Literacy Observation: Mrs Allen

Today I had the privilege of observing Room 28 teacher Mrs Allen.

I observed as Mrs Allen co-constructed with the learners, of Room 28, how they can edit/re-craft their biographies. Prior to this session they had reviewed a Tiger Woods biography, researched their chosen person, located 10 facts, and began planning/drafting. Mrs Allen provided two examples of introductions, from the learners themselves, to work on collaboratively.
Mrs Allen asked specific questions to direct learners and provided succinct feedback/feed-forward: Mrs Allen's KQs are in blue...

- Today we are going to look at two sample introductions and think about how we can edit/recraft to hook in the reader.
Learners were on the mat and were chosen at random to read aloud, reading an introduction about Richie McCaw

- What would you do now?
- What do we notice?
- How many sentences are in a paragraph (at least 4-6, written on board)

- What do we need to do in the very first sentence?
Learners put forward a range of ideas: Hook them in; make it interesting...
- How?
Short, sharp, powerful sentences; start with a quote; direct speech...

Learners came up with:
"What a try form Richie McCaw as he wins the game once again for the All Blacks."

- Lets re-craft our crafting!
- What other ways can we introduce?
Set a scene; relate to the reader; imagine they were there; use a rhetorical question: have you ever wondered...

Richie Hugh McCaw is often known as a legend as the greatest loose forward. Although he retired he is still one of the greatest rugby players in the world and would dominate in rugby if he still played.

This was then crafted with learner input:
To be more specific about his position: One of the world's greatest Open Side Flankers
Take out "often" because it is not very powerful.
Change "in the world" for "of all time" because he is one of the best players the world has ever seen. 

Mrs Allen moved on to 'ending' an introduction
- How do we end the introduction?
- What's something we could do?
Learners responded with:
- State a personal opinion: I believe he is the greatest
- Use a fact
- Use humour
Mrs Allen stated: Not one person is right, not one person is wrong; independent writers continually recraft throughout writing.

Together the learners co-constructed the success criteria
- Hook (Quote; Rhetorical Q; setting the scene; relating to the reader/make it personal; state a fact)
- Introduce the person
Effective language/descriptive
- Economical language: short/sharp
- 4-6 Sentences

Mrs Allen then gave the learners explicit instructions, reminders about staying on task, and answered learners questions.

- 20 minutes of silent work, one minute to get settled; read, recraft, edit; 40 seconds, 10 seconds...

Learners asked:
- Can we restart our intro?
Mrs Allen directed her response to the whole class:
- Those who would like to restart their introduction or begin again with a new person can if they want. 

Reflection/Implications for my teaching:
- Be really precise with KQs
- Provide opportunities for learners to think/pair/share
- Use examples of learners work to recraft, they relate to it and have more of a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Keep the teacher time to a minimum to get the learners writing/re-crafting using the knowledge they have just acquired.
- I teach somewhat differently, but that isn't a bad thing, because I believe I work with a whole different classroom environment and do my best to meet the direct needs of my learners.
- Small group teaching could reach target learners to enable them to be successful, confident writers.

Literacy Observation: Mrs Allen

Today I had the privilege of observing Room 28 teacher Mrs Allen.

I observed as Mrs Allen co-constructed with the learners, of Room 28, how they can edited/re-craft their biographies. Prior to this session they had reviewed a Tiger Woods biography, researched their chosen person, located 10 facts, and began planning/drafting. Mrs Allen provided two examples of introductions, from the learners themselves, to work on collaboratively.
Mrs Allen asked specific questions to direct learners and provided succinct feedback/feed-forward: Mrs Allen's KQs are in blue...

- Today we are going to look at two sample introductions and think about how we can edit/recraft to hook in the reader.
Learners were on the mat and were chosen at random to read aloud, reading an introduction about Richie McCaw

- What would you do now?
- What do we notice?
- How many sentences are in a paragraph (at least 4-6, written on board)

- What do we need to do in the very first sentence?
Learners put forward a range of ideas: Hook them in; make it interesting...
- How?
Short, sharp, powerful sentences; start with a quote; direct speech...

Learners came up with:
"What a try form Richie McCaw as he wins the game once again for the All Blacks."

