Term 4 Week 2 CAMP!

CAMP!

This year the organisation was different from previous 4 years.  And I think it is a model that worked better - except coming home of the Thursday and having Friday at school!

Programme:
3 days and 2 night.
8 rotations with 2 on the first day, 4 on the second day and 2 on the final day. This meant that there was very little down time and the students were fully engaged with rotations rather than teacher fill in activities. The camp concert still went ahead, spread over 2 nights, glow worms and burma trail was the same.  We did not do the movie night - this was no loss though as it did require a lot of setting up and taking extra equipment with us.

Cost was approx the same as we had one less night and therefore less meals. Cleaning was done by contract cleaners and this was also a far better arrangement than having parents do the clean on the last day. It was $300.00 for the camp clean - money well spent.

We have booked the same time for the camp next year - 17th to 19th October - this will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of Week One of Term 4, leading again into Labour Weekend.

Rotations
The water based activites were unfortunately cancelled and team building activities put in instead. This was due to the flooding that occured earlier in the year and the waterfall and river area were not safe enough for the 2 water based activities. This did mean that there was a diminance of climbing tyoe activites which was okay for those students who could challenge themselves with height and climbing, however some students who were less confident were restricted in full participation.

As a team we reflected on the camp and thought the organisation that we had in place worked welland will be a good model to take into next year.

Term 4 Week 1 Further Feedback from Students

Student voice is vital in the assessemnt and reflection process. Following on from the cross country training which was somewhat different this year compared to past years, (see previous post)  I asked the students to reflect on what we had done and to give me suggestions for next year. This is a link to what they said. 

Cross Country Reflection Room 22

I will use these ideas to take into cross country training next year.   Empowering students in the learning process gives them ownership which I see as a vtal component iof teaching and learning. 

Term 3 Week 6 STEM

Term 3 Programme

This follows on from the StuntMan project. Students have been selected across Year 6 who are the quieter voices in the classroom; the students who we feel would benefit from small group work developing language and gaining vocab within the context of Movement.

Background Information

Our knowledge of how people learn has grown substantially over the last few decades. We now understand that success in learning requires the learner to be at the center of the experience, making connections across disciplines and also across contextual settings. Children need to be presented opportunities to learn the same material in different settings and through different lenses. The traditional approach of teaching topics in isolation does not support the ways that children learn best.

We can also blend math and science to make learning interdisciplinary using a STEM approach. And the learning becomes more relevant when students go outside to explore nature. By asking the right questions, we can help stimulate investigations where students are identifying objects, making comparisons, making predictions, testing ideas, and sharing discoveries, all while observing their natural environment. Students can also explore sizes, shapes, patterns, and quantities in the process. In this way, children can learn concepts from different disciplines in different contexts, all in ways that are naturally engaging to them.

STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.

Learning is collaborative and project-based; kids work closely together in a hands-on way to solve real-world problems.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM is important because it pervades every part of our lives. Science is everywhere in the world around us. Technology is continuously expanding into every aspect of our lives.

http://nz.educationhq.com/news/33914/so-why-the-stem-push/

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/85799549/STEM-programme-bringing-innovation-into-primary-schools

http://www.kauriflats.school.nz/16/pages/9-stem-at-kauri-flats

https://www.schoolnews.co.nz/2016/06/why-its-time-to-get-serious-about-stem-education/

Key Competencies

Using Language, Symbol and Text

This competency is about how we make meaning – how we express and communicate our ideas, experiences, and information. People use a rich mix of language, symbols and texts, including spoken and written language, visual language such as photos and video, the symbols used in maths and science and much more. It is crucial for 21st century learners to have strong capabilities in this area.

Participating and Contributing

You don’t learn much if you don’t participate (learning is active meaning-making after all) and most of us know that you get more out of any sort of interactions where you also contribute. This competency includes contributing in a group, making connections with others and creating opportunities for others in a group. This relates to every part of our children’s lives – in fact some researchers have started calling this idea lifewide learning.

Thinking

Thinking involves using creative and critical processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this key competency.

Term 3 Goal

For 2 groups of students to explore the concept of movement through a STEM approach.

