Week 9 Term 3: Teacher Practice: Highlights from AATEL PLD (September 16 - September 20)

In Week 7 of Term 3, a group from the English Department attended the AATEL (Auckland Association for Teachers of English Literature) professional learning develop workshops. The focus of the workshops for this term is "Spotlight on the Juniors: Engagement, innovation and essential skills" There were three workshops offered. As the presentations were running back to back, we were given the opportunity to attend two out of the three workshops. The workshops were: 

Brave Words - introducing public speaking in the classroom: Oral literacy initiatives, strategies and activities to support the development of public speaking and presenting. (Ormiston Junior College presentation) 

A Step by Step Guide - small group novel studies in year 7-10. (Diocesan School presentation)

Redesigning Junior Program (Years 7 to 10) - to match the new level 1 style. (Dilworth School Presentation)

Tamaki College English Department @ AATEL 2024

The two workshops that I went to was the Small Group Studies (Year 7 - Year 10) and Redesigning Junior Program (Year 7 - Year 10). I will write my highlight and take away points from the workshop that I enjoyed the most. 

Redesigning Junior Program

Some highlights from the workshop

I am in the process of redesigning our Junior English program (Year 9 and Year 10 English). I was interested in this workshop because it spoke to what I am currently doing with our Year 9 and Year 10 English program refresh. As a school, they have decided to create a unit of learning from Year 7 to Year 10 that all Junior teachers teach to in the new junior English program. I really liked their approach to their Junior program and that they are still in the processing of refining it. As state below: 

• Shared Year 7 to Year 10 units in every class. All students get the same learning resources and opportunities
• There is some variation at Year 10 (different choices for novel study, however any teacher can choose any unit)
• At the end of each term, the unit is reviewed with suggested changes and additions logged
• Split up the units and make the changes/additions required
• Review the progressions in each learning strand ensure we are using consistent language, building skills and avoiding repetition (every two years)
• Working on a clear alignment of marking rubrics to ensure the progression of skills is clear from one year to the next

I also liked the different themes for each term and the CATS that they have for each term (they have four assessments that they assess yearly). Which is something I am looking to as I believe that in our current junior English program, our students are over assessed. Some their term themes that they use in their Year 7 to Year 10 English program and assessment opportunities are: 

Term 1: Stories of Auckland, Stories of us (local curriculum) 

From here they write their own Auckland story (narrative writing - Term 1)

Term 2: Reading for BIAS (exploring other people’s perspective)

Year 7 and Year 10 Listening Unit (listening for BIAS) Listen to Podcasts/Speakers and have to identify BIAS

Term 3: Worlds of Poetry (speaking/oral/written poetry) 

Present a poem that they have studied (memorize and speak it and in a PPT)

Term 4: Exam preparation

Other types of assessments to offer:

• Formal Persuasive Speech assessed
• Film Study (Film Study) like a Close View assessed
• Make their own film (film night) - not assessed
• Service Writing - magazine (write service articles about what to expect or top ten things to do @ school for new Year 9 students)

Other assessments for Year 10: 

• Listen to a song (about Springbok), watch the film (about Springbok), Write a diary entry (assessment linked to 1.3) or a formal/argumentative essay - this can be linked to different theme units (for example: climate change)

There are some definite good things that I would like to implement into the new Junior English refresh for our Year 9 and Year 10 English program. I look forward to documenting this. 

Week 8 Term 3: Teacher Practice: Literacy Strategy: Preparing students for the Literacy CAA: Writing (September 09 - September 13)

This year the Literacy and Numeracy Team (Level UP) which consists of myself (HoLA English) and the Heads of Learning Area for Math, Science and Social Sciences have been working with our Year 11 students who do not have Literacy or Numeracy. We have been preparing them for the Literacy and Numeracy Co-Requisites (CAA) which took place in May and we are currently working with our akonga for the September assessment in Week 9 of Term 3. I have documented the journey here: 

Alby’s Blog Post Entry - (25/08/24)

The next steps from my previous post outlines: 

• Hold an intensive class with our Year 11 students for a whole day to get them practicing again with the past Lit and Num papers.
• We will be getting our Year 10 English and Math teachers to use their class time to go through the past Lit and Num papers with their students - in an effort to empower our kaiako to drive effective teaching of literacy in their classrooms.