- Lets re-craft our crafting!
- What other ways can we introduce?
Set a scene; relate to the reader; imagine they were there; use a rhetorical question: have you ever wondered...

Richie Hugh McCaw is often known as a legend as the greatest loose forward. Although he retired he is still one of the greatest rugby players in the world and would dominate in rugby if he still played.

This was then crafted with learner input:
To be more specific about his position: One of the world's greatest Open Side Flankers
Take out "often" because it is not very powerful.
Change "in the world" for "of all time" because he is one of the best players the world has ever seen. 

Mrs Allen moved on to 'ending' an introduction
- How do we end the introduction?
- What's something we could do?
Learners responded with:
- State a personal opinion: I believe he is the greatest
- Use a fact
- Use humour
Mrs Allen stated: Not one person is right, not one person is wrong; independent writers continually recraft throughout writing.

Together the learners co-constructed the success criteria
- Hook (Quote; Rhetorical Q; setting the scene; relating to the reader/make it personal; state a fact)
- Introduce the person
Effective language/descriptive
- Economical language: short/sharp
- 4-6 Sentences

Mrs Allen then gave the learners explicit instructions, reminders about staying on task, and answered learners questions.

- 20 minutes of silent work, one minute to get settled; read, recraft, edit; 40 seconds, 10 seconds...

Learners asked:
- Can we restart our intro?
Mrs Allen directed her response to the whole class:
- Those who would like to restart their introduction or begin again with a new person can if they want. 

Reflection/Implications for my teaching:
- Be really precise with KQs
- Provide opportunities for learners to think/pair/share
- Use examples of learners work to recraft, they relate to it and have more of a sense of ownership and responsibility.
- Keep the teacher time to a minimum to get the learners writing/re-crafting using the knowledge they have just acquired.
- I teach somewhat differently, but that isn't a bad thing because I believe I ma meeting the direct needs of my learners.
- Small group teaching could reach target learners to enable them to be successful and develop confidence about their abilities as writers.

Staff Meeting - The Inquiry Cycle

Staff Meeting - The Inquiry Cycle - Tuesday 13th September 2016

What does this cycle need to do?
- Guide the teacher in planning
- Shared language for new members of staff/students
- Can be used across all areas of the curriculum
- Supports towards a genuine purpose
- Something that inspires the students
- Student agency (choice and control)
- Student ownership
- Contextualisation - Why is this important to me?
- Making connections - Something to hang new learning on

Reading: 10 things You Didn't Know about the Spanish Alphabet

10 things you didn’t know about the Spanish Alphabet:

http://www.peppyburro.com/blog/spanish-alphabet/

A really interesting read, as it states that the Spanish alphabet was changed in 2010 by the Royal Spanish Academy “the governing body that dictates how Spanish ought to be spoken and written.”

This has also provided me with a table of the alphabet: letter; name; pronunciation; examples; notes., which has deepened my understanding of the Spanish Alphabet.
The ‘names’ and notes have given me a better insight into the alphabet, more so then the resources I have been using at school (Si, An Introduction to Spanish).
Building my background knowledge is enabling me to deliver Espanol with more confidence

Staff Meeting - Report Writing Workshop

Staff Meeting - Report Writing Workshop - Thursday 8th September 2016

- Complete the reports in Pages - templates for each class will be sent out - Calendar has details of when to save where.

- Have 6 reports to team leader by the end of this term.
- Be specific about what students can do.
- Don't be afraid to mention areas that they can improve in.
- Ensure that levels are equivalent through the report.
- The general comment is your opportunity to show how well you know the student. This is also where you can mention any notable achievements.
- Languages and Media are not given a section/level on the report - if you want to mention these areas do so in the general comments section.
- Student voice is given on the back page in the 'Take up the challenge' section. Get the students to carry out this task in Room 13 time on a doc and then send to you.
- Teachers must enter Tech Arts/Science levels when they receive these from the Specialist teachers.

