RPI Day 9 - Sharing Reading

Sharing with a range of communities is essential for learners to connect to not only other learners but the world around them.

Sharing a range of tasks on their blog also keeps the learners engaged in their learning and blogging. Changing the create tasks and giving them agency over their blogs can help learners keep up with their blogging.

By providing opportunities to give feed back and feed forward on their blogs, this can give learners goals and next steps to improve their blogs. 

RPI has taught me so much. I have felt my overall knowledge regarding developing my own reading programme has improved. It has been very beneficial to reflect on my programme each session and speak to my mentor regarding this. I have had so many recorded observations which have enabled me to rewatch and adapt to improve my lessons. 

My favourite session was Day 8 - Create. This had so many simple yet effective ideas I have since brought into the classroom. It was also such a fun session, that Toreka and I shared back to the staff meeting.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my RPI sessions and look forward to the next Reading PD.

Teacher Inquiry Blog Post 4

As part of RPI we started to include different create tasks. I previously would stick to posters and Google Draw, however I started to add videos, animations, AI creations, advertisements, fact sheets and more. I have been giving my learners more agency over how they want to present their work. This has skyrocketed engagement for my learners. They are thriving with the option to choose their work presentation. Below are a few examples from one week of work.

Another create activity we did was working on collaboration games. I found our learners struggled when it came to listening to others. As a way to combat that in reading, we did a listening game. The goal of the same was to draw exactly what your partner described and compare the two drawings. They were back to back to ensure they couldn't see what the other was describing. This was not only fun but taught them to listen to each small detail others said.

What didn't work? The RPI programme brought the Teachers Workbook for us to trial. I tried it out for a few weeks to keep track of my learners work, progress, planning, etc. However, I didn't find it effective for my teaching. It was a lot of extra work that was placed in my other paperwork. For example, the guided reading was all on my site in the group slides. I found the learners were getting too confused with all the links. So I adapted a few things that were already in place. I also changed the way my slides were set out, it included a few tasks to do before the guided reading lesson. 

RPI Day 8 - Creating

Creativity is a huge part of learning. By engaging learners through creative tasks and getting them to share what they have learned helps solidly their learning. With this comes agency, we should give our learners the opportunity to make choices about their learning.

These tasks don't need to be long. They can be short smaller activities throughout the lesson that keep learners engaged and having fun.

Linking tasks such as creating something and then using that to create a labelled diagram. There are two forms of design, tighter and looser. Tighter refers to constraining their create in some way such as giving a template or stencil to use. Verses looser, which means allowing them to have more agency in their learning.

Creating a One Shot Film

I thoroughly enjoyed today's lesson as it was engaging and fun. We made small videos, created illustrations for poems and reflected on our goals. Creating is not only engaging for teachers but for learners as well. By giving multiple creative opportunities for learners, we will engage the learners and allow them to show their learning. 

My goals are:

• Allow for more creative opportunities in lessons (short create tasks throughout).
• More collaboration tasks
• Change the types of create tasks and incorporate a wide variety of platforms to use (ie. video, voice recording, plays/skits, animations, etc).

RPI Day 7 - Thinking

There are multiple levels of thinking; evaluative, interpretative and literal. The higher order thinking skills (HOTS) are both evaluative and interpretative. 

Thinking in an abstract way doesn't come naturally to our learners. Often everything is literal to them. It is necessary to teach them how to identify when to think in an abstract way. Comparing things require thinking about unusual comparisons and why author’s use these comparisons to portray ideas, emotions, and other features like mood and atmosphere. The four types of comparative speech are metaphor, euphemism, simile and idiom. 

Critical thinking

Systemically analysing the text to challenge it and evaluate the information to be able to look at differing perspectives. Using extended discussion to agree and disagree with perspectives can be a great way to do this. In class we use the "disagree" card which is given to someone in the group work to bring a different perspective to the discussion. This has been successful as even if they agree with what others are saying, they need to think critically about why someone may disagree with the point. 

My tasks for the next three weeks

RPI Day 6 - Vocabulary

 This week we are focusing on vocabulary. Vocabulary is a huge part of literacy. Learners need to learn topic specific words to understand particular topics.

Using the spotlight activity will help gauge where learners are with their knowledge around certain words. They can fill in the table before reading and then again after reading. This helps learners see their progression.

Another activity to do is the traffic light system. The learners have to highlight the words depending on their knowledge of them. These are two activities that I think will be beneficial to my learners in reading.

Word wall displays allow words to be visible around the classroom. The bucket below, is used for learners to place their own words in it. There is a competition between the two groups which brings a competitive and fun element to words. Reusing these word walls allows them to be added to over time.

Rebus puzzles are simple yet effective ways to include vocabulary into fun activities. Riddles are also great for this and are very engaging for learners. They challenge the learners and by practising this they develop more abstract thinking.

Morphology - Best to start in year 2. Focusing on the base/root word first. The affixes or suffixes change the meaning of that root word.

