CoL Teacher Inquiry: A magical moment for story mapping!

It was a magical moment for one of the tamariki in my class this morning. Linked to the image of the story map below you'll find the audio clip of her using her story map to retell the story "How Maui Fished up the North Island". She's an ELL children who began her schooling last year as a very softly spoken and shy girl. It was magic to see her hand shoot up into the air this morning when I asked who would like to use their story map to retell the story to the class. She got up and confidently shared the story in her own words. There's still lots to work on for her but self belief and the support of her very encouraging classmates is pushing her to give it a go and talk more in class which is causing her language to grow everyday. 

Click on the her story map to listen to her retell the story or read the transcription below! 

"He went to the fire place where you talk for the biggest fish and then and then the brother say you can't come because Maui because you done annoying and then Maui had a plan to go on the boat and then Maui and then the fourth brother found Maui and then got the fish on the hook and then found a bigger fish!"

On reflection, when thinking about my inquiry for 2023 the use of a story map to support oral narrative has shown for this child and for other in the class that is can be a great way to scaffold them by giving them the support they need using pictures they have drawn to orally retell the story. 

To create the story map, I modelled it one the board using the BSLA story elements cards of 'characters, setting, problem, plan and ending' and I then modelled retelling the story in my own words using my story map and trying to use the target vocabulary (that has been explicitly taught). Here is what this looked like (very messy but entirely authentic!); 

Looking ahead, next time I will begin introducing the story map alongside the story at the beginning of the week and continue to use this story map throughout the week rather than using only at the end of the week. I will also record the target vocabulary on the story map and work with the tamariki to draw a picture to help support the meaning of the target vocabulary. This story map can then be displayed in the classroom for the children's to refer to. I think it is really important that the story map is hand drawn and a "work in progress" as they is a great example the to the tamariki. Thinking back to the explicit teaching of the target vocabulary, I will be getting the children to clap the syllables in the words as a way to draw their attention to these words and to the correct pronunciation of these as I have noticed this is something many of my learners have been struggling with. 

Kia kaha! 

CoL Teacher Inquiry: Vocabulary and Oral Narrative!

Wow! What a busy start to the term three! I can't believe it is already week six!! 

In this blog post I will discuss the progress of my inquiry which is guided by the following question: 

Will explicit teaching of vocabulary, phonological awareness and the alphabetic code lift the achievement of my tamariki in literacy?

Throughout this year, it has become increasingly evident that my students have made positive strides in word encoding and decoding through systematic and explicit instruction. However, they faced challenges in grasping meaning, including vocabulary, comprehension, and overall sense-making. As it is stated in my inquiry question, I have also been explicitly teaching vocabulary. I aim to achieve this goal through three methods: story mapping, vocabulary strips, and rich language experiences.

1. Story Mapping

I adopted the story mapping approach after attending a webinar by English educator Pie Corbett, part of the "Sounds-Write Symposium". A "story map" involves a squiggly line on a piece of paper guiding students to illustrate a sequence of pictures aiding their verbal recount of a familiar story. I've integrated "story mapping" into our daily shared picture book (which is an element of the BSLA) where the teacher shares the same picture book with the class each day for a week, explicitly teaching target vocabulary and oral narrative. I have started explicitly teaching story elements such as setting, character, problem, plan, and ending using these shared picture books. As the week progresses, students grow more familiar with the story, and they take on a more active role in narrating it, with less teacher guidance. I had the hunch that using a "story map" would really scaffold the children into producing a more coherent and rich oral retelling of the shared picture book of the week.

Thanks to a generous contribution from "Breakfast Club Kids," my class has been enjoying the "Tales of Aotearoa" series by New Zealand author Donavan Bixley. The series includes three books: 'How Maui Slowed the Sun,' 'How Maui Fished up the North Island of Aotearoa,' and 'Maui and the Secret of Fire.' Each student in my class has received their own set of these books for home enjoyment with their families.

For each of these shared picture books, I've curated target vocabulary, comprising four English words and two Te Reo Māori words, mirroring the approach used in the BSLA.

Here are the target vocabulary for the book, 'Maui and the Secret of Fire'. 

• Curious (p. 5): Curious means wanting to learn or know about something. Maui was curious to know what would happen if he put all the fires out.

• Respect (p. 9):Respect means to be polite or kind to someone or something else. Maui needed to respect the fire, by not letting it go out and knowing how dangerous fire can be.

• Furiously (p. 18): Furiously means that someone is really angry. Mahuika was furious with Maui for not respecting the fire.

