PENN Movie T2 2022

 This is what my year 2 class have been learning this term.

PENN Movie T2 2022 Position & Orientation.

 

PENN Movie used as a learning tool.

 This year Room 26 has been fortunate enough to experience the making of our PENN movie. Usually in previous years I have not had the opportunity to  engage in the process of movie making with my class. It has been a great experience filled with lots of learning.

I was able to get one of my year 3's to read a 2minute script. He was the voice of our PENN movie.

It was most interesting to see how his confidence grew over the time that we were making our movie. At first it was seen as a chore for him to stay back 10 minutes after lunch, but then he was offering to, and his reading and fluency got better and better!

This motivated all the other children who wanted to be part of the process in some way. They would want to show their face in the movie and would constantly ask "Am I in it!"

But it wasn't just a great experience for them it was a great experience for me. I have never had the opportunity in the past of "working together" with my class to produce a quality movie about what they are learning inside and outside the classroom. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

Inquiry for 2022.

 What an interesting few weeks we have had so far! It has certainly been filled with challenges. In todays staff meeting we talked about those many challenges that we as teachers faced in the classroom. We looked at the disadvantageous of  "mask wearing" The constant looking from the children as they struggled to understand what you were saying. This has an effect on the building of relationships which in turn has an impact on trust.

Wearing a mask certainly seemed to hinder the performance as a teacher. It has had a huge impact on "connectivity" not only with students but also with the wider community. I have been very lucky because I teach Year 2/3, which means wearing a mask is not mandatory when working with my children, but communication with whanau (& the wider community) is more difficult.

We know that this current situation will not be with us indefinitely and it has prompted the question, what future goals do I have for my learners? What did I want my classroom to look like in a "mask off" classroom/environment?

We know that in the near future "connectedness" will certainly be a theme (no matter the year group) that will be at the forefront of every teachers mind. We know that in the classroom it is the teacher who plays such an important role in their learning, social and emotional growth.

This idea or theme of connectedness certainly makes me wonder how as a "teacher" I will be able to foster relations between the children, the community and myself moving forward? This is certainly something I plan on exploring more as the year progresses.  

Update on Inquiry for 2021

 

For the past few months I have been  trying to lift the achievement in reading for my 6 priority  learners as well as a few of my lower readers.

I have  6 priority learners who since the beginning of the year have made great progress. Two of my learners have travelled from Yellow 5.7yrs to Orange 6.5yrs. Another one has moved from Blue 5.1yrs to Green 6.0yrs, then the last two were both on Magenta on Magenta 5.2yrs to yellow 5.6yrs.

But I also looked at moving the achievement level in reading for the rest of my class not just my priority learners. I implemented the GPhillips prompts, using these prompts  not only routinely but consistently have really improved the engagement  and focus of the children. I have found that the GP along with magnetic letters that are used for word work have really made a difference.

I also looked at my lower learners and while the results are not as positive as I would like them to be, there are obviously circumstances outside of my control that have impacted these learners reading results. High absenteeism, is the main reason. I am happy to say that at the beginning of this year I had 8 readers on magenta. To date I now have 3 readers on Magenta.

The data above can be confirmed through evidence collected. In June this year I conducted testing to see what shift had occurred in reading ability. I am so happy with the children. However we are currently halfway through the year and we know by the end of this year the goal will be to work at Turquoise at 7yrs.

Day 9-DFI-Reflections.

 Today is our final Day of DFI. My Learning has increased with so much knowledge. These last few weeks have been really invaluable and I have enjoyed myself along the way. We have sat our DFI exams and although I do not have access to my results so cannot see if I passed or not-I would be happy either way.

I feel much more confident now if I had to work with any of the Google Platforms. I also feel that I have had the opportunity to connect with others all over NZ who have gone through this journey with me. Not only have we collaborated together on how best to use this technology/devices in our classrooms- but there have been some great friendships made.

I have really enjoyed working with my bubble group, I have found their ideas/suggestions, to be really helpful. I am so thankful to have been in a group of individuals who have offered their support and their own knowledge.

I had no suggestions to how the DFI could improve it's agenda, I thought that the organisation  of this event was all good. The only thing I would have liked is more time to revise things with our bubble coach.

In the future I can apply some of my new skills not only to my classroom but I can also apply these new skills to my own personal inquiry/portfolio.

Thank you to all the Coaches for all your hard work!!!!! and especially our Bubble Coach-Thank you Maria!

Day 8-DFI-Computational thinking

Our focus for DAY 8 was computational thinking. We talked about the empowerment of our children and how we are shifting from Passive consumers to be the creators of our stories, music and films. We do more than just interact with our devices we are actually involved in the process. We become the innovators, the designers and the creators. We also got to look at the different elements that made up Computational thinking

I actually found a lot of this language helpful for myself in regards to making sense of things I use or do sometimes everyday.

We want to get to a point where the Digitally Fluent student is working alongside of the Digitally Fluent Teacher. We got the opportunity to explore different coding apps that students could use.

I wanted to focus more on Scratch Junior as this is an app that my class tend to use on a weekly basis. I must admit I always say to my class if I have given them free choice that that does not mean they can go on Scratch Junior (as I do think to myself that its not productive and they are not learning anything.) Yet when I was given the opportunity to investigate various sites under Scratch Junior I was v impressed.

So the above is a screenshot of the different tools the user has available to them to help them create and code. But I have attached a link for you to look at that tells you all about this amazing app for children.

I actually love what MIT Media lab (Creators of this app) have to say about Scratch. They state how young children get to express and create with their computers. How being involved in the "process" helps them solve problems, design projects. It also exposes them at a young age to math and language that is meaningful. This idea or concept is very impressive and it has changed my whole outlook to scratch and how I will use it in the future.