	Names	Time
Group 1:	Anthony (22)  Cale (22)  Daniel (21)  Thomas (21)  Suhyeok (22)  Caleb (21)  Leo (21)	Wednesday 1.30 to 2.30 and Thursday 11.30 to 12.30
Group 2:	Cindy (22)   Abby (22)   Candice (21)  Eva Marie (21)  Zayliah (22)  Irene (20)  May (20) Yunseo (22)	Monday and Tuesday 11.30 to 12.30

Date	Experience	STEM concepts related to movement	Resources Needed (highlight when we have the resource)
Week 1	Planning and gathering resources Pauline observing and working alongside students in class.
Week 2	Make a spinner	spinning	Cardboard, string
Week 3	Build a car	wheels /friction	Cardboard, straws, skewers Sellotape, scissors
Week 4	Racing cotton reels	“	Cotton reels, drawing pins Rubber bands, beads, iceblock sticks
Week 5	parachute	Flight/Air	String, material, paper plate Small toy
Week 6	Paper glider/pin wheel	Flight/Air	Coloured paper straws
Week 7	Make levers/pop ups	Levers	Cardboard  split pins
Week 8	Soy Sauce fish Cartesian diver Pg 76 Make Science Fun	Floating and sinking	Clear plastic bottles 1.25ml, paper clips,
Week 9	Magic mind power pendulum Pg 88 Make Science Fund	Motion	Sticks, string,  small toys or items
Week 10		Make Merry go round

We need,  felt pens, glue, sellotape

Reflection

From the students the feedback is very positive. Comments:

• It was fun doing different stuff to what we do in the classroom.
• I liked not having to write everything down.
• I wanted to make something every week and this is what I got to do.
• I learnt new words to talk about how what I made moved and I got to show my class what I had been doing.
• I liked working with just some of us and being able to talk about what i was doing.
• It was good not to have a glue gun this time! I didnt burn myself this time.
• My racing car went the fastest. I made modifications to my car and it went faster than anyone elses.

As a teacher:

• The participation levels in the classroom increased as the students had more language to contribute to discussions.
• The projects were engaging and motivating. The hands on aspect was a plus and the students were eager to bring back in to the classroom what they had made to share with the class. This gave them a voice and a chance to talk in front of the class.
• We talked about what the students were doing in the team meetings so it wasnt just a withdrawal class they were going out to.

Reading

First week of the break - lots of sleeping, lots of reading whatever posts come up from various blogs I follow, lots of thinking about what I do in the classroom and what I believe makes a successful learning environment.

In Term 2 I did not teach reading groups. I found that the learning intentions in Term 1 were almost "fake". They were made up because I "had" to teach reading every day. Yet I dont think the students benefitted from this reading time. Sure, they enjoyed the time being in a group with the teacher, but even more so with their friends if they happened to be grouped together. I tried workshop groups but found reading to be less effective as the students chose to come down with their friends - not always because it was their friends, but becuase a lot of what happens in the class programme is cooperative and collaborative, therefore they probably did need to be learning together in order to complete their activity, whatever workshop it was that they chose to come down to.  

From PROBE EOY 2016, I had only the ELL students reading below expectation, the rest of the students were either at or above.  The PROBE tests I have completed during Term 2 shows the same - all students have increased their reading age and, apart from the ELL students, all are reading at or above chronological age.  The 3 ELL students did have instructional reading - Yunseo on her own, and Abby and Suhyeok together. 

Now this isnt to say that reading didnt happen. Reading did happen. Reading happened every day.  We had a class shared novel that we read most days. (Cry of the Taniwha) We summarised, we retold, we discussed characters, we discussed the setting, we looked for clues to reorganise parts of the story.   We looked at vocab and what to do when we met unknown vocab. We etsablished the traffic light system - 

• Red Words - cant read, dont know this word
• Orange Words - can read, but dont know the meaning
• Green Words - interesting words in this text

We read for information during Samoan Language Week, we compared information from various sources, we contributed to shared documents and read ideas others had written. 

We went to the library every week, a time the students asked for if we missed. Reading was silent and individual and engaged.  

I will establish groups again in Term 3.  The focus will be on Reciprocal Reading initially and then move into Literacy Circles. I have not successfully established literacy circles before so this will be a focus in Term 3 - with a strong emphasis on the Oracy aspect. The ELL students I will take every day for instructional reading with the focus being on vocab. These students will also be in a reciprocal reading group and later in the term, literacy circle group too. 

Term 2 Week 6 and 7 Tuhononga Day and Oracy

Week 6 Tuhononga Day - Judo

I have labelled this Key Competencies because judo is about self discipline, managing self and co operating with a partner.  

