Term 3 Inquiry - follow up

This term has been busy filled with filming for Film Festival, however I am teaching and learning Yr 2 level maths topics to try and fill in the gaps (based on JAM test results from Term 2). Topics covered over this 10 week term have been; identifying geometrical shapes, systematical counting, skip counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. The children have covered Place Value, Multiplication and Division, Equal Groups and Arrays, and Measurement. We have used resources and equipment along the way to seal concrete foundations and to cater for our kinaesthetic learners and those chosen Priority Learners as well. This has been a successful way to teach and learn maths skills using a hands on practical approach. The children really enjoyed measuring different objects using plastic rulers, looking closely at the numbers from 0-30 in centimetres. They also enjoyed comparing heights of who is the tallest and who is the shortest in our class!

Team 2 Immersion movie!

The Team Two teachers got together in the July school holidays and made a movie about our Inquiry topic for Term 3 - Karawhiua (Give it heaps!). We had lots of fun filming training sessions in preparation for the school Cross Country. Which athlete or student would you most likely emulate? Special thanks to Ms Squires for putting it all togther and finding archive footage to add in to make it look authentic!

Term 2 Inquiry - Interpret Data

Testing is underway in preparation for Term 2 reports. I have completed the Junior Assessment in Maths tests on each of my Priority Learners and gained some insight and new information on these children as a whole and as individuals. Out of the 5 children tested, 2 of them scored 4's for Add/Sub and Mult/Div sections of the JAM and they are both girls. This means that they are confidently finding answers to addition and subtraction equations by imaging and have learnt some strategies to use when solving problems. They are on track according to expected levels of learning in this curriculum area. The other three children scored 2-3's for Add/Sub and Mult/Div questions on the JAM. This means that they are still learning basic facts and how to add and subtract using materials. There are some other gaps which I recognise such as not being confident in skip counting in 2s or counting backwards in the correct sequence which will hinder their abililty with learning new skills for multiplication and division maths problems. I aim to focus on teaching these skills to them in a small group situation before the end of this term. For the two girls who are already confident with addition and subtraction, they will be extendend by learning 2's, 5s and 10 times tables before the end of the term and learn how to add on using place value of numbers. These two girls are at the expected level of learning in Maths for this stage of the year in comparison to their peers. However, they have a few gaps which I will focus on teaching them in a small group and give them some homework to practice (such as skip counting backwards in the correct sequence and knowing how to read 3 digit numbers).

Term 2 Create PD

Panmure Bridge school hosted the Manaiakalani cluster schools for our Professional Development introduction to Artificial Intelligence with guest speaker Craig Hansen. It was an opportunity to discover a plethora of AI sites relating to the latest technology in education, planning and using the lesson plans to cater for your students age level. These included; Diffit, Teachaid, ChatGPT, Eduaide and Magic School! Then we attended two workshops based on AI. My first one was using ChatGPT to find a Play dough recipe and use this with a group of young children and the second one was

How to animate a Poem

by Charlotte Walker. I particularly enjoyed using my iPad to create an animated poem on an Explain Everything format. This is what I am going to use with my Year 2/3 class to extend their language and literacy skills.

Term 1: Inquiry focus for 2024

This year my Inquiry focus curriculum area is Maths. I am currently teaching a class of 20 children in Year 2 and 6 of these are Year 3s with lower cognitive ability. My goal is to specifically to observe a group of children who need to learn how to solve maths problems such as adddition and subtraction basic facts, counting on, identifying numbers to 100 and counting forwards and backwards in sequence. They will be given a range of teaching resources to help them such as counters, number lines, coloured teddybears and hundreds boards to help them as a visual aide. I have formed this draft inquiry question: How can a strong number knowledge and number sense focus in basic facts support these children to achieve progress in Maths over the course of this year? I have chosen a small group of 5 children to work with, so I can teach them new strategeties to use and they may learn how to be more independent in finding answers. These children are encouraged to practice basic facts equations usinf the Xtramaths site and in addition the Maths seeds follow up acitivities on their iPads. They will be using a range of printed worksheets and follow up EEs (Explain Everything) activities on their iPads to consolidate their learning of maths strategies. My aim is that these children will be learning 2 x tables once they have mastered skip counting in 2s in the correct sequence. At the beginning of Term 2 I will be doing an individual JAM test on each child in my classroom to guage their knowldege and understanding this far.

MIT: Alumni Hui 2024

I feel so priviledged to have attended this gathering of talented teachers led by Matt and Dorothy at the MIT Hui held in Christchurch, hosted by KPMG! We were introduced to a Design Thinking concept that encouraged us to investigate a problem based on our current teaching practice. I was buddied up with Kariene and we focused on "Structured Literacy in the Early Years" (BSLA). We had to identify multiple problems and then do a deep dive and hone in using Crazy 8's to create possible solutions and how we can implement them? Kariene and I identified that although the BSLA program is valuable to our tamariki, time constraints are a factor in ensuring the success of setting up and completing individual assessments (prior to establishing reading groups). This needs to be done at the start of the teaching year or at the end of a 10 week teaching block and takes time to complete a whole class of learners (e.g. 20 -24 students in Year 1,2 or 3). I learnt that working with another teacher who has had a similar experience enabled us to bounce ideas off each other, compare and reflect on our own teaching practice. we identified what is working well and what needs to change. We are going to request more release time to carry out assessments which take time to analyse and then upload onto the BSLA site. Thank you so much to Justine for your kind hospitality, making us feel welcome in your space and providing delicious kai throughout the day. Nga mihi nui, Sonali Carter.

BSLA review

After 40 weeks of teaching the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) to the children in my class, all of the children have been tested. Out of the whole class of 20 children, the reading group who are considered as the most capable readers 4 of them have reached the top reading level called Rakau. As part of the assessment schedule they were tested at the end of the year and came out with top results ranging from 100%, 99%, 98% and 92%. Considering the fact that all of these children are ESOL and they have accumulated so many more words to their vocabulary, it is a great credit to them. They have read a range of books that they can relate to, learnt the characters names and Te Reo Maori phrases. The teaching strategies have introduced a new focus sound each week that is found in the words of the book they are reading. They learn a new morpheme such as -ing, -ed, -ll (double consonant) and have learnt how to sound out a word phonetically. I am so proud of their achievements. One of these students has received a top academic award for this year out of 60 Year 2 students. It is interesting to note that all of these children have had homework reading support from their own families at home, which has proved to be successful. In comparison to a small number of children who have had minimal input from their parents and/or significant absences from school throughout this year. In conclusion I feel that a consistent approach of teaching and learning at school and home is required in order for the BSLA reading program to be successful.