Back in the Classroom – Group Teaching

2014-02-20 | puppy1952

Because this week ended today at 12:00 noon for a weekend of staff training, I am doing the BLOG early this week. It has been a short week yet we have packed in so much. We have reached the time of term when the girls are really settled and into the routine of school. They are learning so quickly and I am enormously proud of them. I know I say this every year but I am always amazed at the rate at which Grade Ones learn. It is the most rewarding part of this job.

In the first few weeks our focus in on getting into good routines, learning to follow instructions, to work quietly at our tables and to consider others. Once this is established and the teacher has begun to know her learners she can begin with group teaching. This has now started in my class although I am still teaching in small mixed-ability groups. Later in the term I will group the children into ability groups and allow the girls to progress at their own pace. Teaching in groups has so many advantages. It allows the teacher to focus on individuals and to give more individual attention to learners who need it. I also allows her to extend the fast workers.

Working with concrete apparatus at this age is vital

Can you see three with your eyes before you grab in in one go?

How do you change three into four? Just one more!

We are so smart!

While a group is busy working with the teacher on the mat the others have tasks to do on their own at their desks. These tasks are well within their ability and the girls do not need help from the teacher. The girls have to be able to work independently and quietly and with just the odd reminder from me the cope very well indeed.

These girls are working on a THRASS activity while a group of learners is having a group Reading lesson.

I am practising my known THRASS skills

I am colouring the words that begin with the dog phoneme ‘d’ Aren’t I clever!

We do all kinds of activities to learn our phonemes and graphemes. We have made the flying birds for ‘b’ a rabbit for ‘bb’ and yesterday we made a crown for our queen. Don’t forget the queen, queen. Her majesty the queen, queen. Queen begins with ‘q’ queen. And of course she needs a crown!

That is all I have for this short week, folks. It was a long afternoon of staff training where we performed many fun tasks focussing on the Habits of Mind. It’s all very exciting and promises to make us better prepared for teaching your children.

Parents we have already started listening to Speaker Reader presentations so if your child hasn’t anything prepared yet please make sure she has something by Monday. Projects begin next week too. Make sure your child has all her bits and pieces to compile her “Me from Birth to Now” poster.

Have an awesome Long Weekend!

Back in the Classroom – Another busy week

2014-02-08 | puppy1952

Apologies to my parents for not posting yesterday but I had to leave school straight after sport and then it was into the car and off to Struisbaai for the weekend! So here I am in the most beautiful part of the Western Cape, listening to birdsong in the garden while I catch up on my blog.

Wow – what a great week we have had. It never fails to thrill me when I see the pace at which a young child learns. Already they are able to build sentences with their little pink words – some just the ones they know from the story while others are creating their own, sometimes funny, ones of their own.

Look at this long sentence!

This is easy

Have I got it right?

I am so pleased with myself

I did it all by myself

I can do it!

Can I make another one?

The girls are also learning to transcribe their sentences into their books but the emphasis at the moment is building them with our word cards before we stress over getting them into writing but look how far we’ve come.

I am proud of my work

Is this okay?

I am doing my best

On Tuesday evening we are having a “night school” on how we teach THRASS. Parents, do make an effort to attend.

We have already learnt all about Jean Pierre the brave ant who lives in Paris. We have sung his song and listened to his story. We now know that a is for ant and have found pictures of a words.

I cut out my ant and found the pictures that start with a

I am learning cutting out skills at the same time as learning phonemes and graphemes

It is fun finding the a words on the apple tree

It makes me happy to learn all about this French ant!

I am having fun while learning

Just look at what I can do

I am learning to focus on my tasks too

Now let me think!

I think I have it right

The girls are really making me proud with their beautiful work. Keep helping them at home with the homework tasks as practising new skills ensures that they will become a habit of the mind.

Back in the Classroom – Meeting Our Hoofie Leaders and starting Homework

2014-01-31 | puppy1952

On Tuesday the Grade Ones met their Hoofie Leaders. At SVPS all the children are divided into families of seven, consisting of a child from each grade. These families meet once a fortnight and are headed up by a Grade Seven learner. Before these gatherings occur the Grade Ones are introduced to their Head of Family (Hoofie Leader) who explains how the whole system works. We find that having these families reduces the occurrence of bullying because the children learn to get on with the other kids no matter what grade they’re in and families stick together and help each other out in times of need.

I feel special with my Hoofie Leader

Getting to know what it is all about

I think I’m going to like this

This week was yet another busy one full of new learning experiences. We continued with shapes, colours and reading. What fun it was to create pictures out of our diamond shapes. We had to remember to use our shapes in size order too! That was tricky when you were concentrating on the creative side.

Kites are flying. Have I got the sizes right?

Do you like my colours and patterns?

This week we focussed on the colour Orange. What fun we had honing our cutting out skills and strengthening the small muscles in our fingers and hands by colouring Ollie as brightly as we could. We then mounted him on black paper all by ourselves. Getting him to stand out was quite tricky but we managed!

I must cut very carefully

Tongue out helps me concentrate

So How am I doing?

It’s a piece of cake!

Don’t rush me – I’m nearly done!

Aren’t we clever!

Homework for Grade Ones began at the beginning of this week. We do not require you as the parent to teach your child. Everything that comes home has already been taught and just needs to be practiced. Any new skill that is taught must be practised in order to perfect it and this is the reason we give simple homework exercises daily. Make sure your child does the required homework as specified in the homework diary, remove notices from it and sign. It should take no longer than 20 minutes per day. Then watch your child thrive!