• Precious (last page): Precious means it is highly valued or very expensive. For example, Maui’s discovery of the secret of fire was very valuable as they people could now make fire themselves.

• Ahi : Ahi is the Te Reo Maori word for fire.

• Kuia: Kuia is the Te Reo Maori word for grandmother.

To scaffold this process, I've introduced a straightforward story map to guide children towards independent oral story retelling. The simplicity of the story map proves effective: a squiggly line on paper, with the beginning of the story at the top and the conclusion at the bottom. I demonstrated the creation of my story map to the class, and they crafted their own versions.

Below are a few examples of the story maps created by the students, based on the story "Maui and the Secret of Fire." Additionally, I've attached a video showcasing one student's narrative using the story map as a tool for enhancing their oral storytelling skills.

 

2. Vocabulary Strips 

I participated in GEM Literacy's webinar titled "Introduction to Explicit Vocabulary Teaching," where Gemma explained the rationale and methodology behind explicit vocabulary instruction. In May, I incorporated her "vocabulary strips" into our daily small group reading sessions. These strips have helped my students bridge the gap between word decoding and word meaning. I specifically choose words from the reading material for each session, aiming for high interest, and multiple meanings—such as 'pit' which can refer to a 'sandpit' or a 'hole in the ground'.

In practice, I introduce the chosen word for the day along with an accompanying image unrelated to the reading material. Using an "I do, we do, you do" approach, I first model segmenting and blending the word, then guide the students through the process, and finally, they independently practice the word. We then discuss its meaning, with an emphasis on the children expressing it in their own words.  Then the students use the vocabulary strip to practice writing the word, as illustrated in the attached image. Lastly, the children complete a sentence dictation that includes the target vocabulary and other decodable words or heart words that they know (usually this is a sentence taken directly from the decodable book the vocabulary was selected from).  

Following this, I've observed that children are more likely to both recall the word's meaning and retaining it in their memory. Subsequently, they are often able to recognize the word in their reading without needing to sound it out. It's important to note that although this trend has been notable among my tamariki, it isn't always true for all my tamariki all the time. 

3. Rich Language Experiences 

Giving my tamariki the time to create as been a big focus in our classroom this term. Our topic study for the term has been focused on "Farms" which is leading up to a trip to Ambury Farm (next week). 

The tamariki have been creating using the products that we get from farming. We've made butter from cream, bread from scratch, lemonade, cooked scrambled eggs and will be making french fries using potatoes, weaving with wool and making our own ice-cream! 

I've given the tamariki as much opportunity as possible to be independent and experience making these things for themselves. Here are a few photographs as evidence of what we have been getting up to! I have displayed these photographs and key vocabulary on the wall in the classroom and it has been lovely to see the children looking at the photos and talking with their friends what we made.

Making butter - we made butter by placing cream in a jar (and a few marbles) and shaking it until it turned into butter. The tamariki enjoyed butter their own fairy bread!

We made bread from scratch using yeast, flour, water, sugar and oil. 

We made lemonade (with a few limes thrown too!) using lemons a tamariki in our class brought along to school. 

After much classroom debate and a taking in a vote in the classroom the children decided the best way to cook eggs was to scramble them, so that is what we did! 

Lastly, I am left with the challenge of capturing all this amazing learning. I have decided to keep it simple and use the assessment practices that we have in place at our school already like the BSLA assessments (as this covers early literacy and oral narrative) and the Liz Kane Phonological Awareness Assessment.  I have gathered data using BSLA for all learners at baseline (beginning of the year), after 10 weeks of school (and 20 weeks for those identified as needing support) and will gather data again at a the end of year. I have gathered data using Liz Kanes Phonological Awareness Assessment each term as recommended in the instructions for administration. 

I am looking to find a way to gather my tamariki's voice in an authentic and meaningful way. Any ideas would be much appreciated?

Nga mihi nui!!

CoL Teacher Inquiry: Learn, Create, Share: Navigation

Our school wide inquiry focus for Term 2 was navigation. We used the 'Learn, Create, Share' pedagogy but it is worth noting that within this inquiry we bounced between  'Learn, Create and Share'  phases many times throughout the inquiry. 

In my class we learnt about how people used to travel in the past. We learnt that people used to travel in boats and use the stars, sun and moon to find their way to new places. 

We created our own waka. It was such a joy to see the kids excitedly running into the classroom each morning with items from their recycling bins at home to use to make their boats. It was a simple way to connect their learning at school with their home life and for them to contribute to their own learning at school. All of the children brought along something to use to make a boat, some kids brought along many many items!  We looked at the waka houroa and use this as a starting place for our designs.  Our waka all had a sails, a mast and a hull. We tested them in the water to see if they could float! 

