Structured Literacy "Science of Reading"

This year in response to convincing research and professional development with Liz Kane, and the leadership from my DP Maire Bowler I have started teaching Structured Literacy also known as the MSL approach based on the "Science of Reading".Which means we use what we know about how the brain works to teach students how to read and write.

What is MSL?

MSL is directly teaching students the link between sounds in our spoken language and how these sounds link to written language - i.e. the sound/letter relationship - the technical terms for this is phonological awareness and phonics.

Multisensory

When teaching the above, teachers use all the learning pathways in the brain - visual, hearing and movement -  this is the multisensory part of MSL and it helps with the learning and remembering of new concepts.

Systematic 

These letter/sound links are taught in a structured way (structured language) - from simple to more complex and are reviewed regularly to ensure students have understood what has been taught.

I started teaching Structured Literacy in term one with my new entrant students. It made so much sense to change to this approach even though all my training was the complete opposite! The lessons are repetitive and allow the children to really learn a sound before they move on. It is a really fun engaging programme to teach, in my experience the students were so focused and loved coming to reading. Stage 1 took a term give or take to teach with the interruption of Covid and distance learning. What I loved about it during distance learning was that the parents were able to pick up where their child was and continue helping them learn the sounds, formations and 'heart words' of stage 1. Through using this phonological approach this year and I have already seen some impressive progress with our new learners. This group of children are now on stage 4 and are reading. The most exciting part is that they are actually reading! They are not memorising words and using pictures to help them they are reading words all by themselves.

I have also taught year 2 students who were below and started at stage 1 of the programme to ensure they knew all their sounds and had correct formation. These children have really blossomed and excelled in reading. The science is true and I truly believe that Structured Reading is the way forward and I encourage all teachers if they have the opportunity to jump on board!

Do some research for yourself you will not regret it.

DFI - Session Nine

DFI has come to an end, I can’t believe how much I have learnt over the last

nine weeks. 

Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the last session today but the great thing

about DFI is

that it is rewindable learning.

This is a great example of what I read about ubiquitous learning. What I took from

it was that

ubiquitous learning is available anytime,

anywhere at any pace and also from anyone. High-quality learning is available at

any time

not just between nice and three.

All learners should have the ability to experience rewindable learning! 

Due to not being able to complete the last DFI session I took my exam in the weekend.

While I was sitting the exam I was very proud of

all the new learning and skills I was able to do with confidence. I got my results back and

I passed. I was really proud of myself and thankful for

the support the DFI team had given me. 

I am still yet to explore the DFI slam and explore all the valuable resources. Watch this

space and I will do a blog post. I have really enjoyed

the last nine weeks of DFI and look forward to continuing using my new skills with

confidence in the classroom. 

Have you done DFI? If you get the chance, make sure you do it! 

DFI - Session Six & Seven

Week 6 - DFI this week looked at changing and improving our sites. I was so involved and excited about this that I forgot to write my blog post! I am happy with the changes that have been made as I feel that now the site is more appealing for children and hopefully more accessible for them to use. I took the changes back to my team and they were happy with how it was looking. The biggest feedback I received from my team was how easy it was to now put our planning onto the site. There are still more changes and tweaking I would like to do. Here is a before and after photo of our blog.

Before 

After 

Week 7 - This week was all about devices. We started the day with unpacking Cybersmart. The main points I took away from this session were that Cybersmart is about empowering our learners as connected and confident decision makers. It's more than teaching our students how to be safe online. It is creating lifelong Cybersmart learners. Another point was the use of positive language inspires students. This means being very careful and selective with the language I use around my students teacher Cybersmart. 

Next we became the learners and explored using the Chromebooks. I really enjoyed being the learner and seeing how the students work on the Chrome books by completing the Digital Dig. I now have more knowledge about the shortcuts on Chromebooks and what digital tools can be used on them. 

Finally it was time to be an iPad learner. We looked at Explain Everything and what tools it has. I felt confident working with Explain Everything. One thing I had never used was the voice recorder. I played around with this and am going to put it on all my create tasks to ensure all learners are able to understand the create tasks. Here is a photo of one I created.  

Have you got any hot tips about being a Chromebook or iPad learner? 

