Week 3, Term 2 2013

Week three has flown by, I can’t believe how fast it has gone. Am beginning to see I have way over planned, but that is fine – would rather over plan than under.

Maths has been good this week, have finally started to get the children into slightly deeper thinking and explaining the strategies they use to work problems out. Our rotations have been set and the kids are following them. I have been having to keep on top of them to ensure the noise level remains low and the children are staying on task however they are very good so far. Will have to ensure I change my rotations on a regular basis so that they aren’t getting board. I am also using my modelling book each lesson to keep a record of childrens learning and show them how I work problems out.

Maths modeling book - have one for each group

After having read Chapter Two of Laney Sammons Guided Math book I have had to rethink my overall teaching, it got me to take a step back and look at my class through the eyes of a student. I did this and realised my classroom doesn’t really shout out ‘Maths’ like it does for the other subjects. So I spent some time on Thursday creating a Maths ‘word wall’. The children created these themselves so that it means more to them than if I had just done it.

Our word wall - created by children

I have fully implemented the Daily 5 programme into the class which consists of read to self, read to someone, listen to reading, work on writing and word work. The children already knew how the programme runs so it didn't really involve much setting up. Children have been going off task fairly easy so I need to ensure I stay on top of this.
My guided reading sessions have been really good and even though I get twenty minutes per group I feel that it isn't enough so I may increase it to half an hour per group and that will give me a little bit of extra time to help children set up activities after their guided session. An hour and a half is a long time for the children to be sitting so I have been including a 5-10 minute break for exercise and fruit and this breaks the Daily 5 up a little.

Writing has been really good and the children are starting to gain an understanding of how to use descriptive writing to make a sentence more interesting and although they are not where I want them just yet they are starting to get the idea. Next week I have to take writing samples of the whole class and analyse them which will be a good reference to go back to at the end of our descriptive writing unit and compare against.

Our inquiry has developed from using the thinking hats for our questions to grouping our questions into similar groups and deciding on a main question. Today was spent brainstorming how we can research our questions. I then spent twenty minutes modelling and teaching how we use each form.

Our next step in inquiry is to use these research methods to find answers to our questions.

Overall the week has been much better than last although the behaviours have become worse as they continue to test me, I have implemented a couple of new behaviour management techniques to get on top of the behaviour.

I had a release day this week and it was great however it went so fast. I spent the day doing running records and a probe…but did them incorrect so am going to do some next week the correct way. It was good though having a refresher on how to do them.

I have also put a couple more items on my wall, the first being the different reading strategies that children use each day.  I have also made a smaller chart that informs children on the strategy we will be focusing on for the week.

Reading strategy that children will focus on for the week.

The second is having my WALTS for each subject on the board so that children are aware of them and only have to look in one place to find them.

WALTs for the main subjects

The week has been good, next week is going to be really busy as we have a CRT day on Tuesday and winter sports on Wednesday which I am really looking forward to.

Have a great weekend :)

Guided Math by Laney Sammons Chpt 2

1. Foundation Principles of Guided Maths. Which two do you think are the two most important of these principles? Why? How does your classroom reflect those principles?

Modelling and think aloud: Because children need to be first shown how to do something so then they have it to refer back to. Children are able to see the cognitive strategies in place and then attempt them for themselves. I also find this very useful as I am able to model getting it wrong and fixing my mistake – this allows students to recognize that it is ok to make mistakes as long as we learn from them and try again. I believe this is one of the most important parts of teaching as it is where we are actually teaching them and showing the process that goes on inside our heads as we work through a problem.

An organized classroom environment: I think this is another important aspect of the classroom as if the teacher and the classroom space is not organised then the lesson most often turns to chaos. I think it is really important that the classroom is laid out so that children are in working groups and can access any material they may need without teacher assistance. Not only is the actual classroom organisation important but teacher organisation is also really important, I have personally found that if I am not organised then the lesson is a waste of time. By having a clear organised plan with direction the lesson most often  goes smoothly.

My classroom reflects both of these principles as I use teacher modelling and think aloud in most of my guided maths and especially if children are learning a new strategy, I reuse them if children do not understand a concept to break it down and work through it step by step. Children are given the opportunity to work through the think aloud process before moving into independent work – this allows me the chance to assess whether they have understood.

I also rely on being organised, as stated before if I not then the lessons never run smoothly. I have all resources and material clearly labelled and children are free to access it if necessary.

2. Do you think your students feel that they are members of a mathematical learning community? If so, how did you establish that feeling of community? If not what can you do to create it?

I believe they are, however after only have 3 weeks in the class so far it is hard to judge this. I set the class up so that children work as a whole and then split off into their smaller groups this gives them the opportunity to work in small supportive groups that they can grow to trust. However I have tried to set my learning environment up to be a positive work space for everyone where they aren’t afraid to take risks. Children are also in smaller learning groups so they can engage with others who are learning at the same level as them; this gives them the opportunity to communicate and express ideas with others.

