How to make reading instruction much much more efficient

How to make reading instruction much much more efficient

Edweek - By Mike Schmoker — November 19, 2019

Synopsis

Data shows that our students are still not performing according to their year level. Many factors are recognised to have an impact on this, including lack of foundational skills, attendance, and minimal or no input from home. This is an ongoing battle but I want to change my practice to ensure the gap does get smaller.

According to literacy researcher Richard Allington, studies show that “virtually every student could be reading on grade level by the end of 1st grade.” Although this is based on American data I strongly feel that I have similar issues.Learning to read and speak well requires focused phonics lessons and plenty of practice in reading, talking, and writing across different subjects. The typical way we teach reading, including many commercial programs, often falls short. This is because they rely too much on small groups based on kids' abilities.

The real problem lies in how we structure reading time and the exaggerated promises of commercial reading programs. Teachers often feel disappointed because they use these ability-based groups too often. Instead, they should focus more on teaching the whole class together using methods that have been proven to work. These methods ensure that all students are paying attention, continuously assess the class's progress, and adjust teaching as needed.

According to an article in Education Week, teaching the whole class together is usually more effective than using small ability-based groups.

Motivation

With more whole class well executed instruction with approximately 20min, literacy time will be doubled. This would allow for huge infusions of instructional time into the essential components of literacy. I could use this additional time to incorporate more:

• "Intensive, sustained, systematic phonics. We could substantially accelerate students’ mastery of the phonetic code and still have time for kids to read and listen to far more fiction and nonfiction texts.
• Reading/general knowledge. If most students have mastered decoding, they could spend more amounts of time in higher years reading literature, history, and science texts to build their knowledge base and vocabulary, which are critical to effective comprehension.
• Vocabulary instruction. Most of a rich vocabulary is acquired through abundant reading. But research also shows that we can reliably supplement this with targeted, embedded vocabulary instruction.
• Discussion. To become confident, articulate speakers, students must engage in frequent, purposeful discussions about what they read. We could multiply the length and frequency of such discussions, which animate an appreciation of reading and are excellent preparation for writing.
• Writing and writing instruction. Writing has an unsurpassed capacity to help us think logically, express ourselves clearly, and understand, analyse, and retain content. It often promotes dramatic, measurable improvements across the curriculum and is crucial to success in innumerable careers."

How will it help me?

With our new plan to incorporate more explicit explore play learning time with provocations, it is the teacher's responsibility to ensure that learning continues to happen and is not solely characterised by free roaming and unstructured choice activities. Specifically in mathematics and literacy, essential activities must be carefully planned and effectively executed within this environment, while other teachers lead smaller groups. By teaching mathematics, reading, and writing with well-planned provocations and direct instruction, students will experience significantly more instructional learning time. We already included more Reading to opportunities, Shared Big Book reading and Poems. We are exposing our learners to a variety of literature.

So What?

With this new approach, our team wants to ensure that all students will have the opportunity to meet their needs through a variety of learning activities.

Spiral of Inquiry - Scanning

My investigation : Teacher inquiry 

'How can I modify my teaching practices to ensure that 5-year-olds begin school equipped with the foundational skills they require, while also providing opportunities to address any gaps in their learning needs?'

Let's look at my Spiral of Inquiry:

 

Reading for enjoyment - Learning with Jill Eggleton and Heather Haylock

Reading for enjoyment - Learning with Jill Eggleton and Heather Haylock

Attending professional development with Jill Eggleton and Heather Haylock,  renowned experts in literacy education, can indeed be transformative for educators, especially in New Zealand. Here are some reasons why you might feel inspired to teach literacy after such an experience:

Deepened Understanding of Literacy Development: 

• provide insights into the stages of literacy development, including phonemic awareness, vocabulary acquisition, comprehension strategies, and fluency development.

Effective Instructional Strategies: 

• introduce innovative and research-based instructional strategies that engage students and foster a love for reading and writing. These strategies can range from interactive read-aloud techniques to guided reading practices tailored to individual student needs.

