Learning How To Be A Friend

 A friend is someone that makes you feel special and that you like spending time with.  You can have fun with a friend - laugh and be cheered up by them, share and play with them.  Young children need opportunities to practice building friendship by learning the skills of turn taking, resolving conflicts and thinking about how their actions affect others.

Friends are also important for our mental health and happiness.  They provide comfort, prevent isolation, give a sense of belonging and build self esteem.  

Team one studied how to be a good friend this term.  As an assessment tool we looked at what friendship "looks" like, "sounds" like and "felt" like.  I thought these might be quite hard concepts for the children to grasp but the following are some of the points they made in their assessment discussions.

    "Looks like"

        *friends have a smile because they are happy together

        *they hold hands

        * they hug

        * they play nicely with each other

        * they are excited

        * they listen to each other

        * they are helpful and kind

        *they are excited to be with each other

        "Sounds" like

            * have kind voices

            * have a happy voice

            * use a quiet voice

            * laugh together

            * say nice things

            * use a calm voice

            * use an excited voice

            "Feels" like

            * happy being with a friend

            * not lonely

            * calm and kind

            * cheerful

            * grateful

            * sharing

            * always together

With all these wonderful sentiments shared, it shows the children are well aware of how to be a good friend and were able to express their feelings very well.

        

        

   

Unexpected Outcomes Of Learning To Spell

 Many of the children who have been at school for a year or more are able to read a good number of basic words - what we call high frequency words.  But spelling them is a different matter.  It can be a challenge to develop a connection between letters and their sounds or phonemes.  They need to learn the 44 phonemes in English and the "code" for writing them down.

Spelling is a fundamental skill that children need to develop for effective communication.  They need to be able to start a word by hearing and recording the correct initial letter and then get most of the following letters in the right order as an embedded mistake is hard to eliminate.  With many exposures and practice using the look, say, cover, write and check method a child becomes familiar with the correct spelling.

Spelling is part of our literacy programme as well as home learning.  Attention is drawn to groups of letters in a word that make certain sounds, for example the "ai" sound in "pain" is different from the "ay" in "play".  This helps children become aware of visual patterns in written language and the possible sequences of letters when they are attempting to write words themselves.

Some of the methods I am using are to "over pronounce" words so that children can hear and memorise the correct spelling.  It helps them think about the letters that represent the sounds in a word.  An example of this is the word "went". Many children leave out the letter "n" but when I over pronounce it, they realise what letter is missing.  Writing the letters they have difficulty with in a different colour or highlighter makes the children recognise where they need to take care and remember the tricky bits.

Other fun ways of learning spelling words are games with high frequency words that the children need to say before they move on, words with missing gaps, spelling riddles, word searches (which make the children look at the whole word and correctly search for each letter)  and spelling quizzes against other students.

Spelling has more uses than memorising lists of words.  I have found three main uses - the more familiar a child is with a word, they are more likely to recognise it in their reading texts, and to use it in their own story writing, and the third use is that a child will also be more likely to use it in their speech.  They love to say the new words and as I am trying to inspire some children to increase their oral language, I have been  encouraged to find this unexpected outcome of teaching children how to learn to spell.    

Reformulate, Elaborate and Expand

 To improve oral language, it is important to work on active listening, vocabulary and oral narrative skills or the ability for children to express themselves.  Building up a knowledge of vocabulary is important.  Oral skills are obviously the key to spoken communication but they are also essential for learning to read.  It is often taken for granted that by the age of five most children arrive at school with well developed oral skills.  Unfortunately some children come to school with poorly developed language skills and are at risk of having difficulty in learning to read.  Providing support in oral language skills helps provide a firm foundation for learning to read, although some children will need ongoing support with language and literacy activities. 

During our lively dialogic reading to sessions, we unpack a story at length.  I try to guide the children through the sequence of a story describing what happens first, next, last and to have open ended conversations with back and forth exchanges.  One child who has very good oral skills often leads the way adding comments which helps others to add comments too.  Some children are asking simple questions while others add information from their own experiences.  They are becoming more able to "read" how characters are feeling either from language used in the text or by looking at the pictures, to predict a possible outcome with reasons given and to transfer information from one book to another book we have read.  

We try to take turns and let others express an opinion.  All ideas are accepted and discussed as peer learning is an important part of language development.  Ideas can be rephrased into modelled sentences using correct grammar and structure.  It is a teacher's job to reformulate, elaborate and expand on a child's speech rather than focussing on the mistakes made and to help children understand how conversations work - looking at the person you are talking to, take turns and listening to a response and for the children to be participants in the conversation. 

My three children that I have targeted for my Inquiry participate at different levels during "reading to".   Letting children choose a book from the school or class library is one way of finding out some of the interests of the quieter children.  One on one discussions before school or whenever time permits can boost a child's confidence to participate when they are interested in the subject.

