My Inquiry Focus Term 2 2015

Hi everyone! This is my Inquiry focus for Term 2 2015 as a new Digital Immersion teacher.

Home School Partnership-Mathematics

On Wednesday the 25th of March we had the Junior Home School Partnership on Mathematics.
On this night it gave the teachers and parents a great opportunity to work together and talk about Mathematics and how we can help/guide the students families in implementing mathematics in the home setting in terms of helping their children increase their mathematics knowledge and move up stages as well as increase their love for mathematics. This session was also to encourage parents in becoming more involved in their child's learning and teaching them how simple activities that they can do at home with their child every night can impact and help with their Mathematics.

There were 6 Teaching stations set up where the teachers would demonstrate to the parents how to use an activity in the parent packs that were given out at the beginning of the sessions.

I chose to demonstrate the squeezy box to the parents. I had made up 2 squeezy boxes per parent packs.  I also made up an instructions sheet for the parents that entailed how to use the squeezy box and a whole list of activities that they can do with their child.

Being it my first time for the home school partnership this gave me a fantastic opportunity to build relationships with the parents as well as the students and get to know them better.

Firstly I introduced myself to the parents: letting them know that I teach in all the classes from year . -8. I went onto explaining to them that inside their Mathematics package they will find two squeezy boxes as well as information and activities on how to use the squeezy box.

I went into explaining to the parents that this is a very simple activity to make up but it has many benefits for the children in regards to their learning and maths.

For beginners: The squeezy  box works on numeral identification. Through everyday exposure to numbers children will be able to read as well as idientify numbers. So to begin with its best to start of doing one side of the box and then move onto the other sides. I also stated to the parents that if their child comes to a number that they do not know it is okay as a parent to tell the child the number because the more they are exposed to the number as well the more it is repeated they will retain the number more.

We than moved onto introducing  the mathematical language of before and after. I demonstrated to a student a number and asked them " What number comes before 10" they would reply 9. If for example the child does not know this I would tell them "The number before 10 is 9" and I would get them to repeat it. The more exposure and the more repetition the more they will retain.

Now to extend the children that already know their number to 10 we can flatten the box and the numbers then become 2 digit numbers. Again we would go onto getting the children to read and identify the numbers and then move onto the other sides. We would then move onto before and after. Once the children have grasped identifying numerals and before and after we then move onto addition and subtraction. Again we move down the box. what is 2 more than 10. If the child is having difficultly understanding two more I explained to the parents that you can say it as a learning story. For example: Mary has 10 Barbie's and mum buys her 2 more Barbie's how many Barbie's will she have altogether? 10+2=12. I explained its best for them to try and get them to imagine- (hold ) the number 10 in their heads and then add 2 more. If they are having difficulty with that then you can use materials to develop their understanding.

We would do the same strategy for subtraction. I also stated that it is very important that we also use the mathematical language such as: plus, minus, equals. etc as that is what they are exposed to in the classroom as well as in the world around us.

There are a range of activities that the squeezy box can be used for in terms of learning mathematics: Numeral identification, addition, subtraction, division, times, place value.


I also went onto talk about how they can help their children in building knowledge of numbers (In our every day lives and the world around us)- I have listed just a few below.
Counting:

1. Cars
2. Shells on the beach
3. Pegs
4. Counting the vegetables that we put into our trollies when we go shopping.
5. How many steps you walk

Numbers before and after:

1. Using dice
2. Saying a number asking what number comes before or after
3. Reading numbers on mail boxes and saying what number comes before and after

Identifying numbers:

1. Reading letter boxes
2. Reading number plates
3. Reading speed signs.
4. Reading how many Km's to go.

Ordering numbers:

1. Writing numbers down
2. Ordering playing card numbers.

Below I have included a video that has information on a squeezy box.

http://prezi.com/nbroptk2dae4/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share


In conclusion, I felt that the Home School Partnership on Mathematics went really well. There was a good amount of parents and student's parents and they were very satisfied on how the night went.