We have covered the intensive with our Year 11 students and the focus now is on making sure that our students are practicing and preparing for the co-requisite. In this post I am going to look at 32405 (Written Assessment) and what literacy strategies I think will work well when teaching and preparing our students for the assessment. 

UNPACKING THE QUESTION

May 2024 AS 32405 Assessment: Questions 1

Unpacking the question is important. I always go through the question with the students in the class and I give them three tips on how to unpack a question and break it down so that they understand it. 

May 2024 AS 32405 Assessment: Question + Inustructions

Check out the three tips below: 

• Dissect the keywords and phrases: Break down the question to highlight key terms or phrases. These often indicate what you need to focus on or specific areas that need addressing.

• Break down the question into parts: Divide the question into sub questions especially if it has multiple parts. This will help you understand each part of the question and hopefully influence who you answer. 

• Consider the scope: Clarify the scope of the question to ensure your response is focused and relevant. Avoid going off-topic by sticking to what the question specifically asks for and avoiding unnecessary information.

ESSAY STRUCTURE + GRAMMATICAL FEATURES

It is important that the students are aware of TWO things: 

• Essay Structure
• Grammatical Features (specifically sentence structure) 

I am trying to veer away free essay structures but I know that many of students depend on it as it is a good launching pad when they are crafting their text. Some good essay structures that could work well for students when they are crafting their answers for the Literacy Written CAA are: 

TEEPEE Paragraph Structure

APE Paragraph Structure

Sentence structure is a skill that my students will need to nurture going into the CAA. It will help them refine and define their text. 

Sentence Structure:

• Simple Sentences: Contain a single independent clause (e.g., "She runs daily.").
• Compound Sentences: Join two or more independent clauses with coordinating conjunctions (e.g., "She runs daily, and she also swims.").
• Complex Sentences: Combine independent and dependent clauses (e.g., "She runs daily because it keeps her healthy.").
• Compound-Complex Sentences: Feature multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause (e.g., "She runs daily because it keeps her healthy, and she enjoys the exercise.").

These are two literacy strategies are just two ways to engage students with the written assessment. I look forward to adding in more. 

Week 7 Term 3: Totara House: Growing Leadership (September 02 - September 06)

Totara House Term 3 2024

I have enjoyed documenting the Totara House values series that we have covered during our House assembly time. Over the course of Term 2 and Term 3 we have spent time unpacking our House values for 2024 with the House Leaders going through each value and sharing what it means to them. This has been a mana enhancing experience as the students can share and hear what each value means to them and how they can apply it in their life at school and beyond the classroom. I have shared the journey in my reflections which can be found here: 

Alby's Blog Post Entry - (12/05/24)

Alby's Blog Post Entry - (18/08/24)

Totara House Value: PASSION: intense emotion compelling action

In our House assemblies we have looked at the values of 'Discipline' and 'Commitment.' The final value that we looked at our most recent House assembly was 'Passion' and we aligned it with 'Leadership'. The House Leaders discussed what 'Passion' means to them (what do they feel strongly about or what do they love and honor) and how this connects with 'Leadership.' In regards to their passion to serve and lead their House. The reason why I wanted the leaders to discuss the relationship between their passion to lead was that it links to our Year 12 students who are currently interviewing for student leadership 2025. Here are some highlights on what the leaders shared on what passion means to them and how passion connects to leadership. 