The following is a description of the three children I have included in this assessment.

Child one is naturally quiet and shy and has English as a second language.  It maybe that the child finds the new environment of school very different from the home environment.  Although being a quiet, focused learner the child likes to observe our discussions and with teacher encouragement he will answer a question or add information.  It is our job as a teacher to show the class that a quiet child can communicate and often have very good ideas to share but they are just quieter than others. 

Child two has English as a first language but he is another quiet, shy person.  When he first came into our class he did not engage in our discussions.  He enjoys the "reading to" sessions as you can often see him smile at a particular situation.  He has gradually become confident enough to add a comment or answer a question when directly asked.  He will chatter one on one when I am out on duty about his family or something he has been doing but his speech is sometimes difficult to follow.  

Child three is naturally outgoing and wants to develop friendships.  She is prepared to take risks and repeat words and the endings of sentences.  She gives the impression she is able to converse with others but on examining her sentences it is often hard to comprehend what she is trying to communicate.   She often repeats words, phrases or the end of sentences which make it sounds as if she has a lot to say. Pronouns are mixed so it is hard to follow her stories.  She is more interested in attempting to communicate than in using correct grammar, verbs and structure. 

I will examine their informal and formal language, grammar and articulation, vocabulary and expressive language, sequencing and making meaning of events to see how I can help these three children become more proficient communicators. 

Inquiry 2023: Oral Language Data and Observations

(Image from the Korero Manaiakalani Oral Language Workshop)

 In 2022 I was fortunate to participate in oral language workshops run by the Speech Language Therapists team Korero Manaiakalani.  The philosophy behind the workshop was to increase oral language skills to "impact wellbeing, participation, learning and achievement."

The importance of oral language as the foundation to help children become successful readers and good communicators is again the focus of my 2023 Inquiry.   This year I was looking for a method of assessment which could measure, and help me understand my learners strengths and weaknesses in oral language.  When discussing this in our initial Inquiry group, Deb Shirley mentioned the work she had done the in her 2022 MIT study, which was available for teachers to use.  Her site contains assessment tools which can be downloaded and adapted to our own settings where needed.  Deb has also suggested various resources and ideas that she has used in her classroom. 

This was exactly what I was looking for to be able to gather data on strengths and weaknesses in children's oral language skills and to find strategies to overcome any weaknesses.  I will use Deb Shirley's assessment sheet ( see "Tuning into Oral Language") to gather data and record observations.  It is hoped to be able to repeat these observations to record progress over time and target specific areas if help is needed.

Deb has four areas of observation.  

- Observations are made of formal language used during learning and informal language used during play.

- Grammar and articulation (where so many of our children have difficulty with English grammatical structure.)

- Vocabulary and expressive language (using simple pictures and recording answers)

- Sequencing and making meaning (talking about pictures and sequencing an event)

Thanks to Deb for making such a valuable resource available for others to use. 

     

Finding Meaning in Marks

Finding Meaning In Marks: Linking Reading,Writing, Oral language and Listening 

Communication is a skill we all need.  Language is a process that helps us connect with others and express our thoughts and feelings.  We often think of reading as being what language is all about but it encompasses reading, writing, oral language and listening - we talk, we listen, we read and we write.  Although reading and listening are receptive skill and writing and speaking are productive skills all four skills combine to make an effective communicator. 

 

This year I have tried to use the professional development we had on oral language in terms 1 and 2, and the engage type of games to promote focus and listening along with teaching reading and writing to help children see the link between all these skills.  Like all skills, they need to taught and then practised regularly.

Not all children come to school with the same level of skills so it can be expected that not all of the children have managed to gain a degree of proficiency in all four skills.  Some children had made the connections between listening to sounds and written symbols very quickly and have made good progress.   For others it is a continuing journey of practise, practise, practice.  They have enjoyed the engage games of focusing, listening and noticing and also the joy of writing words they didn't know by listening to the sounds and writing them down.

Writing is a skill that needs to practised.  A child doesn't just pick up a pencil and immediately form letters to make a meaningful word and become a competent writer.  They need to understand the difference between writing and drawing, that letters are symbols and you need to know the code of phonemic awareness to be able to use these clues in writing down your ideas and communicating with others.

There are developmental steps along the way that need to be achieved before writing becomes a reality.  Writing begins when a child randomly scribbles by moving the crayon or writing instrument across a page.  The next stages are repetitive lines, letter and name practise leading on to writing that can be understood by others.  As children understand writing is linear and they have more control or fine motor skills, they are able to make their marks go in lines to imitate real writing.  They will often tell you what they have "written" or are attempting to communicate with others.

