Our Code Our Standards-Lee-Anne Waho at Ara Tū Whakata Gilberthorpe School: Structured Literacy PD

Structured Literacy Learning - A Focus on Writing

With Jo, Lillian and Linda from Literacy Connections

Writing by hand is thinking on paper.

Thoughts grow into words, sentences and pictures.

Memories become stories. Ideas are transformed into

projects. Notes inspire insight. We write and

understand, learn, see and think - with the hand.

What we will be learning today:

Objectives:

● How to enhance your writing instruction to improve your students writing, reading and comprehension ● To strengthen your understanding of two guiding writing models - the Not so Simple View of Writing and The Writing Rope

● To provide practical examples and resources to implement directly into your education setting and bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Module #1 Laying the Foundation

Reflecting on what is happening in our school:

In our hubs, we brainstormed about what is happening in Writing in our space/school. We then had a look at the current data across Aotearoa.

A 2020 UNICEF report found that only 64.6% of 15-year-olds in Aotearoa New Zealand have basic proficiency in reading and maths. Turning that around, a staggering 35.4% – over a third of 15-year-olds – struggle to read and write.

For us as teachers to teach students to write, we need to be able to write.

Key Resources:

I had a look at the book that was brought with our Literacy gurus and it looks like a really helpful book. One part I read was about handwriting, with one interesting section about what is lost when handwriting is neglected. (I need this book).

A reminder of the overarching Structured Literacy (SL) Principles

● Direct and Explicit teaching - gradual release of responsibility

● Cumulative- deliberate practice, reducing the cognitive load, constant review

● Structured - follow a scope and sequence

● Diagnostically - “go as slow as you must but as fast as you can”

It is important to have consistent terminology across the school.

Provide lots of opportunities for students to see, hear and do writing.

Key Principle 2 To boost teacher knowledge of what to teach and use a writing scope and sequence.

Keep in mind that the working memory can become overloaded.

Key Principle 3 Sentences are the building blocks of all writing and grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.

Key Principle 4 The content of the curriculum drives the rigour of the writing activities.

Key Principle 5 The importance of the planning and revising part of the Writing Process.

Key Principle 6 The importance of regular feedback, writing goals and assessing student writing.

Key Principle 7 Embed the teaching of writing through all subject areas and in the content of the curriculum you are teaching.

We need to be teaching writing throughout all areas, not just in writing time.

Module #2 Transcription Skills

Handwriting

We rated the importance of handwriting on a scale from 1-5. I rated it as 5.

Is handwriting taught in your classroom? If so, how often?

Yes. Twice a week for whole class lessons.

Short and sharp handwriting lessons daily.

Do you use a handwriting programme or a scope and sequence?

Not really. Tried to teach Casey Caterpillar.

Will continue to use Casey Caterpillar but do it better and align with our school-wide programme.

Is handwriting an independent/whole class activity?

Taught as whole class but done independently.

Do students have a handwriting book? How is this used?

Yes. Had dotted line to teach where letters are meant to be and how they are formed. Also, other areas of the curriculum are integrated like values quotes, Te Reo Māori.

Are there consistent expectations for handwriting across the school?

We try to all use Casey Caterpillar.

What tools are used e.g. pens, pencils, chalk etc?

Pencils and books at desks. Children can view model through learning site.

Where do students practice handwriting?

During handwriting lessons and when doing other learning in different curriculum areas.

Is cursive handwriting taught? If so when?

Not so much.

Is there an emphasis on pencil grip, posture etc?

Yes. It has been very difficult to change habits at the senior level.

Research shows that a lot of teachers have not had the teaching of Handwriting.

Activity: We had to write about our day yesterday using our non dominant hand and in cursive writing. We then had the opportunity to use our dominant hand. When reflecting, we realised the coginitive load that some students have.

Human beings can't think of too many things at once. Capacity limit. Too much information to hold on to. Capacity is freed up through automaticity. So many skills involved because some skills are not automated. If you struggle with the basics of handwriting, you struggle with writing.

Handwriting fluency exam: With an intervention, all students who struggled, were able to improve accuracy and also expression.

Drill and kill...it works. Frequency is more important than quantity. Go back and ficus on sub skills.

