What have i implemented this year?

Here is a short video summary of what i have implemented this year as part of my 2018 inquiry.
This year has been a huge learning curve for me. I have always had students who had come to me with foundation reading skills but this year i have had the opportunity to teach those skills to students who have not had much exposure to a structured class setting. While much of the year has been spent on teaching skills such as engagement, communication and increased work time, I have still seen huge shifts in my students reading. As i write my end of year reflections I am proud of all the students who have hit so many milestones, not only starting school but gaining skills in areas where they have not previously excelled.

Making words

This week a group of students in my class worked on making words. These students all have letter sound knowledge but are unable to recognise high frequency words.
I found these alphabet blocks in the library and I made up some word cards where they could practice making familiar words. This week we did CVC words from the "at" family.
This activity could also be done with Lego blocks or cubes.

Personalised books

Reading should be highly engaging, especially for new and emergent readers. Often the language used in Magenta readers are simple to encourage high frequency word recognition at an early stage. Many of my new students that arrive at school are unable to attend for long periods of time let alone taking part in a shared reading experience at mat time.

To overcome this challenge I have split my class into two groups. 

- One group reads 1:1 with an adult on their individual reading which includes activities i have shared on this blog. Activities include; responding to visuals, identifying high frequency words, matching visuals to the pictures/words and colorful semantics. 

- One group to work on foundation reading tasks such as turning the page, pointing to the words, looking at the book, pointing to pictures and engaging in a story. For this group i have had to adapt my resources to suit their interests. 

At the beginning of the year I always send home a questionnaire  to ask about the students and their interest. Using this information I made lots of books that the students would be interested in so they can choose a book for silent reading. I have had a breakthrough with one of my students who has taken much longer to settle this year. She is now choosing to read a book to read and turning the pages on her own. 

Literacy and Communication

This term i have two new students joining my class, both students are non-verbal and have no communication system currently set up. A huge focus in special education is communication and many classes at our school will have a variety of systems to support the student with communication.
Communication is at the core of all my lessons as it is woven throughout the class programme. Having acess to communication weather it is through a iPad or a core board is vital. I usually modell lamguage on a large core board for the whole class, the support sdtaff working in my classroom will also support individual students who have funded devices or are trailling devices so that the language that i am using is modelled on their individual devices. It is a time consuming and difficult process which makes it more difficult when you have different students using various devices however seeing the results long term is worth it!

In the holidays i watched a very inspiring Ed Talk video about literacy expert, Sally Clendon. At Sommerville we are fortunate enough to get professional development from Sally, i have implemented many of Sally's literacy recommendations and seen the students success as a result.
If you have students in your classroom who are non-verbal or using AAC (Augmentive and Alternative communication) i would highly recommend looking into Sally Clendon's work.
You can find her short Ed talk video by clicking here. 

Building Relationships

As i settle into the start of a new year my main focus is getting to know my students. What better way than to ask the people that know them the best - their parents and/or carers.
At the start of the year i sent home a questionnaire asking the following questions...

What activities does your child enjoy (this could include TV shows, songs, places to visit, iPad apps )
What are you child's strengths?
What skills would you like your child to learn?
What concerns / challenges do you have (if any)?
Do you have computer access at home? Would you like to see information on a school blog?
is there any other important information you would like me to know?

While i work out which students will be part of my focus group i am working on developing their ability to manage themselves in the classroom.
The responses from the questionnaire has provided me with valuable information which i have used to help settle them into school. For one student i made a peppa pig laminated card for him to hold while sitting at circle time so that he could join the class group. Another student enjoys sensory play so i made sure there were plenty of sensory activities on our choosing board. 

The information i have collected has enabled me to better know my students so i can plan for the needs. 

Make a deal ...

As the year winds down so does the structure of many classrooms. The classroom can often be louder and less predictable at the end of the year.

While i try my best to kept the class routine the same my students have begun to notice that the end of year is looming. One of my students has started to become anxious about school finishing and his behavior has escalated over the last two weeks. 

I have planned a class trip this week. To encourage good behavior for the week I have made a reward chart to work towards being allowed to go on the trip. 

Before setting up a reward system I ensure that i follow these guidelines:

- Be clear about what behavior you are trying to change

- Make it achievable and realistic (not too many stickers needed)

- Identify the prize ahead of time

- Be consistent with giving stickers

- Link the sticker with the desired behavior to encourage positive behavior

- Use as a reward NOT a bribe, do not threaten to remove stickers.

Making Words - Update

For the past two terms i have been using a programme called "making words" which was suggested by Dr Sally Clendon. At Sommerville we are fortunate enough to get regular professional development by Sally who focuses on a "balanced literacy curriculum".

I have blogged about this programme previously which you can find here and here.

I have been using this programme with one of my students who struggles with decoding and spelling who is currently reading at level 17/18.

I have noticed huge changes in Evan since using this programme daily. There are mini-lessons which use specific letters and a "special" word that they have to build up to spelling. The lessons start off by spelling small letters like "as". The teacher gives specific instructions to help them to build more complex words, eg; add a letter to the start of the word "at" to spell the word "pat". The student has to use their sound knowledge to word out where the letters have to go. Evan's confidence with spelling has grown so much that now he doesn't need as specific prompts, now we say to him "use three letters to spell the word cat". The managing self skills that Evan has gained has transferred to his writing. Previously he was unable to write a sentence without adult support, this week Evan wrote a story about his cow puppet independently.

Working with Words

Evan is a very competent reader but has limited understanding about grammar. I am working on "filling in the gaps" in his understanding he can  however  get anxious when learning anything new if he doesn't immediately know the answer.

I found a resource in our library with printable games to teach different skills which fits in with his literacy goals this term. They are games that are motivating and engaging, Evan was unaware that he was learning a new skill. Towards the end of the lesson he was able to circle the adjective in each sentence after playing the game. 