Emphasis on Cultural Relevance: 

• In a diverse educational landscape like New Zealand, understanding the importance of culturally responsive literacy instruction is crucial. Professional development with Jill Eggleton may highlight the significance of selecting texts that reflect the cultural backgrounds and experiences of students, thus promoting inclusivity and equity in the classroom.

Regarding the impact of incorporating poetry into your practice can lead to several changes:

• Language Enrichment: Teaching poetry allows students to explore the richness of language through rhythm, rhyme, imagery, and figurative language.
• Critical Thinking and Analysis: Studying poetry encourages students to think critically and analytically.
• Expressive Writing: Writing poetry offers students an outlet for self-expression and reflection. Through composing poems, students can articulate their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in creative and meaningful ways, promoting both literacy development and emotional intelligence.
• Integration of Arts and Literacy: Poetry often integrates with other art forms such as music, visual arts, and drama. Teaching poetry provides opportunities for students to explore connections between language and other forms of expression.

 

Here are some of my big take aways from the professional Development.

Discussion Points & Learning

“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.” - Malala Yousafzai

How Heather Haylock's writing process is done:

• Don't shy away from using big words
• If they can say tyrannosaurus rex they can say anything, words like, curlicued, militant, billowing
• Always within context and with illustrations to support understanding, helps to extend vocabulary, talking to kids, not rocket science, hypothesis, learning by osmosis
• Sharing stories with children develop a sense of a story - beginning, middle and end
• Hard to get through some children because they are just focussed on survival
• Characters need to be interesting
• Finding books that are good to read aloud
• Sense of a story - a lot of kids come to school not having been exposed to books(CAP), where others arrive with well developed sense of story
• Those without much exposure have hardly any soil to plant imagination
• We need to develop the love of language and stories
• One way to do it is read aloud
• Characters with problems to solve
• Characters kids can relate to, e.g. animals, nana
• Relate to school ,family, sports or feelings

Developmental Priorities

Tips and tricks

• Establish a routine read aloud time
• Finding ‘reading snack’ slots in the school day
• Reluctant readers - when they are read aloud to they become more involved and engaged
• Read aloud in small groups

Jill Eggleton

Teaching matters and it matters everyday - teachers make more minute by minute decisions than brain surgeons. What could be more important than moulding children?

What is your BELIEF - Sound research and something felt deep in the soul, mostly coming from a heartfelt response.

Shared reading Large Poetry cards benefits:

• Improves literacy skills
• Enrich vocabulary - crucial
• Familarised words
• A child's vocabulary tells us how they will be at 11
• Encourages thinking
• Replicate the way we learn and think
• Short pieces
• Exposes to images
• Boost fluency
• Rhyming, musical and rhythm
• Phonemic awareness
• Builds listening skills
• Helps train the memory
• Memorising poems give your brain the power to enhance the power to retain

Next Steps & Commitments

Shared big books and Poetry - every week I will introduce a new shared poem(review the previous learned ones) and a shared big book. Students will be able to access the previous books and poems during morning exploration learning as well as during writing time.

Finding a good book

• Picture books
• Sophisticated picture books
• Chapter books
• Short stories
• Biography collections
• Seasonal books(ANZAC, Matariki,Easter)
• Wordless picture books - if kids don’t know how to read - barrier, they can make up their own story
• Fun ones
• Rhyming ones - repeated refrains

Challenge board for Year 1

I've introduced a challenge board for my class during Maths and Literacy sessions. The goal is to empower my little learners to take charge of their own learning and develop independence. This approach should reduce the need for constant guidance, allowing them to progress at their own pace. The activities will change weekly. Take a look at the digital version and let me know what you think! Open to hear any feedback!!

