Week 2 Term 2 - English Department: TOD: Planning for NCEA Level 1 English 2024 (May 1 - May 2)

Preparing for the new changes to NCEA and the curriculum refresh is a focus for the English Department. For our most recent TOD, we used this time to focus on the changes to NCEA Level 1 English program and to continue our discussion around the new achievement standards. We spent time revisiting the new achievement standards that we covered in 2022 and also explore the new external assessments that are on offer. We were able to do this as well as flesh out a draft plan for our new NCEA Level 1 English program 2024. Change can be challenging thing if one is not prepared, so using this time to prepare for next year and to discuss what we want to do with the new program was exciting for all of us. I am going to reflect on how what we covered and what our next steps are. 

English Department TOD May 1 2023

Our journey so far (NCEA Changes 2024)

We started our journey towards the NCEA refresh in 2022. Over the course of two TOD (Term 2 and Term 4) we looked at the two out of new achievement standards. I reflected on this last year (see Alby Blog Entry - 08/24/22 & Alby Blog Entry - 13/11/22). During this time we were able to unpack two achievement standards (internal assessments) - 1.1/1.2. As a department, we spent each session going through both assessments and unpacking it focusing on five areas which we have documented and kept on file as we are starting to create new resources and unit plans for the achievement standards. The five areas that we focused on and explored were: 

What is the assessment?

Key words and concepts from the assessment

Opportunities

Potential barriers

Next steps

Focusing on each area allowed us to understand the assessment more. We were able to flesh out what the assessment and look at the opportunities namely connecting what we are currently doing to see if it fits under the new umbrella of assessments. We spent some time to revisit the two internal assessments that we covered in August 2022 and November 2022, to see what we have done and what our next steps are. It is important to reflect and look back on what you have done, especially when you are preparing for change, to appreciate the journey. Here is a summary of what we have covered for both new achievement standards - 1.1 and 1.2. 

1.1: Demonstrate understanding of how context shapes verbal language use (5 Credits)

Texts:

• Extended Text Study: Of Mice + Men (John Steinbeck)
• Local iwi stories

Assessment:

• Formal Writing: Response to text essay, Text review
• Create a visual text: Slideshow presentation on the text
• Speech: Oral presentation that coincides with the slideshow

Other:

• Genre study - look at texts that fall into the same genre as Of Mice + Men (connect to assessments above) 
• Reality context - look at other texts relevant to student experiences (cultural) and connect to the assessments above

1.2: Create a verbal and visual personal response to an independently studied text (5 Credits)

Texts:

• Visual Text Study: Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)

Assessment:

• Formal Writing: Response to text essay, Text review
• Create a visual text: Slideshow presentation on the text

Personal Responses

• Creative Writing + Create a Visual Text: Write a sequel to the text etc (creative writing) and use book creator to make an actual book to accompany (create a visual text)

Other:

• Teacher to teach 4 texts
• Students to choose ONE that they want to study
• Students to complete an assessment (multi model)

Unpacking the new external assessments: 1.3 and 1.4

The English Department spent Week 1 Term 2 unpacking the new external assessments (1.3 and 1.4). We used to TOD to feedback about the external assessments. Much like what we covered last year, the department looked at the same five areas when unpacking the assessment - 

• What is the assessment? 
• Key words and concepts from the assessment
• Opportunities
• Potential barriers
• Next steps

The department were broken up into two groups - each group looking at the new achievement standards (1.3 and 1.4). I will provide a summary of what each group shared for the new external assessments. 

1.3: Mr Spruyt, Mrs Williams + Mr Hoosein

This is an external assessment worth 5 credits. The assessment will run in Term 3 assessment. We are encouraged to use Term 1 + Term 2 to prepare the students for the external (use 1.1 to help prepare the students) 

Assessment:

• Writing Portfolio - Write two essays - response to two texts (studied texts, articles, speech poetry, etc) based on two prompts
• Teacher gets the prompts @ the beginning of Term 3. Offer prompts to students and they work on it during T3 
• Students work on the assessment for 8 weeks and submit their final two pieces (350-500 words) in week 9

1.4: Ms Latu, Ms Kolo, Mrs Harde + Mrs Ahmed

This is an external assessment worth 5 credits. The assessment will take place in Term 4. 

Assessment: 

Integration of two externals - unfamiliar text - 1+ 2 sections AND Studied written/visual text essay - x1 Essay
2 hours to sit two sections (under exam conditions online) tagged for literacy
The assessment will take place in Term 4. This assessment echoes the current external assessment that we currently do.