Communication is really important in my class and I believe children can learn a lot from each other from having rich conversations about their learning. Through communication children learn to share, justify and explore their ideas further.

I will be developing the class community throughout the term through the use of group work and conversations as children gain the confidence to challenge themselves and others.

3. Look at your classroom through the eyes of a new student. Walk into your class, what would he or she see that would indicate the importance of mathematics?
I don’t think he/she would really see a lot to do with maths and this is going to be my focus for the next week to build a mathematically rich display within the classroom.

Reading Course 15/05/13

Yesterday I attended a beginning teacher course for reading at the Waikato University. I was a bit unsure of what to expect at first but once we were introduced to the speaker Louise Dempsey I relaxed and focused.

Throughout the day I learnt a lot to do with reading in the classroom. The first block was spent learning about shared reading techniques which I have never really done in my class. She introduced us to a range of simple activities that we can use as modelling lessons to teach the whole class and overall save time so that we don’t have to teach each individual student. I also learnt that these activities should be based around my middle to upper group level in order to bring the lower students up.

The last part of the afternoon was spent looking at guided reading and the most effective way to plan and teach it. We looked at a variety of text that we could plan. Louise informed us a good guided reading session should be spent focused for at least 20 minutes any shorter and it is a waste of time. She also said to focus on the content rather than trying to get through the book as a whole.

I look forward to implementing some of her ideas and techniques into my class over the next few weeks.

http://louisedempsey.wordpress.com/

Goal 2, Term 2 2013

*Is there an environment for learning within the classroom?*

People/resources for support:

- Teachers at the school

- Professional peers

- http://www.slideshare.net/kstashuk/creating-a-positive-classroom-environment

Intended outcome - how will I know when I have achieved the goal?

- Children's levels are rising

- Children aren't afraid to take risks in the class

- Children excited for learning

- Children engaged in all learning activities

- Class layout so ALL children are not distracted

Goal 1, Term 2 2013

*Gain knowledge of assessment processes used in the school system and use them to assess students*

People/resources for support:

- Kristen (tutor teacher)

- Other teacher/prinicipal

- Assessment books for each area:

- e-astelle

- I-Kan (has website; use this to research)

- Observing other teachers taking these assessments

Intended outcome - how will I know when I have achieved the goal?

- Conduct the assessments following the correct procedure

- Assess students accurately

- Be able to easily explain the assessment tools to another person

Week 2, Term 2 2013

Week two has been really full on and has gone so fast, can't believe it is Friday already. This week we started our whole school maths interchange, I am teaching stage 3,4 and 5. Monday was spent learning bowl a fact as a starter activity, most of the class picked it up pretty fast. The next few days were spent focusing on book layout and group rotation expectations. Some of the class understood this but we will be revising this each lesson. My focus for this week is to ensure all groups are focused and engaged in their rotation activities.

I started Daily 5 this week with the class and the activities I have set so far are working. Next week we will be focusing on having all 5 up and running. Was really good to change my plans for next week after my course in Hamilton with more detail and a few ideas to make planning easier. I am getting better with my time management as well after having brought a timer.

Have found that i miss out on a large part of teaching by having a day off so am going to get reading up so that children are able to run it themselves. I also have a teacher aide for a part of the day so need to ensure i am making the most of her.

Children did assembly today and it went much better than i thought. They presented teamwork and how we have been developing it in the class through art. The children have really been pushing the limits this week in regards to behaviour and i am constantly jumping on them for unacceptable behaviour. Here's hoping next week runs smoother. :)

Week 1, Term 2 2012

Week one is finished and it has been a very full on week so I am glad the weekend has arrived.

Monday started off great, children were all settled and responded well to the behaviour systems that I implemented into their class.  I only had 14 children so that made things a lot easier. We began by several names games which were mainly for my benefit to help me learn and pronounce names correctly. Children are all lovely kind hearted kids. Had first staff meeting after school; beginning to see the systems the school has in place.

Tuesday began with bible in-schools which I found really interesting to see how the class responded to another teacher/adult in the classroom. Some showed their true colours which came out from that day onwards. Today was spent on team building activities and setting up a positive classroom environment. Had meeting with Kristen after school and received some information on upcoming release days etc.

Wednesday and Thursday were much the same, I set up several routines in the class which the children responded well to. Have noticed I have a lot to learn in terms of school procedures. Class have started to push the boundaries which is what I had expected. Had to jiggle daily schedule due to power potentially being out.

Friday was a catch up day to finish off our activities from the week and reflect on how we went. We also set goals as a class and individuals which we will revisit at the the end of term 3.  Also went to school assembly which was very short and sweet. Was observed from a teacher outside of the school and received some positive feedback which was a great lift.

To sum up the week it has been good, however I look forward to knowing all the routines and ways off the school to make my weeks easier.