I had 31 students in the group from Year 2 to Year 6.  Johan Boshoff took the group as the coach and I assisted, with Tracey Clarke helping to manage the students.  There were a small group of Year 2 and 3 boys who struggled initially with the self management aspect as they were playing around rather than listening and needed considerable re direction to get them focussed. However this was achieved quickly once I had seen whothey were messing around with and separated them, and as they were active for most of the time and only had minimal periods where they were required to sit and listen or watch, they were able to achieve the techniques.   Freddie became my new best friend!

Week 7 Oracy

Reflections during Team Meetings on reading we were given to read on Oracy and Oral Language in the classroom.

Week 7 Term 2

I found the reading very interesting.   The breakdown of the types of listening - informational, critical or evaluative, appreciative and empathetic differentiate in a way I hadn't really considered before.  Similarly, the type of talking - Exploratory, Presentational and Conversational.  Makes sense now that I have an awareness of the types.

Facilitating classroom talk - I use the talk moves from math and across the curriculum.  I have a hands down classroom and students know they are expected to do the thinking and to have a contribution if they are asked to share.  I use wait time and have been working on extending the length of this to give more time for thoughts to be processed.   There is still very much a girl-boy division in the room with choosing a buddy to talk to or work with.  Unless I intentionally make them choose a buddy of the opposite gender, or do the names out of the hat sorting they will always stay within the same gender buddy. This is an area to work on.

Recently I have started having students who have wanted to read a section from our class book have the opportunity to. The class have responded respectfully and there is always a volunteer wanting to read.  I am aware of keeping mat time to a maximum of 10 minutes at any one time so listening is active and directed. We do sharing back of thinking - with the focus being not on having a  correct answer but on using subject specific language and academic language as opposed to conversational language. In writing we have been exploring the difference between informal writing e.g journal and diary writing, and more formal writing  i.e an information report, and have taken this into modelling these types of language when responding to each other.   Negotiating and the way we talk to each other has been a focus as well as we have been learning and working with the differences between a social conversation and a learning conversation.  

I see oral language as being the basis of everything. It has been particularly noticeable with Yunseo  that there is so much she hasn't understood and cannot participate in as she doesn't have the language to explain or to understand.  

Week 8 Term 2

Listening to the language of the classroom. What interactions are the students having with each other? Social or learning conversation? Are there supportive words, or put down words being used?  Are students responding to each other? Who is doing the talking most?

This week the students have been very engaged on their Imaginary Land 3D maps. This has meant working in their group which was self selected so mostly based on friendship.  The conversations have predominantly been learning - discussing what to do next, dividing up jobs, time management with an encourager usually apparent just naturally in each group, and using the 3D math language when deciding which shapes to use.  One group had a team member away who would normally dominate. I wondered how this student would fit back in - he tried to dominate the other 2 verbally but they were too far through the project and although a little disparaging in his comments about their efforts, got on and helped them.  Very little talking from me this week, very much student to student and student to teacher talk. :)

Term 2 Week 4 Maths Dyscalculia

Children come into the school year either liking math or not liking math. It can cause anxiety and fear, and low self esteem and low self confidence seems to be made worse by anything mathematical. 

Dyscalculia 

• There is no cure for dyscalculia. 
• It’s not a phase a child will outgrow. 
• Like the color of a person’s hair, it’s part of who they are.
• It’s the way their brain processes math.
• It’s important to remember that every child with dyscalculia has different strengths and weaknesses so take the time to find these out. 
• Create a stable foundation on which to build more skills.
• Hands on approach with materials.
• Grouping and regrouping very important.
• The long-range goal is to teach calculation techniques and reasoning that use math principles to solve math problems. 

I have been working with number patterns - taking away the fear of being right or wrong - by having open ended problems that need reasoning and personal circumstances when solving. I think the attitude of half my class who came in saying that they can't do math and math is too hard, is changing.  They are starting to understand that math is about patterns and looking for a pattern, finding the pattern, understanding the pattern, and then applying the pattern, takes away some of the anxiety they feel. 

I dont have students who are Dyscalculaic, however several of the points above are important for those who do find math challenging - grouping and regrouping, hands on, find the strengths, calculation techniques that make sense to the child - are important in a math programme.  I found math difficult at school, and I think this struggle has actually strengthened my ability to teach math in a way that is accessible and built on patterns. 

Term 2 Week 3 Math Would you rather

Math Starter - I found a link by accident to Would You Rather..?  math starters to look at thinking and ways of thinking through a math problem. I have started this week with the class and they have been a success!  