This was a great session as each member of the department shared their understanding of the assessment and what it can look like for us. 

Planning our NCEA Level 1 English Program 2024 (first draft)

Once we revisited the internal assessments and shared information on the external assessments, we started to plan our first draft for our NCEA Level 1 English program 2024. We reviewed the four new achievement standards and had a look at what we covered so far. 

Summary of the new achievement standards

From here we discussed and planned for 2024 with the new achievement standards. We discussed where each standard should be placed, what text we want to study and what approach we will do in terms of the assessment with our akonga. 

Draft Schedule for NCEA Level 1 English 2024

This was a great session as we were able to collaborate and plan our year for our NCEA Level 1 akonga. We were had a good discussion around the texts that we want to cover. Initially I wanted to use the same texts as we already have the units in place. However, it was clear in our discussion that the new achievement standards needed new texts that not only supported the assessment but more importantly aligned with our akonga and community. 

Next Steps: 

• We are going to look for appropriate written texts for 1.1. There was a discussion around changing the text focus (we are currently using John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men'). Our homework over this term is to find a text or texts (collection of short texts) to use for 1.1. We are going to read through The Platform: The Radical Legacy of the Polynesian Panthers - Melani Anae and see if this the right text for 1.1.
• Our next lot of homework (next step) is to watch the film Muru. We will discuss the film @ our next department meeting (Week 4) to see if this film is suitable for 1.2. 
• We want more time to plan our units for each new achievement standard and specifically for each text. We have requested for time to do this during Term 2. We want to refine our plan so that we can lock in the final details at our next TOD (slated for Term 4). 
• The new literacy requirements are around the corner as well. We are going to do a pilot of the new literacy standard with a select group of Year 10 students in Term 4. We would like to use the time during our hybrid learning day (Monday) to work with this group and prepare them for the literacy standard. We have selected students who are at the top end of Asttle Writing Level 4 (4P - 4A) and lower end of Asttle Writing Level 5 (5B). 

Week 1 Term 2 - English Department: Term 1 Review + Plan for Term 2 (April 24 - April 28)

Term 1 was a busy, full on, challenging and rewarding time for the English Department. I would firstly like to thank the team for their work, commitment, support and awhi that they have shown to our akonga in Term 1. The work and time that you have invested into your akonga and into your teaching has set the tone for 2023. I am very grateful and humbled to work alongside you, thank you!

Term 1 was another full term. With the implementation of Hybrid Learning on Mondays, we knew that we had a short window to get through the learning program with our Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 English students. We enjoyed our Staff PLD sessions on Monday, we particularly enjoyed our time with Dr Rae Si’ilata and listening to our COL teachers. We were not able to meet as regularly as we would have liked but managed to find time during Hybrid Learning on Monday, to meet and check in with each other. I would like to acknowledge Ms Anahina Latu for her leadership this term especially when I was away, she stepped in and took care of the department. I would also like to acknowledge Ms Amber George, Mr Marc Milford, Ms Vivienne Jenson-Jones and Dr Jannie for their work and support for the English Department this term.

This term we were able to achieve the following things:

1) Complete our teacher inquiry, goal setting and plan for our Professional Growth Cycle - it is always exciting to see what each department member’s inquiry is going to be for the year. I am excited to journey with the team through their individual inquiries and goals for 2023.

2) Establish + implement our Junior and Senior English Program - We have collaborated and agreed on a program for both our Junior and Senior English students. We have implemented the program and so far so good. We have also implemented our plan for our Term 2 which we will put into gear after the school holidays.

3) Asttle Writing + PAT Reading Junior English - We completed our Asttle Writing and PAT Reading tests with our students. There are a few students who did not complete the Asttle Writing, we are hoping to see that number decrease with follow up/catch up sessions with Mr Milford.

4) Close Viewing Assessment (NCEA Level 1, 2 + 3 English) - We are almost at the end of completing our first internal assessment with our Level 1, 2 and 3 students. We have a few students across our senior school cohort who have completed the assessment successfully.

5) External Moderation 2022 - We were really pleased with the results from the external moderation for our assessments (91478 - Connections - Level 3 + 91480 - Close Viewing - Level 3). Our external moderation was successful and this highlights to us that our marking, critique and moderation process is on par nationally. Well done team!

We will now review our Term 1 Junior and Senior English program.

