tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77777653215088614162024-03-13T04:59:49.730-07:00Little Steps Towards BIG GoalsMy journey as a life long learner. The challenges that approach me and how I adapt, embrace or confront them.ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-61474496047048547972015-08-10T01:37:00.001-07:002015-08-10T01:37:26.519-07:00Things I must reflect on.The journey so far has been a bumpy one. Right from the beginning our success in ALL has been hindered by difficulties. With a late start and constant battles for release, and meetings it has all been rather difficult to make this years efforts a success. We have pretty much been running around chasing our tails since it began. We missed the opportunity to have a parents meeting which was one of our main objectives due to the lack of meetings prior to the initiative starting. Now today we have lost 2 of our team due to their misunderstandings of the project. I feel I have failed them and the project.<br />
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I have found the 2nd year of the project a lot more difficult than the first year. In the first year I was able to focus entirely on my inquiry with ALL. This year my focus has been divided between my difficult class, our Maths inquiry (which has been a huge undertaking for me - I have really struggled with this and it has really hurt my confidence in teaching maths) and the ALL inquiry.<br />
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I have tried to achieve my inquiry in ALL by working with my class in groups. The generally love to write and I have been very impressed with their keen attitudes and their progress. For our objective of keeping the families informed I have had regular contact with parents via email and during the 3 way conferences. <br />
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I have completed 3 marked samples of work for each student so far this year. However, the results have been very confusing and disappointing. In areas where we have been focusing the students have mostly done well, but in other areas their marks have gone down as they have been unable to keep their marks and have gone down. I am wondering if some of my more relaxed ways of testing - as we were trying to mark samples of work the students complete independently so as to not have too many test situations have benefitted my special needs students more than my main stream students who perhaps need a more structured test situation to give their best work.<br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-25332156745049219672015-07-26T17:12:00.000-07:002015-07-26T17:22:57.420-07:00What's working for me?It has been an amazing start to the term in P2. After 2 terms we are finally able to work independently, which means I am able to work with small groups using the rotation idea I had always planned to use.<br />
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Writing in P2 this term looks like:<br />
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Spelling Programme - I have introduced a spelling programme to my homework each week that will work on the essential spelling lists and target words that students use in their writing. As vocab is one of my goals this term we are also introducing a word of the day.<br />
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Sentence Structure - During the "Teacher Time" Rotation. Students work in small groups with me on Sentence structure. We have begun following the Sheena Cameron Writing Book as a guide and will also chuck other useful resources and activities in to complement those ideas that I have found from other teachers and through my own research.<br />
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Other rotations - Handwriting is a rotation, Independent writing, Practise of skills learnt with the teacher, Blogging, StoryBird and Literacy Shed are a few options we are using.<br />
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Current Events - I have added a group activity for students to report for our class Current Events book on a recent event in the news. They need to present it to a set criteria.<br />
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Fun - Class challenges like, Group shared stories, the dictionary game and boggle are a few games I have introduced to help students enjoy their writing and learn new vocab and skills as they go. <br />
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An extra little goal I have set for myself is to try to present everything to my class in a digital way. I send my students a plan each week for the rotations that tells them what to do etc.<br />
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I also am trialing digital modelling books. I am loving them! A tidy, instant way to record students work and present new ideas to them. <br />
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I am really enjoying working with the smaller groups, rather than the whole class all at once as I was forced to do in the last two terms due to my students being unable to work independently.<br />
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This term is exciting! I look forward to seeing my students progress this term.<br />