Our navigation learning was summed up by trip to the Stardome observatory to see their Matariki show. We learnt that people used the Matariki whetu for navigation. It was a fabulous end to our navigation unit and led us into the season of Matariki. 

We also created some stunning Matariki whetu that are now very proudly on display in the school office, as one of the tamariki said, "oh, that's a great place...everyone will see our stars there!". 

In the new term we will be celebrating Matariki as a whole school with waiata and a hangi. 

Manawatia a Matariki! 

CoL Teacher Inquiry: Causal Chain

Our task as CoL teachers before our next meeting was to create a causal chain to tighten our thinking up in regards to our intervention and to understand more deeply what we can do that we result in a shift in student achievement and to share this causal chain on our blogs. Here is my causal chain that summaries my inquiry so far and begins to layout a plan for my intervention in the new term. 

I have zoomed in on this section of my causal chain as this is my current focus looking ahead to term 3. 

A key part of my inquiry that I need to set-up over the school holidays to create shared picture book labels that are linked to our term 3 topic and to plan for opportunities for my tamariki to use this new vocabulary by providing them with language experiences linked to the shared picture books. 

Manawatia a Matariki as we head until the term 3 holidays and our Matariki celebrations! 

 

Creativity Empowers Learning!

Last Friday, the Maniakalani Kahui Ako convened at Point England School for research presentations and create workshops. "Create" stems from the Manaiakalani "learn, create, and share" cycle implemented across our Kahui Ako schools.

During the workshops, teachers within our Kahui Ako had the opportunity to exchange ideas on incorporating "create" in their classrooms. It was a great honor to co-present this workshop with my colleague, Ms. Naicker, to a group of teachers from the Manaiakalani Kahui Ako during our teacher-only day. Our aim was to demonstrate how creative tasks can enhance student engagement, activate prior knowledge, establish connections to the text, and familiarize learners with relevant vocabulary. We showcased practical examples from our own classrooms, as displayed in the accompanying slides.

Following Ms. Naicker's example, we guided the teachers in crafting whetu (stars) from harakeke (flax). I also had the pleasure of conversing with junior school teachers and teaching them how to make the Manu (birds) that my five-year-old students and I had created. Additionally, I valued the opportunity to learn from the collective wisdom present in the room. Engaging in a discussion with one teacher regarding the Tikanga (customs) surrounding harakeke and the importance of explaining its significance to our learners was particularly intriguing.

For a glimpse into our create workshop, please refer to the slides below.

CoL Teacher Inquiry: Fostering Oral Composition in Early Years: Talk for Writing with Pie Corbett

On a chilly Saturday, with the weather keeping us indoors, I found myself  watching  an enlightening presentation delivered by educator Pie Corbett. This engaging session, which formed part of the Sounds-Write Symposium, focused on the significance of developing oral narratives in young child. As the developer of the "Talk to Write" approach, Corbett highlighted the imperative nature of explicitly teaching oral language composition in conjunction with high-quality phonics instruction, recognizing their profound impact on literacy success. Drawing upon Scarborough's rope metaphor, he underscored the crucial role of seamlessly integrating both oral composition and decoding skills in fostering language proficiency.

Corbett's thought-provoking presentation shed light on the undeniable relationship between oral language development and effective phonics teaching and a child literacy success. He emphasized the importance of simultaneously cultivating oral composition skills and decoding abilities, recognizing them as inseparable strands in literacy development. As I dive deeper into the science of reading, specifically the relationship between vocabulary and encoding/decoding I was interested to see Corbett also making this connection. 

Corbett's explanation of the "talk for writing" approach for young learners (4 and 5 year olds) encompasses several key points that form the foundation of an effective classroom environment, fostering literacy skills.

• high expectations
• oral composition and comprehension
• strong phonic instruction for decoding and spelling
• handwriting

To effectively teach story language, according to Corbett, educators should begin with a rich story (this next paragraph will go into more detail about this). Rather than simply reading it aloud, the focus should be on orally presenting the text, allowing children to actively participate by repeating and making the language meaningful. By engaging in these interactive exercises, students internalise the linguistic structures and vocabulary required for constructing their own stories. The emphasis should be on helping students hear, say, and understand the language, fostering a solid foundation for their narrative development. The child will be exposed to the same story over many days. This holistic approach involves incorporating various strategies such as hearing, saying, understanding, drawing, engaging in rich experiences, and role-playing before transitioning to the writing stage. By encouraging imitation and guiding children to notice patterns in language, we enable them to develop their storytelling skills and encourage innovative thinking.