Malama Honua

 

 

On Wednesday the 25th of March 2015 our School, Tamaki Primary went to Point England Beach to welcome the crew from Hawaii who have travelled to New Zealand on two Va'ka's named "Hokule'a & Hikianalia. The name of the Voyage is called "Malama Honua" which in English means " To care for our earth".

All of the local communities Manaiakalani Cluster Schools were present to welcome the crew.This wonderful and spectacular heart warming event was held in remembrance of our ancestors as we are all decedents of our ancestors.

The event prided on how our ancestors were extraordinary navigators and the amazing skills that the accentors held and the way they provided for their families.

Here is a video I found useful in regards to the journey and background of Malama Honua.

http://www.hokulea.com/worldwide-voyage/


Below I have included a video that was made on the day as well as photos taken.

 

 

Tamaki Primary I felt did exceptionally well with the Haka as well as the Waiata's. The children sung with such pride and honour which was just fantastic to see as well as be apart of. It was an amazing atmosphere to see all the cluster schools come together as one and welcome the crew.

 

 

 

 

    Here is a photo of the Va'ka coming into Point England Beach.

 

 Here is the 2nd Va'ka coming into Point England Beach.

 

 

 

 Here we have all the children ready to welcome the Crew.
This was my very first time to be part of such an amazing event. I will defiantly remember this for years to come. Especially when the children stood proudly and sung with great pride and with such soul. It was defiantly touching.

Teaching maths session on operations.

 



In one of my class sessions with the Seniors we learnt about different Maths operations. Our learning intention was:

WALT: Make a number in many different ways.

 

 During the whole part of the class session I went through what operations were with the students. We talked about that + (plus)  means when you add two or more objects such as counters or lollies   to get a  end sum. For example: 10+20=30. We talked about how that sum is interpreted as- ten plus twenty equals thirty.

We talked about the - ( Minus sign). How minus is also known as take away. For example if you started of with 27 apples and I ate 7 of them you would have 20 apples left.

We talk about the times/multiplication sign and how  2 times 3 is also known as 2 groups of 3.
For division we talked about how if we have 6 lollies and you shared them equally amongst 3 of your friends each friend would get 2 lollies each.

I modelled a number on the white board for the children and then we talked as a class on how we could use the different operations that we just talked about to create this number in different ways.


This activity gave the children an opportunity to work as a team collaboratively and work co-operatively together and put ideas together on how many different way they could make the target number.
Here are some photos of the children working co-operatively together and trying to find out how  many different way they could make the target number that I gave them.

Here are some photos of the students working together.

 
 
 
 





In relation to co-operative learning I came across this very interesting article By Jan Terwal. In that article that I read it said how "Co-operative learning helps with developing social strategies and social attitudes in students, and to improve
social relations within and between groups."

Cohen(1994) States  "Students
learning is supported when they have opportunities to describe their own ideas, hear others
explain their thoughts, speculate, question, and explore various approaches".  Co-operative learning with each other enable children to also develop skills such as problem solving skills as well as I believe gives the children an opportunity to have their own voice to be able to voice their ideas and thoughts regarding a topic/problem or question.



Here is an example of a few of the groups work and thinking.

 

 

I was really impressed on how the groups all worked together and how they really thought about how many different ways they could make the target numbers. Some groups not only used one operation but extended their thinking and used two operations in one equation. 
 

Effective Classroom Management Strategies

One of my reflection areas I have chosen to focus on is "Effective classroom management strategies". As part of my teaching position at Tamaki Primary I move from classroom to classroom, and I am not in a fixed classroom on a daily basis. I work with a wide rage of children from different backgrounds as well as different age groups.


One of the concepts that I found difficult for myself was being able to manage the different classrooms and being able to use a range of management strategies that enabled me to be able to get the children's attention as well as for them to be able to be on task and do what they were expected to do.

For the Juniors, I used a range of strategies that would get the children's attention for example: "Eyes on me" and sometimes I would use "Hands on heads, shoulders."
While working with the Juniors I noticed that most of the teachers use the "Give me 5" Strategy which I have also learnt to implement while teaching and I have found through consistency the children know exactly what I mean when I say- "Give me 5".
I make sure that I am always referring back to the Give me 5 poster and reinforcing good behavior and children that are on task and giving me 5 by positive praise..." I like the way (Name) is showing me 5 by...well done! and making sure a reward is given straight away such as a sticker of choice.

