TOD - Manaiakalani Cluster.

We ended the term by coming together as a cluster to learn with and from each other as we explored the topic of effective reading practice. The bullet points below are the notes I made from each of the workshops I attended. 

Ko te Kāhui Ako o Manaiakalani

Keynote speakers: Dr Rae Si'ilata and Kyla Hansell 

Link to presentation

• Transfer language - trans languaging does not represent the spirit of the reo.
• If don’t have the opportunity to connect to your language you lose the connection to it and it becomes devalued
• Bilingualism and biliteracy as well as giving chn the keys to the language of power. Are we improving English or losing the first language - L2 students are emergent bicultural learners - we should be adding English not replacing their heritage language
• Tchrs need to be linguistically and and culturally sustaining and revitalising the languages. Needs to be more than culturally responsive
• Privilege the first language speaker by asking them to read the language - helps all hear and connect to our new but their first words
• L2 integrates the work... input channels listening reading and viewing / output channels - speaking writing presenting - communication modes need to be integrated and connect between learning areas
• Who’s knowledge is valued in what I teach and how I teach
• Need to value the deeply embed cultural and language practices of our learners to strengthen the connections to the learning. (eg: translate the Haka and tell the story)
• Build from oracy to literacy to open up the linguistic space
• L1 builds a rich conceptual system to bridge the gap with L2 - ideas learnt in one language do not differ in another
• Input in L2 is translate to make meaning in L1 then transfer back to L2 for outputLiteracy practises in the home may differ from school... need to embrace the cultural practises of the L1 - our world view informs our literacy practises
• T willing to share the power with the chn in class where L1 is valued - T don’t need to be fluent in another language
• Dialect is not the same as accent
• If language is used to communicate it is a valid language code
• Reading is about making meaning by drawing on PK and own literacy practises - privilege the L1 language and literacy practises as it shows how they unpack a text to ensure meaning focused learning
• Mirror texts help us make connections to text as we see ourselves and our ways of life/life experiences that we can connect to
• Share rich opportunities for learning by tapping into the cultural capital of students and valuing the literacy’s in the funds of knowledge with school literacy’s
• Challenge critical consciousness- what is the schema you draw on to make predictions
• If we don’t know the context our predictions will be not connected to the topic
• Provides texts that are mirrors that reflect back the chns faces of the home
• Don’t be too hasty to cast aside your cultural treasures/literacy practises
• Eg: pronounce names wrong - text could reflect this provocation - chn cld create an app to show tchrs how to pronounce your name - tell us the history behind your name
• What do I need to teach - data - can I use a resource that shows the faces of my learners or their languages/empowers learners - make connections thru critical thinking and cultural values
• Tell story through the waiata and siva and link to literacy practises of reading
• Name Maori and Pasifika writers illustrators
• Open up what literacy is beyond a journal story - stories and symbols are a way of unlocking meaning
• Whakatauki - unpack the meaning
• History of NZ - learn from those who have gone before us
• Sylvia Ashton Warner taught Maori to read by getting them to write their own stories using their words - read about your kaupapa (strengths) as you bring a wealth of pk to the text
• Chn use meaningful lexical chunks to make meaning when lng a language
• Reciprocal power sharing relationships are a 2 way relationship - valuing the knowledge of the home language literacy practises and values

Cultural Capital in the Classroom
Presenters: Zhydah Petersen and Hevaha Tu'akoi

• How we can respond in a cultural way to all the learners we have
• We need to be culturally responsive because the backgrounds and cultural capital is diverse and should value all children
• Know your learners

Strategies:

• Activate pk
• Pronounce names and words correctly - students as experts be prepared to embrace what you don’t know and ask for help
• Make texts or conceptual concepts mirrored - chn need to see themselves in the work and resources
• Value the cultural contributions and capital - chn as experts 
• Build relationships and connect to the surrounding community
• Classroom environment should reflect the cultures of the students 
• Explore the taonga of names - get chn to explain the meaning behind their name and talk about the connections it may have to their history
• Be inclusive

Structured literacy for older struggling students: where it all goes wrong and what to do about it.
Presenter: Betsy Sewell

Skills that underly reading:

• Learning to read is about recognising the patterns
• Older students need to abandon pk and learn from new
• Frog - fr merge/ og merge students need to realise the word frog means your mouth goes to 4 places - understand how words work
• Split words into onset and rime to mix and match fr+og = frog... knowing these basics means many more words can be generated - Use affixes to extend vocab
• Need to stop and chunk the word to connect to spelling patterns - self teaching by problem solving sound chunks allows for stronger connections to be made
• Use context to figure out unknown words that are being derived from a visual connection
• Struggling spellers can’t figure out words they already know
• Try this... How many words can you read in a minute - graph result
• Shift the way chn read using decodable texts 
• www.agilitywithsound.co.nz has free assessment tools. The spelling test and decoding test will be the most revealing

Getting the Talk Going in Reading

This is the workshop that Robyn Anderson presented with Chantal Millward. They shared the activities used across the school to get our students talking about the texts they have read. 

Teacher Inquiry Backwards Map 2020

Will comprehension increase if the opportunity to focus and notice

syllables and sounds are provided?

I want my students to see that learning used in one area can be transferred to another if I help them make links with vocabulary, instruction and strategy. 