Next will come an attempt to form letters using lines, dots and curves..  This "noticing" of how letters are formed leads to the writing of their name.  It is much later that orientation and correct letter shape comes about by having lots of opportunity to practise these new skills.   Having a small group up at the teaching table gives me more time to help children individually with the letter formation that they need, phonemic awareness and for them to write a story that is important to them rather than whole class teaching.  They are able to work at their pace and developmental stage and not have to go over things they already know. 

  

Listening is a literacy skill that is often forgotten or undervalued yet it plays an integral role in communication.   Research has shown that listening plays an important role in the relationship between a child's early language development and later reading achievement.  Some children who struggle with reading find it difficult to make the connection between alphabet letters or the written symbols, the actions that your mouth makes to say the sounds and the sounds themselves.  To learn the individual sounds or phonemes associated with each letter, one needs to listen to discriminate between sounds.   

 We have been practising our listening by breaking a word into all the sounds that make up a three letter CVC word.  The children listen to the first sound and record it.  Then they are told to write the next letter right up close to the first letter they recorded.  Segmenting is also helping children see that each letter makes an individual sound and when you slide the sounds together it makes a word.  They are amazed that they can spell words that they didn't think they knew! 

Fun games help the children learn. We play games such as Whispers, Read, Memorise, Write and I went Shopping to practise listening, writing and reading. Purposeful writing of blog comments helps us with reading and writing as well as oral skills as we discuss how to reply and comment.  These activities help the children to practise being effective communicators. 

Learning to Focus

 Concentration or focus is something that needs to be practised to get better at it.  Some children find it easier to focus in class while others need help to learn strategies to focus their attention on the task at hand.  Concentration helps students to be more self confident and have a positive self esteem because they know what to do and when.  Focused students are organised and can complete tasks to a good standard. 

The focus for my inquiry this term has been to help three children to focus more in class.  As a class we have discussed and modelled what being focused "looks like" and why it is important for our learning and why disturbing others is not kind.  When we are calm and focused our classroom is quieter, we get more done and invariably have fun learning.  Tasks that are fun are often easier to concentrate on, but it is the "boring" tasks of learning to read and write that are often a challenge. 

When giving instructions and encouraging these students to focus I have found these simple techniques to be useful.    

 * to be close by the students when giving instruction.  In this way I can make eye contact to remind them that they need to pay attention

* to give one clear instruction at a time of what is expected

* help them be organised by saying what they need for a task

* a visual reminder of how well they are doing using a sticker chart to positively reinforce that the children can focus 

* celebrating with them their achievements

The novelty value of using sticker charts has been very effective.  The children have all responded positively to the charts and are eager to receive stickers for focusing and being able to carry out tasks without bothering their classmates as to what they need to do.  They are trying hard to use their "focus muscles", to earn praise and to complete tasks to a better standard.

For me, I am trying to use students interests to hook them into focusing and to accept we all have different learning styles and to use these styles to vary teaching.   I reflect on the day asking myself  - How can I do this better next time?  I may have to find another reward system at a later date as the novelty wears off but at present the children have responded positively to try to focus more and help their learning.    

  

 

Learning About Emotions

Children often have difficulty identifying and expressing their feelings.  Learning what emotions are is a step to managing them effectively in a positive and constructive way. 

This term our team's Inquiry topic has included learning about the emotions each one of us has.  We all have a range of emotions within a day, or even at one time.  I am hoping that encouraging and prompting the children to think about emotions and how we can control them, will help the children be more co operative and appreciate that we are all different.

Although the children have learnt about the school's method of conflict management by "using their WITS" (W - walk away, I - ignore it, T- talk about it and S - seek help) they often do not understand the emotions behind a situation.  Discussing emotions has given children a simple vocabulary to use even if it is just "I'm a little bit angry because...".

Validating their emotions and listening to what a child is saying and how they are saying it,  is helping in many situations.  Talking about it, calms things down.  This does take time but in doing so, it gives the children a model, the words to use, as they learn to solve some of the classroom niggles that crop up.     

These are some simple methods I am trying to use to manage our emotions.  

* be empathetic and talk through the situation

* reassure the child that everyone has emotions and we need to think of positive ways of dealing with them

The children are using these methods

* to ask how their friends are feeling

* giving complements to help a friend feel happy

* do some deep breathing when they need to self calm

* walking away from a situation that makes them unhappy

These are things we often do naturally to calm a situation.  What is different is purposefully modelling and discussing what is happening to a child when they are sad or angry, to acknowledge this and to say it is ok to feel this way and then discussing what steps they can take to resolve the situation.  The children are learning the words to use to navigate social interactions and to be empathetic and forgiving of others. 

We have also learnt to look at body language and facial features.  When reading books together the children are able to point out how characters are feeling.  They comment about sad faces, happy faces, calm faces and so on.  Being able to recognise emotions in someone else is helping them recognise them in themselves.