The Proof is in the Pudding

This term I used the strategies of Alison Davis but reinforced the vocabulary with strategies suggested by Jannie van Hees. In addition, I used the multimodal approach to reading. At the end of the term, I tested them and surprise surprise... Four of my five priority students improved. One student moved from 2A to 3A, another from 3B to 4A, the third from 3A to 4P and the fourth from 2P to 2A. However, one student dropped fro 2P to 2B. I intend to continue using the multimodal approach to reading as this is helping to reinforce and improve reading comprehension.

Enhancing my Teacher Inquiry by Note Taking and Summarizing

This term I concentrated on note-taking and summarizing with my priority students.  I used the following strategies as suggested by Dr Alison Davis:

Highlighting
The students began by reading the section or paragraph of text.  They then highlighted what they thought are the most important ideas within the text.  Next, the students returned to the text and recorded keywords that related to the parts of the text that they have highlighted.  The students used their keywords to develop a statement that summarised the text.  [Davis, 2007].


Finding the key sentence in a paragraph

 In this activity, the students wrote what they believed to be the key sentence along with the reasons for their choice.  Through discussion with others, students shared their reasoning, gave and sought feedback from others, and decided on the effectiveness of their decisions. [Davis, 2007]

Sequence of main ideas or events 
In texts that conveyed information in a sequence, each idea was listed in sequence 1 to 4 as illustrated below and students recorded the main idea in order as they made their way through the text. [Davis, 2007]

My priority students prepared for their speeches. So they had to read /listen/watch make notes, summarize and write in their own words. Three of the five students were able to complete the tasks and delivered their speeches successfully.

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What's holding them back?

Always a teacher's dilemma- how to move a student who does not want to move. The midterm assessment showed that two of my priority students are achieving within the curriculum level while the other three have not yet reached the curriculum level. What is holding them back?  In addition to the strategies that I'm,  focussing on, I will incorporate Dr Jannie van Hees's "Language in Abundance " techniques.

Language in abundance environments ‘drip’ with language availability and attention,

where noticing and relevant use of words allow for deeper,

wider, more specific and precise, context appropriate language expression…

leading to knowing at deeper and broader levels.

Dr. Jannie van Hees

Reflecting on my Teacher Inquiry

I trialled the strategy: teaching inferences with the group.  The boys watched the following video and then we discussed the inference in the video.

During the introduction of the video, the group made connections and discussed the author’s
purpose for making the video briefly.

The boys were able to write down all they could see. Writing the prior knowledge proved difficult
for one student.  Two students wrote inferences in the prior knowledge. One wrote, “take pet to
the vet when your pet is sick.”  Another was able to talk about his work but is unable to
complete written work independently.

I will have to reteach this...clearly confusion on recording prior knowledge and inference.  
They could answer “ Who ate the bird?” but "How do you know this?" was not easy. The students
also need more practice with recording their inferences.

Research for my Teacher Inquiry

I will be following the strategies and recommendations of prominent New Zealand educationists. My

research included Professional Readings by:

1. Sheena Cameron - Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies

Having attended a workshop by Ms Cameron, I revisited the way she introduced the different reading comprehension strategies.

2. Dr Alison Davis - Building Comprehension Strategies for Primary Years.

I also attended Dr Davis’s workshop on comprehension strategies and follow her on her education website

Where's the evidence for my TI?

My focus group for 2018 was 5 boys :

2 x Cook Island Maori students, 1 x Fijian, 1 x Tongan and 1 x Maori.

EVIDENCE:  

 I looked at the 2017 term 4 reading results and found that the students were at the following reading levels:

2 reading at 9 - 9.5 yrs, 2 reading at 8.5 - 9 yrs and 1 reading at 9.5 to 10 years.

In addition the WFRC report back for our school showed that the levels of boys in general were lower than the cohort of the country.

My Teaching Inquiry for 2018

It didn't take much deliberation to determine that I need to focus on reading with my class. Keeping the school goals in mind and the achievement challenges of Manaikalani  Col, my inquiry hypothesis is:

If I use specific strategies in reading with my focus students, to what extent does it help

the boys in my class to lift their achievement in Reading?

2018 - A New Year, A New Challenge!

Reading makes the world go round, or so I presume.  This year my teaching inquiry will be focused on the boys in my class who are reading below their chronological age.

WHY?

I wanted to see how I could help the boys in my class lift their achievement in reading.  This resulted as a report back by the WFRC which showed that the reading levels of the boys in general, at our school, were lower than the cohort of the country.

NEXT STEP?

The research I guess.  What does make students improve their reading?

Analysing reading assessment

The results from e asttle reading assessment showed that my target group was at the national standard. One student had made accelerated progress. When I analysed the reading comprehension I found that she was prepared to take risks with the vocabulary. I was happy that 14 out of 22 students were at level 4.