Reaching out to whanau

The change of attitude to reading for most of my students is evident. Not only my focus group but also within the whole class. I am now starting to reach out to whanau to support parents and caregivers on how they can encourage my students to be readers at home. 

With the netbooks going home, the students are able to continue their learning by using the class site and also access information for research using the internet. There are always opportunities to read and learn using the netbooks. I am also encouraging the students to ensure they have a novel they are reading consistently. This is working for most of the students. 

Through conversations with one parent, she expressed her child is not engaged in reading at home. She would often fall asleep when asked to read. We brainstormed some ways to encourage her child t read at home.

- go to the local library

- borrow books which are of interest to the child 

- ask the child to share if the book is exciting or boring and why

- be consistent with encouraging the child to read

- for a parent be a reader too, model to your child

The parent left the conversation feeling determined to help her child foster a love of reading and also herself as a parent. 

My inquiry is not just to shift achievement but to shift the mindset of reluctant readers and all students to enjoy reading. 

PLG reflection

Reading through the PLG slides from the 30th of May, I have reflected on the convernor's korero and inserted a slide from his slides.

Reflection on core teaching practices when reading to learn. 
In my reading programmes the reading materials are integrated with the topic of study for the term. At Glenbrae School we have a theme for the year and through this theme we identify topics for the students to learn during the year. This year our theme is Resilience. The reading materials are always linked to the topic of study.

It is important to integrate learning materials so students are able to make connections between their reading and learning in different subject areas. Purpose for reading is very important and is always discussed and emphasised in our reading discussions.

Acquisition of language which is number eight in the convenor's core teaching practices has also been a focus of mine and has been discussed in my previous blog posts. This year, I have been focussing a lot on the acquisition of vocabulary through the guidance of Jannie van Hees. Students have been making a lot of progress in their acquisition and understanding of vocabulary. This is evident through our discussions, their response activities as well as their writing.

The eight core practices listed in the inserted slide are all very important aspects of teaching. I will also be using this slide to collaborate reading teaching practices with my colleagues.