He also shared the concept of a "reading spine" comprising a selection of core books that are read to children, allowing them to immerse themselves in rich literary experiences. By exposing children to high-quality literature, their writing possibilities expand as they absorb elements such as settings, characters, and sentence structures. Corbett stressed that children have the right to be immersed in the finest literature available, setting the stage for their lifelong journey with language and literacy. This concept of the “reading spine” reminds me of the shared picture books that I have been using in my classroom as a part of the Better Start Literacy Approach.

Here are a few of the slides he shared that I have saved as reminders of what I might try out with my Year 1 class:

Picture cards and story structure cards are placed along a rope to retell a story.





Key words from a story are matched with images.








This screenshot above shows the key story language that is explicitly taught to children.







The children are composing their story using pictures along a line and practising their oral narrative.


Nga mihi nui!!

CoL Teacher Inquiry: How the Brain Learns to Read by Prof. Stanislas Dehaene

Prof. Stanislas Dehaene is a neuroscientist and the below is a lecture he gave aimed at teachers about how the brain learns to read. It was interesting to see "learning to read" from the perspective of a scientist rather than an educator. This isn't a new lecture (it is about 10 years old) but it is amazing what scientists can now observe using technology that can then be used to inform best practice in the classroom. 

I have included some notes that summarise  Prof. Stanislas Dehaene's lecture below. I will use these notes to help inform my intervention design in the coming weeks. I have also included at the end of this blog a graphic by "Learning Matters" that has been created based on Prof. Stanislas Dehaene's work as a neuroscientist. 

Here are some of the key points he makes in the video: 

From the brain's point of view, learning to read consists of:

• First, recognising the letters and how they combine into written words (the blue and the red)
• Second, connecting them to the brain systems for coding of speech sounds and for meaning (the orange and the green).

Reading starts in your brain like any other visual stimulation, in the general visual areas of the brain, but then very quickly moves into an area which concerns the recognition of the written word.

Professor Dehaene calls this area the brain's "letter box" because it is where we store our knowledge of letters.

From there it's an explosion of activity into at least two brain networks; one that concerns the meaning of the words, and another that concerns the pronunciation and the articulation of the words.

When first you went to school to learn to read, your brain already had a very sophisticated spoken language system. It also had a very sophisticated visual system, but it needed to create an interface with the visual word form area, the brain's letter box.

Reading consists essentially of creating an interface between your vision system in your brain and your language system, your spoken language system.

Your brain has areas that are shared between spoken language and written language. And these areas are in your brain before you learn to read. They already existed when you were a very young child.

Brain is changed by reading

Everyone's brain anatomy is changed by learning to read, and Professor Dehaene and his colleagues have managed to make a complete map of the brain areas that have been changed by reading.

The first major change is making the "letter box area” active. It is not active in people who haven't learnt to read.

Learning to read is to a large extent the capacity to attend to the individual phonemes of speech and to attribute them different letters.

What predicts how well a child will learn to read

The predictors of learning to read in young children are:

• How well they know phonics - the understanding of the sound systems of language
• How large is the size of their spoken vocabulary. If they know a large number of words, they will learn to read faster.

"We can help children learn to read, way in advance, by enhancing their vocabulary and their sound system of language at the age of three, four and five - even if we don’t start to teach reading until the age of six or seven, as some European countries do" - says Professor Dehaene.

Phonics versus whole word reading

We now understand better the question of phonics versus whole-word reading.

Should we teach the whole-word level, or should we really teach every single letter and the pronunciation?

The answer is clear. Professor Dehaene says, "whole-word reading is a myth". The brain processes every single letter and does not look at the whole word shape.

Teaching letter to sound correspondence is therefore essential. It is the fastest way to acquire reading and comprehension.

Preschools should be preparing children for learning to read and phonics exercises can help a lot.

"The brain process' every single letter and does not look at the whole word shape. Teaching letter sound correspondence is therefore essential. It is the fastest way to acquire reading and comprehension."  - says Professor Dehaene.

Brains are the same all around the world

We understand now a lot about reading, and we understand that in all cultures, there's not much variability. We all have the same brain mechanisms – they are very universal.

Reading always requires specialising of visual system for the shape of letters and connecting them to speech sounds. Even in Chinese (which has characters, rather than letters). 

Nga mihi nui!!