Anita's Teaching as Inquiry Blog

Engaged in some great dialogue with my Principal Sarah Martin where we ideated, bounced ideas and refined my Inquiry goal. Feel excited and clearer in my direction. I feel more focused on narrower goal to show shift in my learners voice and actions. 

This article was such a great read, thank you Jannie van Hees.  Have attached some quotes Reading aloud is associated with a range of literacy skills and cognitive benefits. Reading to children in the early years has been linked to related language growth, emergent literacy and reading achievement (Bus et al., 1995). A recent analysis of 29 studies found “significant, positive effects for read-aloud interventions on children’s language, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary outcomes” suggesting that read-aloud interventions “provide children at-risk of reading difficulties with higher literacy outcomes than children who do not participate in these interventions” (Swanson et al. 2012, p. 13). So as a team we may want to introduce D.E.A.R (drop everything and read), with a song or certain sound. Introduce this a daily item. All building learners capacity to and desire to read, increase the enjoyment and motivation. Create a love for readin...

When Jannie van Hees talks about the importance of building rich, authentic experiences to build the level of vocabulary of our learners. I am thinking of rich texts like these where there is an opportunity to expose our leaners to fiction and non-fiction text. Texts that relate to culture and identity. This text will support in creating success for all learners including Māori and boys.  Scaffolding the struggling learner has stuck with me too. A learner who might be reading at level blue, why not expose them to texts like this to enrich their vocabulary, knowledge and hook them into wanting to read.  When I think of my design for this shared book, I am thinking about the LEARN, CREATE, SHARE model of having a digital lens, oral language, reading, writing and using our body to learn with this context. I am excited about how things are making sense about my next steps of how my impact can make a difference. 

Having a daily focus on word attack and word knowledge progressions.  This will help to embed reading techniques and strategies to help unlock getting to the next reading level.  These practices are to be embedded and a 'part of me'.

Manaiakalani Teachers Inquire into the CoL Achievement Challenges This is the achievement Challenge I am working on this year... "Lift the achievement in reading for all students, with a particular focus on boys and Māori students (both genders) years 1-13" We have a Y1 learner who is NZ Maori this is her progress in 2017. This learner has been at school for 1 year and 6 months.  She started at Stonefields at the beginning of the year. From the graph above you can see that she has made steady progress.  She is now reading at Green .  We want her to be at Orange to meet National Standards and be 'at' her level. The goal now is to get this learner to Orange level by the end of the year 8 weeks to go!! Steps taken to make this progress Regular parent connects twice a term. The content covered in these connects... How to use the Reading Prompt Cards at home and in association with the home readers. Sharing content from reading together ...