TBCS - Deliberate Acts of Teaching - Writing - Margaret

Inquiry - Does allowing students to choose according to their interests what they wish to write about improve motivation to write and overall writing levels?

6 students have been identified as achieving below their expected level in writing.  This has been determined from asttle writing tests, observations of students in class, daily writing samples.  Their overall motivation to write is low and writing that is done uses improper sentence structure, lack of detail and ideas expected at a year 6/7/8 level.

Strategies used:

Splitting class into groups of boys/girls to brainstorm together possible persuasive writing topics in practice for assessment based on interest.

Brainstorming together a list of possible interests to write to our focus on persuasive writing.  Teacher chooses 1 to write together as shared writing.

Shared writing

Read together an article related to chosen topic - use this to help brainstorm.

Brain storm as a  class ideas that we can use to persuade.  Benefits, experiences.  Questioning to draw out ideas.  What are the benefits of havng a pet?  How would this benefit the teacher?  How can pets help us?

Model how to write an introduction with student suggestions
Model how to write our first paragraph using one of our ideas, using persuasive language - write a list of persuasive language that students can select from.
Independent - students to write their second and third paragraph independently.
Model how to write a conclusion.
Independent - students write their own conclusion.

During next session students choose which topic they would like to write about using the model as a guide.


Reading together a variety of persuasive writing from Mainsails then having students select which topic they want to write about

Class is given a selection of persuasive texts from Mainsails.  In pairs they choose which ones they would like to read.  Students read together and note down 3 main ideas from their favourites.

Select one that has had the most interest to break down together

Questioning
Look at the intro, body and conclusion
What persuasive language was used?  What are the main ideas for each paragraph?  Has the author used examples to back up their ideas?  Who are they trying to convince?
Model a plan on the board.

Students choose which persuasive topic either from the book or their own to write.

Journals/Free writing/competitions

Students given free writing journals - not to be marked
Brainstorm as a class ideas we may like to write about in our jounals - students to write all this up in their books to prompt ideas.  Use questioning to draw out ideas - What are your interests, what styles of writing do we like to use?  What do we like to read/do?

20 mins of free writing daily with 5 mins to check over what they have written

Feedback

Students share their daily writing with the class if they choose.  Use our feedback guide that was taught at the start of the year - a compliment, a suggestion, editing.

Students to select 1 piece of writing each week/fortnight to publish.  Use the writing process/ peer editing process taught at the start of the year to improve it.  Conference with me or feedback using google docs before final copy is published.

TBCS - Craig - Inquiry - Reading - Phonics

Background

I teach a Year 4-6 class which has a wide range of abilities. I was excited to have new students join my class. One, in particular, a year 4 student I will call "N" came to my class with the label of Dyslexia. It became apparent very early one that she was unable to read. She had not been taught Reading or Writing at all and was functioning at a Year 1 level. What a challenge!
I come from a school where every student was taught using a comprehensive phonics programme and I saw the results with my own children and with the other students I taught in the school. Would this work for N?
Lexia, our normal programme for foundational reading training is not working for her. She was assessed at a year one level and with no prior learning in sounds and no word attack skills, she is struggling and I need to think of another way to help her learn...

Question

How can I best help N  catch up 4 years of learning in English?

Inquiry

Can teaching a full phonics programme to N help her to read and therefore write and reach a Level 2 level in her work?

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From the book, "Effective Literacy Practice in Years 1-4" Ministry of Education, pg 32

"In order to become readers and writers, children need to develop a knowledge of the name and sounds of the letters of the alphabet and of letter-sound relationships."

"Children do not have to be able to name every letter of the alphabet before they begin formal instruction in reading and writing. They do, however, need to develop phonemic awareness and to understand that there is a relationship between spoken sounds and the letters that represent them."

"Phonemic awareness is fundamental to early success in reading and writing. It enables children to develop the understanding of letter-sound relationships that is essential to decoding and encoding. Children have to be able to distinguish sounds before they can match them with the letters that represent them."

"An understanding of phonics also underpins children's literacy learning. Children need to learn through deliberate, focused instruction, which letters represent which sounds. they learn a great deal about letter-sound relationships through writing. Beginning writers constantly engage with the problem of which letters represent the sounds in the words they want to use. In doing so, they lay a sound basis of knowledge about relationships between letters and sounds. Effective teaching helps writing the understandings they gain during reading and oral language activities."