Implementing a challenge board during Maths and Literacy sessions can offer numerous advantages:

• Fostering Independence: Encourages students to take initiative and responsibility for their learning, promoting independence and self-reliance.
• Empowering Students: Gives students a sense of control over their learning journey, enhancing their confidence and motivation to tackle tasks.
• Minimising Teacher Interruptions: Reduces the need for constant teacher direction, allowing educators to focus on facilitating deeper learning experiences and providing targeted support where needed.
• Customised Learning: Enables students to select challenges that align with their interests, abilities, and learning preferences, supporting personalised learning experiences.
• Developing Problem-Solving Skills: Challenges students to think critically and creatively as they work through tasks independently, fostering the development of essential problem-solving skills.
• Building Resilience: Encourages students to persist in the face of challenges and setbacks, promoting resilience and a growth mindset.
• Encouraging Collaboration: Provides opportunities for peer collaboration and cooperation as students work together to solve challenges, fostering a sense of community and teamwork.

A challenge board can create a dynamic and engaging learning environment that promotes student agency, skill development, and academic success.

Meet Room 7's Reading buddies

During our Literacy time we met our new reading buddies for 2024.

We all sat together and discussed how their different personalities might be and each got a special name.

The students were so excited to build a relationship with their reading buddies. 

Let's meet them:

Frankie - the pepper frankenstein: he loves to listen to stories and can be a bit playful sometimes.

Love Heart - the pink elephant: she has a heart full of love and think her reading buddy is the best reader and writer in the world.

Sparkles is our kind-hearted dog: he will make sure nobody disturbs you when you are reading.

Simba - strong willed lion: he will read along with you to make sure you are on the right track.

Isabella - our trying turtle: she will motivate and encourage you until you are confident.

Last but definitely not the least - Mr Crabs, the lobster: he can see everything anywhere in the class, he will make sure you show integrity.

                                                           Sparkles is reading with Susana.

Avee and Simba has a strong connection.

                                             Love Heart is teaching Carter, Mr Crabs and Isabella the digraph /sh/.

Can't wait how our buddies will assist our learners in their learning.

Writing - there's more to it than meets the eye

Many teachers don't realise how hard writing is, especially for kids. I was one of those teachers and thought with enough practice every day, they will eventually 'get' it.

I learned a lot about in my journey with the Science of Reading, structured literacy and BSLA approach as well as workshops with Liz Kane how we learn and teach, especially in writing.

After reading this blogpost it is all making sense and I will change my practice to assist my young learners in their literacy journey.

As a teacher, I'd show the students how to write, they'd try, and we'd move on. I didn't realise how much they need to learn before they can write well. Students would draw and scribble letters, and I'd praise their efforts. But I didn't think much about what they really needed to learn. I should have spent more time teaching them the basics of writing, instead of squeezing it in with everything else. Now I know better, and I'll focus more on helping them build a strong foundation for writing.

Looking back on my teaching practice, I can see that some students thrived with the way I taught writing. They caught on quickly and became confident writers. But there were others who struggled. They seemed confused by the whole writing process, finding it hard to come up with their own ideas. Still, I kept at it, thinking that if we just kept practicing, they would improve. I included language experiences to make it more engaging but although that increased some of the writing there were still students who didn't.

Motivation

I will break it down into smaller steps throughout the day instead of just one big writing session. This way, kids can practice writing little by little, making it easier for them. When they write on their own, I'll still guide them, but not necessarily in the same way as before.

1)Working memory

I believe the key to helping children hold onto their ideas long enough to write them down is to reduce the other tasks that may be distracting them.

2) Formation

I knew handwriting was important, but I didn't realise how much it mattered for writing. Now I see that handwriting sessions are vital and should happen every day, I am excited that our school has decided to focus on handwriting as well.

3) Fine Motor and Gross Motor Skills

This is related to forming letters. If holding a pencil or sitting properly is hard, learning to shape letters becomes very tough.

The Key Strengths & physical skills needed for handwriting:
Gross Motor Skills (Posture Base)
Gross Motor Skills (Bilateral Coordination)
Fine Motor Skills (Sensory Perception)
Fine Motor Skills (Hand and Finger Muscles)
Eye Tracking Ability.
Spatial Awareness.
Motor Memory.
Visual Memory.

4) Encoding (spelling)

I believe this is one of the most overlooked aspects of literacy. Tools and skills to encoding, including elements of structured literacy, is now the main focus in our literacy sessions.

