Our Code, Our Standards - Standards for the Teaching Profession

The practising teacher criteria have been replaced with the Standards for the Teaching Profession which is a part of Our Code, Our Standard - Code of Professional Responsibility and Standards for the Teaching Profession.  Further information can be found on the Education Council Website. 

End of Term 2 Reflection

One of the things that I have a bit of a love hate relationship with is the end of term WWW for our facilitation hui. I really appreciate the opportunity to reflect on the term, the highs, lows and all the in-between, but I find finding the time to complete this in the last few weeks tricky. Perhaps next term I'll use the weekly team meeting minutes to go back look at the WWW's we do each week for inspiration.

I really like that this time around the things that aren't working and I need help with were sentiments echoed around the room during the sharing time. It really helped me to see that these struggles aren't mine alone.

Google Certified!

I finally sat the Google Certified Educator Level 1 exam, it's only been a few years on meaning to do it.

It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, and it's really nice to be certified now.  I'm also keen to do sit level 2, perhaps in the summer holidays.

Going through the sessions and completing the review questions definitely made me feel more confident going into the exam, but I was still really nervous waiting for my results. The first section which was multi-choice had some questions which I felt were really easy and some were tricky. I enjoyed the second section which was more practical and made me miss making docs etc for my class!

Time to start prepping for level 2 I think!

Learning through talk - Jane van der Zeyden

Discussing - Developing Oral Language in the Primary Classroom

Golden Lines - When you come across a great example (in a text or students work). This is then displayed on the wall. These can be 'borrowed' for use in students writing.

Anticipatory Reading Guides 

• Write about six statements to catch the reader's interest that focus on the main messages of the text. 
• The students work independently agreeing or disagreeing with the statements and then share their choices with a partner. 
• After reading the students revisit the guide with their findings and make their final choices
• The teacher and students discuss their choices and justify their opinions. 

Ask and Answer/Hot seating (can be used with fiction and non-fiction texts)

• Children in role 

Writing - Pasifika Boys, Charlene Mataio; Tools4Teachers

• My favourite thing about writing is ... 
• My least favourite thing about writing is...
• What do you like writing about best?
• Do you write at home? 
• What do you think about your handwriting? 
•  is it easy for you to form your letters? 
• How do you feel about spelling? 
• When we write in school I wish we were allowed to... 

The key is teaching students to notice the everyday. 

Why write?
We write to make sense of ourselves and our world, and to communicate.
Individual children each bring their own unique experience of their family and culture with them. 

All young writers have something to say. 

We write best about what we know.
writers notice and respond, non-writers don't. 

Beliefs shape the way we teach. 

"Children need models rather than critics" Joseph Joubert 

Give writers the opportunity they usually have 3 life topics they will go back to. It's your job to teach them what they don't know, about what they know. 

Do we teach to the writing? Or do we teach the writer? - Be mindful of knowing your learners and what that student needs at that time. 

Read like a writer and write like a reader.

Oral rehearsal is really important, how am I weaving oral language through my writing programme? Think it, say it, write it.  

Maori & pacifika come from a largely oral history - value it!

Ideas 

Generate ideas for writing 

Focus on the seed, not the watermelon (small moments)

Specific details/significance

Does writing always have to look written? Could be hand written, typed, drawn, video (a way to scaffold). 

Generating Ideas, Neighbourhood Maps. Example in Marshfield Dreams - Ralph Fletcher.
Making observations of the everyday. 

James Gulliver Hancock - looking at ourselves, looking at our 'authorities' 

6 word memoir 

School Journal poem - Nothing every happens at my house. 

Actions: 

Display the messy writing - the organisation, the idea selection process etc. 

Mentor texts 

Use video - scaffold writing

Neighbourhood maps

Manaiakalani Outreach Planning

During the holidays I was invited to attend the Manaiakalani outreach planning session for term 2. 

Being involved in the planning for the outreach support gave me an insight into how the term will pan out in terms of the support we receive from James. 

It also gave me a bit of a 'behind the scenes' look at how the outreach service works. 

During the session which was led by Dorothy Burt there were a few key things which stood out for me in terms of my role as an Education Programme Leader

• Start each sessions with ... What’s working, what’s not, what do you need help with?

• SAMR focus - on using meaningful learning activities that are 'above the line' (modification and redefinition) to accelerate student achievement

• I have also signed up to attend Dr. Ruben Putendura's SAMR session on the 27th of May!

• The focus this term is on the create aspect of LCS. The idea of creativity is to create! The fun, the joy, the creative fun stuff, not just another slide show!

• I loved the current events site which has been created by the Manaiakalani Digital Teacher Academy, I just can't see how having this set up could work with busy classroom teachers.

It was affirming to today receive the following email from Dave Winters. 

Hear, Speak, Learn: Building Oral Competence

A fascinating day with Jane van der Zeyden. Beginning the day with data related to how children's oral language develops and the massive difference oral language development makes. The links to children who start school behind in their oral language development and the way this follows them through life.

“What’s the most important thing parents can do to make their kids super learners? Talk to them. Language. Language is the key” 
Professor John Hattie

The oral language expectations on Pf 42 of Learning through talk were fascinating - a great place to look to identify next learning steps for students and to look for report comments. Some great discussion around recordings of students talking - the difference in prompts and the ways the interviews were conducted all having an impact.

Amplify don’t simplify

When we are trying to develop our student's language and vocabulary skills we need to introduce them to increased levels of language rather than simplified versions. We want to challenge them, to ensure they are learning new words.

Now what?

• Create vocab wall - students can add to this when reading and come across interesting words, topic words also can be added. Use word wheel (four words placed onto wheel, students in pairs create a sentence using the topic words.) as an oral language opportunity.