Totara House Leadership 2021, 2022, 2023 + 2024

"In terms of how leadership and passion correlate. When a leader is passionate about their role, it shows in their actions and how they interact with the people they are leading. Passionate leaders are those who take enlightenment in leading others, if you lead people with passion then you will surely succeed. A passionate leader will inspire others to join into what you are passionate about achieving. No one has ever been inspired by a leader who is not passionate." (Daliz) 

"I want to encourage you to stay confident. Know that Leadership is not just about holding a title; it’s about serving others. Every one of us has our way of leading, we all have something valuable to offer to the table. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to make a difference. Sometimes, leading by example or listening can be just as impactful as delivering a big speech. Trust in the abilities that brought you to this point, and use those strengths to exceed your expectations and reach your full potential." (Daliz)

LEADERSHIP: guiding and influencing others toward a common vision or goal is called leadership. 

Totara House Leadership Team 2024 with the 2025 Totara House leadership applicants

The Year 12 students who applied for leadership 2025 (for Totara House) had an opportunity to share and talk to the House at our most recent House assembly. Every year the Year 12 students who apply for leadership for Totara House have the opportunity to introduce themselves to the House and to share why they have decided to apply for the role - this is a chance for the students to put a face to the name when they vote for their leaders. This also an opportunity to grow the leadership early and get the students to share and speak in front of their peers. 

My closing comments for this post is based on my thoughts on leadership that I shared to my House at the end of the assembly. I shared with the house that I believe that: 

Good leadership matters - Good leadership fosters a positive and productive environment, inspiring and motivating individuals to achieve their best. It also ensures effective decision-making and clear communication, which are crucial for the success and growth of the team.

He mahi tahi (leadership is collaboration) - Leadership is all about collaboration because it harnesses diverse perspectives and skills to achieve shared goals, ensuring collective success and innovation.

It’s a process, it’s a relationship - Leadership is about process and relationship because it involves guiding a team through systematic approaches while building trust and rapport to effectively achieve goals and foster a positive work environment.

Learning how to lead together - Learning to lead together as a group is important because it fosters collective problem-solving and ensures that all voices are heard, leading to more innovative and effective solutions.

Week 6 Term 3: Teacher Practice: Literacy and Numeracy CAA Update + Next Steps (August 26 - August 30)

CONTEXT

Year 11 group Literacy CAA September intake 2024

Literacy is a hot topic across the country especially within the Education sector. The new numeracy and literacy co-requisites have been put into play this year. As explained by Number Works N Word, 

"Achieving an NCEA co-requisite in Literacy and Numeracy involves passing two literacy standards and one numeracy standard, which are the following:

US32403: Read written texts to understand ideas and information
Students credited with this unit standard are able to read to make sense of written texts, read with critical awareness, and read for different purposes.
US32405: Write texts to communicate ideas and information
US32406: Use mathematics and statistics to meet the numeracy"

2023 LITERACY CAA JOURNEY + RESULTS

In 2023 we trialed a select group of Year 10 students who are at Level 5+ of the curriculum level for PAT reading to sit the literacy co-requisite assessment (32403 and 32405). I documented the journey here and how it the process went for myself and the students - see Alby's Blog Post Entry - 30/07/23. A select group of 18 students from Year 10 (2023) who sit in within the stanine 5 range (PAT Reading) took part in the new Literacy Co-Requisite Standard (10 Credits). We met every Monday in Term 3 during period 5 to prepare for the assessment in Term 4. 

Literacy (Writing) 32403 (Assessment November Term 4 2023)

• 11 out of 18 students passed the Reading Assessment (32403)

Literacy (Writing) 32403 (Assessment November Term 4 2023)

• 8 out of 18 students passed the Writing Assessment (32405)