5) Irregular Words - heart words

Spelling tricky or as we call them 'heart' words like "the," "my," "was," and "saw" helps us write smoothly. If we don't have to think too hard about spelling these words, it leaves more brainpower for writing. Tricky words become easier once we learn them, just like regular ones. The Code spelling program will aid all our students in this.

6) Oral Language and Vocabulary

Good oral language skills are crucial for writing. Lately, I've seen a decline in students' ability to talk well, and it's a growing problem.
If a student can't speak in full sentences, how can they write one? We need to give them lots of chances to practice speaking clearly and expose them to rich language through stories and poems. This helps them become better writers. Shared Reading also plays a big part here. A rich exposure help students learn more words and ideas, which helps with both reading and writing. the shared reading time will not only benefit younger students but I believe older students will definitely benefit from being read to in class as well.

7) Sentence Construction

Teaching students what a complete sentence is should be a key part of writing lessons. They need to learn about the different parts of a sentence and understand syntax and word structure. For my younger students I begin with Oral language - Colourful semantics. This way they build their knowledge first orally and then by writing it down.

8) Idea Generation and Knowledge Development

If it's hard to think of an idea, writing is tough. And if we don't understand our world well, writing becomes even harder. We can help kids by teaching them how to come up with ideas using pictures, songs, poems, and videos.


How will this reading help me?

I will change my practice and reflect how to make it more engaging but also teaching my students the tools and skills they need to excel in their learning.

So What?

My reading buddies will have more focus in class 
'Sam the snake' will appear this week and help students with their ideas
Challenge wall set up and going through the growing pains of what works and what not, teaching students independence
Colourful semantics, handwriting and reading(with decodable sentences) must take place everyday
Shared reading must happen everyday
Will assess by the end of term and reflect how to change and tweak.

I will post an update on how my challenge wall is going. 

Link - Blogpost by Leslee Allen(Number Agents)

Mind The Gap

As I prepare to welcome new young learners to our school, it's crucial to acknowledge and tackle the challenges many of our students may encounter in terms of school readiness, aligning with the principles of the New Zealand Curriculum. Recent findings shed light on a concerning trend: a significant number of pupils lack the foundational skills necessary for success at Level 1 of the New Zealand Curriculum. Through my exploration of this issue within the context of Aotearoa, the following concerns have surfaced:

An examination of readiness conducted by the Education Review Office (ERO) on June 22, 2023, revealed persistent challenges stemming from the impacts of Covid-19, including Long Covid, on schools and learning. Despite the expectation that early years pupils should possess essential social skills and basic literacy and numeracy abilities, such as sharing, following instructions, and maintaining focus, the study uncovered notable gaps in preparedness.

Additionally, local research focused on the effects of Covid-19 on Māori education. It delved into how families navigated education during lockdowns, showcasing varying experiences shaped by factors like financial resources and mental well-being. The disparities in accessing education, particularly concerning technology, were exacerbated, disproportionately affecting disadvantaged families. However, many Māori communities rose to the challenge, devising innovative strategies to support education and health initiatives. Nonetheless, young Māori continue to encounter difficulties in employment, with Māori women being disproportionately affected by job losses due to the pandemic. The report emphasizes the importance of empowering Māori in research and decision-making processes, integrating both empirical evidence and traditional knowledge to promote equity.

Further data reveals that a quarter of teachers observed that more than half of incoming new entrant students struggle with tasks like following instructions and sharing. The pandemic has exacerbated this lack of readiness, with lockdowns hindering opportunities for children to develop social skills and engage in enriching experiences outside the home. Moreover, an increasing number of children arrive at school without being toilet trained, placing added pressure on educators who must address these basic needs alongside academic instruction.

Teachers also underscored the impact of parental expectations regarding schools' role in teaching life skills, complicating matters further. This readiness gap not only impedes social and emotional growth but also affects academic advancement, with the majority of primary school educators noting that students requiring additional support demand more individualized attention, consequently reducing time available for other students.

