Thoughts on a Quality Literacy Programme

Day 22 of #28daysofwriting.  It is the home stretch and I am amazed how writing each day has just become part of ‘what I do’.   I hope you enjoy my post on ideas for changes to my literacy programme.

I did some reflecting last week on my literacy programme.  I had to think about the teacher aide time I had and how I would use that effectively.  I had to think about how the iPads that I am setting up will change the programme and today I was trying to plan.  It was a challenge.

With the basics, a bit of handwriting - focusing on letter formation families and then Phonics - a non negotiable at our school and then modelled writing or shared writing I feel like it doesn't leave a lot of time.  I am going to join my reading and writing blocks together and create Literacy - because reading and writing don’t happen in isolation.

The first half will have the must do’s in it.  Setting the class up to go and work independently.  Then in this second block I will see my reading groups.  I don’t know if I am going to be able to include a reading activity or response to text because it will chew into their writing time.

With my iPads I also want to have students using Poptropica as a reading game.  I will set the student with challenges based an adventure each week or two from the game.  These challenges will help me to double check their comprehension skills.  I also want them to use this game as a motivation for writing, and see each student keep an adventure journal.  The great thing about Poptropica is that it is based on spoken text so the students will naturally have a reason to learn and use speech punctuation.  

I have other reading and writing apps I want to try in writing though.  And I really want to look into Daily 5 for the class.  

So as you can see I have the bones of my new programme but I can't quite see how everything will fit.  Between using new ideas and practices in my literacy teaching and the change in year level which has caught me out a few times over the last few weeks.

I know I want a Literacy programme that allows student to use their literacy learning in fun and relevant ways.  I want them to be excited about learning.  I want technology to help engage and excite them (and hide the learning behind a whole lot of fun).  I want to cover those basics that are needed in a junior programme.  But I feel like I haven’t found the best way to use the time yet.  

Maybe this is an ongoing battle.  Maybe this is part of the problem of being a perfectionist.  I just want to do the best I can for these learners and it gets frustrating when I don't feel like I have it right.

Teaching can be a lonely job at times and often when we do talk we talk about snippets of our practice. We talk about big ideas.  But often we fail to talk about the connecting ideas like timetabling, transitioning and how we manage the whole literacy programme so that it builds and supports the planned learning.

So I am going to risk sounding stupid tonight and say I don’t know the right answer and I would love some help.  I’m also pretty sure that there are others out there too who would benefit from this kind of discussion as well.

So my challenge to all #28daysofwriting authors is to make one of your next few posts about the best practice you have seen in literacy and how it is tied together in a overall daily programme.  Lets also tag it in Twitter as #BestLitPrac and see how much we can learn from each other.

I hope you have enjoyed the post and I hope you join in the discussion for #bestlitprac so we can improve outcomes for all our students.

The Power of the PLN

Today I attended #educamprotovegas and it was really great meeting so many passionate educators.  This event was a free UNconference.  People came, shared and learnt.  I recommend attending an EduCamp if you can.  

Today I saw firsthand the power of the PLN (Personal Learning Network).  A group of passionate educators coming together to share ideas to improve student learning.  #educamprotovegas was an event where I was fortunate enough to meet some of the people that I follow on Twitter.  It was really nice to put a face to a name and I was really impressed with all the great ideas that were shared.  

It was a real time version of what many educators are involved in online.  Developing and fostering connections, sharing ideas and working together for the benefit of students.  The PLN helps to break down the barriers of space and time and allows teachers to connect with others.  It get us out of what Steve Mouldey (@GeoMouldey) calles our own echo chamber, where we only hear our own ideas.  

So I fully recommend developing a PLN, connect with those in other schools, join Twitter, or Facebook or any other online tool that allows you to step outside your little part of the world!

Because if I had never joined twitter I would never have gone to #educamprotovegas and i would never have heard Kimberly Baars (@MissesArtech) talk about the Makersphere and all of the amazing things she is doing in it!  I would never have got to see a huge number of great little tools like OneTab, a chrome extension that can help manage all those browser tabs you have open at once that you don’t want to lose or forget.  If I hadn’t gone I wouldn't have had the chance to share some of my own little tips and tricks.  It was nothing mind blowing but it is always a great experience sharing tools with other educators in the hope that it might help them in some way.