<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-29571840112755950222015-07-09T03:33:00.000-07:002015-07-09T03:33:06.970-07:00What do you do - when a parent doesn't seem to believe in their child's ability.A few times this term, I have felt like I have had to stand up for a child to one or both of their parents. It seems like they fail to see any progress the child has made over the year so far, it is all about their child not being where they believe they should be. Parents questioning their child learning abilities and getting them tested, as there must be something wrong. I find this incredibly sad. In my opinion the children I know who have parents like this are actually in need of a huge boost of confidence and in giving them that at school, I am fighting a battle with what they face at home. <br />
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One child who is in my group for ALL has made amazing progress since the beginning of the year. On the first day when I asked him to independently write about his holiday, he cried. It was just too hard for him. He couldn't think of ideas, and anything he came up with wasn't good enough. His Mum actually came in that day knowing that this would have occurred. I reasurred her that I have some ideas for building his confidence etc. She said he has always been terrible at writing and other teachers have tried but he never improves. I personally believe he has improved- massively! He can sit down everyday and confidently write. He writes independently and co-operatively. He uses paragraphs, he describes things in details. However, Mum is still not happy. She met with me a month ago to say she is going to have him tested and wanted to hear how I thought he was doing. I told her how much progress he had made and showed her his writing. She absolutely picked it to bits. "Why would he use a capital letter there!" "Oh my goodness, look how he spelt that!" I was gutted for him. Instead of seeing the bigger picture, she picked his work to pieces. Why? I can tell you, there is no way I am giving up on this child. I am so proud of him and I tell him all the time.<br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-60196957664082901542015-07-01T17:39:00.001-07:002015-07-01T17:42:02.047-07:00Term 2 AssessmentI was really disappointed when I marked my students Term 2 assessment. I was so proud that their levels had improved in areas we had been working on, but then in areas that had not been our focus some of them went down! <br />
So overall most of the marks have either stayed the same or have gone down and it is just heart breaking to see. When I spoke to other teachers, they had noticed the same pattern.<br />
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My next focus with my group now we have mastered paragraphs is to focus on sentence structure and introduce a little vocab through a new routine of "Word of the Day". I have found a website which introduces students to a new word each day and gives a definition, an example and synonyms. <a href="http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/junior/index.shtml"> http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/junior/index.shtml</a><br />
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I am going to ask students to write this out as their handwriting practice each day when they come in from fitness. I will also challenge them to use the word correctly in a sentence during the day. If they can, they will get house points. My class love a challenge.<br />
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In our LCN cluster group we have all decided to focus on Sentence Structure as it is an area we have all noticed is lacking in students from year 1 through to year 13. I have begun collecting resources for next term and once I have tried various strategies in my class I will report back to the group on my findings.ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-84844387761950656182015-06-11T00:46:00.004-07:002015-06-11T00:46:55.292-07:00Week 5 ALLReport writing and continuing our paragraph focus.<br />
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This week I introduced students to report writing as procedural writing is our focus this term. I started by reading a report on an animal to the students and asking them to take notes as I read. ( The objective of this was to teach them to take notes in their own words for when they are researching.) <br />
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After this exercise we discussed the report and the notes we had taken. If I was to do this lesson again, I would now print out a copy of the report so they could highlight parts and take notes on the document, labels etc.<br />
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In the next lesson I told the students that they would be writing their own report on an African Animal. They were really excited by this. I introduced a rubric to them. (planning web) and asked them to research their animal and fill in the blanks with as much information as possible for an introduction, 3 paragraphs (looks like, habitat, food) and then a conclusion and some interesting facts.<br />
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The students loved this part, some actually spent too much time researching I think. The important thing for the students was to remember to write all their information in their own words. (some found this difficult - cutting and pasting was very tempting).<br />