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From the "New Zealand Curriculum" Level One English

Listening. Reading, and Viewing
Processes and strategies
Students will...

Acquire and begin to use sources of information, processes, and strategies to identify, form, and express ideas.

Indicators

• has an awareness of the connections between oral, written, and visual language.
• uses sources of information (meaning, structure, visual and grapho-phonic information) and prior knowledge to make sense of a range of texts.
• associates sounds with letter clusters as well as with individual letters.

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S.E.N.C.O's help was sort.

I tested N in

Maths (J.A.M), Working at Level 1
Reading (Running Record) Level 1 at 50% accuracy
Writing (Sample) 10 minute unassisted  10 words 40% correct.
Spelling (Essential Selling Lists) 5/10 for list 1. 6/20 for list 2

N was separately tested for letter names, both upper and lower case and short sounds of letters.
Letter names 19/26 Short sounds 22/26 Blends7/36

An application was lodged with the R.T.L.B with an I.C.S (In Class Support) Assesment asking for an hour a day teacher aid time to help N and give me extra time to help her.

I talked through the issue with my principal. I shared with him that I wanted to use the phonics programme that had been developed in my last school. He agreed to contact my last school to seek permission to use the programme. Permission was given.

In a meeting with the principal and S.E.N.C.O we talked through the best method of delivery and could we find or modify any teacher aid hours to free me to run this programme with her. It was agreed that room 4 could decrease their time with the teacher aid, giving me 20 mins 4 times a week to run this programme with her.

The programme comprises of 115 individual sheets that cover all letter sounds short and long, blends,

The programme will be delivered in a one on one situation using the sheets along with the teaching strategies of modeling, prompting, questioning, giving feedback, and explaining. (Effective Literacy Practice, Deliberate acts of Teaching pg 76-87)

15th August We started. Spent time on alphabet letter names and short sounds of letters. There were several letters she stumbled on. Three, in particular, were b, d, and p. The sheet worked on the short 'a' sound.

16th August We revised the alphabet letter sounds, redid sheet 1 to check that what we had learned the day before had been 'caught' and introduced sheet 2 which was also on the short 'a' sound.

A similar pattern is followed each session. We always go through all the letter sounds to start. We revise the sheet from last time. I introduce the new sheet. I only shart a new sheet if the previous sheet is completed without error.

The sheets explored the short sounds a, e, i, o, u, and them reviewed them for several sheets.

17 September Sheet 9. We have completed the short sounds of the vowels and are beginning the blends.
It takes a little for N to catch on, but with some modeling, prompting, and explaining, she catches on and we complete the first of the blends.
She quickly takes the concept on board and makes blends of other letters that are not being targetted by the sheets, showing good thought process and transference of knowledge.

16th October Sheet 16. This sheet is working on blends at the ends of words - ft, ld, lf, lk, lp, lt. the blends are not so hard, but the 'e' in the middle of some of the words trip her up. Words like self, weld, and felt with a short e sound that doesn't seem to fit was a stumbling block. I ended up teaching her that 'el' says long l. This departed a little from the lesson with ending blends but made more sense. It took 4 consecutive goes to complete this sheet.

29 October Sheet 18. Today we looked at the ending 'ng'. N made good progress and we will go through the sheet again tomorrow.

Exciting News! N got back to class after completing her phonics lesson and managed to complete 15 units in Lexia! She is transferring what she is learning and it is making a big difference in her classwork. She is proud of herself and I am proud of her too!

31 October Sheet 19. We looked at end blends 'nk' and 'nt'. Steve observed my lesson and in discussion with N after the observation, he found out that I also get N to copy out the words on the sheet. This helps her not only learn the sounds, but also to learn how to correctly form the letters. This is done as an extra to Penmanship which is taught separately. Steve found out that she didn't say the sounds in her head as she wrote them.

From now on I am going to encourage N and the others doing the Phonics programme to say the sounds of the letters and blends as they write them, thus forming stronger connections.
Thanks Steve.


End of Year
Great progress has been made, but we have only just really started... I look forward to continuing next year.

2020

25 February.
The year has begun for real. N is continuing to make pleasing progress and us up to sheet 29.
R is progressing well and is up to sheep 21.
M left the school, so, unfortunately, did not get to finish the program which was a great shame.

Two more students who did not learn phonics in the junior class were identified as students who would benefit from going through the program, so I now have 4 individual lessons to give. Teacher aid time has been given to cover the time required. W has made a quick start and is already up to sheet 11 and K is up to 9.

