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.

EdTechTeam GAFE Summit 2016

Another awesome two days of learning at the GAFE Summit. This year I have come away with a three key things I am keen to implement in my classroom.

1. Genius Hour - I have experimented with this in the past, but have never really felt like it quite worked in my class. Some students came up with some great ideas, but others really struggled. Hearing Molly Schroeder talk about getting the students to identify "What problem do you want to solve?" really resonated with me. It gives genius hour a framework for the students to identify problems they feel are important and helps to steer them away from questions that are 'google-able'.
Some question starters could be:

• How might I…
• How might we… 
• In what ways …

I also attended Simon Ashby's workshop on Genius Hour. He spoke about the nuts and bolts of how Genius Hour works in his classroom. I think I will adapt similar expectations, here are his:

• • Must have research involved 30-60mins of research/week - recorded on google slides & blogged, 45mins blogging time, 1.5hrs creative time
  • Frame it as a driving question
  • There must be research involved
  • The project needs to have a purpose (& impact on someone other than themselves)
  • It must be shared

2. 360º Narrative with Jim Sill - I have thoroughly enjoyed attending many of Jim's sessions over the GAFE summit's I have attended and this year was no different. We were introduced to the Google Streetview app (which I have dabbled with before). It is fantastic for taking 360º photos. It is also available for ipads through the iphone app store. I think it would be a fantastic tool for us to use, especially as this term we are learning about different cultures and what better way to experience them than to use virtual reality so the students can experience being there.

3. Google Teacher Certification with Kimberly Hall. This was an informative session highlighting the progressions through Google Teacher Certification which are available. Beginning with the basics exam, moving on to Level 1 and Level 2 and then on to the Google Certified Trainor and Google Certified Innovator.
I have already completed the basics exam and think it would be a good place to support all staff to attain. It would ensure they have a good understanding of the GAFE tools and enable them to better utalise the tools at hand. I hope to sit Level 1 before the start of term and attain Level 2 before the end of term 2.

This quote from Molly Shroeder really sums up the whole theme of GAFE for me.
"Don't be afraid to fail. be afraid not to try"
I am really looking forward to the start of Term 2 and putting my new learning into action. 

ADHD Project - Professional Learning

Session 1, 2 and 3

These sessions were a refresher for me, reminding me of strategies that I was already aware of, but perhaps hadn't used in a long time. One strategy that I have taken and used in my classroom is to include more brain breaks, we are using gonoodle on average 1-2 times a day to encourage the students to get up and get moving. I think it is working well as a break after a period of intense concentration. I also think it is beneficial to encourage our students to move more. They don't have a great deal of physical stamina so for some students it is difficult to go through a 3min workout without stopping. I hope to increase this endurance throughout the year.

I have also begun using colour coding for the students to identify the order in which they will complete their tasks. They do this on a Monday morning as part of our first reading session of the week. As a class, we decided on a colour code, green for first, yellow second and blue for third. Students are then given specific time at the end of the lesson to make sure they have updated the learning log with the tasks they have been working on (even if they aren't finished).

I think this is helping those students who have ADHD or are ADHD like to better manage their time during reading. I will be using this strategy across the curriculum next term.

Tina observed me using this strategy, her notes can be found here.

Leading Toolkits - Bling your blog

The Ako Hiko Bling your Blog toolkit that I ran on the 25th of Febuary were a raging success. As my partner in crime, Tina, was unable to run the toolkit with me as initally planned I took five very keen and capable students along with me. 

After a brief run through of the basics in blog blinging we set to work, supporting teachers to make their blog their own. Helping change colours, fonts themes. You name it we changed it! 

The students who supported my toolkit were fantastic, there was nothing but positive feedback for them. 

Some feedback is as follows. 

Having the students present meant they were able to show case their skills, develop confidence in working with adults and share the links to their learning. Over all a great experience for all. 

TOD Day 1 2016

Tetramaps

An interesting way of looking at personalities and behaviors. Gave a good understanding of ways people react differently to things. I enjoyed being able to identify what my own elements were and how they come across in my interactions with others. I also found it valuable to learn what other staff members felt they were and how that comes across. I found one of the most valuable parts of the session for me was being able to come up with a chart of how we prefer to be spoken to, what not to say. I think it makes it a lot clearer for all staff, especially seeing when someone is a different element and how they would prefer to be approached. 

How will I use this new knowledge? 

• Thinking carefully about how I will approach conversations with those who I know differ from me and keeping the shared goal at the heart of the conversation (especially parents). 

PB4L 

Reviewing ways of dealing with minor behaviors - for me this was a refresher of the strategies I learned with IYT and during my years in a PB4L school. Was interesting to discuss minor vs major incidents, especially different ways different teachers would deal with them. We came to agree that major incidents can and are dealt with by the classroom teacher, but they need to be recorded, not necessarily sent to the office. 

I also found really interesting looking at the expectations from across the different school settings and identifying how many were double ups, how many were not actually measurable and seeing that it really was time we went back and relooked at some of the PB4L systems we have in place. 

I really like that we are aligning PB4L, The Hay Park Way and our values. Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. 

How will I use this new knowledge? 

• Reminder of the strategies for dealing with problem behavior is very timely at the start of the year. I am looking forward to challenging myself to use 4:1 positive comments and linking the comments to our values eg ".... when you keep trying that maths problem you are being resilient, well done!"