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Each day we worked on a different paragraph. I was away for a few days with stage challenge so missed out on the process a bit as relievers had to take some lessons. Therefore the process wasn't scaffolded as much as I would have liked unfortunately and I lost where some students were up to so by the end of the week my students were at very different stages with their reports.<br />
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I am also trying a few new ideas at the beginning of writing sessions to keep on top of some of the things students mentioned in their student voice. I have started up a short sharp handwriting session once or twice a week where the focus is on quality not quantity. I give feed back regularly to students on this. I also have started up a phonics based spelling program once or twice a week as well. I will build on this as time goes on. I am also trying to add once a week a typing practise day where students use typing web to practise their typing skills as I have read recently that if NCEA exams are going to be made digital soon, students without good typing skills may be disadvantaged when writing their essays etc.<br />
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So many things - So little time!<br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-45640705613172261252015-06-11T00:35:00.000-07:002015-06-11T00:35:07.162-07:00ALL week 3 and 4Dream Giver Continued....<br />
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Week 3.<br />
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Students continued to write their own Dream Giver story. I was surprised how many students enjoyed this task. No one disliked it. I am not sure whether it was the way it was introduced with a video clip and so it make it easy for them to visualise, or if they liked the way the writing process was scaffolded as a class each lesson. Whatever it was, it worked and I will have to do it more! Might have to do a reflection on this unit so students can tell me what it was they enjoyed.<br />
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As they had already made a plan and worked through the first few paragraphs together, students this week are just finishing off their stories and checking their paragraphs.<br />
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Week 4.<br />
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Students were expected to be at editing stage now and if they are not they just have to stop where they are and start the editing process as I would like to do this as a class also. I introduced my self and pair editing rubric to the class. We went through it together and I explained how I would like them to use it. Then each student independently edited their story using the rubric and then once finished they asked a friend to edit for them also.<br />
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Only once every box was ticked were they allowed to send me their published copy.<br />
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I found this process good, i love the editing rubric, but asking students to stop writing stories they were really passionate about back fired I think. I needed to give them more time to finish these. I am just aware of the ACCELERATED part of the course. <br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-3883897906105913822015-05-12T22:37:00.002-07:002015-05-12T22:40:32.700-07:00Week 2 ALL in P2This week has been a WONDERFUL week of writing in P2. My students are engaged and excited and it is rubbing off on me. I love seeing the students feeling good about their writing. So many wanted to share their first paragraphs today.<br />
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We watched the DREAM CATCHER from the fantasy shed in <a href="https://www.literacyshed.com/">https://www.literacyshed.com/</a>. This is such an amazing resource!<br />
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After watching the video I told the students that they were going to write a story about the dream catcher coming in to their bedroom, to give them a dream. However, he trips on something in their room and the egg falls on their favourite book or game. They have to tell me the story so that it forms a picture in the mind of their reader. We are going to break down the writing process into small chunks.<br />
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Day 1. The brainstorm/Mind map. Some students also drew their scene or made a cartoon strip of their story too.<br />
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Day 2. Paragraph 1 - Setting the scene. Most students did this really well. A few wrote the whole story in their first paragraph so I spent time with them to fluff out their setting.<br />
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Day 3. Paragraph 3 - The Dream Giver, What do they look like. How did they get inside?<br />
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I am modelling the writing process by writing my own story on the board with the students.<br />
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It has been great to see students using a thesauras to look for 'better' words.<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">My favourite part of this week was when one of my students (who really struggles with writing and finding ideas) said "Mrs Hay! I have the most exciting idea for my story!" </span></i><br />
