Laying the Foundations
One teacher's journey
This year I want to post more frequently. I aim to lift the lid on what’s going in my foundation classroom. I also want to share some of my insights and thoughts about education more broadly. So I have decided to start answering three questions each week.
What have I taught? ‘Twas the week before school and all through the building, Many teachers were stirring but not any children. Over the last couple of weeks teachers have been busily planning, prepping and setting up classrooms. There’s a sense of excitement about what the year may hold, as well as apprehension about the new classes and what Covid might have in store for us. We had a curriculum day on Friday and I taught my colleagues about our new spelling programme, Spelling Mastery. Spelling Mastery is a Direct Instruction programme and I was excited to share my knowledge of DI.
One of the hallmarks of training in DI programmes is how much time is spent on actually practising delivering the programme. This allows teachers to become familiar with the format of a lesson and then introduces what to do when students make errors.
My colleagues are incredible and they picked up managing signals and scripts really quickly. I am looking forward to continuing to help them as they start implementing this programme with their students. What have I learnt? One thing I learn each year is how long it takes to cut out labels and laminate displays. And this year I foolishly chose a hot-air balloon shape. I also found this post by Brad Nguyen, which provide a dramatic contrast to the classroom setups featuring on Instagram, facebook and pinterest.
After a decade of teaching I’ve finally worked something out. If it’s worth putting up, it’s worth teaching/talking about first. So, with that in mind, here is my classroom almost ready for school to begin tomorrow:
It’s a pretty blank canvas. It is deliberately blank so that students aren’t overloaded. After all starting school can be overwhelming for many students. I am trying to minimise this. I am also thinking that I might take down the alphabet frieze before tomorrow. However I do want students to feel welcome in my class, which is why the doorway is inviting, I have their birthdays displayed and I have sparkly fairy lights!
Don’t worry, we will be adding to the displays to it very quickly over the next few weeks. Come back in a week and you’ll see how it has evolved. What have I loved? Yesterday I celebrated my dad’s 70th birthday. Tomorrow is my wedding anniversary. In the last month I’ve welcomed a new niece to the world, celebrated Christmas and my brother and mum’s birthdays have been in there too. And I haven’t mentioned all the wonderful adventures I got to have with my children over the holidays. In short: I love family. This is important to recognise in schooling. I am being entrusted with the precious children by so many families. I am responsible for their education and wellbeing. These parents & carers are trusting me to care for their child. It’s a bit daunting, but it’s a pretty significant honour. Making families feel involved in their child’s education is a challenge I gladly meet. This starts early on as we welcome families on tours, visit kinders/preschools, hold information sessions, respond to emails. Last year we had three transition sessions for each child. The first two sessions were in small groups (a necessity in 2020 that we continued in 2021). This allowed the children to make connections with others and gave me the opportunity to get to know them more intimately before our final whole class transition session. I also had a prep playdate about a week before school started. Held at the school playground, this gave parents the chance to meet each other (and the teachers) as well as allowing the children to become more comfortable with the peers and the school environment. As a simple acknowledgement of the partnership between families and schools, I give a small gift with a note to each parent/carer tomorrow.
Every child deserves to be loved and it is my job to care for each and every one of them.
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This is the fourth post in a series designed to kick 2022 with some resources that can help you. I started with some books, then listed a few of my favourite podcasts, and the most recent post featured webinars. Now it's time to turn our attention to some fantastic websites (although, some of you might have noticed that I have already squeezed in quite a few website suggestions along the way). These are six of websites that are a mixture of informative, enlightening, pragmatic, educational and useful. I hope that you get as much out of them as I do! Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash I
17. No Nonsense Educator by Jocelyn Seamer A few years back I attended my first Principal's forum. I remember meeting a friendly Teaching Principal who was wonderfully encouraging and full of great advice. It came as no surprise when I discovered Jocelyn's blog that she was still providing encouragement and lots of practical tips! The No Nonsense Educator blog focuses on the Science of Reading and Change Management. The posts are easy to understand, thought-provoking, motivating and inspiring. A great example of this is her post on the What, Why and How long of the Literacy Blog. Jocelyn also provides free guides on how to teach reading and writing. But wait: there's more! She has some "Teach-Along" courses that support educators in their day-to-day teaching and there's also a brand new app as well! 18. SPELD SA When I first wanted to use decodable texts in classroom, I didn't have much of a budget. Combined with a global pandemic and the introduction of remote learning I was looking for books that wouldn't matter too much if they never made it back to school. That's when I discovered the Specific Learning Difficulties SA website. They provide free decodable books that can be printed or viewed on an electronic device. Following the Jolly Phonics sequence, they have added a new series in consultation with First Nations peoples who live and work in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. This website also provides other valuable resources including information sheets about learning difficulties and an intensive literacy program. 19. Shanahan On Literacy by Prof. Timothy Shanahan To say that Timothy Shanahan knows a bit about literacy is like saying that Bill Gates knows a bit about computers. Timothy Shanahan was one of the leaders of the pivotal National Reading Panel in the US. His blog synthesises the research around literacy and communicates this clearly and effectively to teachers. I think his Top 10 Pet Peeves about Reading (part 1 and part 2) is a pretty good place to start. 