Literacy at Northcote Primary School

Linda Batten

SFO data

Northcote PS is set in an interesting area with a changing demographic. Our parents are mainly professional and have tertiary backgrounds. We also have many parents who are musicians or artists. Our parents are very supportive of education and their children's learning as well as having very high expectations of school and being very willing to be involved in their children’s education. As well, we also have a small percentage of our population who come from a different demographic and who take up a great deal of student welfare time.

SFO data slide

What we did

The SIG team met and the next two Curriculum days were put aside to roll out the Literacy training.

Day one was informing staff all about the 7 High Reliability procedures

Day 2 was planning for next terms reading using the 7 HRTLP’s.

Planning for term4 Grade 5/6

Level 4 English Reading Plan Semester 2 2008Level 4 English Reading Plan Semester 2 Term 4 2008Ross Bennie, Nicky McKinnon and Linda Batten Reading Goals To improve student learning in Reading, Writing, Speaking and ListeningTo focus on the review aspect of all literacy lessons to reinforce students thinking about their learningContext and Targets Year 5 targets (Benchmark = 3.50)At risk grade 5 studentsBy end year in Reading-18 students currently at 3.5 will be at 3.75+ 1 student at 3.75 will be at level 4+16 students at 3.5 will be at 3.75+3 students at 3.00 to move to 3.25 3 students at 2.75 move to 3. 1 student at 1.75 move to 2.00 as part of his Individual Learning PlanYear 6 targets (Benchmark = 4.00)1. At risk students- 22. By the end of the year in Reading- 1 student at 2.75 currently will be at 3.25 1 student at 3.00 to move to 3.5 1 student at 3.25 to move to 3.75 2 students at 3.5 to move to 4.00 13 students at 3.75 to move to 4+ 6 students at 4.25 to move to 4.5+Implementation/Teaching & Learning Strategies

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Common Assessment tasksIndicators of success (complete your reflections as the program progresses throughout the term)Reading7 High reliability …Early Years Literacy ModelGuided reading / reciprocal teachingKey into inference teaching comprehension Speaking and ListeningPublic Speaking competition and also speech to parliament on chosen issueDebating WritingLetter writing to a local member about a local issue (local crossing zone, uneven footpaths etc)Reading aloud as an editing process (this will encourage greater use of the 7 HRTLP’s) Running records on students below L30 every 6 weeksUnseen text reading behaviours checklist Week 3TORCH tests (those above L30)for comprehension at Week 8 Probe Comprehension assessment for those under L30

On demand testing Torch test Public Speaking Competition Common assessment criteria to be used by all students as they present their speeches (Grade 5’s to their class. Grade 6’s to present to all the grade 5/6

classes). The winners to represent the school at the NHS competition.‘Speech to parliament’ on an issue which students feel passionate about using common assessment criteria. (Integration assessment task)Moderation with set writing task. Rubric of common assessment tasks for writing about a law

NAPLAN resultsStudents attitudinal survey- positive about learningPoLT for all grade 5/6 teachers have been very positiveStudents setting individual learning goals and beginning to meet their personal targetsStudents reflect on personal rubrics

Week 1 Revise and consolidate getting the knowledge ready, in all guided reading groups (fiction and non-fiction text)Focus on the review aspect of all literacy lessonsPublic Speaking competition heatsCurrent Events discussions All students to rehearse their speech for the public speaking comp.In Reading groups all students will be working towards automat zing their GKR(Use money texts and Economics texts) Discussion about local issues and how we can make changes in our local community (i.e. Writing letters) Begin to work on drafts Week 2 Revise and consolidate asking questions the text will answer and paraphrasingPublic Speaking CompetitionCurrent Events discussions Public Speaking comp finalists to be announced.In reading groups all students working towards paraphrasing using synonyms.Continue with formal letter writing stepsWeek 3 Revise and consolidate vocabulary and use their Meaning Making MotorCurrent Events discussions Begin to teach how to use MMR in all reading groups. (Linda to model)

Letter writng to continue Debating to begin. Teach how a formal debate is conducted in parliamentWeek 4 Revise and consolidate Visualising and summarisingCurrent Events discussionsUse all 7 HRLTP’s in reading groups Good copies of letters Begin to select debate topics Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transition

