Another very full day, lots of information and ideas. It does feel like it is snowballing - getting bigger and bigger and I sometimes worry that as new things come up, other things slip back.
The interesting idea today for me, was the pairing of Reading and Writing. It obviously makes sense, and as teachers we know that often children that read with confidence and fluency tend to usually write more freely.
"Writing to Create Meaning:
Supports deeper reading comprehension through writing about reading:
Summary
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Supports the crafting of written texts and use of genre conventions encountered in reading:
narrative
poetic
descriptive
persuasive
expository
argumentative"
By matching the reading with the writing, both should improve. Using the text children have read as a framework to build writing around - a place, a character, a situation. By showing children how an author tries to hook them in, they may find ways to hook readers into their own writing. Children start to look for those features, reading more deeply and thinking more about what they have read. Win/Win.
Another focus today was on the explicit teaching of Inference. I am going to start specifically planning for this: a description of it, model making inferences, provide scaffolds for the children to follow, get them to articulate what they are doing and then have them apply it to a text. The Inference Matrix provided clear progressions and some learning tools that can be used.
Things for me to try and implement after today:
Look at my timetable
- add in conferencing and have the sessions clear for children to follow independently.
- check over my independent activities ensuring they are purposeful, that they can be tracked.
Have a go at the Reading/Writing examples
- writing a beginning that hooks readers in after showing children examples
- extending that idea to a character. This would involve inferencing as often a character's personality is shown through their actions.
It will be interesting to see how it goes.
Malo e lelei Wayne!
ReplyDeleteHappy Samoan Language Week! It was great to have you join Cohort 1 on Tuesday for RPI Day 5: Planning a Reading Programme.
Thank you for sharing your reflections on the day. I hear you when you say that there was a lot to digest across the sessions. Hopefully, the Agenda will serve as a useful rewindable document to pull out and review as you plan going forward. The practice implementations for the homework, and your coaching conversations will also help to rewind and discuss what was covered.
I am so pleased that the ‘Write Like Readers’ session resonated with you and I look forward to reading your learners' Great Beginnings! As you point out, there are efficiencies to be gained from pairing reading-writing texts and the ‘win-win’, as you put it, of exemplifying the rich stylistic craft of the published authors in our School Journals (and other texts we are reading).
It’s great to also hear the Skill Builder resources on inference were particularly beneficial and that you are going to be specifically planning to use these consistently.
I really look forward to hearing about your practice implementations and coaching discussions next time!
Nga mihi
Naomi R.
Literacy Facilitator - Manaiakalani Reading Practice Intensive
Great post Wayne. It is great to read about the connections that you are making between reading and writing. This fits in really well with our school focus on moving away from teaching genre in isolation. Having the writing connected to the reading is so much more authentic in purpose isn't it? Your plans sound really solid. I look forward to hearing how they go for you and your students.
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