End of year data discussions

Today we have had a Tuakana/Teina day so that teachers can take time to reflect and discuss data. We found that for the Junior school it has been particularly hard to track and compare data becuase of children changing year groups based on their birth date and students moving classrooms.

This year my class data shows there has been lots of positive shifts in Writing. I think this is due to a specific and predictable writing lesson format that the students are used to. This lesson format is the same in Room 1 and I think that this really helps the students because they know what to expect. I also think that having a free writing table has helped students engagement and motivation. They have a specific table set up with paper, pens, felts and coloured pencils. I have seen children before school and during Fun Friday time choose to write stories and make books. This has created students who enjoy writing and therefore they are making good progress.

Here are some pictures of the students book. I Only helped him do the block writing for the title and helped him do the first flap for his book. He created the rest all by himself during our developmental morning.

The area I need to focus on next year is Reading. This is the curriculum area where majority of my students are not meeting the National Standard. Next year I am going to put more of a focus on Basic sight words and have a buddy reading timetable set up where students from the senior school come and read with my students before school. 

Parent/ teacher communication

As a young BT this was one thing that I was nervous about when I first started teaching becuase I have no children of my own and had a fear that some parents might look at me and think "what would you know." However I have had nothing but positive and informative conversations with whanau. Having a relationship with whanau is a vital part of my teaching practice becuase I need to know what is going on at home and I feel they need to know what is doing on at school. Our school has an open door policy and I always encourage parents to come in and see their child's work. This makes both parties feel very proud which makes school and learning a very positive and exciting thing. There are some parents who I never see and I try to send some great work home with these students to share with their families.

Our classroom blog is a huge communication tool that I believe is not being utilised in my classroom.  We try and put as much of our work on the blog for people to view on leaves comments on, however to date I have not had a single parent comment on the blog. The children love the blog and they are very proud of the work that is displayed on there. Next year I am going to send home little wrist bands with the blog address on saying "I have work on the blog today" in the hope that it will encourage more families to look and comment on our work.

Overall I believe I am developing positive relationships with most families in my class and this allows me to better understand my students' and their learning needs.

Co teaching with Sue Pine

I feel more comfortable using talk moves when working with small groups for maths. The children have become more familiar with this style of teaching and now know that it is expected that they will need to talk about their answers. Today Sue Pine came into my class to observe me teaching a small group of students. Our key math idea was making groups. The biggest challenge I have found when using problems is that my students do not understand the problem. We now take at least 5 minutes unpacking the problem. We break it into parts, we talk about whether the number will get bigger or smaller and we use equipment to act it out. The children are becoming more familiar with problems and we are now spending less time unpacking the problem.

Today during my lesson Sue stopped and asked a child why they had made that mistake. This child seemed a bit embarrassed but was able to say why he had made the mistake. The group were very supportive and helped him which made his slight embarrassment disappear.  I loved this and I can see how much he learnt from being able to describe why he had made the mistake. The learning from having this conversation with him is far greater then me telling that the answer is wrong.
I am going to make a conscious effort over the next few weeks to highlight when children have made mistakes and help them to discuss why.

Teacher feedback for students

Do students receive regular, specific constructive written and oral feedback about what they have successfully learnt and what they need to work on next?  

This is an area of my teaching practice that I have been thinking about lately because with my students now working 1:1 on the iPads the way I am giving feedback has changed. 

I am going to look at the way I give feedback specifically during writing. Each day I see most of the students writing becuase I need to help them save it. I have time for a quick conference with each child. Most of the children in my class will remember the four WALTS when asked and I have been helping them to highlight things they have done well and things they need to work on. For example- A full stop and capital letter. 

I then take the time to mark work at a later time and put a visual representation of how the students are achieving in regards to the WALTS. 

The yellow is the children highlighting aspects she has achieved. At the I have drawn the visual representation of the WALTs. For this child we also need to add another picture about writing more then 1 sentence becuase today she has achieved her 4 goals. 

I think that this feedback is beneficial, but most of the children will have forgotten the specific feedback they received the day before. This is where the key difference is between having books and iPads. The children in my class share the iPads and they generally work on a different iPad every day therefore they cannot flick back and look at the feedback from the day before. To improve this I think that each child needs their own goal card with the WALT pictures on. Instead of marking their work on the iPad we will do it on their goal card. The students will then get and iPad and their goal card each day. 

This is a way of giving my students regular and constructive feedback which encourages them to reflect on their learning daily. 