DFI - Session Four

Today was all about working with data. I was a little apprehensive when I heard the word data, but I learnt so much that I am looking forward to trying in my hub. 

First we explored SHARE with Dorothy. Sharing has been around since time began and it is a human instinct to share! In 2005 the world was introduced to social media, this is when the way we share changed and has continually changed over time. The biggest take away for me was that sharing has the potential for changing outcomes for my students. Manaiakalani strongly believes that sharing is about making connections with one another. The main sharing platform for our students in Blogger. This is not the latest sharing app but is a wonderful safe place for students to share their learning. Blogger is multi purposed and can be used by leaners and teachers. 

Hāpara is a programme that allows teachers to keep students safe and keep track of students' work. This is used in year 3-8 currently at my school. I have never used Hāpara but I like the idea of being able to monitor my students. I am going to explore more and see if this can be used with iPads. 

Google Forms is something I have used to fill out information but I had never made one myself. I created a form to get to know my students more and find out what they like/dislike about school. I am wondering if my students will be able to access and fill out Google Forms on the iPads? If so I will be creating Google Forms to support my teaching. 

My Maps are new to me. I can see how this can be used in the classroom for measurement, places around school, and creating connections with students Mihi. I am going to explore more with My Maps and see what else it has to offer. 

Google Sheets - My favourite takeaway was learning how to freeze columns so they don't move when you are scrolling around the sheet. I also learnt how to import data, sort data with filters, how to use formulas and functions. Auto fill is also life changing! One of our tasks was to analyse data from a blog. Here is the data from the Kākano blog. 

DFI - Session Three

We started today with looking at create. The main points I took away from Dorothy were that for creativity to be successful you need to hook the learners in. This means giving them something to do rather than something to learn as this is where most learning naturally happens.

 "Creators of content, not merely consumers" (Pt England School) 

Next, we explored YouTube and how to set up a channel and playlist. I use YouTube as a tool to support my teaching. I am really looking forward to saving the videos we watch daily to a playlist that I can share with my students. 

Google Drawing is something I have never really explored. I can now see that it is going to be very beneficial for making my class site easy to use. I loved all the features that it has to offer and I will defiantly be exploring Google Drawings more. Here is a drawing I made today.   

Finally we looked at Google Slides. One thing to remember when making a presentation is use consistent formatting, this then won't take the audience away from what you are saying. I am going to explore more with Google Slides and see how this can help my planning. A tip from Mark was using audio recordings within my learn, create, shares. I have year 1 students so this will be really helpful for them. I am going to try this out next week! 

Here is my Digital Pepeha that I made on Google Slides. 

What have you read that you might want to learn more about from me? 

DFI - Day One

Today was the first day of the DFI course. DFI stands for Digital Fluency Intensive. I was asked if I would like to complete the DFI course online due to Covid-19. I was a little apprehensive as it was going to be totally online. One thing I had more confidence in due to distance learning at home was navigating my way around Google Meets, this was very helpful as DFI uses Google Meets.
I learnt about the Manaiakalani Kaupapa and pedagogy. Little did I know that MK actually started many years ago beginning with 13 schools all with close proximity to each other. Manaiakalani has been designed to motivate learners to engage with the curriculum and become 21 C Learners. 

A few things that stood out for me today:
Voice typing in Google docs - this is a life changer not only for myself but also my learners who have trouble typing things quickly. It will allow them to focus on their writing and ideas rather than the typing side. 
Another top tip was (Shift Z) this makes a copy of the document but also moves it into your drive. This is a great way to get documents without making a copy as the document will still continue to be updated with any changes. 
The website remove.bg is also a life changer in making documents look more professional as it removes the white background from an image. 



Inserting a table in Google docs - In the past I have spent ages arranging images on the page and getting them to stay there. Using tables allows you to do this so quickly and nothing moves, bonus! Check out my learn, create, share that I made on docs! I usually make them in Google drawings. Bring on DFI week 2.

Bee-Bots in the Classroom

Bee-Bots I had seen them in our resource room but didn't know how to work them or know how I could use them with the children. Know I feel confident to use them and am very excited that they can be used in so many different ways! 

Today I was lucky enough to attend a workshop at the Turanga Library with Emma Planicka exploring Bee-Bots in the Classroom. 

