work.

To make a judgment you will need to use the The New Zealand Curriculum Mathematics standards poster, the standards books and additional illustration.

We also need to remember that just having the answer it is not enough it is about how they explain how they know it.

While the number is the most critical requirement, strand include geometry, measurement and statistics.

We also must remember that number knowledge is used to facilitate problem solving. Knowledge is important but it is there to help you with strategies.

When forming our OJT we need to think about are they able to do it independently and most of the time. 

We need to think about how we are tracking all of this data overtime so that we don't have to go back to each individual sources each time. This can be done in many ways.