Term 3 reflection

This term has flown past so quickly! We have had a very full on term with lots of things happening. We have had a trip to MOTAT, made a movie, done a school production and had 2 testing weeks. 
My BT goals for this term were;

1. Implement an oral language programme.
1. Have a set programme in place, with specific WALTS.

2. Effectively use talk moves to improve children's language in maths
1. Use problems with a familiar context
2. Use a range of materials
3. Focus on subtraction with the children

3. Write reflections of my practise more regularly.
1. Write on professional blog
2. Types reflections on my weekly planning

4. Utilise the iPads as part of daily routines.
1. Use explain everything during reading programme
2. Use explain everything during math time

This term I have not had time to implement a specific oral language programme. However I have added in asking the helping hands questions (my children have a basic understanding of what a question is). I have also been using talk moves which promotes oral language. I will need to sit down and find a specific time in my timetable to ensure I meet this goal by the end of next term.

Using talk moves in the classroom will be an ongoing goal for me through the rest of the year. I have seen great shifts in the children's ability to talk about their thinking. This has taken nearly two terms, with lots of modelling but I am pleased with how this is working in my classroom. I have the found the iPads a very useful tool with children showing their thinking and having a range of problems and materials they can use independently or when they are working with me. 

I have been writing more reflections on my blog this term but this again will be an ongoing goal. I have found the Facebook NZ teachers page very useful for helping me with ideas. As I am looking through Facebook I save any links that I think could be used on this blog and when I am not sure what to write about that week I go and have at look at my saved links.

 

The iPads and their use in my class has changed astronomically. I had a lot of sickness in my class this term which meant that most of the term we were working 1:1. We haven't used books at all this term. We have used the iPads for all curriculum areas.  The iPads have made writing a very exciting time. The children love inserting their own photos. I have found the iPads amazing when it comes to the children working independently. I am able to make very specific and relevant tasks. 

Next term will be my last term as a BT and if possible,  looking like it might be more busy then this term. Next term I am going to focus on reading as a curriculum area because this is an area that data shows my children are well below the national standard. I think I will put an emphasis on BSW in order to increase the reading data. 

Classroom displays

The classroom and the way it is set up helps to set the tone for you teaching style and the classroom culture. I choose in my classroom to display mainly students work. As you can see in this first picture I have lots of artwork on display. The students take pride in seeing their work on display and also they produce better quality work becuase they know it is going on display.  I believe that the wall displays should make our class feel welcoming, give the children a sense of pride and belonging and assist them in their learning. 

This wall display was put together at the end of last term during Matarkiki. We read lots of books and made lots of artwork around Matariki. This wall display has the children's art with some key words (decided by the class) on the wall for the students to practise reading/writing.

This picture shows the wall where we track the students progress in reading the basic sight words and recognising numbers. This display helps the students to visually track their progress. 

This picture is our writing wall and is the most beneficial and frequently used in the classroom. As you can see there are a range of words and many linked specifically to our topic. This is a place where the can come and find words to use in their writing. Children can take the words off the wall so it is easier for them to copy. This wall is also used during reading to in either reading around the room or for the fly swat BSW game. 

Understanding place value- 27 August

Last week our staff attending a workshop on understanding place value. This session was aimed specifically for the junior levels which I found extremely beneficial. 

Key message of the day for me was- Teach knowledge through problems instead of focusing on knowledge, so that it makes sense for our learners.

For my students we need to be focussing on groupings to 5 and 10 including finger patterns and using materials such as; Abacus, dice, 5 or 10s frames. 

  

Here are some activities that I will use in my class- Ladybug and flowers independent activity (Children have 2 different coloured ladybugs to put on the flowers)- Key idea being number bonds to 5.

Flowers (Like fly flips) Number 9 on flowers with bugs (How many bugs hidden inside? Key idea being number bonds to 10.

Turn around- Have 5 objects in a line. How many can you see? How many can I see? Key idea groupings to 5

This session has given me lots of relevant and useful activities and ideas to use in my classroom! 

Personal teaching philosophy

I have been looking at my CV recently as I have been forwarding it to a recent graduate for some ideas. I enjoyed looking at my personal teaching philosophy.
It has always been my view that building relationships with students and their families is the key to helping children reach their full potential. At our school this is a school wide view and the relationships we have with whanau and students is great. I spend time developing relationships with children in different situations so the students see me as a person instead of just a teacher. Here is a list of different strategies I use to develop these relationships with my students;  I talk to the children about things that happen in my life, I have 1 on 1 conversations with students whenever possible, I sit with the children during lunch, I let children stay inside at lunch to help me.
I have found that having this kind of relationship with my students is very beneficial because I am often able to preempt any issues before they occur.
I have always valued relationships with the students and seeing this in practise in my own class has only strengthen my view on it becuase I have seen the many more positive effects it has had on my students.

