Friday, March 27, 2026

 Day 3 RPI reflection 

Text selection is something I think I can improve. As a year 5-6 team, we link our reading, writing and termly concept themes very well. We us a variety of text types, including video. In recent years, AI has been used more to create the exact texts we need, both content, style, and incorporating interests were possible.  This has meant we can create different genres easily, differentiate if needed (same content diff level), use learned vocab in texts, pull out tier 2 and 3 vocab for practising, but where we need to be careful is the ‘feel’ and variety in AI created texts is not ideal.


I will ensure I am applying important tweaks to my programme so it is sustainable.



My actions will include

-Keep building a community of readers in conjunction with Esther in the library. Choosing, recording, sharing what have read

-use the RPI workbook to track text genre and content coverage and build text sets around a theme to plan ahead better. Use journal surf and the other links provided. This tracking will be very useful in a shared environment, especially if some teachers add things after initial planning has been shared.

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-Selecting an anchor text then building around the theme and the LIs.



- The skill builder was great. I will be trying this summarising session. The Shanahan idea of striking out unnecessary info then seeing what is left,  rather than highlighting key points, is cool.

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-Doing a stocktake of my reading program was useful. Here are my thoughts.

Today had lots of great thinking. I have strong tier one class teaching at the moment with good targeted interventions. However, there is a gap where I think flexible small group work would be beneficial. At the moment I just keep these learners close by and scaffold them with the same work as the rest. How can I timetable something? ( I have a lot of boys, minimising chromebook use, a lot of behaviour and a lot of special needs, and in an MLE. )


Friday, March 6, 2026

RPI Post Day 2

RPI post day 2


I am learning a lot just by listening to the team and other teacher about what actually happens in other classrooms. So valuable. 


More specifically, digging into the PAT data was helpful eg the lower percentage correct’ question types , setting up our own learner workbook to keep track of learning - with its clear links summarising from learners and their preferences, to deciding next steps from PAT data and linking this to LIs from the curriculum. I also love the next step link to ARB resources.


It was good to get a reminder about the usefulness of clear LIs and SCs - informed by curriculum but chunking them for learners


I totally agree with the team reiterating that what we learn must be implemented and sustained. So much PLD goes to waste in this way.  I will implement and embed for good what is working as well as transfer to my team as much as possible. So far, I have implemented ground rules for extended discussion and will continue this, as well as ensuring I continue to use the information from the reader survey.


Over the next three weeks, I will trial 

  • Further populate my teacher workbook and discuss what the achievement data is telling me for next steps

  • Develop my taskboard 

  • Embed the routine of vocab task, read text, multichoice question practice, an LI task eg inference practice, create/share task eg a fluency recording

  • Implement clearer WALTs and SCs for reading. They always look the same and in the same place so learners are familiar with the routine and feel “we are in this together”

  • Start the bookchain 

  • Getting kids up and running on Epic but using limits eg keywords

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

 24.2.26

Knowing your learners 


Knowing your learners as readers is the first step in understanding how to support them to be better readers. The “What kind of reader are you?” google form helped build this knowledge for me with my 2026 class. 


Summary

57% like reading at school  and 67% like reading at home

81% are currently reading a book for enjoyment

76% think reading helps them be smarter or more relaxed

70% like comics and graphic novels/  60& funny books, 60% like chapter books, 33% fantasy 

90% thought they were good at reading 

88% thought their teacher and whanau thinks they are good at reading


My survey results were actually better than I expected with regard to reading enjoyment and their perception of themselves as readers. Around 60% like reading at school and 70% like reading at home.  80% are reading something for enjoyment which is great. I can identify the learners who are not. My learners clearly love comics and graphic novels (70%) and funny books (60%).  Only 30% liked reading non fiction which was interesting. And pleasingly, 90% thought they were good at reading and 88% thought their teacher and whanau think they are good at reading. 


I do have a group of 7 learners working below in the class. A couple of these love reading and  always have a book in their hand but their comprehension is very low. In discussion (using ground rules for communication) with learners about these results, they were mostly interested in the types of books each other likes to read. Some very popular ones were Wimpy kid/Dogman/Harry potter/Treehouse/Geronimo Stilton. They were keen to set up an “I think you would like this book because “ book chain. Using a reading challenge board - see below - may help achieve another class goal of bringing some variety to their reading.



76%  of my learners think reading makes them smarter or more relaxed. 











Monday, February 16, 2026

Teaching as Inquiry

 


Below is an overview of the of the labels for each stage of the TaI Framework










LEvidence

Learn - Gather Evidence

CPlan

Create - Make a plan

SPublish

Share - Publish

LScan

Learn - Scan

CTry

Create - Try new things

SCoteach

Share - Co-teach

LTrend

Learn - Identify Trends

CInnovate

Create - Innovate

SModel

Share - Model

LHypothesise

Learn - Hypothesise

CImplement

Create - Implement

SGuide

Share - Guide

LResearch

Learn - Research

CReflect

Create - Reflect

SFback

Share - Feedback

LReflect

Learn - Reflect



SReflect

Share - Reflect

Friday, February 13, 2026

RPI Day 1 on Feb 13th, 2026


I am excited to hear about practices that will lead to better outcomes for my learners. I like how in RPI there is time to implement in class before the next session and that we have mentor catchups for support. I am hoping to build skills that will support learners to read for pleasure, read a wider variety of book, and increase their reading stamina.

I am also interested in what the RPI feels are the best evidence based practices. I lean towards a structured approach with all my teachingthis has evolved over the years since I started teaching 4 years ago, mainly through my own personal knowledge building and trying things in the classroom. These practices were reinforced more recently with MOE PLD in literacy and maths, and seen in the success we have seen in our structured approach to maths last year.  to accelerate reading for learning and enjoyment, and how I can implement them in my year 5/6 MLE.  

Good readers

The “ Good reader profile “ and understanding the reader through the google form will be interesting. It was good to see an example of an inquiry using this knowledge to effect change. I need to make sure they answer the questions authentically, so I may need help or do it in small groups. 


Ground rules & extended discussion

Learning about extended discussion and ground rules was fantastic, as was practising it ourselves in breakouts. I will co-construct and implement ground rules straight away including the self assessment part. I would like to build this as a solid skill that learners can use across all subjects and eventually independently eg in a book club or a critical discussion. I will encourage this as a shared practice across the team

To increase sustained discussion using the ground rules, I will start with toss and talk and build up. We have a lot of shy learners with soft voices.  I will look into talk roles leading to self managing groups later in the year.

Pillars of practice

Looking at the pillars of practice, I identified sharing by collaborating, for example buddy reading, reading communities, recommending texts, and co-responding to texts as areas I want to improve on.

Self efficacy document

I found this quote from a research document on self efficacy interesting.

Mastery experience occurs when a child evaluates his or her own competence after learning and believes their efforts have been successful. Mastery experiences increase confidence and willingness to try similar and more challenging tasks. In addition, studies have also found that social experiences play a powerful role in the development of self-efficacy. The beliefs and behaviors held by teachers and peers are important in building the self-efficacy of all children in the classroom” .

In my classroom, I would like to ensure my learners feel their efforts lead to success every day - which means I have to pitch the lesson right and give the right feedback at the right time in the right way. In conjunction with this, if I can improve the class ‘reading culture’ (The beliefs and behaviors held by teachers and peers )  this will also help build all learners’ self efficacy.

Taskboards

The” early in year taskboard 


Teacher as a reader

I need to work on having a wider knowledge of the books they read so I can recommend more genuinely, as well as share my own enthusiasm about books.