TEACHING AS INQUIRY

What?

In Class Observation Notes

Teacher:  Donna Rudduck

Date: 26th May 2017

Teaching as Inquiry Question:

If I engage my Writing Focus group with a variety of sentence building tools, to what extent does it help them improve the quality of their sentences in their writing?

Learning Area:

Focus Areas (Please bold as appropriate):  Sharing-confirming intended learning, purpose, criteria, feedback, self-assessment, peer assessment, questioning, general use of formative assessment strategies,

WHAT?	Group on the floor got the idea of subject / verb
SO WHAT?	Students need to know sentence structure for later in schooling.
NOW WHAT?	Get whole class to make sentences with individual cards to identify Need to do more explicit teaching - types of sentences Target group - write simple sentence / identify verb, subject, adverb Transfer into writing Work with class with didymo story - write a paragraph / work with those who need it in a group Tie in with Sustainability / Reading - identify the parts of a sentence in their reading and writing.

Learning Intention: To structure a sentence including a subject and a verb..

Success Criteria: I can identify the subject and verb in the sentence.

                          I can add an adverb to make the sentence more interesting.

                          I can write a simple, compound and complex sentence.

Context:  Writing

Learning Activities: Read the book An Adverb

Show a powerpoint of sentences that identify the subject and verb in a sentence. Discuss and model.

Students will identify the different types of sentences and understand what makes them different.

Other students: Write an example of a simple, compound and complex sentence. Share with a buddy.

Focus Group: Work on the floor with me. Unscramble a sentence so that it makes sense. Then identify why it is a good sentence, e.g. the subject/verb.

Then use the extension sentence - identify what is different, the parts of the sentence e.g. adverbs

Observation  (Appraiser to fill out)	Comments
Target group - Max / Thomas / Turongo / Joseph / Ben / Isla /Cayla Book - If you were an Adverb

What I did well.

Working with the group on the floor was really beneficial. They were able to identify the subject and verb. They could ask themselves who was doing the action to help them identify the  subject.

I think this activity would benefit the whole class.

What I could do better.

Trying to cram too much into one lesson. Break it down more, so that the students have time to really understand each concept, rather than skim over several things at once.

Student Interview (see above for responses)

Student 1 - Dominic Freyberg https://drive.google.com/a/southwell.school.nz/file/d/0BztiUqVOeKYGcHlDVVNKVXVpb2s/view?usp=sharing

Student 2 - Thomas Southworth https://drive.google.com/a/southwell.school.nz/file/d/0BztiUqVOeKYGSEgxckpvZUZ1WHc/view?usp=sharing

Student 3 - Cayla Engelbrecht https://drive.google.com/a/southwell.school.nz/file/d/0BztiUqVOeKYGZDk3WDZrRHI4elE/view?usp=sharing

Student 4 - Tayler McKinnon https://drive.google.com/a/southwell.school.nz/file/d/0BztiUqVOeKYGWERoNXhBbHp0aE0/view?usp=sharing_eil&ts=5927bd25

So What?
Because I was struggling to connect with my question, I know what I want to achieve but not sure I had worded it correctly, I wanted to change my question. I completed the Dyslexia course with Karla from Learning Matters and I totally agreed with her explicit teaching philosophy.

My Teaching as Inquiry Question is………..

If I engage my Writing Focus group with a variety of sentence building tools, to what extent does it help them improve the quality of their sentences in their writing? 21/8/17 Want to change my question. If I engage my Writing Focus group’s understanding of words, spelling strategies and tools to help build their vocabulary, to what extent does it help improve the quality of their writing?

Now What?
I did some research and found a book called Mastering Short-Response Writing: Claim it! Cite it! Cement it! written by Alan Sitomer.
This book cemented so much of my thinking and what I want to achieve with, not only my focus group but the whole class.
He writes that explicit instruction is a systematic method of teaching that emphasises small steps that are unambiguously explained and thoughtfully modeled. (I always model writing in my class and feel that this is an important step in students learning).
Explicit instruction is  is a direct approach to education where students are overtly and expressly guided.

The model he uses is based on Success for All students with a gradual release of responsibility.

He encourages deliberate practice which purposely focuses on improving precisely defined, chunked standards-based skills and using models to improve students skills. The instruction makes writing processes visible to students.

EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION
EXPOSURE TO MODELS
DELIBERATE PRACTICE

Writing forces people to crystallize their thinking and make firm decisions. 
1. Writing about text has a strong positive effect on reading comprehension.

2. Writing about text is clearly better that just reading the text.

3. Writing about text is clearly better than reading and then rereading the text.

4. Writing about text is clearly better that reading and then talking about the text.

All of this resonates with my writing pedagogy

I will begin with teaching the students how to make a CLAIM.
a CLAIM is a debatable statement, not a fact.

CLAIM e.g. Nikes are more fashionable than Reeboks.
NOT A CLAIM  e.g. Nike make shoes for running

This where I will use our topic based on Kate Sheppard and the Vote for Women to get them to make their claim.