Week 5 toolkit

This afternoon I attended a toolkit which is an amazing initiative that our cluster does. It is when an "expert" in an area offers support to all the staff in the cluster. I was lucky enough to have a 1 on 1 session around using iMovie on the iPads. I am fairly new to the iPads and have been on a steep learning curve. This is also the case with using iMovie. This year I am attempting to make my very first movie for the Manaiakalani Film Festival. It was a great time to sit down, share my ideas and practise/learn the ins and outs of using iMovie and more specifically on the iPad.
The most exciting thing I learnt today was that I can record my children singing the song by splitting the sound file from the movie. I am very excited to begin recording this week!

Manaiakalani annual hui 2015

Today all the staff from our school attended the Annual Manaiakalani Hui. We started the day with a student from every school sharing some of their learning. I really enjoyed seeing the various ways students choose to present their work. It was great for me to see and hear from the students how using technology deepened their understanding and ability to display their learning. As a junior teacher I have seen and am aware of what goes on in the senior classes, but I have only heard about this from a teachers point of view. The children are empowered and have all the tools they need to display their learning.

Next we had presentations from the innovative teachers group. They are teachers who are studying and focusing on a inquiry focus.
Inquiry topics included- 
How using digital devices impact on progress in reading.
iPad- Plan their own reading tumble. Daily five and they find this on the site. Student choice, digital engagement,
Benefits of bilingual activities in the classroom. Using first language in the classroom to support learning.
ipads 1:1 in years 1-3- iPads allow for greater opportunities to extend reading activities. Guided reading sessions relevant follow up activities. Rewindability for learners to keep going back to i.e instructions.  
Pe and the benefits of video/technology- Videolyse biomechanics. iPad- Video delay (to replay work back to students). Video tagger (video editing on the iPads)
Effects of peer led feedback- Unpacking and developing their own class writing rubric. Using our leaners language instead of teachers putting things into "child speak."

Take aways
-Visual reminder- What do great readers look like?
-Daily five choices for children (range of specific apps)

I found this day very beneficial for sharing with and collaborating with teachers and learners in our clusters.

Testing week !

This week I am in the process of completing running records on all my students. Reading is an area of my teaching I have been trying to focus on because it the area my students need most progress in. I am particularly pleased with the progress of one boy who has moved from level 6 to level 12 in 6 weeks. This means he is now at standard for after 1 year at school.  I know that he does a lot of reading at home with his Mum and he has recently started brining his book bag every day which has helped him greatly. I need to continue to develop my basic sight word programme in my class to boost my students progression in reading.

Whanau conferences

Tonight we had Whanau conferences. I loved meeting some new parents and having time to catch up with other parents. I had an 85% turn out tonight. I loved seeing all the families that came through toady to show their support for their children's learning. I really enjoy having the time to sit down and talk to the parents because although I see a few of them after school, the 3pm rush is always a busy time for me (to keep track of twenty 5 year olds) so I rarely have time to have a good conversations with parents. I left tonight feeling very positive about all the work that these parents put into their children's learning and very pleased that I had taken the time to make them resources to assist them at home.

Developing in Digital Worlds

Yesterday for staff meeting we had someone come to talk to us about a study that he is working on. One of the questions that he is going answer was "How does participation in the digital world influence children's cognitive and social development?"
I think this is a wonderful thing for teachers to be aware of, especially at a school like ours becuase of all the technology we use. In the classroom I see that cognitively it helps the children by increasing motivation, engagement and giving them extra tools to develop/extend and show their learning. The effects on social development is not that obvious for me to see in the classroom but I can see that social skills may be hindered through the use of devices becuase many apps do not involve any human interaction. I can this being a problem if children are not receiving enough to practise and develop their social skills. In our team we use Developmental play as a time to develop these vital social skills.

Maths on the iPads

Today I had 10 students so we had the opportunity to complete all our work today on the iPads. The children absolutely love it and the work/learning that happens on them is amazing!
Today my students were making sets. They had to read a number, count that many counters, take a photo and then insert on their slide. ALL of my students completed this activity, which is amazing considering many of them are unable to read numbers to 20. The children had so much fun, they were helping each other and they were so proud of what they had created.
Here are some pictures of them during our maths session today.

I loved seeing how excited and focused the children were.