Week 5 Use 7 HRTLP’s in readingDebatingCurrent Events discussions Letter writingUse all 7 HRLTP’s in reading groups Good copies of letters Debate topics beginning Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionWeek 6 Use 7 HRTLP’s in readingDebatingCurrent Events discussionsLetter writing Use all 7 HRLTP’s in reading groups Good copies of letters Debate topics continuing Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionWeek 7 Use 7 HRTLP’s in readingCurrent events discussionsLetter writing Testing and feedback to studentsStudents reflection in literacy using the 7 HRTLP’sReflection of how reading aloud has worked as an editing tool. Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transition

Week 8 Use 7 HRTLP’s in reading- Maintenance and practiseCurrent events discussions Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionGrade 5/6’s work on their path through Primary School /recollections/scrapbooking folioWeek 9 Use 7 HRTLP’s in reading- Maintenance and practiseCurrent events discussions Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionGrade 5/6’s work on their path through Primary School /recollections/scrapbooking folioWeek 10 Use 7 HRTLP’s in reading- Maintenance and practiseCurrent events discussions Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionGrade 5/6’s work on their path through Primary School /recollections/scrapbooking folioWeek 11Use 7 HRTLP’s in reading- Maintenance and practiseCurrent events discussions Getting ready for GraduationGetting ready for transitionGrade 5/6’s work on their path through Primary School /recollections/scrapbooking folio

Student OpinionI have a slide I want to insert here but am having

trouble fitting it in!!!

A Teachers GuideA Teachers Guide:The Seven High Reliability Teaching and Learning Practices To be used with your guided reading group.

The following is a guide only. Please add in features you may already use in Guided Reading groups and delete any steps not appropriate to your text. (I’ve tried to make a generic guideline that will suit most texts.)

• Look at title of text, blurb and any bolded, italicized or highlighted words• Use the above information to get students to predict what the text will be about. Accept any predictions. You could write them up so they can be checked off at the

end of the session.• Look at any illustrations and discuss them. Ask students to visualize what happened before and/or after the picture (Only if appropriate. Some texts may not have

illustrations.)• Discuss the meanings of any unfamiliar words which may have come up in number 1. Ask students to predict what they think the words mean. This can also be

recorded by the teacher or students if you wish. At this stage no one has actually read the text.• Ask students to form why, where, when, what, who and how questions. (The accompanying graphic organiser may assist here) These questions may be recorded on

the board to check off when the text has been read.• Students read one or two sentences at a time. After they have read the sentence/s the students reading then paraphrases (say in their own words) what the text has

meant. You may need to discuss any unfamiliar vocab as it comes up. Get students to use their knowledge of the text to work out meanings of words. (I.e. using context clues etc.) You may need to ask students to visualize a scene/the meaning of a word etc. as they are reading to help with comprehension. Visualizing also works well when students ‘freeze up’ and are unable to put a response into words. E.g. visualize and ‘think’ time.

• Say aloud any words which students may not have seen before and do not know how to pronounce.• Ask anyone in the group to use KEY words to summarise what has occurred in the text at the end of every paragraph. (You will need to teach this concept first if you

have not already discussed what key words are.)• At the end of the text, check off which questions have been answered. If the text has been finished students can then go and do comprehension activities you have

planned. If you are reading a chapter at a time, the questions may not have been answered so may be referred to at the next reading. I encourage everyone to have a go at this or an aspect of this in the last week. From the lectures of Prof. John Munro by Linda Batten

Teachers were all given a laminated copy of this guide to assist them in reading activities

Peer Tutoring

Students from Grade 5/6 modelled the 7 High reliability procedures in other classrooms.

It was well received by teachers and made them receptive to hearing more about the 7 HRTLP’s.

Staffroom Demonstration

After students from my class worked in classrooms to introduce the 7 High Reliability strategies to classroom teachers, I then selected a group of students (ones who were generally not expected to be the best scholars in my class!) to stay after school and demonstrate to watching staff how well they could read a totally unfamiliar text if we went through the 5 HRTLP’s. The text I used was an article from The Age designed for VCE students. The students I selected were reading at Levels 20 to 30+.

Peer TutoringStudents volunteered to manage a reading group in other classrooms. They practised their ‘lesson’ first and then worked with the classroom teacher to run a reading group

Examples of posters students made for classrooms

Note the paraphrasing!Will be inserting examples of posters the kids

made

Reading groups in Grade 5/6

How we do asking questions the text will answer

Each student selects a card which has the beginning of a questions which they need to complete. The question is recorded and then at the end of reading the text we see if it can be answered.

• Some quotes form students about how they use the 7 HRLP’s

Where to next?