I am a big ideas person.  And today my PLN was really helpful because it helped me to see the small little steps and the tools and resources that can help to make big ideas a reality.  So to my PLN and everyone at #educamprotovegas I would like to say a huge thank you and I look forward to seeing you all next time.

Thanks for reading my rather short and quick post today for Day 21 of #28daysofwriting.  And I would like to thank Annemarie Hyde (@Mrs_Hyde) for organising and running the day and being so welcoming.  I would also like to thank Steve Mouldey (@GeoMouldey) for his idea of an echo chamber and finally Kimberly Baars (@MissesArtech) for her inspiring talk about the Makersphere - Very sharp for a BT, will definitely be someone to watch out for in the future.

The Value of LEARNerS Time

Day 20 of #28daysofwriting.  It was a great day today,  got most of my to do list done.  Saw some students experience success and have decided I will be changing some of my routines next week to address some of the needs of my class.  Went out for a drink after school and caught up with good friends.  So really sitting down and writing is the last thing I wanted to do, but I’m going to be stubborn and the fear of failing outweighs anything else!

Today I am going to keep it simple and talk about something new that I tried today.  I have been tasked with adjusting some of the programmes in the Junior Syndicate and one of these is Junior Developmental time.  This time has been the time students are given to just be students, to play and create.  I think this is so important for students but it did need a tidy up, a bit more focus.

Last year I helped introduce maker time into the Senior Syndicate and we tied it to our inquiry learning topic.  It was definitely about student creativity but slowly you could see ideas from the students learning coming into their creation and the conversations the students had slowly became more precise and technical as they learnt more about the topic.

In the juniors I wanted to try and keep it more open and allow students that Genius Time where they can explore their passions.  But it needed a tie in.

So we used our school Values - Lifelong Learner, Excellence, Actively Involved, Respect and Nurture.

These form the basis of our LEARNerS - with S being success at the end  

There were a range of activities the students would be choosing from; Lego, wood blocks, puzzles, water play, playdough… you get the idea.  Students could also research in books and use the iPads to learn more about something they are interested in.  Knowing this I tried to tie a few different skills to our school values.

So I came up with the following areas the students needed to think about and write about (at this stage)

1. Actively involved: This became about how students worked in groups to achieve something.
2. Excellence: Try something new or improve on last time.  Whatever you do must be challenging.
3. Lifelong Learner: Find out about something you are passionate about and record new learnings.

I just whipped up a couple of quick graphic organisers for students to use but later I will develop some templates using ComicLife or teach students how to share their reflections using iMovie.

The students worked really well and it was nice to be able to walk around and ask them what value they were focusing on.

So  I guess the point is that by tying in ideas from different parts of your school's programmes you can double up the effectiveness.  Because today I got to see my student getting to work on things that really excited them while they were actively thinking about our schools values and how they were helping them.

Setting Up My iPads - A Few Handy Tools

Welcome to day 19 of #28daysofwriting.  It is hard to believe there is only just over a week left.  I hope everyone who is taking part has been enjoying the process.

So after a busy couple of weeks I have finally pulled the iPads out and started to set them up.  iTunes isn’t my friend.  Maybe it is because I became best mates with Google and it is taking a bit of time to come to terms with the new technological garden I have to play in.

So I thought today I would write about some of the apps I will use.  This will not be an exhaustive list, or by any means the best list out there but it is my list and I will explain why I have chosen to use them.

Comic Life:

This great little app is really good as an all-in-one writing and publishing tool.  Students enjoy using it but it can be a bit fiddly to change some of the settings and to find many of the customisation options.  But for younger students, choosing a template and just going for it is a great way to help motivate writing and their own comics can be used as reading texts in independent reading time.

Storybird:

This is not so much an app as a web tool.  But it has been one of the most motivating and promising writing tools I have used.  It works well on the iPad and the fantastic artworks students can use as prompts in their stories mean they really want to write well.  Some of the highest quality pieces of writing students produced last year were while they used StoryBird.

Garageband:

This is a great creative programme.  Students get hands on experience with musical sounds and instruments that primary schools simply can’t afford.  Students can create soundtracks for their own films or they can use it to record themselves reading - and then make it hilarious by altering their voices.

iMovie:  I have written about this one before too.  It is a great way for students to share their learning.  They can make full length videos or use the trailer option which is a great way for students to learn about camera shot types.