Furthermore, disruptions to nursery attendance have raised concerns about language development, particularly among children born during the pandemic who have primarily been confined to home environments.

Addressing these challenges necessitates a collaborative approach involving policymakers, educators, and parents. There is a call for a catch-up program aimed at supporting families and early childhood centers in fostering practical and social learning skills alongside academic development. Investment in services like speech and language therapy and early years support for disadvantaged families is crucial, as emphasized by experts in the field.

In conclusion, these findings underscore the significance of early intervention and comprehensive support systems to ensure that every child receives the necessary assistance to thrive academically and socially as they transition from early childhood education to primary school. Let us work together to bridge the gap and pave the way for a brighter future for all our young learners in Aotearoa.

The Primary Issue: Have students got the skills they need to start school?

I am back and more determined to find ways to engage more ECE and kindergarten teachers to help their tamariki fill those foundational skills before they starts school. My focus this year will be on the transition from ECE to Primary school. Finding creative and engaging ways to help teachers boost the students' readiness for school and with confidence.

I will also focus on Literacy specifically writing and how I can make it more engaging for the tamariki who lacks foundational skills and Oral Language. I will be developing resources and activities to build those skills and share with other colleagues in the cluster as well as the ECEs.

Creating a website with all the useful resources will be one of my tools I would like to create. 

What is happening: 

• The Government is pouring extra dollars a year into early childhood education without pausing to measure whether the increase is helping improve children's development. But no data has been collected.
• Primary school principals say despite a huge surge in pre-school participation, they are not seeing better early literacy and numeracy skills among 5-year-olds, with some worried it was getting worse.
• Critics say the variable quality within the early childhood sector is one of the reasons children arrive at school without the skills they need to make the most of formal learning, meaning they are at risk of lagging behind.
• "You don't want children at early childhood education to be sitting on the mat and sitting up straight. You want lots of developmental play. You want the opportunity to use rich language," said principal of May Road School in Mt Roskill, Lynda Stuart.
• "But you need qualified teachers to provide quality learning environments. And we're not putting money into quality ECE."
• Frances Nelson, principal at Fairburn School, said they had been concerned for a long time at students' literacy and numeracy skills as new entrants, particularly in oral language.
• "If anything we would be thinking it's deteriorating. We certainly get lots of kids with learning difficulties that aren't being picked up at preschool, so they're not getting the early intervention they need."
• Significant Covid19 impact: Parents surveyed spoke about challenges at home, including financial and time pressures, which limit the time they are able to spend with their children. 
• Teachers identified the following reasons why children aren’t school ready (listed from most impacting): 
• Parents spending more time on electronic devices than with children 
• Less time spent at kindergartens due to lockdown restrictions. 
• Parents not reading to children. 
• Children spending more time at home, with less access to interaction with other children. 
• Parents don’t know what ‘school ready’ looks like. 
• Parents don’t care or think it is their job to prepare their child for Reception Lack of targeted state support for parents (e.g. health visitors) 
• Lack of peer or community support for parents (e.g. parent and baby groups) 
• Variable quality of ECE and kindergarten education 
• Rising cost of childcare.
• The impact of Covid-19 on the level of school readiness is still a factor, albeit of decreasing importance. Of critical interest to us at Kids Matter is that teachers cite ‘lack of state, community and peer support for parents’ as key factors impacting the capacity of parents to prepare their children for school.

We are seeing more children starting school well below the expected level including behaviour challenges.

Additionally, I'm interested in exploring collaborative teaching and its recognised effectiveness as a modern approach to teaching and learning across various subjects. Furthermore, I'm eager to apply the insights and expertise I've acquired while collaborating with teachers from my school, as well as those from neighbouring schools and early childhood education centres.

This is definitely an ongoing battle. 

My objective is to connect with children at the earliest opportunity, ensuring they begin primary school with a solid foundation and the resources they need to thrive academically and personally. By intervening early, I aim to equip them with essential skills and support, setting them on a path toward success and excellence throughout their educational journey.