Learning in the Fast Lane - Chapter 5 - Vocabulary Development

Here is our discussion on Chapter 5 of Learning in the Fast Lane by Suzy Pepper Rollins.




Title of Book

Learning in the Fast Lane - Chapter 5 - Vocabulary Development

Author

Suzy Pepper Rollins

Synopsis

Many students arrive at school with up 70% less vocabulary than their peers. Here are some strategies for developing student strategies and exposing students to new words 6 times. These should be visual, interactive and collaborative.


How will it help me? How has it helped me?

I have used several of these strategies with my Level 1b writers. They have developed an understanding of key science vocabulary (e.g. force, energy, friction, vibration).

I need to include using the strategies for incidental vocabulary.

Literacy Circle Conversation Student Resources

After our last KPMG day (The Dragon's Den), I decided to create resources to help students understand their roles better. These I have linked to the updated script, which is now a Google Presentation.




This Presentation has become the end result of several scripts, reading reflections and storyboards my class has used throughout the year. My students found previous reflections and scripts time-consuming and without purpose. Having the script as a presentation provides the students' another opportunity to collaboratively process their thinking.

Below are the accompanying resources for LIT CIR CON. Each relates to the roles as described by Lauren Coccia in her paper Literature Circles and Their Improvement of
Comprehension.

I would like to point out that these are the roles being used by my Year 6 students as I believe they align with the key comprehension strategies students need to interact with texts in Year 6 and beyond. In other cooperative literacy activities similar to literacy circles, such as reciprocal reading, there are similar roles. However, in reciprocal reading, the text tends to be attacked in smaller chunks page-by-page. In literacy circles the text is approached as a whole by each student.





Please feel free to make copies and changes as you see fit.

Understanding Behaviour: Responding Safely

Here are my notes on today's staff meeting on understanding and responding to the high anxiety behaviour we experience at Rawhiti School.

Much of what was discussed aligns with work on Restorative Justice and the book Lost at School. One consideration is how Ross Greene's book sets out to focus on a single missing social skill a child may have. In our teaching environment, we are trying to meet the needs of several children who are missing essential social skills, while trying to keep everyone safe and then teaching them at the same time. No small task.

Tomorrow I will make an effort to great each student I work with during writing by saying their name and giving them a high five/ fist bump. My current writing group is the most challenging I work with. There are many behavioural needs as well as strong learning needs across the board. This is an initial See Me strategy.

Learning in the Fast Lane Chapter 4 - Formative Assessment

Here is the recording of our team discussion on Suzy-Pepper Rollins Learning in the Fast Lane on acceleration student progress.




I thought I would make Google Slides with the strategies for each section as my notes from now on. These can go on our team site, but feel free to use them. I will try to add photos of examples as they happen.

KPMG Day 3 - The Dragon's Den

On Monday the 12th of August we meet again at KPMG. Our task for this session was to sell our idea and tool to Dorothy, Anne and Jenny, as well as each other. Anne prefaced us with these questions:

• What is the tool/concept/idea?
• How have you tested it? What did the testers think?
• Why would we want to use it? 
• What is it able to do?
• How has it evolved and what changes have you had to make? How and why?
• What do the learners think of it? 
• Is it making a difference or will it make a difference? How do you know? 
• What has driven you in the development? 
• How is it different from other similar tools? 
• What does your team (us) think?

Here my summary of where my inquiry and tool currently sit.

It was great to see all my MIT colleague's tools. In particular, I am eager to use Nicola's, Joanna's and Amber's tools with my students.

As the day went on I started to draw some conclusions about my next steps. They are:

• Develop a supporting Google Site for teacher information and resources (Dorothy suggested I use an additional page on the LITCRICON blog)
• Develop scaffolding resources for all the roles in a literature circle - currently, I have a question poster for the Discussion Director role
• Get some of my Rāwhiti School colleagues to test it
• Set up labels on the blog and video submission Google Form for texts or theme

From Dorothy's notes, we also discussed how important it is to front-load students with behaviour expectations. Students need to apply the Key Competencies and "soft skills" to be successful with the LITCIRCON blog and literature circles.

Bring on October's Manaiakalani Wananga!

EdTech Sydney Summit

Learning in the Fast Lane - Chapter 3 - Success Starters

Title of Book/Reading/Study Programme

Learning in the Fast Lane - Chapter 3 - Success Starters

Author/s or Lecturer/s or Speaker/s

by Suzy-Pepper Rollins

Synopsis

This is a chapter about starting your lesson in a relevant engaging way. How to get students thinking and responding to learning in the first ten minutes of the lesson, the peak time for learning.

Motivation

Learning in the Fast Lane - team discussion

How will it help me? How has it helped me?

This made me reflect on how I begin lessons. What motivations can I create that engage learners, especially Maori and Pacific learners? 

Initial ideas - success starters for literacy circle roles:

Student surveys on the roles

Videos to apply roles - e.g. short video where they "make a connection"

Prediction - true false e.g.