Why Bee-Bots?

• Directionality
• Making shapes
• Debugging
• Building algorithms
• Storytelling - comprehension and retelling
• counting, number before and after
• Visual art
• Collaboration
• Phonics and much more!

Bee-Bots expose children to the opportunity to explore curriculum areas in creative and fun ways while also covering elements of the digital curriculum. I had no idea they could be used in so many different ways!

Along with being amazed with all the wonderful learning experiences you can use Bee-Bots for, the one thing that I walked away with was realising that you cant just give children the Bee-Bots, explain the task and off they go. Children need to be exposed the the language and vocab before even touching a Bee-Bot as this helps them to develop an understanding and hearing the language being repeatedly used in a range on contexts. 

Some key questions to ask students:

• Are robots smart? Do they have a brain?
• What are some robots you would find in your home?
• Discuss algorithmic thinking - link to daily routines 

Learning experiences for children before using the Bee-Bots:

• Rubber Mats/PE Dots (direction, forward, back, left, right) 
• Grids
• Maps 

I can not wait to give Bee-Bots ago as well as teaching and encourage my other colleagues to use them! 

Nathan Wallis - When should a child learn to write?

Its a couch kind of day today in Christchurch and what else do you do, other than sit on your phone on Facebook, scrolling over and over the same boring content thinking to yourself 'I should really get off this now'. I thought this to myself until I came over a video of Nathan Wallis talking about how children in a structured preschool setting have a higher chance of ending up in prison, than children in a free play structured preschool. The video was only 30 seconds long but he inspired me to go and read something useful and interesting written by him.

I found an article called  "When should a child learn to write" (Wallis). This article challenged my thinking right from the heading. In my mind as a primary school teacher, I have been taught that children start to write when they start school along with reading and counting. Research on brain development states that “the part of the brain that likes repetitive pattern, the formal cortex, is associated with numeracy and literacy” (Wallis). This part of the brain isn't fully active until children reach the age of seven. Wallis states that a solid basis to writing is a good understanding of oral language. As a teacher I know that children need to have some basic letter recognise and sounds before they can start to write. This has challenged my thinking of the expectations I set. I now see that I need to lower my expectations and encourage the children more to enjoy writing. At five a child should not be stressing out about their learning, they have a lot going on with developing their emotions and attitude towards themselves as a learner. Going forward I am going to ensure that the children are writing about topics they enjoy and ensure that none of my students are under stress. To ensure my students don't experience stress while writing I need to make sure that I have well established relationships with my children, so I am aware of how they think and work. Wallis suggested that children under stress are basically learning they are a bit stupid.  This article fits great within my practice as Wallis also believes that schools should move towards in Learning through Play. “Along with two and a half hours a day with teacher-led instruction, free play and creativity will make for an intelligent child”.

Go and research Nathan Wallis I am sure you will find something well worth reading!    

Nathan Wallis - When should a child learn to write?    

Photo

 

Early Childhood to Kakano Hub

I starting teaching in the Kakano hub week 8 term 2. This was a very busy time to come into a new school and new environment as the other teachers were busy finishing off reports. Despite this everyone was so welcoming and willing to help me learn the ropes of things. Our Hub has approximately 100 children and 5 other teachers. My team now had only been in there new hub for 7 more weeks than me so they still, were all finding there feet and working out how things were going to work. I have learnt so much already and was grateful that I was able to give my import and ideas from my Early childhood experience. 

How are the environment different?  
Our hub is based around Learning Through Play with provocations set up for the children to engage in at literacy and numeracy times. At my preschool the environment was also set up around Learning Through Play with lots of different provocations set out all day for the children to pick and choose at there own leisure. 
The environments them self are very similar with the same equipment and provocations to carter for the needs of the children. The structure and how the day is run is very different however. At preschool the children were able to rome from inside to outside when ever they liked and were able to choose any activities to engage in. They had rolling kai which meant if you wanted to eat you could if not keep playing, followed by a compulsory twenty minute mat time split into the younger children and the before school ready children. After than back to playing and learning followed by a sit down lunch and more play before they went home. School is much more structured with prayers in the morning followed by a carb snack. Groups with teachers for numeracy and literacy. Other children are with the coaches who are in charge of the provocations room and Learning Through play room for the new entrants. Both environments work very well they are just different to meets the needs of the children and the curriculum. 