One new aspect I want to do for my phonics students is to place them in a reading group together where they can have the freedom to sound words and encourage each other to put into practice what they are learning. It will also increase interest and help them see their own progress.



Design for Learning

• Structuring learning tasks so that all ākonga experience a degree of success, but also ensuring that they are required to stretch themselves to fully succeed.

Teaching

• Using feedback from classroom observations to improve learning programmes.
• Seeking advice and feedback from colleagues on planning units, useful resources, and strategies to enhance ākonga interest and engagement.
• Monitoring of ākonga learning during the implementation of a programme of learning, so that the programme can be adapted where needed to better achieve desired outcomes for ākonga.

TBCS - Deliberate Acts of Teaching - Reading - Margaret

Inquiry - Will deliberate instruction in areas where my low reading group is struggling, improve their comprehension?

4 students have been identified as achieving below their expected level in reading.  This is determined from asttle reading tests, observations of students working through the reading program  and during silent reading by their choice of books and their levels of motivation to read.

They have been put on our Power Up Program for Year 7 and 8s.  I monitor this to check on areas where they may be struggling.  Once an area has been identified, I get the students in a group to specifically teach around that identified area.  They are then given time to work independently with myself monitoring their progress.  If no improvement is made the next day I will gather them again to give further instructions in this area until they understand it fully.

Mel also works with 1 student doing a phonics program to enhance what is being learnt in Power Up and in groups.

Effective Literacy Practice Years 5-8

From Effective Literacy Practice Years 5-8 "To be successfully literate, students need to master three key areas of reading and writing: learning the code, making meaning, and thinking critically.

Making meaning: This involves developing and using knowledge, strategies, and awareness in order to get and convey meaning when reading or writing. It also involves understanding the forms and purposes of different texts and becoming aware that texts are intended for an audience.

Thinking critically: Becoming literate involves reading and writing beyond a literal, factual level. It involves analysing meanings, responding critically to text when reading, and being critically aware when composing texts. It also involves responding to texts at a personal level, reflecting on them, and finding reward in being a reader and a writer."

Teaching Comprehension - Making Connections

Helping students to make connections between what they know and what they are reading improves their comprehension. Teachers can model making such connections, and prompt students to make links with their own knowledge and experience, when they are introducing and discussing texts for reading and in writing and oral-language activities. When activating students’ prior knowledge for a particular purpose, teachers can help the students to hypothesise, infer, and build their own interpretations as they read.



Area:  Deliberate instruction in Comparing and Contrasting - Student N

Define the terms compare and contrast.  Use two similar objects.
Shared:  List together things that are similar/different.  Model how to put these into the graphic organiser.

Independent:  Get students to compare and contrast the picture given using the graphic organiser. Support where needed.

Encourage words such as but, whereas, similarly when comparing.  Write these on cards as prompts for students.

Share how this will improve our reading
Helps us focus on whats important when reading
Remember key ideas and details
Think about what you read in a different way
Discuss and write about what you have read

Shared:  Work through sample sentences together choosing correct comparing/contrasting word.  Note who is doing this independently.  These students can go back onto Power Up to give lesson a go.  Continue working with those needing support.

Reflection:
31/10/19
Worked with N on comparing and contrast which showed up as an area she was struggling with.  Once she understood the difference between these words she could easily complete the activity.  I had her use the venn diagram to record compare and contrast between a phone and a laptop.  She had lots of ideas but needed help recording these down so we sounded out each letter or I helped her with some so it didnt become frustrating. N seems to have a good grasp of blends when she stops to think but struggles with middle and end sounds (computer, glass, batteries, keyboard)  We may need to go back to basics (Lexia) though as she is a Year 7 I will keep monitoring to see if she can catchup to where she should be.  With Mels phonics program targeting this area it may be enough.
Went through comparing sentence together which she did easily though some help reading the sentences needed.
N began the lessons in Power Up after this and seemed to have a better grasp of the concept.  She has not completed it yet so will check to see how she went independently.

1/11/19
N worked through the comparing and contrast section in Power Up.. I helped her with the first few questions then after seeing she had a pretty good idea I left her to complete independently.  When she had completed these she came to tell me she had passed them all and was ready to move onto the next section.  She told me she got it now.

7/11/19
Worked with n and M today on their individual lesson.  They both were very unfocused today so had them sitting beside me while I helped them work through questions. M was working on finding the pace to put a pause in a sentence using commas which she had trouble with so I had her say the sentences out loud so she could hear that natural pause.