20. The Science of Math There are a lot of resources around the importance of explicit teaching in literacy. However, Mathematics education seems to be fascinated with mindsets and inquiry. It was a relief when I noticed The Science of Math* emerging this past year. This movement aims to help ensure that evidence-informed approaches are used in Mathematics education. The website has a range of articles on teaching Mathematics, as well as a great section on common misconceptions that are rampant in Mathematics education, such as 'productive struggle' or that timed tests cause 'math anxiety'. *It is a US-based site, hence the spelling of 'Math'. Maybe one day they'll be able to afford an 's'... 21. The Snow Report by Prof. Pamela Snow Pamela Snow is a powerhouse in literacy education. Her blog, The Snow Report, demonstrates her ability to tirelessly advocate for effective evidence-based instruction (see here). Pam's comparison between masks and decodable texts is also a fantastic read. Pam is also known for raising other people up, as shown by passing the mic to Sue Knight here. Pam is a professor at Latrobe University and, together with Tanya Serry, leads the Science of Language and Reading Lab short courses. 22. Core Knowledge I have spent a lot of time planning units of work. A LOT OF TIME! And often I have felt that I'm just reinventing what someone else has already created. It turns out that someone has- and they've done a better job of it! The Core Knowledge Foundation has put together complete K-8** curriculum for Language Arts, Science, and History & Geography. These content-rich units are carefully sequenced so that students build knowledge throughout their education. I used Core Knowledge units last year and will be doing so again this year. I have seen how my prep students were capable of learning more than even I expected. The more I use Core Knowledge, the more I see how cleverly designed the curriculum is. This is starting to sound like a sales pitch- so, the final thing is the price: FREE! That's right: you can download the entire curriculum without paying a cent! (Obviously, there are some units that aren't appropriate in an Australian context and others need some adapting.) **The K refers to Kindergarten in the US & NSW sense. We'd call it foundation, prep, reception, pre-primary, transition... I kicked of the year by recommending 6 books that I think are worthy of reading. In my last post I suggested 5 podcasts worth listening to. If you just listened to the episodes I referred to, then you will have heard over 32 hours of quality content! Today's suggestions come in at a more manageable 5 hours (or a bit more depending on how many rabbit holes you follow). It seems that a positive side effect of the pandemic is the proliferation of easily accessible webinars. While part of me yearns for gathering with my peers to hear from knowledgeable others, I recognise that I have benefited enormously from being able to hear from experts from the comfort of my own home. The webinars I have listed are relatively freely available, demonstrating that educators are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. Several of them are courtesy of Think Forward Educators. This is a community of teachers, school leaders, specialists, parents and researchers who are dedicated to ensuring every child is able to succeed. You can join this community free here. Enjoy recommendations 12 through 16: the webinars. Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash 12. Re-thinking Guided Reading by Stephanie Le Lievre & Natalie Campbell
I am kicking off today with a webinar that literally changed my practice. In Re-thinking Guided Reading, Stephanie Le Lievre and Natalie Campbell explore why we should reconsider the prominence of Guided Reading in the classroom. They provide practical tips in how teachers can shift their practice by embracing more effective strategies. Given that this duo is part of the team behind the Reading Science in School Facebook group, it shouldn't come as a surprise that their advice is pragmatic. In researching this post, I discovered that Stephanie has a blog where she outlines some of the ideas in this webinar. She also has a webinar on A Knowledge-based Comprehension Model (via Read Ballarat) and another on Syntax (via Think Forward Educators). 13. From Decoding to Automaticity- The Missing Link by The Reading Ape Have you ever woken up at 2am to listen to an ape lecture about how we learn to read? I have and the experience was as delightful as it was strange. The enigmatic presence of The Reading Ape conveyed fascinating information about orthographic mapping and the importance of fluency in this event presented by STEP Ahead Training School Hub. The Reading Ape has a way of making highly intellectual material accessible either through their tweets or their blog. 14. Building a Coherent Curriculum by Reid Smith It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day busyness of being in a school. It is important that we find time to carefully consider what we actually teach. In this webinar for Think Forward Educators, Reid Smith encourages us to be ambitious with our curricula. He outlines the case for a coherent, knowledge-rich curriculum and then explains why schools should strive for low-variance within their curriculum. Reid then expands on how you can construct a knowledge-rich unit and build a curriculum map. Rob Marchetto posted a useful summary on his blog. Reid presents really clear arguments for a knowledge-rich curriculum. Having deliberately explored this world over the last year, I have seen the benefits to my students as gain knowledge and learn so much about our world. 15. Getting Started with a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum by Brad Nguyen This webinar builds on Reid's by elaborating on how to begin implementing a knowledge-rich curriculum. Brad is a learning specialist and classroom teacher at a primary school that has just completed its first year of operation. This webinar reiterates what a knowledge-rich curriculum is, before diving into how Brad's school started on their journey of implementation. Focusing on the Humanities, Brad gives particular attention to the successes and is open about the challenges his school has faced (while providing tips on how to avoid/minimise these). Brad has a wonderful blog where he provides practical advice about teaching. This also seems like a good time to mention The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler. This book outlines the need for a knowledge-rich curriculum and includes observations of two contrasting classrooms. 16. Designing an Ambitious and Rigorous Primary English Curriculum by Emina McLean In this companion piece to Brad's, Emina McLean explains how their school established their English curriculum in its first year. She challenges us to be ambitious and rigorous, and considers how we can minimise our workload by leaning on the expertise of others. Emina defines the difference between literacy and English, and argues that an integrated approach reaps greater benefits than an isolated approach. Emina McLean has a fantastic blog where she condenses research into pragmatic advice. She also has presented for Read Ballarat on vocabulary instruction. |
I'm JamesI am a father of two (8 & 5), married to a future Early Childhood Educator. Archives
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