Multiplicative thinking

This afternoon for our maths PD the focus was on multiplicative thinking. I found this session very useful because it made it very clear the types of things I should be doing for the children in my class. I generally focus mainly on Number knowledge and specific teaching in addition. A few ideas that I am in the process of making on the iPads are skip counting in 2s activities such as- Counting pairs of socks or gumboots. The children will move the objects and put the number sequence underneath. 

The biggest take away for me tonight was that children need to not only know the counting sequence but understand through exploration in many different ways that counting in 2s means two objects. 

What the school values look like in Room 2

As a class we have developed this so that we know exactly what the school values mean in relation to our everyday interactions. I was very proud that the children came up with these ideas by themselves. I can already see the positive change in our classroom especially the value Manaakitanga becuase I am constantly giving specific positive praise to children who are "looking after our classroom/equipment."

Manaiakalani iPad PLD

This afternoon I attended a Manaiakalani PLD session based on iPads. It is so great to see what other teachers in our area are doing! I got so many useful ideas for simple effective independent activities on the iPads. The thing I am enjoying most about using the iPads is that my children are so focused, motivated and excited to learn using them. I also learnt a great new trick yesterday- How to add sound to my slides. This will be amazing and mean that the children can do the whole activity independently because if the forget they can replay the instructions.

Maths problem solving

Today I introduced a new idea to my top group. This group is made up of 1 stage 3 and stage 2s. I had a lot of children away so I only had 3 children today, which was a lovely way to introduce the idea. I used the lesson sequence, cars in the garage form NZ maths. I chose this context because my children are car crazy! They bring toy cars to school and I have made a BSW car game which they love.
The key idea here is making groups to 5. I originally hid the cars in the "garage" however this was too difficult and we practised many times having all cars visible for the children to grasp the idea.

 I then gave the children paper to write their ideas on. Here are some pictures of what they drew. The children in my class are getting very good a drawing their ideas but struggle to talk about them so that is always a focus of ours. The pictures they have drawn show the problem if there are 2 cars in the garage how many cars will be outside?

 At the end of the lesson on girl in the group had the grasp of the idea and was not drawing her pictures but just saying the number. She was getting the answer right instantly but not able to tell me how or why she knew. I will continue to practice this problem with this group and I will model the type of language I am wanting them to use.

Practicing Peaceful Play

This term our inquiry plan is Practicing Peaceful play. I think this is very relevant to all students at our school and can be shaped to suit each classes varying needs. This week we had a big reveal which was a whole school boot camp. The children absolutely loved it and I saw many examples of peaceful play. The children were very supportive and motivating to one another.
I am looking forward to developing these positive social skills throughout the term through playing a range of games with my class.

Sharing class work on the blog

I have taken the time these holidays to update our class blog. I generally try and put a post up every week, but sometimes finding the time to do it is a struggle.

I have found 2 easy ways that ensure I post often and one that the kids love. I take a photo of a student who finishes a page on their reading log or gets a star of the week award. My students love this idea. When a student finishes a page on their reading log that is the first thing they run in to tell me in the morning. I take the photo and when I have posted it I show them their photo on the blog. The children really enjoy sharing their work on the blog.

Look at these proud little faces!

Emphasis on reading!

Based on my data from the end of last term my focus is going to be on Reading. All of the students in my class are emergent level (which is well below) for reading and I have been trying to think of ways that I can get my students moving faster. There is a very obvious difference between the children who do work at home everyday children who don't. This is why I have been thinking of ways to give these students the extra help.

I have decided that this term I am going to implement (with the help of our buddy class) a fun basic sight word programme from 8.30-9 am every day.

I believe that this will have a positive impact on the reading progress of my students. 

I have a range of "fun" activities that I am hoping will engage, motivate and excite my students. Once a week the students will be tested on how many words they know. When the whole class can read all the words in the red words list we will have a red party!

Here are some photos of the activities I am going to start with.

Writing progress

This year I have majority of my students at national standard for after 1 year at school, this is  a contrast from last year only getting my children to standard by term 4. This year I have really pushed my kids and stopped the very scaffolded way we used to write. I used to pick a set sentence for the children, write the words on little bits of paper and together we would order them on the whiteboard. We would read it and read it and read it until they had it memorised. I would then send them off to find the words on the whiteboard and write it in the right order in their books. Children who were less independent had the sentence cut out and they would match the words underneath. 

Here is picture of a boys writing at the beginning of the year when he started with me. 

He was able to glue the words in order and copy the sentence underneath. 

Here is a picture of his writing now. He is writing at level 1B and can now write a sentence by himself, with a capital letter, full stop, use finger spaces and check that it makes sense.