Funny Story of the week:- One little lass had a tummy ache. “Tell me exactly how it feels.” I said. “It feels like my tummy is biting me.” She replied. I sent her home!

Smart answer of the week:- Question: “What is a widow?” Answer: “A black spider!”

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and parents, please cover the THRASS Book sent home with your child today. This book will travel back and forth from school to home every day – it needs to last the whole year so a good quality plastic cover is required.

Quote

The thing I love most about teaching Grade 1 is watching children learn to read. Research has shown that children aged 6 turning 7 are at the perfect learning stage to start reading. In some countries children start earlier than this but by the time they are 10 our children will be at the same level as the 5 year-old starters. Our programme is geared to the 6/7 year-old whereas other countries gear theirs to younger learners.

Six and seven year-olds seem to just catch reading like one catches a cold, only its so much better! The only thing I do is expose them to the written word, provide them with some tools to work out new words and then watch it happen all by itself. Parents too, should be exposing their children to stories and books. More important than getting your child to read to you is for you to read to her. Remember when your baby was learning to talk? You didn’t teach her. You spoke to her – constantly. Well mostly it’s the same with Reading. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to read to your child. Then leave the rest to the teacher and follow the homework procedure vigilantly.

The girls have already started their journey into Reading. They are rapping the alphabet and the THRASS chart. They have been introduced to their first Reading words. It’s happening already!

I can read this!

I love this bird story!

It’s so easy

Concentration is required

This week we have introduced the beginnings of writing and the girls are working hard at getting their patterns right. Imagine having to hold your crayon correctly, remember to start in the right place and touch the top and bottom line. Lots of effort and concentration is required but once those neural pathways are set we will be ready to start on letter formation.

We are also working hard on our mathematical concepts. We know our shapes and are counting beautifully. Now we are working on recognising numerals and spotting how many dots make five no matter how they’re arranged! Some of us still need to count them all but soon we will get to see the number instantly. The teacher has some funny requirements too. We focus on one colour and have to do a page of things just that colour. Then we focus on a shape and have to make a picture of just that shape too! Oh well – we love her so we just do it!

Cutting and pasting a yellow scene

Getting to grips with rectangles

I’m making a rectangle cake

Do you like my robot?

It has to be just right and mine has his own style!

Our school encourages healthy eating habits. We know this is sometimes difficult because of all the tempting treats out there and busy parents find it easy to just pop in a packet of chips or some yummy biscuits into the lunch box. Treats are great but should be just that – treats. They should not substitute nourishing food. Research has shown that children who eat healthily perform better at school. We are a brain-based school and believe that correct eating feeds the brain and reduces hyperactivity and lethargy in children. And surprisingly children like healthy food. It is not difficult to pop something nourishing into a lunch box and if you do your child will be more alert and able to focus better in class. Let’s work together to make the learning process easier in every way possible.

Some healthy options

Funny story of the week —– Each morning we greet each other with a show of fingers 1 for very sad and want to cry, 2 for I am grumpy – 3 for I’m just fine thank you and 4 – I am excited, very happy and just fabulous. One morning a sweet little lass asks – “What’s the number for bored?” And this was Day 2 before we’d even started the day! At the end of the morning she assured me she wasn’t bored anymore!

Back in the Classroom – Get with the Programme

2013-02-10 | puppy1952

Get with the programme is an expression that I am often heard to utter. My children and grandchildren raise their eyes to the ceiling and I know what they’re thinking. But I don’t say it lightly – it is something I have in my life I have learned to do! In my chequered teaching career of 30+ years I have had to get with a new programme so often that I’ve lost count. It was group teaching versus chalk and talk, look and say versus phonics, the old maths, the new maths and the even newer maths. Then there was Outcome Based Education and now it something called CAPS. And when I was young I would grouse and complain or rant and rave against those in their Crystal Towers who had lost the plot and exclaim things like fix it when it isn’t broken – and don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. And then in the end knuckle down of follow the programme! Now I believe that if you don’t want to follow a certain programme then don’t teach at the school that offers it. And if you have doubts about what a school offers your child – don’t send your child there either! You see I believe that every ‘programme’ has its merits and if it is followed correctly it will work and the children will learn. If, however, a teacher has no faith in it, there is no doubt that it will not work.

At my school we certainly do things differently. The thing these days that we have to understand is that we are dealing with a fast growing technological world. Our children are into it and we as teachers cannot afford to lag behind. So a teacher who is still relying on the good old tried and tested programmes of old is going to have trouble getting the 21st century child get interested. Sorry – but what worked even 10 years ago is not going to cut it now! I started off saying that I have learned to get with the programme and I want to get with it even more with an interactive board in the classroom – but as yet my school can’t afford it. So I have made a plan and compromised with a flat screen HD Television and laptop computer. It’s not perfect but it does make an enormous difference.

Another programme that was brand new to me when I started teaching how was the THRASS. Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills. Well! Literacy is my thing. I have a special diploma in speech, hearing and language difficulties. At my previous school I followed a programme of teaching phonics and reading that I was well trained in by the principal and I believed in it. It was hugely successful too. So changing to THRASS was a challenge. Horrors of horrors even the font was different! But if I wanted to teach at this school – I HAD TO GET WITH THE PROGRAMME. Now that I’ve got to grips with it and made it work for me I am loving it. This year we are using a set of stunning work books that have been developed to fit in with the CAPS requirements; we have a set of tracing boards for the new font and I have created some PowerPoint presentation to teach the phonemes and graphemes and the kids too, are getting with the programme, having fun and learning at a rate that makes their teacher proud!