The difference intervention can make

One of the children in my ALL group has been part of my Inquiry - how can I make writing more successful for her with her dyslexia and elins glasses. I discovered that using different coloured pens would make her feel "special" and that she can write. Often her ideas have been over shadowed by her ability to write.
So here's the proof :-)

Student Lead Conferences

The weeks have flown and now Student Lead Conferences are here! This year I made the decision to let the children share "their" learning with their parents. This meant that I did not give them the graphic organiser with boxes to fill in, or teach them what to say during my guided sessions or put markers (stickie notes) in their books.

This was because a couple of weeks ago, a child in my class was going to be away for these conferences and her parents wanted to book in a Student Lead Conference, and because I had deadlines for reports and other school stuff I hadn't set her up as before. So one Friday, she came with her parents after school, sat down with her books, a whiteboard and proceeded to tell her Mum and Dad what she had been learning! Not the doing... She was confident and very clear about her achievements and what she needed to learn next. She even showed them the strategy she was learning in Mathematics and taught them how to do it.

The most surprising thing about all this was this was a child at the beginning of the year who used to drive me crazy asking for clarification every time after instructions were given. I taught a unit at the beginning of the year about how we learn best - she had great understanding of herself and now knows how to she can best learn.

So this week all I asked the children was to share their learning - and they are!  I have empowered them to share with their parents and anyone listening what they now know. It was refreshing to hear parents saying that they had learnt from their children, and were actually surprised by what the children could tell them.

I did mark their books vigorously and made sure that they had all work up to date. My style for teaching in my guided sessions has changed too. I now make sure I discuss the why and the success criteria - how do you know you can do this? The children help with the setting up of task boards and constructing the WALTs. I have tried very hard to give  the children a variety of perspectives and cross over ideas/concepts through curriculum areas to build a deeper understanding. THis has been most successful.

How will I run Student Lead Conferences in the future? I think that the children need to tell me.

Managing all the areas of need in the class

At the moment I am struggling to make time for the other children in my class with needs.
This morning before school after discussing Mathletics with a colleague, a couple of the children asked me to show them how they are going on Mathletics - certificates, points etc.
One of the child asked if I could help her tell the time as she could pass the measurement activity I had set for them. I spent nearly half an hour with 2 children learning to tell the time.

My question to myself then was _ "Am I doing for those in need or just those who asked?"
"What do I need to do to ensure that they get it? Mathletics?"

Then just before I received an email from our SENCO asking about a Maori boy in my class who sent alarm bells ringing at the beginning of the year, with his data. He is well below in all areas - reading, writing and maths. He had been in radar, but nothing had been done for him last year (2014) as far as we could find in the records. So I was able to have a Teacher Aide for him, covering Reading Mileage and another Teacher Aide for Mathematics knowledge  (Stage 4) for the first Term. This was such a boost for him and the other child failing.

But for this term there hasn't been any intervention for him - just me. He is improving and progressing as he is part of my ALL group and is having an intensive guided session for writing everyday and the language is flowing - such an improvement. So when the SENCO asked should he be on an IEP - Yes because he has slipped through the gaps before and No, because he is responding to the class environment and he beginning to share his ideas.

So what next? I need to make time to really look at my data and pinpoint those children who need a "lift" and explicitly teach so that they don't fall behind.

ALL - What's working? What's not!

After today's sharing of blogs and the Team Leader's meeting, I realise that I need to make time to reflect, make changes, records those changes and try something new/different.

So to do this I will try to begin with questions.

What's working for my struggling writers?

Because I am working with them each day for guided writing (20 -25 minutes) and then an extra 45mins over 3 slots, the children are feeling much more confident.  They are now following aspects of the writing process - planning, drafting, revising and in some cases publishing.

The children are using a range of sentence starters and structures - moving away from simple sentences and adding depth to their writing. Ideas generally haven't been a problem for this group and orally their language is quite good. Now the children are stretching out the sounds they hear within words and are beginning to use tools - exemplars, essential lists and try/spell notebooks.

When the children are working in their independent writing books I have noticed some changes in the amount and the content for some of these children. The most noticeable change is their willingness to write - actually seeing themselves as writers, not as a subject.

What's not working for my struggling writers?

Mileage! I don't seem to be able to get through as much as I plan to do with this group. By the time we discuss what we are writing about, include everyone's ideas and plan, the actual writing in their books isn't being done in a timely fashion.  I need to build in some urgency - but this has been the problem for these children in the past, the pressure to get pieces of work completed.

Independently planning - As part of our experience I have recorded the words for use later, and then we have planned as a group together in our first session. generally I scribe and the children tell me their ideas, some children are asking if they can use other words in their planner.

Verbalising the learning - the children reflect and evaluate at the end of each piece. This gives them their next steps for their next writing piece. While the children are doing this, they are animated and can easily tell me what they need to work on.  I feel that when I'm not there beside them that this not at 'the front of their brain' helping them make decisions while they are writing. Could they tell someone else what their next steps are? Some, but not all!

What next?
I need to discuss with the children what 'we' can do to write within our time, more writing. What would help them? I will try to use Jeff Anderson - 5/7/10, write for 5 minutes, read and discuss your ideas/ improve it from feedback (spelling, editing) for 7 minutes, continue writing for another 10!

Encourage those who want to be independent in the planning stage to try to get the main ideas down and then to come back to the group and share. Give the graphic organiser (large copy) to pairs of children and get them to record what they want. Use sticky notes ( I do now - I scribe them) with more independence - children to write on them.

Before writing the children will be asked to share what they are working on in this session - I will write this onto the top the page for them to look at during this piece. Hopefully they will tell each other before  they start writing if I make "verbalising their next step" part of the practice!

How will I know if I'm successful?

My struggling writers will be able to tell me what their steps are, there will be more independence for the planning stage and there should be more writing.

Learning Te Reo

This year as part of my PD I am learning about Maori culture and the language through the Open Wananga. I have completed the first module and have started the 2nd one. I have found this interesting and empowering especially as far as the speaking of Te Reo. I have begun to use some of the kupu in my classroom. My class now says a karakia to start the day, working on a karakia to end the day next.

Reading - Purposed Based Writing

What struck a chord with me was that "Good writers use text  features ( anything from elaboration, to description, to opening general statements, text connectives, figures of speech such as metaphor, commas for embedded clauses, and even spelling) to serve its purpose."

From this Reading - I sort of got that the basics are the same - take time to analyse good exemplars in depth, deconstruct and reconstruct to find how they work and extend of their purpose with your writers.

As Teachers we need to provide exemplars text to unpack and draw ideas from (scaffolding) so that they can get the writing done. This is still as important as the writing. The basics of planning, drafting, does the writing work? ( meet the purpose) rewriting and rewriting again - make writing, writing.

Taking the time to listen

Every Friday I have special time to work with just the children in my intervention group. This morning due to some miscommunication I didn't get to my experience off to the flying start I would have liked. The plan today was to celebrate their writing and to put it in the published work folders and cover their draft books making them more personal.

I decided to put a STAR on a piece of blank paper and the children to get words and letters that describe themselves from magazines. I will put a photo on each start and cover seal them onto their draft books. During this cutting time, the children were conferencing with me on their finished piece and deciding on what their next steps would be.

After I had completed the conferencing with those who had finished I listened in on the conversation on around me. It was all about words and letters, not pictures but the children helping each other to form words, find words and use descriptive language.

The publishing folders weren't done so that's Mondays job and to establish that GOOD feedback using the language of writing. For my next experience I think I will do adjective synonym poetry, to create word banks for our writing tool box.