Below is a video of how Evan used the adjective cards to make an appropriate sentence with the winter picture scene. 

Reading Packs

Unlike mainstream classrooms where they read a different book every day, in my class they have 1x book for the week however they have a different focus each day that they read. They also take their reading books home as well as the activities. I make up a 'reading pack' with activities that vary depending on the book and level. Another teacher at my school, Lidia, structures her reading programme similarly so we swap our reading packs to share activities and ideas. It is a great way to share the work load and to get ideas. I love having another teacher to bounce ideas off.

Here are some examples of the activities i have made for a Magenta 1/2 book and a Red 3 book.

Visible Learning in Special Education

I have been in special education for 6 years. I have always been told to minimise spoken language so that our students can process what is being said. 

While this is important for providing instructions and especially important for students with communication difficulties I also believe it is important to provide a vocabulary rich environment. 

Many teachers in special education believe their students wont understand if we share their learning goals with them or it will confuse them further. 

This year i made it my personal goal to ensure that every lesson had a learning intention which i could share with my students. Almost 1 year later i have started to notice my students talking about their learning goals or what they have achieved, even students using only keywords to communicate are able to express what they are learning. It is so powerful watching my students have ownership and control over their own learning. This week Evan said, "oo what am i learning today? I like learning about vowels." 

In special education it is so important to assume the best in our students because every day my students surprise me. 

I have shared a template for sharing learning intentions in a previous post which you can see here.

Positivity Breeds Positivity...

This week i went out to see a colleague of mine Susan, who teaches in one of our Junior Satellite classes. I was amazed at how well her students responded to her teaching team as well as how nicely they interacted with each other. Her classroom oozed positivity and she celebrated every success no matter how small the achievement was. Her students were glowing with praise they received and the classroom environment was set up well for her students. I have taken many of her strategies on board which i will implement this term.

My students are very social where they enjoy interacting with each other however it doesn't always end well. I find myself having to intervene before the behavior escalates. After visiting Susan i have decided to implement a reward system that she uses which gives more frequent praise throughout the day. Each student will have to earn stickers on their chart, when they have filled the 5 boxes they can put a tick on their strip. Once they have all 5 ticks they can choose a prize from our prize box. This system worked well in Susan's class and i know my students will also respond well.
This week i will have a meeting with my teacher aides to get them on board with the overall aim of increasing our positive behavior strategies in the classroom.

Teaching Comprehension

Teaching comprehension is a challenging task, especially if the student has special needs or communication difficulties. Comprehension is one of the main reasons why my students are unable to move up to higher reading levels. As the books get harder, they find it more challenging to recall information or follow the main story line. Sometimes my students do not have the vocabulary to be able to answer questions about the book however it doesn't mean that they don't understand the text they have read. 

I have started using multi choice question activities and true/false activities when working with James who has recently moved from Magenta to Red books which have much more content. 

Below are some examples of activities i have made to go with each reader to increase his comprehension skills. 

 

Student Self Assessment

As part of my focusing inquiry i am looking at the Key Competency "Managing Self". Part of managing themselves is getting our students to think about their own learning and to reflect on the work they have done. Self Assessment in special education can be very challenging to achieve when many of the students have communication difficulties. 

" In self-assessment a learner evaluates their own work, and thinks about their own learning. This helps them to make sense of what the teacher says, relate it to previous learning and use this for new learning" 
https://cambridge-community.org.uk/professional-development/gswafl/index.html

A colleague of mine, Lidia shared a self assessment resource with me that she has started to use with her group of students to teach meta-cognition. I have adapted her version which i am going to be using for differentiated instruction during 1:1 teaching time during literacy and maths. To start with my students may not make the connection between their learning and what the smiley faces indicate, however, over time I am hoping that they will be able to provide feedback on how they think their learning went. 

To download a copy of this resource click HERE

Reading Results

What a busy and rewarding term for my students. I am overwhelmed at the success my students have had this term. At the beginning of my journey I shared my students initial reading levels. After implementing multiple strategies to mange their on task behavior i have seen a huge shift in my students reading this term.

Students	Reading Level T1	Reading Level T2
Toby	1/2 Magenta	2 Magenta
Evan	14 Green	15 Orange
James	2 Magenta	3 Red

Toby continues to work on answering comprehension questions using a core board. This term he was able to use the board to label characters and objects from the book. He is coping well at reading less repetitive books at level 2.
James has made a huge jump up to red level this term and he has found a new appreciation for reading. He is enjoying the added content that a higher level book provides. His reading is slow but he is trying hard to work out new words he doesn't know.
Evan has joined the mainstream classes at Tamaki Primary for reading, he reads at a lower level in the mainstream classes so he is successful.

My students have also made significant gains with their sight word recognition scores which i put down to my word wall activities which are repeated each day. The biggest learning challenge for me this term has been teaching comprehension. Our class speech language therapist is going to work with me next term to help Toby with his comprehension and language.

2017 Inquiry

IS THERE A CORRELATION BETWEEN AN EMPHASIS ON THE KEY COMPETENCIES AND IMPROVED OUTCOMES IN LITERACY?

Scanning: My students need to learn how to manage themselves as individuals as well as in a group to be able to engage and participate in reading.

Focusing: In 2017 for my inquiry i will be focusing on how the Key Competencies (Managing Self and Relating to Others) increase student engagement and improve reading outcomes for students aged 5-10.

Developing a hunch: An emphasis on behavioral and cognitive engagement as well as teaching social skills will enhance my students ability to focus and increase their reading skills.

I will be using Helen Timperley's Sprial of Inquiry throughout my inquiry which meshes well with the specifically designed for Manaiakalani framework "Learn Create Share". You will see labels from both models as they interlock well.