 As a class we talk about the topic of writing today. We orally talk about different sentences/sentence structures that we might write. The children find words on the word card and tell their sentence to a buddy. I will write any words that they cannot find on their word card or word wall. The children will then write their sentence independently. I currently have a small group of 2 or 3 children who require my support with writing a sentence. 

I have found this year to expect more from my students, they need to really be extended in order for me to see great results. 

Maths inquiry planning

Today I have had a planning session to set goals for myself regarding maths. Here is the plan of what we have discussed. I will be focussing and reflecting on these specific things. 

Inquiry Planning Sheet Name:   Kiani Nua                Department:  Kia Kaha/Yr 1 & 2         Date: 22nd June 2015

Hunch/problem/trigger (What is a ‘valued outcome’ in my classroom that I want to work on?) Subtraction- Number ID, BNWS Explaining their mathematical thinking/ process	Evidence (How do I know?  Data may be quantitative  or qualitative) JAM analysis Teacher observations
What do I already know that could be useful? Talk moves “repeat” Think/pair/share Speaking frames Individual wait time
What new knowledge and/or capability do I need? Talk moves- “agree/disagree” Effective questioning- Specific questions Group norms- co construct, sign, publish, refer to (have visible for each group)	Where can I go or who can I ask to help? Sally Jay Jay Sue Rhonda
What are some possible strategies I could use? Effective questioning- Specific questions Group norms- co construct, sign, publish, refer to (have visible for each group) Light bulb used to encourage children to talk about their thinking/learning (Reflection tool)
How will I know it’s made a difference? How will I measure any change? Student achievement increases Increased independence More confident talk happening regularly.

Developed by Jennifer Glenn at Thames High School

Talk moves

We have recently received some PD around using the talk moves to develop mathematical language.   I teach 5 year olds and developing language is a huge focus of mine.
I have really made a point of using the talk move, repeating.  I have found this very useful because the children know that they might be asked to repeat what a peer has said and although it we often have to repeat things more then once, the children are getting better at this. Another key thing I am pushing through repeating is that the children should be learning from each other. I have worked on making sure they understand that they need to listen to their peers to learn form them.

The age of iPads

I have a new found passion and excitement for iPads in my classroom! The children LOVE the iPads and are always asking to play on them. I have recently been attending 1:1 iPad meetings through our cluster and have been inspired! I have seen great work on the app Explain Everything and I am going to begin using it next week as follow up activity for my guided reading groups. As a team we have had a big focus on ordering and retelling stories. I am going to take pictures of the book and have the children sequence the pictures (An activity they are very familiar with on paper).
I am still in the playing phase of my learning with this app but I am really enjoying it and know that my children will love it!
My next step will be to start using it during guided maths.

The reality of using iPads in the classroom

I currently have 15 iPads in my classroom and and 20 children. My children really love the iPads and I am beginning to look into the best way to utilise these tools in the classroom to assist their learning. I have a range of "game" type learning apps that are organised into folders and for the subjects reading and maths.

Here are some of the issues I have come across so far 

1- The children are moving the apps

2- The children are downloading apps from the purchased section on the app store

3- Monitoring the children on the iPads is difficult and I often find them on different apps

4- I have not found apps that are very specific to my children's learning needs, more of a general activities- I.E recognising numbers and letters. 

However I see many positives to using these in the classroom and once I learn more about the iPads and different ways to use them effectively, I believe that this will transform the day to day running in my classroom.

1- Children can work INDEPENDENTLY! (As a year 1 teacher this is life changing) 

2- Children are excited and motivated about the learning 

I am enjoying slowly learning about how to best utilise these in the classroom. 

 

I am currently in my 2nd year as a beginning teacher and am going to take some time to reflect on the biggest challenges and rewards so far.

Some of the biggest challenges I have found so far include;
Children not being able to read the label on my book boxes- As a BT I was all excited to set up my room and had lots of labels made and set up. Low and behold my children arrive and they couldn't read the pretty labels to find their books. I now have pictures everywhere and colour coded boxes. I quickly learnt that taking the time to make everything "pretty" may not be the best use of time, also do not assume anything!
The next big challenge I have found is managing my time and not feeling guilty about not doing work every night when I get home. This is one I am still working on but I have found that exercise is a great stress release (I find it is like hitting the reset button) and also it is impossible to work on my computer while exercising!

For me, my biggest reward is the children. More then just seeing these young ones learn so quickly, I really love developing relationships with my students. Despite how tired, stressed or in need of some personal space I feel at the end of each day, there is not a day that goes by that I do not share a laugh with my kids.