Would you rather?

The idea is to pose 2 options and the students have to logically think through and compute what option they would rather have - there is not necessarily a correct answer as it depends on the way their thinking goes.  For example:

Would you rather have $100.00 now or $1.00 a day until your next birthday? 

This was a great one to start off with as it enabled a rich discussion to happen as the students realised that when their birthday was as a deciding factor and then had to calculate how long till their next birthday. The discussion afterwards was based around the strategy they used to work it out - very very successful! Feeling very chuffed about it!

Examples

The students work individually initially through the problem making their own decision - my reasoning for this is that everyone has the opportunity to do their own thinking and come to their own conclusions before sharing with a buddy.  

I thought that some students may change their minds after sharing but this wasnt the case. ALL students stuck to their initial reasoning - and the students who find math more challenging were all able to participate on the same level as the other students as their reasoning was just as valid. Through the sharing process afterwards strategies were shared - ranging from the simple counting on and counting back to advanced multiplicative - all students were exposed to this range of thinking. 

Term 2 Week 2 Problem Solving in Math

Reading for Team Meeting this week was called

Teaching Values Through A Problem
 Solving Approach to Mathematics

                                                          Teaching value through Math

Essentially the article was about real life problem solving, about solving problems that were a real context and therefore making the math meaningful and purposeful. Not just problems that sounded realistic, but actually require the students to use math to find a solution to actually had. 

• equipping students to meet the challenges of life
• developing general knowledge and common sense
• learning how to be discriminating in use of knowledge, that is to know what knowledge is appropriate to use for what purposes
• integrating what is learned with the whole being.   

The context comes first and then the math comes out of the context so students need to employ a range of skills and strategies, not just within a topic e.g learning addition. 

A good read and thoyght provoking. I use the problem solving approach consisitently, but not in the context based approach as was suggested. Could be a direction to explore further. 

Term 2 Week 1 Daily Planning

I am trying a new planning system this term. It was a presentation at the Google Summit and uses Sheets for weekly planning.  It is a download that is then personalised for your own planning needs. Sheets is probably the google suite product I am least familiar with so this will be a learning curve for me! The present system I am using on a doc is good, but think I will give this sheets a try for new learning this term.

Link to planning on Sheets Term 2

Week Nine Te Whare Rama

Te Whare Rama    29th March 2017   Introduction Day Windsor Park

Te Whare Rama means Lighthouse. (Doctor Michael Irwin)

71% of students referred to RTLB are boys. Most of these students are boys who have a dislike for writing.  There are many reasons why they dislike writing – lack of ideas, boring genre, handwriting, have to sit and be quiet, and more.

All kids have imagination
Throw away genre
Bring back the magic of writing for our children.

Show not tell
Say as much as you can in as few words as you can.
Engaging, drawing, talking, talking and more talking.

Writer and audience - readers attention needs to be caught
Express and create a scene where the reader is hooked and wants to know more.

Technology: finding ways to build connections: Google mad, google earth,  - becoming a shared community of writers.
Used digital devices to reduce barriers
Typing instead of handwriting, easier to find correct spelling, writing easier to revise and make changes,  giving feedback to each other, million dollar word sentences.

Emphasis on language and building vocab. Million dollar words and million dollar sentences - how descriptive is your word or sentence.  Aim to encourage more precise, descriptive vocab choices. Million-dollar word different for each student - challenging themselves to build a stronger word than they have previously used.  Actually gave them million dollar notes  - word written on the back, pinned up next to a child's name - encouraged to use others million dollar words. Showcase the words. Same with sentences - creating vivid imagery. Show not tell.  

Telescopic text.  Begin with a simple sentence. Insert words or change the text and elaborate on their ideas.   Changing one word can make all the difference to the picture you are building.

Too easy to get hung up on surface features. Focus on ideas and building language. Workshops help as needed on surface features.

Finding a way to motivate kids and love writing.  Kids have the ideas inside them - find the way to unlock the writer.

www.talk4writing..co.uk

Year 3 experience
Imagination Station
The mystery box - visual artefact very important.
An old scratched wooden box. Where did it come from?
Could hear there were things inside the box,but it was locked with no key.  Go and draw what you think was inside. Building the excitement.
Next day the key was delivered in a gold envelope.  Inside was a map and a tooth necklace. If the box was locked, it meant there was something new in the box. This became a dragon theme.
When drawing, it's not an art lesson. Draw what is in your mind, take rubbers away.

