IN MY LITERACY CLASS YOU WILL SEE.....
- INDEPENDANT READING
- FOCUS STUDENT FOR TEACHER CONFERENCING
- SMALL GROUP FOCUS- GUIDED READING
- READING BOOKS OF BENCHMARKING LEVEL
- READING BOOKS OF INTEREST
- GOAL SETTING
- MODELLED WRITING
- OPEN WRITING
- COLLABORATION
- CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
- DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING
- ICT
POETRY
I designed, implemented and assessed a grade 3 Poetry Unit. The unit took place over 6 lessons, each lesson taking a focus on a particular poetry device, starting with similes, then cause and effect, repetition, structure and personification. I found that the poetry unit was well supported by other subject areas and much integration took place. Rhyming was taught in a spelling lesson, cause and effect was a CAFE strategy focus, as was tuning in to punctuation which was useful in the editing stage of the unit. Australian poems were also used for ‘Read to Partner’ during CAFE sessions. The main ideas for the writing often took inspiration from the Walker Learning Inquiry focus, which was Australian History, in particularly focussing on Indigenous culture and history. The knowledge they were able to use for their poems, was taught in Walker Learning and CAFE sessions which complemented the writing sessions, which I felt was a great contributor to authentic learning.I then designed a rubric to assess their final poems on which reflected directly upon the Victorian Curriculum. (See further detail in the Teaching, Learning and Assessment section.)
‘Amber has used school and curriculum document to effectively plan for the range of abilities of the students. The writing topic was thoroughly enjoyed by all the students and there was an obvious sense of pride when the students published and shared their poems’- Jo-anne O’Donovan, 2016
‘Amber has used school and curriculum document to effectively plan for the range of abilities of the students. The writing topic was thoroughly enjoyed by all the students and there was an obvious sense of pride when the students published and shared their poems’- Jo-anne O’Donovan, 2016
Lesson Plans
|
Work Samples |
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
|
|
English as a second language
On many of my practicums I have had much experience with EAL students. In particular I have had the opportunity to work with a small group of EAL students at a school in the South Eastern suburbs as part of a Deakin University initiative. In collaboration with teachers and fellow Deakin students we were able to teach a sequence of lessons with a focus of technology-infused writing to 8 grade 1/2 students. We took our focus on sight words, sentence structure and tenses of verbs. We used many modes of literacy to support our content, and only used ICT as a learning tool if it made the activity more purposeful.
Instructional Models
CAFE READING PROGRAM
Throughout my practicums, in many different schools, I have had much exposure to the CAFE reading program- CAFE standing for Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expand Vocabulary. From the CAFE 'menu' there are many strategies under each category to focus on. Students will participate in independent reading (Read to self), a mini lesson tuning in on the weekly CAFE strategy focus and then either a guided reading session or independent work consisting of several activities on the CAFE 'contract' such as:
Strategies and devices I have learned from CAFE can be adapted to any reading program.
- work on words- normally linked to the weekly spelling words
- work on writing- linked to the writing focus, as well as the topic of the writing relating to the inquiry focus.
- read to partner- students reading out loud to a buddy and
- listen to reading
Strategies and devices I have learned from CAFE can be adapted to any reading program.
WRITER'S NOTEBOOK
Writers Notebook is used to generate ideas, explore feelings, thoughts, emotions, inferences and inspiration. This can be from whole class prompt i.e. a photograph, video or article. The writers notebook is used to collate a whole range of ideas and serves the purpose of a writing journal that students can refer to at any time for ideas or inspiration. Students are encouraged to bring ideas, images, tickets, stickers etc from outside of the classroom to fill their book with their own interest and ideas. The writer's notebook done as whole class models ways of thinking and generating thoughts, linking stimuli to their personal schema and planning different genres they could write in. This can be done at the start of a writing session, students can write in open choice, any structure they see fit, or there could be a class focus such as narrative. Writer's Notebook is a great way to teach students how to organise their ideas, or draw inspiration for writing from the world around them and is especially useful for resistant writers.
Links to AITSL standards:
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across
the full range of abilities
2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.4 Select and use resources
5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
5.1 Assess student learning
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across
the full range of abilities
2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.4 Select and use resources
5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
5.1 Assess student learning