JUNIOR ENGLISH TERM 1 REVIEW: 

Term 1 Junior English Program

Our focus for Year 9 and Year 10 English was extended text. We spent the term going through our first text study for 2023. Some of the texts that were covered this term were:

• Roald Dahl’s - Boy (Year 9 English)
• Andy Mulligan’s - Trash (Year 10 English)

Following the novel study, our students worked on our CAT (Common Assessment Task) Formal Writing. The formal writing tasks varied - from response to text type essays to text review essays. The students were engaged with the formal writing CAT and we are pleased with the results. We are hoping to close the loop with students who were not able to complete it during the first week of Term 2.

Below are some examples of the formal writing from our akonga. Their understanding of the text and their opinion on how they felt about the text are things that we really appreciate in their writing.

Student exemplar 1 - Formal Writing Tamaki College Term 1 

Student exemplar 2 - Formal Writing Tamaki College Term 1

SENIOR ENGLISH TERM 1 REVIEW: 

Senior English Program Term 1

Our focus for Term 1 for our NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 students was the visual text study accompanied by the Close Viewing Assessment. For our NCEA Level 1 students, the visual text study we focused on was Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Scissorhands’, NCEA Level 2 the visual text we studied was James Napier Robertson ‘The Dark Horse’ and for our NCEA Level 3 student’s we looked at Ron Howard’s ‘A Beautiful Mind’. 

The focus assessment for our Level 1, 2 and 3 students for Term 1 was Close Viewing. We knew that we had a short time frame to get through the assessment especially with Hybrid Learning impacting our face to face time with our students. We found the Wednesday timetable (7 periods) useful for us and our Year 11 students as we see them three times on a Wednesday. We made sure to maximize our time with our Year 11 students on Wednesdays. 

Given the interruptions to Term 1 and all the demands that our Year 11, 12 and 13 students have with extra curricular activities (school closure due to the flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle, Polyfest etc) we knew that we had to change the goal post for our internal assessments. We set out for Week 10 to close the loop on our internal assessments. We have now agreed on moving the deadline to the end of Week 1 Term 2, to give our senior students time during the holidays to complete their assessments. S

• NCEA Level 1 Close Viewing Results - 24 completed/passed as of April 6 2023.
• NCEA Level 2 Close Viewing Results - 27 completed/passed as of April 6 2023.
• NCEA Level 3 Close Viewing Results - 3 completed/passed as of April 6 2023.

We are aware that this term had its fair share of interruptions. We are aware of the gap that these interruptions have created and we know what we need to do to plug that gap. We have moved our goal post to the end of Week 1 Term 2 - for our students to complete their term 1 assessment. We are hopeful that the extra time during the holidays will give our students the best opportunity to complete their assessments.

Student exemplar 1 - NCEA Level 1 English Close Viewing Term 1

Student exemplar 2 - NCEA Level 3 English Close Viewing Term 2

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GOALS TERM 2

As a department, we like to discuss what our priorities and goals are. Sometimes our priorities change as we journey through the term but we try to stick to our goals as best as we can.

Below are some of the goals that we would like to work towards in Term 2.

Literacy Strategies - We spent a significant amount of time throughout 2022 working on delivering effective literacy strategies to our Year 9 and Year 10 students. We hope to continue this partnership with Dr Jannie and Mr Milford, hopefully venture out on our own and share what we have learned to our junior students.

Unpacking new Literacy Standards/NCEA changes - We have started to unpack the new NCEA Level 1 internal assessments. We hope to continue looking at the new literacy standards and hopefully do a trial run with our Year 10 students this year. I would like to see us unpack and start planning 2024 for our NCEA Level 1 program as the changes will impact our Level 1 English program. The hope is to start this journey when we have our TOD in Week 2.

The outline of our TOD for Wk2 T2. 

Closing the gap with internal assessments - We have made a good start with our senior akonga. We want to continue to get our students over the line with their internal assessments. We know that a lot of our content needs to be driven this term and we are hopeful that we will be able to get our students through their internal assessments.    

We know that our goals will change as we go throughout the term. For now, our focus is to develop and implement our literacy strategies for our Year 9 and Year 10 students. We also want to continue in developing our plan for the new NCEA Level 1 changes which will be fully implemented next year. 

JUNIOR + SENIOR ENGLISH PROGRAM TERM 2: 

The Junior English Program for Term 2 is centered around a short text study (short stories, poems, songs, sonnets). The common assessment task that will accompany the short text study is creative writing and create a visual text. We also have our mid year junior exams that will take place at the end of the term. 