I have learnt also, for myself to be an effective classroom teacher and to be able to manage my classroom well I need to make sure that I am prepared in advance. For example, when children come in at 8:30am getting children to help with putting the chairs down, blinds up and getting the learning environment ready for the day. For example I would get the children to sharpen the pencils in the morning so that it is ready for when the children begin learning so that time is not wasted in regards to children having to sharpen their pencils.

I have found that during the morning after taking the role if I have gone through the daily time table with the children they are more prepared and know what the daily routine encounters.

For the older children, I found it has been more of a struggle for myself and I am still leaning and building relationships with the older seniors. Below I have attached  two You Tube videos that I have found interesting and would like to implement some of the techniques that the video talks about when I am working with the senior children.



Part One: Classroom management strategies to take control of noisy children.



Part 2: Classroom Management strategies to take control of noisy children.

What I have gained from these videos is that it is important to reinforce the behavior that I want to see so that the children know what is expected of them.
Also, communication plays a big role. As a teacher it is important how you communicate instructions to the children that we are teaching. Clear and concise instructions are important for a better understanding.

I have found Rob Pelvin's Videos very informative. He goes through a lot of strategies which I would like to take into account and implement in the classroom.

What makes a safe and happy classroom community.

Week One of Term One has passed by already. This week whilst working with one of the classes that I release we worked on looking at "What makes a safe and happy classroom community".

Firstly, as a class we talked about what makes a safe and happy classroom community. We looked at what is looks like, sounds like and feels like. I wrote some examples on the white board for the children to get an idea of what they were required to do.

Secondly, I divided the students into groups of 3-4. I made sure that the children were divided equally so that they were able to work with students that they have not yet got to know. This enabled the children to be able to get to know the students in their groups as well as built on their communication and co-operative learning skills. The children were required to work as a group to come up with ideas of what they thought a safe and happy classroom community looked like to their group.

We then came together as a class and each group was given the opportunity to share their ideas to the class. As the groups shared their ideas I wrote them up on the whiteboard.

I was amazed at how engaged the students were in this task and I was amazed at how many ideas they all came up with. Below I have included a mind map of the students ideas in regards to the topic.

I believe that as teachers it is very important to be able to provide a safe and happy classroom climate for our students so that they are able to feel safe and secure and are able to become thriving learners.  It is important I believe that children feel safe so that they are encouraged to and inspired to be able to share their ideas and opinion's without  being thought of as being not significant or not respected.

The Professional Practice of Teaching (2005)  states "Building a respectful classroom culture requires teachers to have a genuine regard for their students-their progress, their humanity and the essence of who they are. Students quickly sense when their ideas are welcomed, encouraged, dismissed or rejected. Teachers who develop an effective classroom culture for all students ensure that they include all classroom members in respectful ways that value each other."

I also believe that as teachers it is important that we give our students the opportunities for ownership, and responsibility for their own learning.

"In order for students to engage deeply in learning, for their sake, not ours, they need opportunities for ownership and responsibilities. When students own their learning and feel responsible for it we tap the most powerful reservoir of potential. When students act from their inner wellspring of determination and curiosity they tend to be fully engaged, motivated and willing".

Students should be encouraged to have their "own" voices. Being able to find their voice and being able to express their ideas and opinion's with confidence. "Our classrooms should be a place where students feel safe to take risks, rather than be at risk. This means that put-downs, sarcasm and mockery are avoided between students and between teachers and students. In such classrooms, people are treated with respect and while we may passionately disagree with someone's idea, we respect his or her right to that idea". (The Professional Practice of Teaching, Pg 26,  2005).

In conclusion, a classroom climate can really impact on  how a child learns and how they develop in their learning as well as how they build strong and effective relationship with each other and their teacher. It is where children are engaged in their learning and are active participants and where they are nurtured and respected.