<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-37845495474217941222015-05-12T22:20:00.001-07:002015-05-12T22:20:38.255-07:00Week 1 ALL in P2I am hoping to make my inquiry this year about not just accelerating a small group of students but my whole class. I started week 1 by meeting with each of my writing groups and asking them to share their student voice.<br />
<br />
The questions I asked were: <br />
<br />
Do you like to write? Why/Why not<br />
What is something you would really like to learn to make writing easier for you?<br />
Think of all the pieces of work you have written so far this year. Which one would be your favouite and why?<br />
Do you think you are a good writer? Why/Why not?<br />
Do you think your teacher and your parents think you are a good writer? Why/why not?<br />
<br />
Below is an example of what some of my boys had to say.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtK9US3MJDJ9EY5yxSfTs_B9qzs2DNkFHjy5DqpQK2KnvMfC5kNW7I59VlkngFX8CxPTs9bMR5inSrYUHFaRA7cISqL1-M6-WYM0ha1QF2VQEaAmRN_2ZlsCo2mYWuJ1KAyv8onR5TNuRA/s1600/student+voice+pic+all.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtK9US3MJDJ9EY5yxSfTs_B9qzs2DNkFHjy5DqpQK2KnvMfC5kNW7I59VlkngFX8CxPTs9bMR5inSrYUHFaRA7cISqL1-M6-WYM0ha1QF2VQEaAmRN_2ZlsCo2mYWuJ1KAyv8onR5TNuRA/s640/student+voice+pic+all.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
It is interesting to see the huge range of confidence in writing. From "I suck" to "I am an awesome writer". Spelling was something that nearly every student mentioned as something they want to improve so I need to really look at this. Also hand writing featured quite strongly too.ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-45766324389891775022015-05-12T22:12:00.001-07:002015-05-12T22:12:14.113-07:00Go Team ALL Mokoia!<div style="text-align: center;">
I am so grateful for the wonderful team of teachers we have in our ALL team this year. They are already sharing really positive stories about their experience so far (week 2!) Yay! I hope they all gain as much from this experience as I have.</div>
ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-17020896408796929582014-11-23T00:30:00.000-08:002015-04-30T01:01:38.149-07:00The Learning Progressions and Assessing students work.I have made this rubric for my students to use as a self assessment tool. (This is the first page only.)<br />
Based on the Literacy Learning Progressions.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cTFXLuYXjTs-wnDX5EzfRtHfJYqHS0SEuicZbMyi4RGKkdh-cE-QY4L9IKjzYwxVqkdOgIPvcrpzg8huilGjOG6kU8V5X5IK32hYnndHnJB0dKjTrozsWf3ewmzpRV7VRhOSCXI3aQhK/s1600/writing+Progress+and+goals.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8cTFXLuYXjTs-wnDX5EzfRtHfJYqHS0SEuicZbMyi4RGKkdh-cE-QY4L9IKjzYwxVqkdOgIPvcrpzg8huilGjOG6kU8V5X5IK32hYnndHnJB0dKjTrozsWf3ewmzpRV7VRhOSCXI3aQhK/s1600/writing+Progress+and+goals.JPG" height="460" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-67824989909540530112014-10-30T00:37:00.001-07:002015-04-30T01:14:57.883-07:00Year 2 ALL - We're on! It's all go!<span style="font-size: large;">Student voice at the end of 2014.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/y3iF3Tsio9Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y3iF3Tsio9Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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How did you feel about writing before we starting meeting as
a group?<o:p></o:p></div>
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How do you feel about writing now? Have your feelings about writing changed?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is one thing you have learned over the last 10 weeks?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What was your favourite piece of writing? Why was it your favourite?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do you think you are a good writer? Why/why not?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Do you think your teacher and parents think you are a good
writer? Why/Why not?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Yay! We have just been approved for our 2nd year of ALL. After a successful board report and a lot of support and excitement from staff we are on our way! Bring on 2015 - a year of new beginnings for Literacy at Mokoia Intermediate!</div>
ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-42311504657271476692014-08-25T15:08:00.002-07:002014-11-23T00:29:08.944-08:00Teaching the Spelling Rules<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-F-vKP8jq_PGuX1xSxibBQcTIOwVj_tZQBN9yLehoy5Q4qTUb2mPYpoZn_ubNOaF8WCcw-enbH_iqjMZtOHWbKWKDla_QKk4EGHXNME5cgfdbVR_v6st8WNyqQmtvJvS1pvruZatXZwyE/s1600/photo+5+(18).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-F-vKP8jq_PGuX1xSxibBQcTIOwVj_tZQBN9yLehoy5Q4qTUb2mPYpoZn_ubNOaF8WCcw-enbH_iqjMZtOHWbKWKDla_QKk4EGHXNME5cgfdbVR_v6st8WNyqQmtvJvS1pvruZatXZwyE/s1600/photo+5+(18).JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We are looking at the spelling rules today. Students are choosing a rule, rewriting it in a way that they understand it and then practicing using it in their writing. They are really enjoying this activity and the discussion is really interesting. "Did you know...?", "I didn't realise this..." "I get it now.."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1LS4ToRnLhD4GxaaHuKjTzOM0xj2ZYHIKENRzN1vn6kCj30M2_8-OvyNR1xU7_9FgdjgXy1FGyO1D33WMivwJ5BZm0Ipx2E8rrGlqs-ySUB0Ap8fDzf-d-NmPzqv6-OAoDS3PwWScbrC/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1LS4ToRnLhD4GxaaHuKjTzOM0xj2ZYHIKENRzN1vn6kCj30M2_8-OvyNR1xU7_9FgdjgXy1FGyO1D33WMivwJ5BZm0Ipx2E8rrGlqs-ySUB0Ap8fDzf-d-NmPzqv6-OAoDS3PwWScbrC/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-2041480639365004062014-08-25T01:17:00.005-07:002014-11-23T00:29:29.693-08:00Spelling.My boys have very little confidence when it comes to spelling. They are actually really embarrassed about their abilities with spelling words correctly. It is so bad that they will chose easier words in their writing because they are know how to spell it, rather than try a word they might get wrong. Over the last few weeks I have stressed to them, that spelling is not something they need to worry about. I just want them to try and then we can correct things together. <br />
