Text Selection - RPI Day 3

Before I dive into today's learning I thought I would do a small reflection on what has happened since the last session:

After making my own task board for a group of learners and introducing it to them, I very quickly noticed many issues. I had to peel it right back as many of these learners were new to Chromebooks. This also happens to be my group of reluctant readers (who are all boys). So each activity had to be individually introduced and then ample time was needed for them to navigate to the activity and make a start. I found that many unfortunately didn't manage to finish many tasks without one on one support. So a lot of our guided reading sessions went into building a routine for them to complete the tasks. I'm hoping over time this will become a bit more fluid for them. 

DAY 3 

As we build on from each session, today we took all the information from the first pillar of practice: Know your learners as readers looking at our reader profile survey and assessment data. We used this information to look at grouping & text selection. 

Text types

We looked at choosing an appropriate text from the following 3:

Window - realities of others

Mirror - reflect the lives of readers

Sliding door - readers can walk into a story and become part of the world created by the author – readers become fully immersed in another experience

Ref: https://witschicago.org/windows-mirrors-and-sliding-glass-doors

Grouping

When it comes to grouping I feel like I have blinkers on and only see levelled grouping as the main choice. Today was a reminder and an alternative perspective to grouping by mixed ability and flexible grouping. 

I use mixed ability for other learning areas. But I can see the benefits of using it for my reading groups too. 

Planning & Compiling Texts

A few of my favourite places when planning and compiling text are:

Journal surf 

TKI

Resource cupboard

When creating text sets (especially for my more dependent readers) I find having Google read&write for websites and educational videos available for them very helpful. This allows them to have accountability during independent sessions. TKI also offers a limited range of audio text to support this. These learners also enjoy choices like Epic! as it offers a read-aloud option which they can engage with. 

Texts for the Wider Reading Programme

I did a quick stocktake to see the type of reading coverage I currently have in my programme:

It was reassuring reminder that there are many opportunities to increase reading milage throughout a day/week. However it is also important to recognise the type of reading which they are exposed to. After this stock take I have deliberately planned to include reading to in my timetable for Term 2. I chose to put this just before Lunch time, at the end of my literacy block as a way to wrap up the session and for kids to take a breath before heading out to play. This would also give them a quiet moment to reflect on the work throughout the session. 

Know your Learners as Readers - RPI Day 2

In session 1 it was mentioned that up until session 3 it's as if you’re climbing the hill. I can definitely feel that with today's session. At times I felt on top of things and then at times I was drowning! 

However in between the 2 sessions it was great to be able to apply some of the things discussed in class with real learners. Having an authentic experience and audience definitely helped me understand the process a lot better. Thus making today a lot more worthwhile. I also need to remember that the examples are bigger goals to head towards and instead if I pick and choose a few items to work on and add to my kete rather then trying to replicate something to this extent over night. 

Teacher Workbook 

An area which I knew I needed to work on before RPI was data informed planning. So as heavy as today's session was, it was very welcomed. I loved the Teacher Workbook which was introduced today! Although very overwhelming at first and something which will take a while to initially set up (especially at the beginning of the year with new learerns and knowing very little about them) I can definitely see myself finding a system that works for me and making use of it. 

I enjoyed the session on AO, LI & SC and seeing how all of this comes together on the Teacher Workbook. It definitely makes a smoother transition between all the parts of planning. 

Task Board

I currently already use a learning task board with my learners. This is more a generic cross curricular task board which I build on throughout the week (not to overwhelming for some learners). 

I just thought I would also throw in a different version of task boards I have used in the past (not for reading specifically)

I think my learners will engage well with the Reading Task board, so I’m looking forward to using it. For the lower level learners and learners new to using Chromebooks it might be a bit overwhelming, so to start with I might ‘hide’ the with the teacher tasks until I have had the group and we have gone through the tasks together. 

For the Weekly choice board section I used to have a similar version for my junior class with different levels they had to choose from them. They had to start at green and then work their way down to red. It was engaging and gave the learners student agency after their guided and independent learning. 

Over all it was a great session with many takeaways. I look forward to having a tutu with the new tools and applying some in my practice.

Reading survey reflection

What Kind of Reader are You? 

This is the question I posed to my year 4, 5 & 6 learners. But before launching into the survey we discussed what makes a good reader. A few responses I got were

Someone who: 

• can sit for a long time
• wants to learn
• is interested in a topic ie football
• is forced to read  
• knows all the words (this one surprised me the most)

During this discussion I noticed many children did not participate, thus realising that many kids didn't know what a good reader profile was. 

These were a few of the responces about what makes a good reader from the survey: 

• understanding the story\text
• having strategies
• use your imagination
• tries to read new words
• loves adventure 
• reads everyday 
• good at spelling/knows the meanings of lots of words 
• can answer questions about the book 
• read 20 pages every day 
• focused on the story 

From the survey it was pleasing to see that no learner in my class didn't like reading and none of them put themselves down as not being a good reader. 

I was also pleased to see they all had a favourite time to read (none picked never). I think this reflected how important they know reading is. More than 70% of learners see the importance of reading outside of school hours. 

I found the library stats quite low. However we are lucky to have a well stocked school library which learners visit at least once a week and have access to during lunch times. So I wasn't too concerned about this. However it would be nice to see this go up, especially during the summer holidays. 

Overall the survey was a good reflection for the learners on their view about reading. After looking at the data together a few children noticed they were the minority and wanted to do something about it, for example:

• get a library card
• read for enjoyment
• read in their own time
• read during the school holidays
• find a genre that they like

This was a great survey to introduce at the start of the year to see the attitude towards reading and any concerns about reading. I look forward to doing the survey with the same children later in the year to see if there is a shift in mentality. 