Junior English Program Term 2

The Senior English program for Term 2 is centered around the extended text study. We will reading the text from Week 2 - Week 5 across our Level 1 - Level 3 classes. The assessments associated to the extended text study are our major written assessments (Creative Writing, Formal Writing, Connections Report and Reading Responses). We want to ensure that our students complete the extended text study and assessments by the end of Week 10. 

Senior English Program Term 2

Week 10 Term 1 - Teacher Practice: Inquiry for 2023 (April 3 - April 6)

What is my Teacher Inquiry for 2023?

Teacher inquiry goals are an important part of teacher practice. TKI states that "The purpose of teacher inquiry - It provides an opportunity to focus on identifying successful approaches for improving learning outcomes for all learners, in particular those that may be target students." Term 1 has been a busy term and I have not given myself time to really think about my teacher inquiry. Since things have started to slow down, I have had time to really think about what I want to look into for Teacher Inquiry for 2023. Typically my goal changes throughout the year but for this year I would like to stick to my inquiry. My teacher inquiry for 2023 is to see - 

How I can help improve reading and writing engagement with my Year 9 students through creating mixed ability groups within my Year 9 class. There are two groups who I have in mind with my inquiry:

My Level 2-3 Reading Group (x6 students):

• V.F - L3
• H.L - L3
• A.F - L3
• J.R.V - L3
• N.M - L1
• O.P - L2

Maori students (x7 students):

• T.M - L3
• T.R - L2
• T.C - DNS
• M.D - L4
• K.P - L5
• K.T.O.M - L4
• M.C.N - L3 

9TKl in action during Hybrid Learning on Monday (Term 1)

The purpose of this inquiry is to see what I can do in the classroom to help my akonga (specifically my Level 2 - 3 Reading Group + Maori Akonga Group) engage with writing and reading. 'Engage' is defined as 'to participate or become involved in'. In talking with my akonga - across the class in 9TKl - I have found that most of them only engage with reading and writing when they are in class because 'they have to' and because 'it is a requirement'. Furthermore, they do not see or understand the value in literacy particularly reading and writing. I hope that through my teacher inquiry I can help my akonga enjoy writing and reading and even more so, see themselves as capable and competent readers and writers. Strategies that I want to implement that will help support my teacher inquiry

Student Profiling (teacher directed)

Our COLS shared their teacher inquiry for 2023 at our Staff PLD in Week 9. A huge part of their inquiry was student/akonga profiling. We do this already in the English Department through our tracking sheet system. With my inquiry I hope to use the tracking sheet in a way that will help me understand my akonga well. 

My tracking sheet for 9TKl

For my Level 2 - 3 students and Maori group, I want to add columns in my tracking sheet that links to the student's own reflection on how they view reading + writing (in the form of an informal letter etc), links to their cultural connections (beyond nationality - what is their iwi, nu'u or kolo). This information will help my lens on who my students and understanding what they bring to the classroom. 

Akonga Learner Profile (student directed)

TKI states 'A LEARNER PROFILE GIVES STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO: Learner profiles are created by the student, often with the support of those that know them best. Through creating a learner profile, students develop a deeper understanding of who they are as learners – reflecting on what motivates and challenges them when learning." I have used a few resources (shared from colleagues + ones that I have created) where I get my students (mainly Year 9 - Junior English) to reflect on their learning and what their goals are. 

STAR Reading Reflection (from Mrs Suipi-Latu)

Term Academic/Personal Reflection 

This has been helpful in that the students understand where their journey is and what they need to do to get to their next step. This is a heavily scaffolded activity and one where I get the students to reflect and write independently then we have a discussion (one on one discussion) to go through their learning journey and goals for the term. Going forward (with my inquiry in mind) I will revamp the reflection documents so that it is tailored to writing and reading specifically. 

Reading + Writing Groups (teacher + student directed)

I started grouping my students into reading ability groups in 2021 and 2022. I did this because I found that the students felt comfortable discussing and reading in groups that were reflective of their reading ability and level. I am going to continue doing this with my focus class. I will group then according to their PAT Reading levels - the readings will be the same across all reading groups but the comprehension and response to text work will be tailored differently for each group. I saw the benefits of this last year with the student engagement increased during our reading intensive weeks. 

I look forward to seeing how my teacher inquiry unfolds for 2023. I also look forward to posting about this!