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These boys love to use wonderful language and when I sent them out around the school on a "treasure hunt" the other day they came back with some excellent descriptive phrases and words to describe areas of our school on a cold and foggy morning.<br />
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When they got back to class, they highlighted the words they think they spelled wrong. Then I typed up the list and we read through it together. We noticed that we could tell what all the words were suppose to be, they had been sounded out really well. They were just missing the knowledge of some of the spelling rules, so that is our next little goal.<br />
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The list:<br />
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Sliprey/<o:p></o:p>Slipry</div>
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Concret/<o:p></o:p>Concreat</div>
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Hops (basket ball)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Derw<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wavey<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unstraight parking<o:p></o:p></div>
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Intelgent<o:p></o:p></div>
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Drity<o:p></o:p></div>
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Slimmy<o:p></o:p></div>
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Senice fare<o:p></o:p></div>
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Red and witie<o:p></o:p></div>
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Suppoing<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mokoai<o:p></o:p></div>
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Murel</div>
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Artafichil<o:p></o:p></div>
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Steers</div>
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Shriveld / serveled/sreviled<o:p></o:p></div>
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Prikley<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sogey</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stabel<o:p></o:p></div>
ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-26037444088005369752014-08-03T03:04:00.003-07:002014-11-23T00:28:46.449-08:00Story writingBoys were given pictures to choose from and a story planning sheet. They could choose whether they worked by themselves or with a partner and they could choose to either type or hand-write their stories.<br />
<br />
Poihipi and Douglas chose a picture of a rugby tackle and decided to write a story about the Rugby World Cup. They planned and wrote their story together on a Google Doc.<br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-82455780585274873732014-08-03T02:54:00.002-07:002014-11-23T00:28:25.902-08:00What the boys have to say about Writing...<u>1</u><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnH-95dZGHE&list=UUOSQXXcG7ZyuiR23TCXBgWw">2</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRE5R31pkjs&index=3&list=UUOSQXXcG7ZyuiR23TCXBgWw">3</a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT2DEnION-I&index=6&list=UUOSQXXcG7ZyuiR23TCXBgWw">4</a><br />
<u>5</u><br />
<br />
<a href="https://draft.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1237068989"></span><span id="goog_1237068990"></span>Interesting to hear the boys love writing when it is on their terms. If they can write about what they want to write about, then they are keen. If they are told what they are to write about and how, then the ideas and passion don't flow so freely.<br />
<br />
All of my boys prefer to type, rather than hand write.<br />
<br />
And all but one, like being given the time to plan their writing first.<br />
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Some boys prefer to write on their own and some prefer to write with others. I let my boys choose for this task.ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-69151632417855830012014-06-29T01:57:00.000-07:002014-11-23T00:27:38.931-08:00I am definitely learning!!!!I have made new discoveries this week, about boys and writing. <br />
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Boys don't listen. They like to see and do. I should have known this before, from my own experience with my husband and 2 boys :)</div>
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Keep things short, sharp and simple (achievable).</div>