Staff Meeting - PYP

Staff Meeting - PYP - Tuesday 6th September 2016

- Is the inquiry cycle the same as, connected to or different to inquiry?
- Which of the standards in C3 support the idea of having an inquiry cycle?
- How do we use the inquiry cycle at Berkley?
Books, Connections, Displays, Planning (SUP, Bubble), Guiding research, Used in Numeracy and Literacy (not explicitly)
Needs to be explicit in all Units of Inquiry
- Ask students "Where are you now? Where might you go next?"
- New Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle?

7 Misconceptions about the Inquiry Cycle

Expert Group and Home Group Activity

Looking at various Inquiry Cycles

The Power of Inquiry - Kath Murdoch

Cycle vs. Process???

Always reflecting

UOI Book Monitoring

UOI Book Monitoring - Thursday 1st September 2016

Today we met as a team with Beth (the PYP co-ordinator at Berkley) to look over our UOI books and discuss how we could improve our practice. 

- Collaboration with team members & wider school colleagues.

- Provide frequent written feedback and feedforward to students (be specific and ask questions).

- Our interpretation of the inquiry cycle and how it affects our planning. Is the inquiry cycle linear?

- What are our responsibilities to the learners?

- How can we involve the wider community?

- How can we allow for more student input?

• Decision making about the connections to the inquiry cycle. (student agency)
• What other paths can this inquiry take us on?

UOI Books - The Learning Process - Beth Germaine

To get the students to come up with their own title for each entry of work. They will then be able to make better connections in their learning logs.

I am encouraging the students to make their own learning links whether this be to the lines of inquiry, the inquiry cycle, key concepts etc. This is good. To keep doing this.

The top of the page should include the date, their title and the area of inquiry eg Tuning In.

To put more effort into entering all learning into the learning log even if the work is in the writing book or even a powhiri etc.

The learning log can be an acknowledgment of the learning journey it doesn’t have to a comprehensive reflection with this.

Need to have evidence of student reflection in the books. Whether this is a record of discussion or a deliberate entry. Guided reflection is an area in which I am going to focus.

Ask - What do I get them to reflect on/about?

What makes me a good learner? This isn’t always skills but this might include behaviours and values.

How can I get them to record their reflections in a creative way. This could even be a entry into the learning log. Date - Reflection on the or learning conversation about …. Connections. Etc

1 recorder for group discussion and photocopy/copy of notes into everyone’s books/e-portfolios.

Beth suggested the use of stamps as prompts and to take the ownership away from the teacher and to put it more on the students. They can pass the stamp about the group to make this process quick and easy as well as ensuring consistency in terms of form etc.

Targeting the feedback to ensure that my feedback has the greatest impact. For example, with our concept maps I was tuning in on those who were struggling to get ideas down as these were most likely to benefit from the prompts etc when they tried to complete another concept map.

Make sure we are consistently having the children complete an in-depth summative reflection or a statement linking to a rubric.

UOI Book Monitoring

UOI Book Monitoring - Thursday 1st September 2016

Today we met as a team with Beth (the PYP co-ordinator at Berkley) to look over our UOI books and discuss how we could improve our practice. 

- Collaboration with team members & wider school colleagues.

- Provide frequent written feedback and feedforward to students (be specific and ask questions).

- Our interpretation of the inquiry cycle and how it affects our planning. Is the inquiry cycle linear?

- What are our responsibilities to the learners?

- How can we involve the wider community?

- How can we allow for more student input?

• Decision making about the connections to the inquiry cycle. (student agency)
• What other paths can this inquiry take us on?

Staff Meeting - Te Reo

Staff Meeting - Te Reo - Thursday 1st September 2016

Reflection:
This professional development has reminded me of the use of Oral Choral when teaching another language. I use a range of visual and audio resources to teach Spanish and feel like I am on a good pathway, leading students to successfully develop Spanish language skills, and knowledge of the Spanish culture.
In future sessions I will introduce 'Ping-ponging', using a tennis ball.

Staff Meeting - Te Reo

Staff Meeting - Te Reo - Thursday 1st September 2016

Reflection:
This professional development has reminded me of the use of Oral Choral when teaching another language. I use a range of visual and audio resources to teach Spanish and feel like I am on a good pathway, leading students to successfully  learn and retain the Spanish language.
In future sessions I will introduce 'Ping-ponging'