25/11/19
Worked with N and M
Identified Area:  Comprehension - Sensory Language
From Effective Literacy Practice Years 5-8

When readers visualise, they connect the ideas in the text with their prior knowledge and experience to create images in their minds. This often means thinking about their senses and using their imagination to see, hear, feel, taste, or smell parts of the text in their minds.

Creating an image can make a text come alive for the reader. The ability to visualise what is being explained or what is happening draws readers into the text. Studies have indicated that creating an image in the memory helps the reader to retain what is read and use it later on.

Readers experiencing difficulties often need help with creating mental images and may not realise how this can help their comprehension. Teachers can support students in visualising by asking questions such as “What image do you see in your head?”, by explicitly drawing attention to descriptive language or a sequence of ideas, and by sharing their own images. Visualising can be supported by creating graphic representations or mind maps of a text.
Lesson
The two girls came to sit with me as I first discussed what our focus was today - using sensory language to help us comprehend and remember what we read.  I started by reading out the restaurant description while they drew what images they had in their heads.  I prompted them to begin with - what else?  what would it look like?  We then looked through the words that helped to create those images and had the girls highlight these.  What do they notice about the words?  M came up with that they are all related to our senses so we discussed what our sense were - seeing, feeling, hearing etc  What mood did these words create?
I then read the next description.  The girls again drew the pictures listening to the sensory words.  They seemed to have a better understanding this time round.  They then highlighted the sensory words and discussed what they had drawn.  They were both able to give detailed descriptions of what they had drawn related to the story.  I then asked them if we took all those words out what kind of impact would that make.  They were not sure so we did one as an example noting that it didn't put any pictures in our head therefore had less impact - was less interesting.  We discussed why using these words was important in our reading and took it back to the learning intention of sensory words help us to remember what we read, create the mood and help us understand what we a reading.

Reflection

Both girls were very engaged in this task and had much to contribute. N needed a little more prompting but by the end of the lesson she had a lot more to say.  The girls went onto their Power Up after this where I monitored what they were doing while I worked with other students.

26/11/19
M has passed all her lessons on Power Up and is no longer 'struggling"  She is currently working independently.  I will continue to monitor to see where the next area she may need help in.  N is still struggling so will work with her next lesson.

27/11/19
Worked with N on her lessons.  I had her read out the text aloud and she had to find the missing word.  I used card to break up the word as she is struggling with some of the blends.  She can manage to sound out difficult words this way.  She has a good understanding as she reads though needs to be encourage to slow down and see if the word makes sense in the sentence.
Reflection
Will continue to work with N next lesson.

28/11/19
Worked with N.
Grammar- Simple Sentences
Nouns / using a/an- Me and Nikita worked through the lesson on nouns placing them into person, place, thing or idea.  She got slightly confused between place and thing.  We then looked at using a/an before a noun using the rule of an before a vowel sound. N then placed words into a sentence making sure they made sense as she wrote.
Reflection
N needed support with this but managed to complete the sentences independently.  She is currently working thorugh the lessons on Power Up independently.  Next session with N will be on verbs.

Also worked with M today as he was showing up he was gwetting below 80% in his reading comprehension.  We worked throught he questions together getting M to focus on reading the passage looking for the key words to help him answer the question.  A bit of inferencing involved and discussing meaning of unfamiliar words - gratifying.  Gave strategies for what to do when coming across these words.  Reading on for sense.  M scored 80% which is an improvement.  Will check how he does by himself tomorrow.

Links to Standard for Teaching

Design for Learning

Deisgn learning based on curriculum and pedagogocal knowledge, assessment information and an understanding of each learners strenghts, interests, needs, identitiies, language and culture.

Gather, analyse and use appropriate assessment information, identifying progress and needs of learners to design clear next steps in learning and to identify addtional supports or adaptations that may be required.

Strategies Used

Employing scaffolding strategies to support ākonga master new skills and knowledge and thus achieve independence.

Effectively using a range of digital technologies to engage ākonga and enhance their learning.  Creating an environment where open, productive dialogue is valued. 

Using assessment data to build my understanding of the relationship between my practice and outcomes of learning, achievement and wellbeing of ākonga.

Evaluating how the achievement data for my class(es) fits with the department/syndicate/school-wide data.

Providing ākonga with opportunities and time to apply feedback and feedforward information to improve their mastery of knowledge and skills.