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ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-63092829509695064902014-06-22T15:02:00.004-07:002014-11-23T00:27:22.017-08:00Roller Coaster!So up and down we go. Everyday is a mission to try and engage these boys in their writing. Sometimes it works and they love it and so do I. But it is so hit and miss.<br />
<br />
The writing challenge at the moment is the boys are writing what is "around the corner....". <br />
<br />
I took them over to a corner of our school and told them they couldn't look around the corner because the scariest thing they have ever seen is around there. I said they needed to plan story of about 5 paragraphs telling me what is around the corner and how they were going to get past.<br />
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They were so excited about this at the beginning and their imaginations were flowing, but when it comes to putting the words as a brainstorm they are struggling to stay focused and I am hearing "this is boring!"<br />
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I feel like I can't win. I put a lot of my time into thinking up creative lessons for them. It's really hard when they don't buy into it.<br />
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I have given them options to put their brainstorm on the computer via cube creator which will turn their story into a 3D cube. Still not focused. The lack of listening and focus is driving me crazy and then the repeating instructions etc. I am feeling frustrated! <br />
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-73702737056440352332014-06-17T02:47:00.003-07:002014-11-23T00:27:07.623-08:00Light Bulb Moments....The last week has been a huge week for me and my inquiry. It started by observing my boys early last week and seeing that they were quickly moving off task and just generally bored. I had started looking at paragraph structure with them and it was too much sitting around with very little purpose to them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwznJlA7xCJ9h1LuZytXhBrmXs-CY0_2JXoY6akL9LLTIRCNXf4NMqkzthXAl42lwEc1Ycoaf3-ZpU8BpgZFNNrXS2lrnJUUjhj2DW0gJ_riKl9jghnS0Rt-VvWdMNdDpM8QPiNkMCOsQ/s1600/IMG_5574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwznJlA7xCJ9h1LuZytXhBrmXs-CY0_2JXoY6akL9LLTIRCNXf4NMqkzthXAl42lwEc1Ycoaf3-ZpU8BpgZFNNrXS2lrnJUUjhj2DW0gJ_riKl9jghnS0Rt-VvWdMNdDpM8QPiNkMCOsQ/s1600/IMG_5574.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
Things I have learnt:<br />
Boys need to see a bigger picture - there needs to be purpose (for them, not just me).<br />
Boys need to move around, don't just stick them at a desk and expect them to engage.<br />
Boys have brilliant imaginations, and love to have fun!<br />
Boys learn by doing and experiencing.<br />
Boys need to experience different learning environments.<br />
<br />
From these realisations I have....<br />
Moved them away from having lessons completely in one space.<br />
Started exploring the environment around us.<br />
Created new learning spaces in my classroom for my students to work, e.g beanbags, couch, mat etc.<br />
Tried to put my self in the boys shoes, what would make me excited about writing? How can I get them to use their imaginations?<br />
Asking the boys "What do you want to write about next?" "Why?"<br />
Opening up the discussion - Wow, the language that comes out when they can 'just talk'. Exciting! They don't even realise they are talking in similes, metaphors etc.<br />
Finding other ways to express their written language. Presentations, recording their voice, video etc.<br />
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I am so excited, i just need the ideas now!<br />
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The other day, it was so windy. So we went outside, in the wind. We sat by the buildings and listened to the wind howl around the corners,<br />
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We went to the middle of the field and felt the wind, played in the wind. We talked, we shared and then we wrote all our ideas down. They boys wanted to sit outside in the cold wind to write, they loved it. "Can we stay out a bit longer?" They asked, "I want to be able to write down all my ideas!" Love it! Yay!<br />
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Once the boys had written down their own ideas, they shared their notes with each other and then wrote a description of their time in the wind. Check out the video of their writing.</div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/NI_6oJqcxFA">http://youtu.be/NI_6oJqcxFA </a></div>
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ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-54024008474606742942014-06-09T17:21:00.001-07:002014-11-23T00:26:32.217-08:00My thoughts...As I am teaching and planning little thoughts (sometimes big) run through my head and as Ruth Foulkes suggested, I need to reflect on these, so here we go.<br />
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Jerry - his progress has stood out the most so far. His writing prior to ALL was very hard to read as it had no structure to it. His confidence has grown (partly from being "chosen" to be in this special group of writers and also he is more focused and enjoying the more practical, hands on lessons. It is great to be able to really focus on the students needs in a much smaller group situation.<br />