Explain Everything:

This is a fantastic tool.  It can be used in a huge number of ways.  This tool allows you to add video or images and then add voice and annotations over the top of them.  This can be used to make videos for your class explaining a new concepts or students can use it to explain their own thinking.  I have even see new entrant teachers use it as a way to record how students are forming letters to help identify next steps.

Slide Maths:

These set of maths games a great for basic facts practice and recall.  It is especially good because up to four players can play on a single iPad.  This is fantastic for a class with limited numbers of iPads or when other iPads are needed for other tasks.

Poptropica:

This is an interesting one.  After visiting a few high performing schools and seeing them use minecraft as a motivational tool for writing I thought about whether or not this was the best tool.  I saw my young boy playing Poptropica and realised that it is a really good reading activity as students have to read the speech.  The I realised that using this tool to motivate writers encourages them to use spoken words in their writing, so exposing them to speech marks and other interesting punctuation.

Minecraft:  

This is one i'm going to have to sell pretty hard to get the money to buy it.  But Minecraft is a great tool for teaching students about geometry, area, volume and basic number skills.  It puts studen’s into a deep and engaging problem solving environment where they can explore many mathematical ideas in a practical way.

Some speech to text software:

This will be important for some of my struggling writers.  There are times where I need them to record ideas but it is not writing time and the quality of their ideas is more important than the writing component.  This is where this software helps break down any barriers to the students showing their learning.

I am out of time now.  I hope that my post give you some useful ideas that you can use and some insight into why and how I use them.  

This post relates to the following Registered Teacher Criteria:

4. demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice

6. conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme

7. promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment

12. use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice

Untitled Post

I was on such a roll… Last night I had an idea… But as I sit here tonight I am drawing a blank.  So tonight I am just going to take some time to reflect on the year so far.

2015… for me it was a much needed fresh start, we all have those years.  Lots going on.  Putting yourself out there and taking risks.  Getting burnt.  Developing your practice in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways.  2014 was that year for me and somehow it seems to have spilled over into the new year.

But I am approaching it with a growth mindset.  I have been challenged with leading the Junior school after an amazing few years setting up team teaching and digital pedagogy in the Senior Syndicate.  It was the best time in my career but it wasn't finished so I couldn't help but feel I was losing my baby.

I have been on a professional learning journey that has taken me so much further than I ever expected and the scary and exciting thing is there is so much more.  This year I am going to set some goals.  Some big ones.  I am going to attend the Aspiring Principals course, I am going to get into senior leadership and I am going to run a marathon.  

For people who know me well none of this will probably come as a surprise, but it is scary to write them down.  The scariest part of writing that last paragraph was that at least one of those goals aren’t decided by me.  I can do my best but at the end of the day the success or failure of those goals fall to someone else's decision.

Maybe that’s how students feel.  They give their best effort with a piece of work and for whatever reason, maybe we as teachers expected more or we missed that moment to celebrate the work with a student.  And that must feel horrible.  

According to the Incredible Years programme the magic ratio of positive to negative interactions is around 80/20 or higher.  I believe this applies to students, colleagues, parents… Everyone.  

So this is where 20 minutes into the 28 minutes of writing, I try to pull this post together with some clear message.  I guess what I am saying is that at this time of the year where we are setting goals for the year,  school charters are going in,  teachers are meeting parents and talking about what will be happening,  we need to stop and think about what kind of year we want.  

I want a year were the people around me are happy and fulfilled.  Students, staff, parents, all of them. I know that our school has some work to do this year… I know I have some work to do this year.  It will be tough and without the support of those around me and the 80/20 ratio of positive interactions then the team could fall apart.  The team in my class,  the teaching team.  

So my big goal this year is not any of those mentioned before… It is to make sure that I do my part in having positive interactions with everyone so that as a team we are able to make the progress we want to this year.

That was my rant tonight,  hope I held it together after a long day in the sun at swimming sports.

Losing the Crowd

I would just like to start this post with a huge thank you to everyone who has taken the time to ready my posts.  It has been very humbling to realise that people would take the time to read my opinions online.  Thank you so much and I hope you are enjoying the #28daysofwriting.

So I am sitting here watching X-Factor New Zealand.  I think that might be bad enough in itself.  But it is the early auditions where many of the contestants can’t sing either.  But many of them charge on regardless of the fact that the audience is cringing.

And that inspired this post.

