RPI 5 - Time makes the wine

Guess who's back... 

Best day ever... or maybe that was a sunny day in Rarotonga, I spose weddings and birth of children might trump it also. There was that day... Ok maybe  an element of hyperbole but it was a great session of RPI as we looked at some very useful things, had some very useful discussion and had some very useful time to explore. Useful day ever if you please.

Breakout

We started with a discussion - peers share and ideas from colleagues - good to hear how things are working for others and challenges that seem universal.

Took some time to check out (maybe at the Blog stage) Sugarbug's Flutterbye album - may have to get a signature from Sean.

We shared our plans and resourcing for groups. More good and useful ideas.

Ubiquitous You

Dorothy came in from Spain (She said it was a background) and extolled the virtues of our sites. This was a reminder of all the things we have been doing and why, along with how they are proven effective.

Grouping - rule of thumb thanks to Kiri

• In Years 7-8: two groups per day per teacher, total time 45 - 50 mins

• Each teacher should have 4 - 5 groups altogether. 

• Groups achieving at or above expectation: twice a week. 

• Groups below expectation: more regularly - at least 3 times a week, daily if possible.

• This will mean that only the at risk students will be seen each day.

As the teacher - timetable for teaching groups, conferencing, roving, tracking and monitoring - taking observation notes.

Use your Teacher aide to support - I use this so I can target groups in writing and math currently along with specific 1-1 program delivery.

I felt my timetable would work better for me than examples due to my context. I have it working to almost a 100% teacher time thanks to my upstairs partna!

Fitting all the programs and curriculum is a 'fun' challenge.

Tracking - to empower

Pleased to say this is a happening thing in the Ki Runga crew thanks to the talented Whaea Kay. Check out the site to see (May need to reiterate, monitor and remind)

Digital aps

Something old something new. Looking forward to using these.

Used some text to set up think aloud. 

Lots more but I want to post. Loved the reader/writer connection and the templates provided. Inferring information will be of great value.

Looking forward to our next load of info. Time does make the wine and time to reflect, create and sandbox makes PD valuable! Thanks Adijah.

Ka kite

RP1 - Day 4 - Small Group Instruction - Flight of the Bumblebee

Notes and chaos: 

Sorry a bit scattered but the amount of information and resources we are exposed to and taught in our RPI sessions is incredible. By the end of the day (or 1pm) it is like a bee in your brain. 

• What did I learn that increased my understanding of the kaupapa and pedagogy of the Manaiakalani Reading Programme ?

• What did I learn that could improve my capability and confidence in teaching reading?

• What did I learn that could be used with my learners?

Small Group Instruction Vs Reading Apprenticeship

• small group of students 

• shared literacy learning need of the group

• text selected to support the focus learning need (including engagement)

Elements/Steps of framework

Routine, direct teaching on the strategic actions students need to process an increasingly complex range of texts.

Introducing the text and it's purpose

Depending on the teaching purpose, or progress through the text:

• Prompt students to make predictions based on the information revealed so far

• Reveal the structure of the text up front;

• Draw attention to illustrations - pictures, charts, maps, cutaways - and the information they represent;

Draw attention to the writer’s craft (or other features) you want students to notice (when reading) to support analysis.

To keep in line and stay on target we used this table to analyse a transcript of a text introduction.

 

Prompts for background knowledge	Prompts for text information (or ideas)	Prompts for vocabulary knowledge	Prompts for Reading processing strategies
Shares background knowledge	Shares text information (or ideas)	Shares vocabulary knowledge	Shares Reading processing strategies
Affirms background knowledge	Affirms text information (or ideas)	Affirms vocabulary knowledge	Affirms Reading processing strategies

Good group discussion around this, What a team we make

Reading for Fluency supports comprehension

- Need to be focused and productive when looking for precise behaviours around Literacy and learning.

• After text introduction learners will read individually and silently. Avoid sending away to read.

• Plan to check in on individual readers’ processing: 

Year 7-8 : once a month or needs based; could incorporate feedback on screencast / audio recordings of learners’ reading.

Use a recording sheet to monitor progress and record and listen to readers.

Fluency

Intorduce the rubrik to the students - explain it's purpose.

Boredometer - read and have the children rate/score

I used the fluency rubric to check in on my students. It became evident that one group may need more of a challenge. I am looking forward to sharing the rubric with the students so they can self assess.

Metacognitive bookmark!!!

By the end of the day (or 1pm) it is like a bee in your brain. Where do I go...

(I would like to point out that the leaderboard was in my sites even though it took me 2 questions to find and answer on the Kahoot and was confused by the 2 answer question, 6th is OK I guess - I'm not competitive)

What can I do now?

I really enjoyed seeing the fluency rubric and being able to use this against the preordered readings my students gave me. I really liked that it was broken down into more than just 'fluency'. This is definitely something that I will be sharing with my colleagues as it is a quality resource that will allow the students to be critical learners. I will introduce this to my class and co teacher, introducing reading too and then they can assess each other. 

Another thing I found very helpful were the graphic organisers. Having clear templates will save time and be a reminder about tools I can use to have the children delve into their learning and understanding

The homework is a good starting place to guide next steps but I am excited to use things from all 4 days to in my practice.