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Callum - This is an interesting one. He isn't completing as much work as the other boys (mainly becauase he is called out to reading during our writing sessions) but he has developed a passion for writing. Prior to ALL he hated writing. Said it make him cough! But now he is writing his first novel and works with a buddy to check his work and help him with grammar and spelling etc.<br />
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One thing Ruth suggested is that I need to have more urgency with my programme and teaching. This is something I need to work on.<br />
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Ruth Lickfold is such an asset to this programme and my class. We are working really well together as team teachers of writing. Discussing ideas, sharing knowledge and planning next steps by looking at the students needs. I am really enjoying this part of the programme.<br />
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I am thinking we may need to start to separate what is happening in class and what is happening with the boys soon as the boys will need to start planning their trip soon. I think we will plan this for the last week of ALL. I want to spend some time working on paragraphing and structure for reports as this will help the students with their inquiry work and also in the future when it comes to writing essays etc.<br />
<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-91720633756581573432014-05-26T00:43:00.002-07:002014-11-23T00:25:35.568-08:00Popcorn Balls and Procedural Writing<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHHw6K1sKFPVHj8paEfhL2ay6WtyrGWEyljdXcXf5OSwWqB7viPpkkK6AFddwXsph-ovc8IfvDuRywWio3D-QNPbRTLrveq2rFLs6bn0yTsXzX3MC_ezN0qCnQutmTWNDsQmZoQoIvXwZ/s1600/popcorn+balls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHHw6K1sKFPVHj8paEfhL2ay6WtyrGWEyljdXcXf5OSwWqB7viPpkkK6AFddwXsph-ovc8IfvDuRywWio3D-QNPbRTLrveq2rFLs6bn0yTsXzX3MC_ezN0qCnQutmTWNDsQmZoQoIvXwZ/s1600/popcorn+balls.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our next task with popcorn is to write the procedure for making Popcorn Balls. We started today by making the recipe in the cooking room. We gave instructions to the students but they never got to see a written version of the recipe, as their task is to write their own.</div>
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The students were excellent listeners (even though they got a little high on sugar after all the secret taste testing...) and followed the instructions really well. They also worked co-operatively in their groups.</div>
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When they got back to class they had to jot down in their writing books, all the things they could remember about the ingredients and the process. Tomorrow we will write up this information as a recipe for them to take home.</div>
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-77698941408501165322014-05-25T03:15:00.003-07:002014-11-23T00:25:08.183-08:00First Week - Popcorn!<div style="text-align: center;">
WALT to write an advertisement for popcorn that will convince Mums to buy it at the supermarket for their kids.</div>
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This week we focused on the language and format of advertising. What should a good advertisement include? How should we set it out? What is our purpose? Who is our target audience?</div>
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Students looked at models of great persuasive advertisements. They then drafted their own before creating a good copy on their computer.</div>
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The draft writing process:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby_kya7kX-BmbYd3oSpvCr6dVvc-80tkjbzqSmGW_7ebi3xojty7jaYSYjRWfEgg-dQSoQ-ekruYtRMber2k_EXQqQhnzq8nNObUQlJTyhE1M1BHsPjriU4kZ4T5J6yUpoAuxCeoX6Bsi/s1600/IMG_5431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhby_kya7kX-BmbYd3oSpvCr6dVvc-80tkjbzqSmGW_7ebi3xojty7jaYSYjRWfEgg-dQSoQ-ekruYtRMber2k_EXQqQhnzq8nNObUQlJTyhE1M1BHsPjriU4kZ4T5J6yUpoAuxCeoX6Bsi/s1600/IMG_5431.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaL3YKVJtHWzia_ekmPf4e4SxpY-hMHfng-J_SPhIEsotkMEEN79uoEJ-vjDrwGASMNToNj_46ciAVpQewqZ2qrUR9dNigEqi2cUKyYrS8OfH4j_8342fL5TnA-SWwqsbJ6VUeqzDxtkw7/s1600/IMG_5430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaL3YKVJtHWzia_ekmPf4e4SxpY-hMHfng-J_SPhIEsotkMEEN79uoEJ-vjDrwGASMNToNj_46ciAVpQewqZ2qrUR9dNigEqi2cUKyYrS8OfH4j_8342fL5TnA-SWwqsbJ6VUeqzDxtkw7/s1600/IMG_5430.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are some of the final outcomes:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfYuxsGVW8qVwZT9bdtiHTdMa9_7b8iOQuE5cHSY-vUyBp01D_C1BB4ZdBgh-JP64WW-i6G8bOcXn-nGr7ig8OtvFp93YQO0hWNnCkEJ1umP76kI1yAyqqsRDbmkQqjn7dm4XE3xXQ6LU/s1600/popcorn2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfYuxsGVW8qVwZT9bdtiHTdMa9_7b8iOQuE5cHSY-vUyBp01D_C1BB4ZdBgh-JP64WW-i6G8bOcXn-nGr7ig8OtvFp93YQO0hWNnCkEJ1umP76kI1yAyqqsRDbmkQqjn7dm4XE3xXQ6LU/s1600/popcorn2.JPG" height="400" width="336" /></a></div>
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Something I realised from reading the above advertisement is that I need to teach my students about copying facts straight off the internet. And also I need to talk to them about using relevant facts. Do Mums really want to know this about popcorn? Will these facts help persuade Mums to buy this product?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEkvt74bZY5JfYVUwa3zW1v2lxe1VcjAZlWuUEPqmn9VQS6jazeEbl730fySGVCUw-6-yOHfmq1s0b7yKQOnoGOVrEx0fzDtgPm0yYeZe4yDBe317ya2AFIaYI5rO4-tO3ePWwHOaUUuO/s1600/popcorn+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDEkvt74bZY5JfYVUwa3zW1v2lxe1VcjAZlWuUEPqmn9VQS6jazeEbl730fySGVCUw-6-yOHfmq1s0b7yKQOnoGOVrEx0fzDtgPm0yYeZe4yDBe317ya2AFIaYI5rO4-tO3ePWwHOaUUuO/s1600/popcorn+1.JPG" height="400" width="281" /></a></div>