Reading is Core - RPI Day 1

A great introduction and start to the RPI (Reading Practice Intensive) through Manaiakalani.

4 Main topics covered: 

Good Reader profile

This was a great opportunity to reflect on teachers as readers and what we portray a good reader is, as well as what we think makes our learners 'good readers'. 

What do you think makes a good reader?

When I was asked this question the top 3 things I thought of was a learner who is a critical thinker, self-driven and applies knowledge (before, during and after).   

 

I think it's important we reflect especially at the start of the year on how we get to know and collect data about our learners’ reading profiles. 

 

                                                                These were a few ways that popped into my mind.

Reading across the curriculum

I feel like this is something that already happens, especially with the broad array of areas to cover in the NZC. However, it's important we make explicit reference to the connections that have been made (in planning, LI's and with the learners). 

A reflection on 4 learner-inspired outcomes from the LS2 reader survey

Ground Rules for Talk

Having done the P4C (Philosophy for Children) there are a lot of links that made this area of learning familiar. 

The shared norms include:

Reflection: This is something that I need to make explicit and visible. It should also be addressed regularly until learners are confident to only have it available as a visual aid. 

Pillars of Practice model

A great starting point to reflect on what's already happening and gaps/areas that need to be strengthened. 

 

Going forward: 

- I love the task boards. Going to look into how this can be incorporated into my current reading practice. 

- To add to my reader profile I will do a student survey and analyse the data together with the class. I'm especially interested in boys' responses as this is a particular group of concern from our 2023 reading data. 

Revision + Google Educator - DFI Session 9

What a whirlwind of a journey this course has been. 

Lot's of content to reflect on from over the past 9 weeks. Today's post is mainly going to be a reflection of it all. 

Due to Covid-19 this year has given us a great opportunity to refelt on our readiness for ubiquitous learning... 

A^3 - Anytime, Anywhere & Any pace

I am proud of the way I had set up my class site at the beginning of the year. It was clear and easy to navigate. Because we had been using the class site from Term 1 the children were so familiar with it and knew know to independently access their learning. 

I regret not covering enough on being a smart learner by showing the Kawa of Care. I regret not exploring the Gdrive throughout the year.

I will be incorporating features of Gdrive from Term 1 to familiarise the children with it. 

The DFI sessions have definitely had a positive impact on me. Although I had already been using many of the digital tools, the DFI was a good reminder of the vast variety of functions embedded in behind the scenes. I have walked away from every session with new learnings and ways to practically embed features into my existing program. I enjoyed having a smaller bubble to help breakdown content. It gave everyone a chance to speak and share. 

If I was to choose a highlight it would be the Google Keep app. Check out my previous post when first learnt about it. It has definitely become an integrated app in my workflow. 

I also enjoyed the Hapara Hot Tips section. A few features I've never used have been introduced to me.

Overall very content with the PD. I walk away feeling like I have gained an abundance of tricks and skills. I have also learned more about the Manaiakalani pedagogy and Kaupapa. 

A massive thank you to everyone who was involved in putting the content all together and of course all the facilitators. 

Computational Thinking - DFI Session 8

Empowered - give (someone) the authority or power to do something.

I touched on empowerment in my last blog titled Devices - DFI session 7. 

With the speed technology is advancing, who knows what technology will look like in the next 10 years for the learners of today. By only using a device as a tool we are limiting their creativity and accessibility to only those tools we use. 

Rather, if we teach learners how to use a device safely, and everything a device can offer (including warnings about the bad things that can happen to) they are becoming enriched with all this knowledge which can be transferred from one device to another, from one environment to another. And even when device/technology do change, these learners are still embedded with this knowledge which can then again be transferred and adapted to suit their circumstance. 

We tried out the Moral Machine Activity - a platform for gathering human perspective on moral decisions made by machines. When shown the first image I froze and thought to myself 'are these the only 2 options'?

Slightly unrelated to the moral machine aspect, but it got me thinking. When giving children options we tend to give a good option and a bad option. This limited there thinking to a 50/50 chance of something happening. However, if given a good nor bad option this enables them to think a lot deeper.

I would consider myself a beginner when it comes to computational thinking. ie. I can happily cover the basics. 

In the new digital curriculum, I feel I already cover a fair bit of the first strand: Computational Thinking. Especially through the Cyber Smart program.

  

 

Devices - DFI Session 7

In today's session we started off by looking at the Cybersmart curriculum created by Manaiakalani. A key pedagogy of the curriculum is to empower children on how to manage a device and the tools a device can offer. 

I love this as it can be used by any type of learner no matter what device they have or what the purpose of the device is. 

I think the following proverb really complements the Cybersmart curriculum:

The Hapara hot tips have been very helpful, complemented with today's section on Hapara. I'm still getting my head around Hapara but learning the basics sure does help. 

Today's digital dig into Chromebooks was a great insight. It was good to see what and how seniors at our school use these devices. 

Of course, by far my highlight of today was the work we did on iPads, as this is linked directly to the main tool we use on a daily basis in our practice. 

I'm still not 100% sold on Explain Everything. 

Con: As a teacher/creator I find it a little too fiddly, especially considering the projects can not be created on a laptop. 

Pro: However, it is very user friendly for younger students (year 1-3), especially those new to a digital device. 

I gave it a go... here is a snippet of a project I started creating: