R.P.I. Day 9 Sharing (in response to reading).

 

We've made it to the last day of this intensive (and very valuable) programme!

We began the day by going into our breakout groups to discuss how our 'Create' lessons went and also to discuss our survey results. It was great to see so many interesting lessons and this reinforced the importance of including the 'create' aspect to teaching reading. The survey results were varied and interesting and were a good reminder to survey students before and after learning to enable an overview of what's happening and to see where shifts have occurred.

Next, Dorothy talked about the importance of creating opportunities for students to share what they have learnt. Obviously there are many ways for students to share their work but blogging is particularly effective as it 'ticks all the boxes' in regards to the audience reached. I value blogging for this reason but also think it is important for students to have the opportunity to share person to person with whānau and the community, an example being an open day where students can present their work.

Kiri then talked about participating in reading communities. She recapped on the all important 'reading pillars of practice'.  We then focussed on 'reading communities' and how vital they are. Of course, sharing is a crucial part of learning in regards to reading communities. This is a reminder to myself in regards to planning:

We then participated in an exercise which showed us how much information we can gain about a students based on their blog posts:

Devon's Blog Post

Next, Janet talked to us about visible reading and learning. The main focus of this was blogging and its effectiveness. We looked at the different uses for learner and class blogs. I haven't used class blogs before and am keen to do so as part of exam preparation for my senior students. 

We then completed this activity (my initials are in blue and are 'SO'):

Naomi then gave us an activity about giving different types of feedback:

Next we looked at the issues surrounding AI generated feedback. I think that if it is used it needs to be used carefully and sparingly.

Kiri then explored collaboration and connection. I'll use this list to make sure I'm using a variety of  collaboration tools:

I then had major internet issues at home so didn't participate in the activity to do with creating a slideshow lesson that will include the student's whānau. I'll certainly use the template in the future as it looks like a great base for future such lessons.

We then looked at how we can layer and sustain the pillars of reading practice. This is vital to ensure all of the valuable learning from this RPI course isn't squandered! I know we'll be regularly revisiting these pillars during our department meetings.

 Next we filled out a survey about the course. It's been an invaluable course run by a wonderful team. I suggested that next year they have a programme directed at secondary school teachers. I also suggested that there be less homework and coaching lessons. This course has had an extremely positive impact on my approach to teaching reading and I will be continuing to apply the skills and knowledge I have learned from this course to my teaching. I will also be trawling through the slideshows again to access the bounty of resources and ideas. 

Thank you RPI team for a great journey, one that doesn't end here!

 

Reflection on class Reading Survey results (for the R.P.I. Course)

 Today I gave my year 10 Humanities class a reading profile survey. Of the 16 responses only 6 students said they like reading at school which is of course of great concern:

The results were similar for the second prompt:

The results for the next prompt were even more concerning:

Prompt 4 showed similar results:

44% of the students think think reading texts in their own time can help them (e.g. make them smarter or more relaxed) which is in stark contrast to the above results.

There was an interesting array of book titles listed as their 3 favourite books.

56% of students said that In the past year none of their teachers have suggested further reading to them. I found this very alarming. I must admit that in the 6 weeks I have had this class I have not suggested further reading to al of the class, just individual students in passing conversation.

The question, 'Is there anything else you want your teacher to know about your feelings toward reading?' was a good reminder to survey students at the start of each semester with this question as there were a variety of answers. 

43% of the students think they are not good at reading which would help to explain why many of them don't like to read.  

The responses to the question, ' Why is it important to be a good reader?' were very heartening and show that there is huge potential for increasing the percentage of students who find reading enjoyable.

With the strategies I have learned during the R.P.I. I am confident a greater percentage of my students will start to enjoy reading and as a result their comprehension and writing skills will improve. 

'Creating in Reading' R.P.I. 08/08/2025

 'Creating in Reading' R.P.I. 08/08/2025

Kaupapa and Shared Pedagogy

Dorothy explored the importance of creativity and how it can be expressed in a variety of forms. Of course, 'Create' is a foundation goal of the Manaiakalani programme:

Here is an excellent acronym to remember when planning/using creativity in the classroom:

I'm very keen to incorporate more project-based learning into the classroom as this will enable students to be more creative.

Explore

Next, we each created a slide, including a sound link to our recitation of a text:

It was great to see such a variety of creativity from everyone and this exercise was a good reminder of how such a simple creative task can produce effective results. 

Why is creativity so important?

Kiri then talked about the importance of creativity as a response to reading. This graphic is a great summary of the different creative modes and this is important to remember in order that every student has the opportunity to express themselves in a way that suits them.

And of course, let's not forget the value that digital tools have in the world of creativity!

Create to show learning

Next, Naomi took us through 'Using create to show learning from reading texts. This graphic has excellent information re planning such activities:

We then got shown many resources such as stencils and graphic organizers which will certainly come in handy for lessons.

We then created a short activity:

A one shot film approach

Next, I made this video (but couldn't upload it to the shared drive):

Metamorphosis

Longer create-to-learn teaching

We then looked at different ways to plan for longer texts. There was much valuable information in this session:

The three activities I learned to do today that I'm keen to use a.s.a.p. are:

• using a slide with a background and text and a sound icon of the student reading the text
• using a slide with a background and a video of a student doing a movie review
• the short slide activity

Today had a phenomenal number of fabulous lesson and planning ideas and we moved at a fast pace so I'll have to revisit the slides.