The New Zealand Curriculum Online Newsletter - April

Making The PYP Happen - 27th & 28th April

Making the PYP Happen Blog

Notes from MTPYPH

Wednesday 27th April 2016

Rather than...

Inquiry for information.

It is about...

Inquiry for meaning/understanding

- What does the Learner Profile look like in Room 8?
- Could this link to my Super Learners? Could students give examples of others using the Learner Profile inside and outside the classroom? Could there be a wall where students post these examples to highlight/celebrate students?
- Use of reflective journals/self-reflection is highly important.
- Could I use the Learner Profile in my own teaching reflections?
- Reflect throughout the UOI to support the end of unit reflection.
- Use of Visible Thinking Tools e.g. Quadrant Brainstorm.
- Use of Jigsaw for Reading.

Summative Task - 
- Not about a end point, it is about demonstrating understanding. Can be presented in any form.
- Assessing where their understanding began and where it is now.
- Formative assessment is more critical.

Thursday 28th April 2016

- Which geographical feature best represents where you are at the moment on your PYP journey? - Use of images for reflection.
- Planning conceptually.
- Allowing the students the freedom to discover and inquire into something that they feel strongly about.
- Teacher as the facilitator of learning.
- Inquiry using artifacts - looking at the artifact through the lens of a concept (e.g. connection). Artifacts as a form of provacation (not suitable for every lesson/inquiry).

Reflection - Week 11 Term 1

Finally made it to the end of my first term at Berkley!

Looking back now this term has flown by and I cannot believe how much I have learnt and achieved in the eleven weeks. None of it would have been possible without my wonderful team and super organised tutor teacher, so a huge thank you to them!!

My classroom program is beginning to come together and I feel that the students are a lot more settled than they were in the middle of the term. They are now seem to listen to what is expected of them and are taking it onboard. I am looking forward to putting my literacy rotation into practice next term and seeing how the students go working in their groups. It is great to have an idea of what term two will be like so that I am able to spend some time over the break doing some planning and hopefully setting myself up for a good start.

I attended my first after work outing with the staff on Friday. It was fantastic to get to know everyone a bit better and to debrief with them about term one. I think one of my personal goals for term two will be to make more time within school to go over to the staffroom during break and lunchtimes and spend time with some of my colleagues - it is so easy to get caught up in work and forget to make the effort to build these relationships!

I am looking forward to the Making The PYP Happen course that I am attending in the holidays. This will be a great opportunity for me to get my head around more of how IB and the PYP works. It will also give me the opportunity to catchup with some of the other staff that are new to Berkley.

Looking ahead to next term - setting more established routines, performing our first ever focus and going on camp! There is already so much to think about - But for now I shall enjoy the break.

Regan Aspden Observation - Wednesday 13th April 2016

Observation - Regan Aspden
Numeracy Lesson - Wednesday 13th April 2016

Children silent reading.
Seated in various areas round the classroom.

Starter - Numeracy IXL - What is the greatest common factor?

• Talk to your partner
• Broken up into key words - what is a common factor? What is the greatest?
• Fold your arms once you've got it.
• Went through 4-5 questions.

What we are doing today in maths?

1 group - check in with pythagorus theorem

WALT: find the unknown length

WALT: set out our work correctly

Use of www.mathsisfun.com/pythagoras.html

Use of a Modelling book with questions prepared.

Formula

Add numbers

Multiply out

Rearrange and solve

• Pair up - children who are on track to show others in the group what to do.
• Children who are on track to pick out where someone has gone wrong - get the student who has gone wrong to report back to you what they have learnt.
• Stop the group and go over an area that needs work - model how to set out the working and go through the order - Revise the formula.
• Extend by rewriting the formula - Who has had a lightbulb moment? Do you understand why it is subtraction?
• Go through all together modelling the correct strategy and answer - What is my formula? Rearrange formula. Always making links back to how the work is set out.
• Copy this down if you did not get it.
• Have one more go on the next practice question - Set a time.
• Give extension - Does this triangle has a right angle? Prove it!
• Feedback - Show me using your fingers 1-5 whether you think you have got the pythagorus theorem?

Rest of class - working through a set question

• What items will you need to construct this?
• Refocus the whole class.
• Hands up if you have constructed number 6?
• Deliver extension task to whole class - Literacy.

Reflection

1. Keep it simple - Know where you want the students to get to and get them to the the quickest way possible. Give an example/model and direct the students to get to this through questioning, pairing up, modelling and discussion.
2. Keep your groups fluid - when teaching number groups can be more set but when teaching strand it is more beneficial to teach whole class and then work with target groups.

Reflection - Week 10 Term 1

This week I have finally felt that I am starting to get the hang of things! My classroom displays are finally showing off more student work, my class routines are starting to take shape and my students are finally becoming used to the idea that they will often have to work closely with other students that are not their best friends.

One challenge that I have been facing over the past few weeks is finding the time to mark all of my students books. After talking to my mentor I have come up with a plan of attack for how to deal with this next term. I am going to create a book rotation - this will mean that each student will hand in all of their books to me on a certain day and I will mark them and get an idea of where they are at for each subject area, the next given day a different group of students will give me their books to mark. This will allow the marking load to be shared out and allow me to gain a overall picture of where each of my students are at.

Only one more week to go... Bring on Week 11!

Writing - Observed by Regan Aspden

Mentor Meeting Minutes - Term 1 2016

The 5 Essential Elements of the PYP

Staff Meeting - Where We Are In Place And Time - Part 2

Reflection - Week 9 Term 1

This short week did not feel like one until the end of Friday afternoon rolled around! I feel that I have accomplished quite a lot this week and I am happy with how I was able to manage my personal and professional time.

Reflecting back on this week has lead me to look at management within my classroom; looking in terms of behaviour and the affect that groupings and routines have had upon this. The students in my class generally work well together and most of them get on with the task at hand until it is completed, however there seem to be those few students that whenever there is a lull they become off task and the noise level grows to excessive heights. This is quite frustrating to deal with as I end up with students who have completed the set task and are looking for extension, some students off task and others who sit silently and do nothing. My goal for next week is to find a way to deal with all of these types of students and ensure that my classroom environment is one that promotes learning, because this week it has not felt like that.

I have finally managed to establish my Maths, Reading and Writing groups with only two weeks left of term 1. I am hoping to put these in place and have a stricter routine in place for the start of term 2. I am hoping that by having these groups set up and a more set routine in place that my students will settle down a bit and achieve more each session. We will see!