I'm going to add more fun and engaging activities such as riddles and rebus puzzles. Keeping the work engaging is essential for my learners as they struggle to stay engaged. There has been a large amount of great activities that could help with this. I'm also going to add a word wall to my classroom so that I can ensure those words are visible and rewindable for my learners. 

RPI Day 5 - Planning a Reading Programme

Class Site

Our students should be able to access their learning at any time and to work at their own pace is essential. Manaiakalani calls for class sites to be open to everyone and make learning accessible for our learners. 

The way a class site is set out is important as it allows learners and their family to access learning from anywhere. It is simple and to the point, which allows everyone to use the site to learn at their own pace.

Planning a Reading Programme

Timetabling

The ideal time to to do literacy is 90 minutes per day.

Timetables can include the following: Tumble/taskboard/rotation, Daily 5, must dos/can dos, independent learning tasks, long task that lasts a week + smaller ones. 

Independent tasks that can be used are Epic Books, Read Theory, Sunshine online and Sunshine Classics. We use Read Theory in LS1 as a way to prepare our learners for PAT tests and to build mileage and comprehension with texts. I've found this very helpful as learners are able to work at their own level and the tasks help with their comprehension of the text.

Linking Reading and Writing

We started a follow-up called "great beginnings" which explored the mood and atmosphere in a piece of writing. We were given a list of things to come up with and a template. Using the template we inserted our ideas. This is my piece:

The beach was silent that dawn. The only sound was the lone wave crashing against the harsh sand. The rustic piece of driftwood was stagnant and untouched by the human hand. Soft wind enfolded the driftwood like a wisp blanket. Dylan was making his way down to the shoreline. "I wonder if he'll be there again?"

I enjoyed this task as it was both simple yet effective. 

Reflection:

I enjoyed today's lesson as there are so many take aways that can be used on the classroom. The task I especially liked was the mood and atmosphere task. This was so simple yet effective and brought all of the senses into it. My learners need to improve on elaboration and adding more detail to their work and a simple task like this does that. Giving them an example will be ideal to model the expected outcome.

 

I also found the  independent apps such as Epic and Literacy Planet very interesting as I have never explored these in detail. I will be adding Literacy Planet to my timetable as a way to engage learners more. 

I found the ideas for independent tasks interesting such as Daily 5. I mildly implemented this into my class a few years ago but I believe it could help my learners this year too. By developing and adjusting tasks, this will hopefully suit my learners more effectively. I am going to trial this as apart of my reading tumble.

I have had a large amount of take aways today such as ideas for my tumble, extra activity tracking sheets, new apps and tasks. I am looking forward to implementing these into my reading routines.

RPI Day 4 - Guided Reading

Guided reading as a programme:

Guided reading is a small group of learners, it has instructional goals and texts are selected to support learning needs. Dame Marie Clay is the lady who developed a guided reading approach. She did extensive research in the 1960s.

There are four approaches to reading; read aloud, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading. Each of these approaches has a place in an effective reading programme.

Guided Reading Model is split into 9 steps that are summed up as preparation, introducing text/purpose, observation, discussion, teaching points, word work, consolidation/independent follow-up and reflection. 

Introducing the text is important to engage learners prior knowledge. This could be as simple as watching a video about the topic prior to the guided reading session. Making vocabulary visible to make connections to them and define them. Learners are able to use their prior knowledge of words to define what they mean in their own words. Making predictions based on pictures and words. 

Background knowledge and prior knowledge are two seperate things. It helps determine what they know and what they need to know. Asking the right questions is essential to get the right answer.

Fluency

As part of our homework we had to record two learners reading a book we may use. Using these recordings we listened and observed what their next steps would be. We marked it against this rubric. This was incredibly helpful to see what they need to work on in order to become more fluent in reading.

Discussion

Discussion is important when it comes to guided reading. Allowing the learners to have open conversations about the text with one another is essential. Asking open ended questions allows learners to listen and respond to each others' ideas. 

Due to flooding in Auckland we have stopped the RPI session early.

RPI Day 3 - Text Selection

Text selection is thoroughly important when it comes to creating a reading programme. There needs to be a variety of books that are different genres, outlooks and topics.

Choosing Appropriate Text:

Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors is a concept that relates to text diversity in readers. It discusses the importance of diversity in books and the authors who write them. We need books in which children can see reflections of themselves - but also look through and see other worlds. 

Grouping Learners:

There are two types of grouping - mixed ability and levelled grouping. Mixed ability groups learners in groups that are at different overall reading levels. Levelled grouping keeps learners who are at a similar level in one group.

This text is Level 3, however the reason for this is due to the critical thinking that is needed. There are only a handful of words that are difficult, making it a good text for mixed ability grouping.

Changing and adjusting groups help learners grow and excel in their reading. By leaving them "static" in a group, they don't get the opportunity to push themselves. By ensuring learners are changed when appropriate and reviewing of reading groups termly helps push those learners further.

Selecting Texts for Groups

Text Sets :

Choosing texts that follow a theme can create a text set. By finding a theme, it allows learners to further develop their ideas and knowledge around that theme. 