Now being in a much more structured environment where I have a plan for my day, have certain things I need to teach and get done, looking back I see that I was very bored at preschool and I wasn't challenging myself. Some people say 'preschool teachers are not real teachers'. I don't believe this at all! They are amazing teachers who are teaching our children, social skills, relationships and interpersonal skills just to name a few that are all fundamental for when children start primary school. "Preschool teachers play an important role in building a child’s success in their first years of school. Teachers do more than facilitate arts and crafts projects throughout the day. Preschool lays the foundation for kids to understand what “school” actually is. Teachers use a variety of methods to help children grow cognitively, as well as conceptually. A positive relationship with preschool teachers can make an exponential difference in a child’s success as they continue through elementary school". (Term of tomorrow)    

I have been able to offer advice and experience within the Learning Through Play and provocations room. I have already set up a beach scene with sand, shells, and sticks for the children to explore with or to make letters and numbers with the shells. I have also made play dough which has been a massive hit in the mornings. I will continue to add different provocations and change it up when I can. I really enjoy changing the environment and offering the children new things to ensure they don't get bored and are still focused.  

References

Preschool Teachers Play an Important Role in Children's Growth  
https://teamsoftomorrow.com/preschool-teachers-play-important-role-childrens-growth/

Being a Balanced Reader

This term I had the opportunity to go and listen to Stephen Graham from Nelson (A Cengage Company) about Leveled Texts. After a long day at school, to be honest all I wanted to do was go home. Stephen was very passionate about what he was talking about and as soon as he opened his mouth my whole attitude about the next hour and half changed. 

The main point that I took away from Stephen Graham was "Our Children need to be balanced readers" Stephen said this a number of times during the evening. A balanced reading is a child who can decode, has fluency, phrasing and comprehension. Stephen said "Our children can read, so what?" This comment really stuck with me and thinking back now he is right. With this is mind and the resources he gave us the 'PM Story' this book breaks down the levels and helps teachers to know what they need to teach at each level in order for students to become balanced readers.

What I found challenging was that Stephen said "its not a race to move children up levels" . Through out my training I was told that it is best to keep children moving along at a reasonable pass with levels. Writing this now and from the course I now see the importance of supporting children to become a balanced reader, before moving up levels. This will allow the children to develop the comprehension, fluency and phrasing most students are lacking.      

This course will and has already had an impact on my teaching. Stephen has taught me to ensure I  know what skills and strategies  need to be teaching my children at every level. I need to be focusing on one or two skills at a time and allow the children time and thinking to process the new skills taught. Through using the PM Story and PM books its easy, it all links up with the skills and story. I know from experience that I have planned to teacher speech marks and then when I went to teach it the story only had two sets of speech marks. Children need to revisit the new learning at lest five times during the lesson. The PM Story ensues that this doesn't happen and my children are able to revisit their new learning at lest five times. 

My next steps are to ensure that in my planning I put teaching points and use the PM Story to help plan for this. I am going to keep pushing my children but also allow them the time to become balanced readers before moving them up levels. I will also use the term 'balanced reader' when talking to parents as this is a easy and positive way to explain to parents why there child hasn't gone up levels as fast as they would of liked. 

Here is the link to the Nelson A Cengage Company. There are some useful resources. 
 https://cengage.co.nz/primary

Welcome to my Blog

Kia ora, I am Katie Clark and I am a teacher at St Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Christchurch. I teach in the Kakano hub (Yr 0-2) with around 100 children and 5 other teachers. We are a brand new purpose built Learning Through Play environment. This is a familiar environment for myself in a lot of ways as I have come from ABC Somerfield Preschool where I was for the last year and a half. I love teaching in a collaborative environment and believe that Learning Through Play is a really positive and important part for children to transition into their new schooling experience and start with everyday. The children love coming to school and after having some time to play in the mornings they are ready to go for the day. It is also really important to remember that the children are not just 'playing' they are learning lots of different skills and strategies needed in everyday life through physical play, language play, exploratory play, constructive play, fantasy play and social play.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog :) Please feel free to post any comments or questions.

Katie