How many times have we been teaching or taking a meeting or presentation and we can just tell it isn’t working?  You know the feeling.  Everything feels horrible but you have no plan B so you just keep going.  The audience, students, teachers or parents are bored, you lose them and really you are just wasting your time.  All because you have a plan and feel like you have to stick to it.  

The video is of Michael Bay when things didn’t go well and he pretty much lost it.  In contrast watch this…

Steve Jobs comes back really well from this and it was because he was able to adapt and change on the spot.  

As educators and leaders we need to do the same thing.  Our jobs are often as much about inspiring and engaging as it is about the content and sometimes when the content isn't right because it’s too hard, too easy or too irrelevant then we need to have something as a back up.

Be safe to start with and make sure that whatever  you have planned is interactive.  Everyone always likes to feel like they are doing something.  In terms of teaching this is a given, but make sure when leading staff this happens too.

Have a plan B and be prepared to revisit ideas if your audience isn't ready for your message.  Sometimes people just aren't where you think they are.

Have examples.  So important for teaching and leadership.  Like with teaching, students need to see what you are talking about.  Do the same when leading.  It is always easier to have a start point and for people to see what you mean rather than rely on their imagination.

Lastly have a plan B.  One that connects you to your audience.  At the end of the day if your content is wrong for whatever reason, at least use the time to build your team and relationship with those in front of you, either students or colleagues.  I am not saying that you should fail like this a lot or use it as an excuse to be unprepared but if it does happen it might just be some of the best time you spend.

I hope you enjoyed tonight's post,  it was a little off education and different to what I have been writing about.

The Three Sides of Leadership & How it Applies to Team Teaching

Day 16 of #28daysofwriting and I have to say I am very happy that I attended ULEARN14 last year as it still is providing me with a wealth of ideas to start from!  

Today I was running out of things to write when I remembered something I heard at ULEARN14 about the Trinity of Leadership (that's my name for it, can’t remember what it was called).  This idea stuck with me after hearing and I found myself seeing examples of it everywhere.

The idea goes that in any leadership team, in any good team in fact, there needs to be a balance of three personality types.  

1) The Visionary:

 This is the big ideas person.  They see the dots and how they connect.  This is the person who takes best practice and usually steps it up into next practice.  They find ways to stay on the cutting edge.  The push boundaries and rarely like to play it safe.

 On their own this person will sometimes struggle with systems and find doing repetitive tasks tedious. Visionaries can bee seen as random thinkers, and can be seen as flighty as they probably like throwing ideas around to see what sticks.  They usually need someone to reign them in as they can overwhelm others who like things stable and routine. That's why the next person in the team is…

2) The Manager:

 This person excels at the small stuff.  Their world in about the details and the systems.  You need one of these people on your team.  They make the school or team run like a well oiled machine.  They are deadline orientated and paperwork will be joyfully completed.  They are busy and efficient and are often seen as leaders but can sometimes get stuck in their routines, meaning they need the support of the above mentioned Visionary.  The Manager personality can sometimes be a bit cold and calculating and so to help balance this they need…

3) The Nurturer

 The nurturer is the people person.  They a the people on you team who get along with everyone, they naturally make sure everyone is alright and dish out acts of kindness.  These are those amazingly well liked people on your team.  This person puts people first and with a nurturer on your team chances are there will be a focus in your school on community and school culture.  With a strong focus on people the need the other to personality types to help the develop some big picture ideas and systems to implement them.

So that's the breakdown.  Every person has a mix of these personalities and very few people will be clear cut on way or the other.  But I am sure you have all met people like I have described.  

At several top performing schools I have visited and a leadership team that I saw speak at ULEARN14 have all displayed these attributes. Some almost comically.  The balance of these personalities are key to the secret sauce of success.  

When I team taught last year this ideas was key in our success the other teacher and I had enough of a balance of all of these skills, plus a really good set of contrasting and complementary teaching strengths.  That it just worked.  It meant the students had exposure to varied teaching styles and the way we rotated groups through it meant that students weren't stuck with one style or personality for a whole year. When it comes to team teaching, personality REALLY matters.

So will leave you with one final thought, and I can't remember who it was that said this… But in a world where we can find out anything and lets face it many teachers are quick learners, it is the person that matters.  When putting together your team apply the beer test.  If you wouldn't spend time having a beer with this person, why would you want to work with them???

I hope you enjoyed this post.  Please comment on some of the best leadership teams you have worked with or seen and share your thoughts on what made them so successful.