How I changed my teaching practice was by increasing the time I spend on phonics and how I approached the teaching format.

I introduced a puppet that the students named 'Blippy', this assisted in the process of see, say, do. I built on the learners prior knowledge and increased teacher modelling - repeat back to me - check and using phrases to make connections with the students comprehension.

Spelling banks has been a fun way to increase the learners word knowledge and comprehension - the students get to write as many words as they know in a certain time, they get points if the words are correct as well as if they have sounded out the words and have some letters correct. This has become a peer competition game that they support and scaffold each other in.

From assessments I can see the shifts in both reading and spelling, this shows me that the focus of my Teacher Inquiry has been beneficial and with the planning and teaching changes I made are justified and shown in the data.  

Running records

Spelling assessment

I will continue to reflect on my teaching practices and teach authentic contexts that the students can connect with.

The biggest change in my practice is recognising when and where the opportunities for explicit teaching are within a lesson.

Bots PLD

This was the first time I had seen Bots and I was amazed how interactive the Bots can be.  The 'bee' Bots were controlled by the coding button on the Bot its self, the other Bot was coded on the ipad and was far more superior in what it could do with the coding.

       

The coding of the bee Bot at first seemed very simplistic but we were soon to be proven wrong - one wrong press of the arrow button to code the movements really threw it off kilter. 

 

The Literacy Place - Reading PD

 This reading PD was a whole school PD which covered all ages/years.

Reading over laps all curriculum areas, thus making it imperative that the learner understands what they are reading to increase their knowledge of the curriculum area we are working within.

Learners need to have the ability to read multiple types of texts and understand what those texts are conveying.  As a teacher I feel it is my duty to expose the learners to as many forms of text available to enable them.  Exposer to these texts can be covered in the three types of lessons as shown below left.  Exposer to all texts includes some resources that I previously had not classed as texts that are relevant to learners or explicit teaching.  Multiple texts that could be utilised are as below.

Scaffolding the learners to be confident in recognising and understanding words in multiple texts is crucial when supporting my learners to become independent on their journey to be  confident proficient readers.

Learners needs these steps to be effective readers and understanders. 

These are strategies that I use with my groups but implementing the visual cues will benefit the learners - this could be used on their iPads as a visual cue to refer to when reading

Shared reading is an opportunity to see the shifts in the students.  Once they have the structured tools to prompt them where to go to next they feel confident in making that move towards the next level when they are ready.

Using the comprehension strategies solidifies where each leaner is and where they need to go next.  Having the strategies visible it aides in sifting out the missing link as to why the student hasn't made a shift.

 

Maths PLD Workshop - Marie Hirst

A one to one lesson workshop with Marie was beneficial to see how important it is to have the learners doing the work.  For them to be hands on and being involved in the math gave them the ability to work out the math problem with tangible objects. 

The wording of the math sentence is crucial in making the connection to the learner.  One of the most interesting strategies Marie has shown me is to use post-its as a tool, using the word 'some' in the first instance helps the learner to think about the problem and not the numbers.

Another strategy is to use different coloured counters when working out a number sentence.  This is so the learner can identify the difference between the numbers in the sum. Writing the number sentence and the numbers under the counters gives the learners ownership of the outcome.

The Literacy Place - Reviewing and Celebrating Writing

 Reviewing and Celebrating Writing was a zoom PD presentation during Covid 19.

In my classroom I have always celebrated writing but during this PD it came apparent that there are more explicit ways of not only celebrating but reviewing writing in an explicit way.  

As the side below shows, reviewing our writing gives the student more of a chance to improve their writing by firstly going through their writing and making changes or adding more information before they share it with a peer and/or the teacher.

Using resources to checkmark where the learner is at with their learning is something that I will be using in my teaching.  Having a simplistic visual resource for the learners to use will be a benefit to them as they can monitor where they are at rather than having to come and ask what next after each activity.  Some of my favourite visual cues from the PD are below.

I think it is important for the learner to share their story to at group or class as below in the 'Sharing Circle' as it is giving their work more of a purpose.  Knowing that you are sharing your work gives the incentive to ensure that you have made sure you work makes sense, is interesting/exciting and keeps the other students engaged.

 

The Literacy Place Workshop - Retelling

During the Covid 19 lockdown I had the opportunity to do a 'Retelling Workshop' through zoom with The Literacy Place.  It was the first time I had done a PD over zoom and I was quite anxious about it.  It was in hindsight a great opportunity to talk with educators from all over New Zealand, where that would not have been possible in another setting. 

The workshop itself was very interesting and reinforced the ideas behind retelling a story.  The importance of orally retelling a story was solidified, where previously with time constraints I wouldn't utilise retelling as an important part of the learners writing lesson.  

Another aspect of retelling that I have introduced into my reading/writing plan is to get learners in work in pairs or groups and get each other to retell sections of the story that I have read to them.  Once they have done this either one person or the group stands in front of the class and retells the story, this way they are increasing not only their vocabulary but gives them the confidence to talk in front of an audience.

A few ideas of retelling that I will implement are the picture sequence and ice block sequencing.  I really like the idea of the short sharp story to retell with the ice block sticks.  It is something tactile that the younger learners can really get their hands on.