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ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-24768356621041860122014-05-25T03:09:00.001-07:002014-11-23T00:24:37.383-08:00Setting up our learning space.<div style="text-align: center;">
I have transformed our back room into a small group learning space. It was jam packed with furniture and rubbish 2 weeks ago, I am looking forward to getting some of the boys work up on the wall, to brighten up our new space.</div>
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<br />ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7777765321508861416.post-74244675955174243962014-04-07T23:34:00.000-07:002014-04-25T00:56:05.666-07:00Reaching for the stars<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rere atu, rere mai</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taku manu e</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rere ki tua, rere ki ko</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kia wheturangitia e.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fly, my bird </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in every direction</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Attain the countless stars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been at a course for the last 2 days. Soaking in all the big words and ideas that were being introduced to me. My head ached by the end of the first day. I think I had soaked in so much information that I actually felt like I was going to drown with the weight of it all. Thankfully, today it all started to make sense to me and I was able to relate the information to my teaching practice and my class and the heavy feeling quickly lifted and left me with a whole new realisation about where I am as a teacher and what direction I am wanting to go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's such a refreshing feeling, going from "what am I doing?" "Am I making a difference?" "Am I a good teacher?" To, WOW! I know where I need to go, I can see what I need to change to make a difference and become an effective teacher. Yay!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What is this realisation? Well, probably most teachers are already doing it, know it and can't believe I haven't been, but for me its been a stop/start journey so far. I came out of University as a trained Primary School Teacher, but due to the huge amount of teachers coming out of training at the same time as me and a lack of jobs in education, I waited two years to get my first teaching job as an HOD of Music in a High School for girls - hmmm a slight tangent. I loved my job but always desired to teach the younger students I had trained to teach. After nearly 3 years, I left and went to teach year 7 students at an Intermediate School, where I happen to still teach. I love this age group! I taught for 2 and a bit years before I got pregnant and 2 children and 4 years later I excitedly returned to continue my journey as an Intermediate teacher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, (my first year back after my Mummy time) was a year of getting my head around the classroom management, as I had a rather interesting and challenging class. I didn't have a lot of time to focus on my teaching practise other than my management strategies and finding things my students would love, so they would be engaged, on task (hopefully) and gain some skills for their learning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year is so different. My class is completely opposite to the last class I had. I actually find myself having time to meet with students in small groups or one on one and know that the other students can manage themselves well enough to stay on task. It's lovely!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my big realisation today was that I don't need to do all the big, fluffy, fun and exciting stuff to keep my students busy and engaged anymore. They are engaged, they are enjoying learning. I need to focus in on their individual needs, through all the testing I have done and look at what does this student need to know, to move on. What do I need to teach them so that they can progress? How can I teach them this so that they will succeed? I need to simplify. I need to get rid of the extra things I am doing in my time table, that take up time, sure the students enjoy them and they gain small amounts of knowledge from them, but are they achieving what they need to be achieving. Are they focused in on what they need to know so that they can move up to the next level?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While this is my focus for the next year, the thing to remember is we all have different classes, with different needs and we as teachers need to decide the best way to address these needs, with the time and resources that are available to us. Be open to new ideas, work collegially with your fellow teachers, as we are all aiming for the same outcome - to help our students succeed.</span></div>
ABCshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02659069055603784196noreply@blogger.com1