What do we know about poor transcription skills?

Teaching Handwriting

The mechanics

● Posture

● Paper position

● Pencil grip

● Letter formation and motor movement

● Automaticity

I am left eyed dominant and right handed. (Note: We don't need to check students but be aware of how they position their writing).

Bulldog clip is a good option. Mechanical pencil for those who have a heavy hand. Using a pen or pencil is up to the individual child, depending on their needs. Lame range of pencils/pens.

He pātai tāku...what about lines in books.

Write in different ways including chalk, large movements.

Letter Formation - A Scope and Sequence

Letter Formation

● Clear, consistent language modelled

● Follow a scope and sequence - teach similar shapes/strokes together

● Correct starting position

● Immediate corrective feedback given

● Say the letter name while writing, sound when writing/spelling words.

Monitor as students are writing so corrections can be made. For us in Angitu, we will need all staff to roam.

Automaticity

● Automatised handwriting significantly improves both the quantity and quality of writing (Berninger 2012; Graham, 2009-10)

● “Legibility without speed is an aesthetic art form; speed without legibility is a useless tool.” (Marcus, 1977 )

Casey Caterpillar is junior focused. Can be a cognitive load. Can adapt the story side of things for seniors.

Video: Handwriting lesson with a student who has disgraphia and learning delays. In the video, teacher says the verbal prompt for each letter and the student repeats it. Feedback given to fix mistakes. For seniors, writing assessment a to z. Give a set amount of time and see how many children can write. Check to see which letters we are struggling with. Do multiple letters of the same verbal prompt such as open mouth short stick, open mouth tall stick.

He pātai tāku...what paper do each hub use?

I DO. WE DO. YOU DO.

What about typing/keyboarding?

Students could write faster and produce larger quantities of writing under the keyboarding mode ie students produced more typed words than handwritten ones within the same period of time (Fing, Lindner, Ryan Ji & Joshi 2017) Students with higher handwriting fluency tend to have higher keyboarding fluency (Fing, Lindner, Ryan Ji & Joshi 2017) Mueller and Oppenheimer 2014 found that when students typed notes, they tended to write verbatim rather than processing information and rewording it under the handwriting condition. They wrote almost 3 times more notes, however, achievement was not significantly promoted.

Explicitly teach both handwriting and keyboarding. Don’t choose one in favour of the other. Keyboarding could become an independent activity during your reading rotation: https://www.typingclub.com Supporting students with severe handwriting issues: exhaust all reasonable attempts at handwriting instruction before foregoing it in favour of full reliance on assistive technology for transcription. Encourage struggling students to hand-write spelling words and use keyboarding for story writing.

Looking at our brainstorm

Number formation needs to be done Math time. Start on whiteboards.

Next Steps Look at your brainstorm….

● Identify what you will continue to do.

● One thing that you will adapt.

● One thing you will stop doing.

● One thing you will further research or experiment with.

Can continue using pencil control and fine motor skills development as a supplement rather tahn replacement.

MODULE THREE: Text Generation: sentence level

The things that you have to have in order to be able to do the text generation part of the rope.

PARTS OF SPEECH:

noun -

abstract noun -

proper noun -

pronoun -

adjective - describes a noun

article - definite and indefinite the a /some

verb - action

adverb - adds to a verb

preposition - on / next / below

conjunction - joins, because / so

interjection - Gosh!! Wow!

SENTENCE COMPONENTS

A sentence needs to have a subject and a predicate. Needs a who and a do.

Independent clauses can stand on their own as we have all of the information.

Dependent ones need more information.

SENTENCE TYPES

Simple Sentence: is made up of one independent clause I

John threw the ball.

The chef at the deli makes the best sandwiches.

Andrea put her books in the car and then texted her friend.

Let's try it:

Use the terms and language and students will follow.

SYNTAX - How a sentence goes together and make sense.

From The Writing Revolution, there are a range of activities that we can use in our explicit teaching.

Sentence level activities:

Always model first, being direct and explicit. Have student s do oral activities prior to writing. If we can say it, we can write it. Make sure you have the dictated sentence ready prior to the lessons. You need to check that it works. Keep practicing the activities. Activities should be used recursively...that means coming back to it.