Reflection of Day 3: Text Selection RPI

Digitally skilled practitioners are powerful!

Today we have a deeper look into practical ideas behind the Manaiakalani Kaupapa for reading, which reinforces the good practice we use at Ōwairaka, especially around using reading apps in both a visual and purposeful way. One thing that Dorothy mentioned was the importance of directly engaging with these apps, not just for tracking student progress, but also for fostering a sense of responsibility. Dorothy's idea of using a Google Form and Sheet to quickly track student use of these apps will be a great addition to my current reading task board. 

Empowering learners through using a diverse selection of texts is a simple yet powerful teaching tool. It's amazing how selecting materials that truly reflect students' experiences and interests can change how a student thinks about reading. When students feel a personal connection to what they're reading, they take ownership of their learning journey and feel empowered to explore texts on their own.

The main focus of our discussions today was the importance of selecting appropriate texts for our reading programs. We talked about the need to have a variety of texts that act as both mirrors and windows for our students. In the words of Rudine Sims Bishop, books should be like "Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors" that reflect the diversity of our world and the experiences of our students. We need to provide books that children can relate to and identify with, but also expose them to new perspectives and cultures. This requires careful planning and the inclusion of engaging activities such as shared reading, poetry, novel studies, and film studies to broaden students' horizons and instil a love for literature.

Key takeaway - This discussion reinforced the importance of selecting texts that resonate with our students' experiences, and having access to reading survey results makes it easier to plan with their individual needs in mind.

Something to think about - When selecting a text, opt for tier 2 words that are not commonly used in everyday conversations. This will help build our student vocabulary and have a direct impact on their writing. A win-win!

Another interesting PLD session that has resulted in new ideas or tweaks to my current reading programme. I particularly found the analogy of the flea in the jar experiment very relatable. It perfectly illustrates the difficulty of stepping out of our comfort zones as educators. Similar to how fleas adjust their jumping abilities based on the height of the jar lid, we too should be willing to adapt our teaching approaches to cater to the varying requirements of our students.

Grouping learner

Know your Learners as Readers, Day 2 RPI

During our learning session today, we focused on the importance of knowing your learners as readers and how this knowledge can help in assessing their reading abilities. The day began with a questionnaire to reflect on how my current practices aligned with the Manaiakalani Pillars of Practice, which showed that I am on the right track.

Next, Dothory shared another part of the Manaiakalani story, highlighting how they have engaged and accelerated their readers. Her key message was that a "hook" is needed to reel in disengaged learners. This made me reflect on the "hooks" I am currently using in my class and whether they could be better. This discussion was linked to the last session in which we talked about creating a Reader Profile and how the emotional aspects of reading, such as enjoyment, interest, reading for pleasure, and participation, are important in choosing the right hook.

Assessment 101 

The rest of the day was spent on a deep dive into the various assessment tools we use, with a focus on using them more effectively.

Keeping track of learning

Next, I was introduced to the Teacher Workbook, a one-stop shop Google Sheets where I can keep all the reading knowledge about my learners. This information is usually stored both in my head and in many other places, both digital and on paper. Not very helpful when working collaboratively.  After making my copy to use for the rest of the year, we played around with ways to use the various tools to help with organising and unpacking PAT and Reader Survey data. A simple way to find the next steps for both the class as a whole and individual groups.

Assessment Tools 

Having the time to log into NZCER and look at the PAT Reading comprehension data was great. One sensible suggestion when analysing your class was to read the text and then check what answers the students selected (incorrectly) thinking about what information they misunderstood in the question. Why did they choose that answer? This will help guide choosing the next learning steps for that group of learners. 

Learning intentions & success criteria 

We recapped how to create student-focused and friendly learning intentions and success criteria. This is something that is a core part of my practice and it is always helpful to revisit my understanding of it. The quote by Michael Absolum was a refreshing reminder not to overuse WALTs and SC. They need to be fit for purpose!

A top tip was to introduce the co-constructing of WALTS slowly, the teacher suggesting 2 and the students come up with one. This is a great idea for some of my students who have been finding it difficult to come up with all SC/remember to.

 The two things that I can add to my guided reading sessions next week are:

• Add a reading challenge sheet to the back of each student's current home reading log 
• Add in an opportunity for students to record themselves reading texts when creating the Panui evidence slides.

Overall, another thought-provoking day resulting in a lot to think about and many ways to make small tweaks to refine my current practice.

Reader Profile Survey Reflection

Following the recent Manaiakalani Reading Programme Intensive (RPI) session, I've been tasked with implementing the key practices discussed during the day. This involves completing and analysing the results of a class reading survey and introducing "ground rules for talk" with one of our reading groups.