2024 LITERACY / NUMERACY CAA JOURNEY + RESULTS

Literacy intensive Thursday August 22

This year we had the opportunity to offer the literacy and numeracy co-requisite. The Level Up Literacy and Numeracy Team which consists of myself (HoLA English), Mrs Singh (HoLA Mathematics), Ms Apelu (HoLA Social Sciences), Mr Malholtra (HoLA Science), Mrs Suipi Latu (HoLA ESOL) and our Deputy Principal Ms Moore - decided to focus on our Year 11 students who do not have literacy or numeracy to take the assessment in May (Term 2). For both literacy and numeracy we had around 35 - 40 students enrolled for the test. We held intensive literacy and numeracy sessions which were held in the auditorium during the double periods for Math and English. Mrs Singh and I lead these sessions with the support of our teacher aides. We used the 2023 test paper as the guide for our teaching and taught to the assessment. Here are the results from the assessment taken in May (Term 2): 

Numeracy (Assessment May Term 2 2024)

• No. of students who sat the assessment: 17
• No. of students who passed the assessment: 24%

Literacy (Writing) 32403 (Assessment May Term 2 2024)

• No. of students who sat the assessment: 37
• No. of students who passed the assessment: 14%

Literacy (Reading) 32405 (Assessment May Term 2 2024)

• No. of students who sat the assessment: 41
• No. of students who passed the assessment: 22%

FINDINGS FROM THE TEST

Literacy intensive Thursday August 2024

The results tell us that there is so much  more work to do. Many of our students who sat the assessment in May did not achieve their literacy in our Level Up program last year for various reasons including low attendance, disengagement and we had many students in our May intake who were new to the school or part of EL cohort (English as a second language). The story behind the results and the reality that we are facing is that we need to focus on our literacy specifics as a whole school and drive it together. The three literacy specifics that we want to focus on and what we have learnt from the results from the assessment in May are: 

Locate and find information

Describe what, who, why, when and where

Identify the main idea/Summarize information

NEXT STEPS

Meeting with Year 11 Literacy/Numeracy CAA September Group 

Our next steps is that we are going to offer the assessment again to our Year 11 students who did not achieve the Literacy/Numeracy CAA in May as well as our Year 10 students who are at Level 5+ of the curriculum. Collectively this group is around 45-50+ students. Our aim is try and get them both the literacy and numeracy CAA successfully. We will: 

• Hold an intensive class with our Year 11 students for a whole day to get them practicing again with the past Lit and Num papers. 
• We will be getting our Year 10 English and Math teachers to use their class time to go through the past Lit and Num papers with their students - in an effort to empower our kaiako to drive effective teaching of literacy in their classrooms. 

Week 5 Term 3: Totara House - Sharing our House Values (August 19 - August 23)

Totara House 2024

 In Term 2, Totara House discussed and shared the House values for 2024. Our House values for 2024 is Discipline, Commitment and Passion. I documented this in an earlier post which you can find here: 

Alby's Blog Post Entry - (12/05/24)

DISCIPLINE: the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.

In Week 8 of Term 2 we had a house assembly and we discussed our House value of 'Discipline'. At this assembly we spoke about the importance of discipline and how it needs to be reflected in our attendance. "Regular school attendance is a predictor of success. We want to celebrate those who have shown discipline in coming to school and in maintaining successful attendance this term." (Totara House Assembly Week 8 Term 2). Regular school attendance ensures success as students are present and will learn and achieve in their learning. We encourage regular school attendance because we believe that this is stepping stone for students to achieve, the more they are at school the more they are likely to achieve. 

COMMITMENT: the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

In Week 2 of Term 3, at our most recent house assembly we discussed our House value of 'Commitment'. We are at the point in the year where credit count, finishing internal assessments and preparing for external assessments is in full over drive. For this assembly our Totara House leaders shared what commitment means to them and offered some advice and encouragement to their peers on how they can apply this value in their life in school and outside of school. Here are some highlights from the house leaders sharing during our whanau time in Week 2 of Term 3. 

Totara House Leader 2024 - Feao

Feao shared "Commitment is finishing something that you started. It is about finishing assessments and coming to school early. How I have shown commitment is by going to church. Two years ago I did not really like going to church but I knew it was a must. So I dealt with it by by committing myself to it by going going to church. I love it now because I have prioritized it. What I have learnt from this is that if you don't stay committed to the stuff that you started it will come back at you, such as if you don't finish your assessments, it will stress you out." 