Reading to learners is important as it can broaden their knowledge and extended their reading mileage. Putting aside even a few minutes per day can help with this. This gives them an opportunity to hear a book that may be outside of theri reading level.

Shared reading, paired reading and independent reading are three great ways to read. Each brings a different aspect of reading into play.

Reflection: 

I learned that it is so important to included a range of texts in our reading programme. From different genres to perspectives. Reading can also be done in different ways such as reading to, shared reading, paired reading and independent reading. They all have their own benefits and as a whole we can extend our learner reading mileage by using different ways to read. I believe I need to bring more of that into my daily reading programme and this can help our learners thoroughly.

I thought it was a really important to emphasise that keeping reading groups static, doesn't push learners. By reviewing and re-evaluating groups each term we can keep on top of continuing to push our learners further. I believe this is super important when it comes to challenging our students and extending their knowledge and bringing up self efficacy.

Know Your Learners - Reflection

Analysing data is an important aspect of teaching as it allows us a better picture of strengths and things that need improvements. During our second RPI session we learnt how to analyse our PAT data. We received some interesting results and were able to see where we needed to improve. 

My mentor helped both my co-teacher and I, analyse our data from PATs and easTTle. We use graphs to show where pour learners are and analyse our graphs to find our strengths and gaps within our data. We then focus on the gaps in order to inform our teaching.

Below is the analysis of our PAT reading data.

I was very impressed to see all (7/7) year 4 students achieved "at" or "above" the expectation. This was unexpected as this was their first year completing a PAT test online. 3/7 year 4 students were above their expectation.

82% of year 5 learners were "at" or "above" expectation which was great to see. 

Below are our stanine reports for year 4, 5 and 6. 

• 57% of Y4 students were stanine 5-6.
• 43% of Y4 students were stanine 7-8.
• 100% of Y4 learners were “at” or “above” expectation.
• 82% of Y5 learners were “at” or “above” expectation
• 50% of Y6 learners were “at” or “above” expectation.
• Retrieval questions show learners were able to find and use information to answer questions.

 

RPI Day 2 - Know your Learners as Readers

For day 2 of RPI we were focusing on "know your learners as readers". We first reflected on our homework from our first session in our break out groups. I found this incredibly helpful as we were able to discuss what we were proud of, what we found challenging and what we needed more support with. 

How do we use data to inform our teaching?

Assessment 101

Evaluating the impact on learning has the highest effect size. The effect size under 0.4 makes an effect but isn't huge on learning. Any effect size over 0.7 is considered a high effect size and you can guarantee there will be a shift using that characteristic. This table just shows how important assessment is when it comes to progressing our learners.

A range of both informal and formal assessment data should be used to make judgements of students' progress and achievement. It is so important to not rely on just one assessment type. We need to use a range to get a more accurate result. Just like everyone, students have bad days.

Formative vs Summative :

"If formative assessment measures how a student is learning during a course of study, summative assessment is designed to measure “how much” a student has learned after a unit or course has reached its completion." Definition sourced from HMH

How to keep track of data:

We use a multitude of ways to track data. A teacher Workbook allows for the teacher to see where each learner is at in all forms of assessment. A teacher workbook also allows for a reflection of each child and general observations. It is a great place to see what your next steps should be for each individual learners and groups. 

Example of teacher workbook - Fake data and names

How to use NZCER Assist

NZCER Assist has a wide variety of ways to view data. You can access the individual reports and class data in comparison with the average in a range of ways. This makes it easy to see the 'gaps' and 'strengths' as a whole.

Using the data to inform teaching while still engaging them in lessons helps learners improve their skills while maintaining concentration on the task at hand. An example of this would be below. The Reading profile was used to find a text that interests the learners and in this case a "scary story" was something the learners wanted to read more of. The activities are based around the learners' gaps from the PAT data.

Learning intentions and success criteria

We always start with an achievement objective and from there split it into small achievable learning intentions. 

When we use learning intentions we want to make them both specific and generic so they can be used in multiple learning areas. Our learning intentions need to be understandable by our learners, so using wording they understand is essential. 

The success criteria describes how students with go about achieving a learning intention. It is a list of things needed to show they have achieved the learning intention. Co-constructing success criteria helps learners take charge of their own learning and allows them to have buy in. We do need to make sure we give a range of exemplars to help learners co-construct their success criteria. We need to gradually release the responsibility of success criteria to teach our learners to co-construct them.

Below is a task we did by placing the boxes in the LI, LO or SC columns. Here is how I did my activity and the answers I got.

Reflection:

I found this session incredibly helpful. There was a lot of research provided to show the effects that data has on informing teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed the session and will be adding a few new aspects to my teaching such as keeping informal data notes on learners and their progress during group sessions. As well as ensuring I use their reader profile to gauge their interest more when selecting texts and text types.

I am also going to try and use a task board to see how well it goes with my select group of learners. This will have a range of activities to do before our guided session and introduce them to the book we will be having an extended discussion about while bringing more of a multi modal aspect to it.