Sparking groups - lighting a fire in someone else's imagination. It's not stealing ideas, it's building power together as a writer.
Engaging, drawing, sharing and talking. This is our writers community. Add to their drawing after talking with their sparking group.

Important for Oracy:  If they can't tell a story, they can't write a story. So the talking and sharing very very important.
Rich picture books also vital to start the next piece of drawing or writing.

Tell me the dragon by Mackie Morris.
The egg by MP Robertson
The genre came incidentally through the term depending on the motivation.

Writing tools: devices, writer at work lanyard , writers notebook. What are u if u are a writer? What is your job? ( audience - no point in writing something if no one is going to read it)
Ninja mode - silent mode. Lanyard on. Writer at work. Do not disturb.
Writers notebook - very important - a writer will carry around a notebook to jot down ideas, drawings, pictures, you just never know when you are going to need words or pictures or drawings to spark.
Wow words wall - newspaper wall - words put up on coloured paper then be ones a resource for all.
About ownership of the writers notebook. Covered writers notebook with brown paper and try decorated it.

Flip books made for dragons.

Writing books are the students - they may choose to draw through it - ownership.

Student voice
Publishing writing so it is available for everyone to read.  These often be one the most read resource.

How to share writing that is online - not printing it out.

www. nightzookeeper.com.

Engage, draw, share, write.       Process that engages.  Visual artefacts.

Michael: engagement most important but engagement has to be open. E.g what's behind the door?
Drawing is about capturing your ideas visually - it's a visual reference - not an art lesson.
5 minute engage, 10 minute draw, 5 minute share, write.
Some children are very poor story tellers. If they can't tell you the story, they can't write the story. We are pressured as teachers to have kids write, but it doesn't happen as a writer until you can get the ideas out orally.
As a teacher its exhausting.  Listening to writers sharing their writing with you.
Teachers should have autonomy in their own rooms. Writing may be all day and other areas come from it. Balance out your programme.
Planning - you don't know where it's going to go. Plan week by week. Reflect each week then add the next week.

KellySinger
Not writing about their weekend.  Audience - who is the audience ....teacher??
Ownership and empowering them through choice
Writing groups are based on the passion. Eg ninja group, adventure group
Have to let go of planning for the term ahead. Has to be flexible and move with the kids.

Anticipated learning
Learning observed
Engagement ideas
Teacher reflection

Passion based writing clubs. Have an identity, name, motto,
Sparking - kids bouncing off each other
It isn't about the length of the story, it's about what has been said in the writing and how it was said.

Community of writing. Building a team.
What will work for one class, won't always work with your next class so need to be flexible and open to change.
Each assign based group had a closed blog.
I write - app

Artefact could be something from the story they are writing, e.g Make the dragon tooth necklace.  Clay and sculpture. When the artefact is put on they become the character.

Focus on storytelling not genre
Flexible planning

Making groups - write on post it notes all the things they are passionate about. Teacher then groups so it isn't friendship based.

Each child has 3 goals: Goals come from the writing sample and rubric the school has. These become the hot spot workshops - these are the gals they are filling.

Group intervention initially.
Moved to whole class - challenges with access to technology, dealing with many more kids, how to give feedback and make comments, relationship building with all your writers,

Week Three Digital Learning Class Agreement

Digital Learning Class Agreement

Hectors World has worked exceptionally well with the class to build the basic understandings of strong passwords and personal safety when on the internet. It has been a very good beginning to have in place before we started on our devices this week.

The class have all completed a slide presentation on what they considered the 3 most important messages to share about digital safety.  These are shared on the Room 22 Class Blog.    http://2017room22year6.blogspot.co.nz/   

These are what the class came up with as the most important points for us to agree on that we will do to be safe in our digital learning environment.

14th February 2017

Kia Ora Parents and Caregivers

This week we have started with our digital learning in Room 22.  

As an introduction to the year, we have been exploring the Hector’s World website looking at how we can be safe in an online environment.

From this work, the students and I have put together our expectations for the use of a device at school.  Please read through this with your child. They will be able to explain to you what each expectation means.

Once the expectations have been signed by you and your child, please return to school.  Your child will need headphones at school every day to use with their device.  I suggest these are not very expensive ones, earbuds work well.

I look forward to the work we will be doing in digital learning this year.

Regards

Christine Robson

Room 22 Class Teacher 

Digital Learning Agreement