Totara House Leader 2024 - Stephney

Stephney shared "I have shown commitment by making sure that I come to school no matter the circumstances. It has taught me that I can push through any challenge. My final word of encouragement to my Totara family is from the word - so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God - this is from 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31." 

Totara House Leader 2024 - Daliz

Daliz shared "What commitment means to me is to be dedicated to my role. My one life goal is to give back to my family and to be able to get to that point, I need the ability to self discipline myself and commit myself. An example of commitment that I have shown is through my attendance. My attendance last year was at 60% and this year it is at 92%. What is motivating me right now is graduating and I know that I need to be at school everyday and do my work in order to graduation. Motivation is an important part with commitment. What motivates you? My word of encouragement to my house is to make the most of the time that we have now at school, we have come so far and we have achieved so much so let's continue to support each other and end the year on a high note. Proverbs 16 verse 3 says commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans and His plans will be established." 

I believe that young people's voices matter and using their voice in a positive way is just as important. I always push my leadership team to use the platform - their leadership - to share as much as they can as I know that they have a reach and a pull over their peers that is meaningful and powerful. I look forward to exploring our final House value this term - passion - in Week 6 of Term 3. 

Week 4 Term 3: Teacher Practice: Creative Writing - Year 9 English (August 12 - August 15)

9TRn presenting their Creative Writing

In Term 2, my Year 9 English class (9TRn) spent the term learning, creating and crafting their creative writing. Creative writing is one of our CATS (Common Assessment Task) that we do with our Junior English students (Year 9 and Year 10) in Term 2. For my creative writing task my students choose an image that are inspired from the short text study and craft their text based on the image. The students can use the same themes and characteristics from the short text but the plot and characters have to be their own original ideas. I documented the creative writing assessment and process that my Year 9 class in 2023 (9TKl) went through. You can see it in my blog post from last year (see the link below). 

Alby's Blog Post Entry - (25/06/23) 

In this post I am going to talk about highlights from the Creative Writing unit that I did with my Year 9 class - 9TRn in Week 8 Term 2 - Week 2 Term 3. 

Sharing their story

My Year 9 class this year went through the same process and I wanted to share some of the highlights from their journey through creative writing. One of the highlights that I loved was that the students shared the process that they went through with the: 

Crafting of their creative writing - what image did they choose and how did they plan their story. 

The Text - what is the story about, who are the main characters?

The creative process - Explaining the choices they made with book creator and why they decided to use what they used

This was a fun part of the process. We did this at the end of the unit (Week 2 of Term 3). It was good for the students to share their thought and creative process. Some students asked questions specifically about the story. 

9TRn sharing their Creative Writing + Book Creator Books

Although the short text study (Witi Ihimaera's 'Big Brother Little Sister') and the assessment was the same as last year, I am really encouraged and impressed with the writing that the students produced this year. We used the online application - Book Creator - for the students to create their online book once they crafted their creative writing. 

Book Creator Library for 9TRn

Creativity Crafting of Text

The students interpretation of the images that they chose was interesting, amusing and impressive. Many of them chose similar images from the slide deck I shared. The image that was used the most across the class was the image of the young boy and girl sitting on the bench in the city. The storyline in the creative writing followed similar sequences and themes - brother and sister going on an adventure or brother and sister fleeing from their home as a result of neglect. In which are similar themes to Ihimaera's 'Big Brother Little Sister'. 

There is comfortability and familiarity in writing about something that you know. There is a strength in that so I knew that the students understood the text well and wanted to craft a text (not as a rewrite but as completely new story). 