Recapping using the ‘ground rules for talk’ was an easy task as the students were already familiar with our accountable talk ground rules and I had previously (a few weeks earlier) introduced similar talk rules for our guided reading sessions.

The Reader Profile Survey has proven to be a valuable tool for gaining insight into my students' reading habits and preferences. As educators, we know that understanding our students as readers is essential for informing our instructional practices.

Reviewing the survey results, it was evident that while students may not always be confident to vocalise their enjoyment of reading, they possess a clear understanding of their reading preferences including what time of the day they prefer to read and the types of texts they most enjoy.

An interesting finding from the survey was that there was an almost equal number of students who reported currently having a public library card and going to the library regularly, and those who did not. This observation resonates with my experiences in the classroom, where I have noticed varying levels of enthusiasm for taking a book home each night to read. This leads me to wonder if reading regularly at home is something that some of our families value. Do they know about the free public libraries and what they offer families? This is something I will look into as I get to know my learners better.

When visiting our school library once a week, I make it a point to support all learners in finding reading material that sparks their interests, especially those who may initially resist the habit of having a book each night to read. We all issue a book each week and this can either stay in the class or go home. I also stock our library corner with a range of books that may catch the attention of more reluctant readers during the school day.

Starting the academic year with a survey like this is a great way to get to know my learners as readers. It has prompted further exploration into the reasons behind some students' lack of enjoyment in reading,  (about 4 students consistently showed this in many of the questions), as well as an examination of what resonates with students who do enjoy reading. 

The last few questions about reading preferences will inform adjustments to my reading program and what new books our librarian orders to better meet the needs and interests of all students. There is a strong interest in graphic novels, humour, and mystery genres among my students. These results of course reinforce the importance of providing a diverse range of reading materials both during guided sessions and when reading independently in class to help to foster a love for reading.

My students' knowledge of and belief in the transformative power of regular reading is something I will continue to reinforce during the year with my learners. As we know a positive attitude, a love of reading, is closely linked to academic progress. By highlighting the benefits of reading for personal growth and development, we can empower students to see themselves as lifelong readers.

Overall, the data collected from the survey offered valuable insights into students' perceptions of themselves and their relationship with reading. Armed with this information, I am equipped to make informed decisions for the learners in my classroom. Defenilty is a tool I will now use every year!

Reading is Core to Learning: Day 1

Reading is Core to Learning: Day 1.

We started the day by exploring the question of what makes a good reader. This led to a deep dive into the journey of developing a comprehensive reading practice that will work for all our learners.

A good reader “has the ability to understand and use those written language forms required by society and/or valued by the individual. Readers can construct meaning from texts in a variety of forms. They read to learn, to participate in communities of readers in school and everyday life, and for enjoyment.”

This image from today is a great summary of what skills a student needs to become a good reader and a place to start when thinking about how to support all learners to develop their love of reading - to become lifelong readers!

Teachers as readers

Something that surprised me today was that over 40% of 2000 learners say teachers ‘never’ or ‘hardly ever’ recommend books to them (NMSSA, 2019). This led to a robust conversation about how we as teachers need to be 'good reader' role models, This requires you to know what your students like to read, be up-to-date with the latest children’s literature and share your enthusiasm for reading with the class.

Two new ideas to try are to complete a reading survey with the class and ask Andy, our librarian, alongside me to have book recommendations ready for our weekly visits to the library.

Reading across the curriculum

Next, we looked at how important reading across the curriculum is and that we need to explicitly teach students how to make connections to these texts.

An interesting case study by Robyn Anderson DP Panmure Bridge School (CoL Inquiry 2022:

Will a focus on Reading for Enjoyment increase student self-efficacy and capability in reading?) was a great example of how using the data from a student survey about reading can lead to a maths focus. Once this data was analysed, a clear picture showed that reading was a challenge in this class. Beginning to address this resulted in student agency around different ways to support all learners to develop a 'love' of reading.

This has given me a lot of ideas once my class results are in and I am looking forward to seeing what my student's surveys uncover.

New learning - READING IS CORE TO LEARNING: How to Grow ‘Good Readers’ - The Manaiakalani Share Reading Model.

Reflecting on these key outcomes against my own practice was a great way to see where I can add to my current practice or in many cases strengthen it. This is something that I will continue to refer back to each RPI session this year.

Talk Ground Rules

Taking time to establish ground rules for 'talk' with guided reading groups where my usual reciprocal guided reading approach isn't appropriate is a new idea for me to try.  Something that was highlighted making sure there is time for extended discussions during reading time and planning for these. 

Putting it all together

The last part of the day was looking at how we put all these ideas together into our weekly reading programme. We have been shown some different task board layouts to try in class. 

Now that day 1 is done? Wow, what a lot to think about and process but it is also great to know that with a few tweaks, I think my current reading programme fits this model. I am energised to start on this mahi!