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.