Here is an example from a student from my Year 9 class: 

"As the adventure began Lani and

Ben had a plan to go to his aunty

talas house who lives in glen innes

so they walked. Throughout his

journey they were walking for a long

time until his sister wanted to go pee

‘Ben can I go to the toilet?’,he said ‘

OMG we haven't even walked that

far’ after they searched for a tree or

a bush he waited for her to do her

business until she missed the tree ‘

uhh ben I think I wet myself’, he

said ‘eww fia fasi oe’ so he went and

gave Lani a slap on the head. They

walked and walked until they got to

the city. Lani said ‘ can we have a

break’ so they went and sat under

the laau for some shade. After a hot

day they were hungry so Ben went to

the dairy and bought some food

from the dairy."

Crafting Visual Aspect of Creative Writing

I am really impressed at our the students crafted their online books. The visual component of a text is important as it helps to visualize and bring the story to life. The students did an awesome job marrying the images (either AI generated or images that they found online) to their text. I did not guide them through this part and I did not give any guidance on this. Here is an example of the some of awesome visuals that my students used and created for their texts. 

9TRn Exemplar from Book Creator

Week 3 Term 3: Teacher Practice: NCEA Level 1 English: 91924 Assessment Update (August 5 - August 9)

The journey so far 

In Term 2 I documented the journey that the English Department took with the new assessment (91924: Demonstrate understanding of how context shapes verbal language use). You can see the reflections that I wrote for the process on how we approached this new assessment here: 

Alby's Blog Post Entry (19/05/24) - An overview of our Term 2 unit 'Our Stories and Our Histories (through poetry)'.

Alby's Blog Post Entry (09/06/24) - Reading No.1 - Jacinda goes to the Pacific Forum in Tuvalu and my family colonizes her house

Alby's Blog Post Entry (16/06/24) - Reading No.2 + Reading No.3 - BLM and Covid in the time of Priminiscinda

Alby's Blog Post Entry (23/06/24) - Reading No.4 - Massacre + the reading log

Since the last post, we have covered 4 texts from our text study (Tusiata Avia's 'The Savage Colonizer Book'). The students and I worked through the first three texts together (reading through the text and going through the reading log) for: 

1. Jacinda goes the Pacific Forum in Tuvalu and my family colonizes her house
2. BLM
3. Covid in the time of Priminiscinda

From here the students were given the fourth text 'Massacre' to read through on their and complete the reading log independently. Now I am going to outline the assessment which is the last phase of the unit 'Our Stories + Our Histories (through poetry)'. I will outline the assessment that has come from the unit and how the students have done so far with the assessment. 

91924: Outline of the assessment

The focus for the assessment is to get the students to write a report on the context of the poem that they have chosen (in this case - Massacre) and explain how the context has influenced and shaped the verbal language used. 

Task One: Author + Context

TASK ONE: The students will write about the author (doing their own research) on who Tusiata Avia is. They will then do some research on the context around the text that they are focusing. By this stage, they should have finished the reading log for their fourth text so they can pull what they have done in the reading log and use it for Task One. 

Task Two: Introduction + Context

TASK TWO: For the introduction the students will provide a summary of the text they have chosen from 'The Savage Colonizer Book'. They will also write who Tusiata Avia is and give an in depth insight into the context surrounding the text and what the context is telling us about society at the time it was written. Again, the information that they have collated through the reading log for their fourth text can be used for introduction and context paragraph for the assessment. 

Task Three: Language Features

TASK THREE: A big focus for the reading logs is identifying language features that are effective in the text. For this part of the assessment, the students will talk about four verbal language techniques from the text, why they were effective in the overall messaging of the text and how they connect or relate to the context. The conclusion follows from here. 

How is it going so far?

STRENGTHS: The students have responded well to the assessment. They are particularly strong in identifying the language features and explaining why the features are effective. For example: 

"The first technique Listing is a technique that is used to list down key points of a topic down for easier access to the information. An example of this may be listing every cupcake on a tray fresh out of the oven, basically meaning summing up the total of something into a presented list.

The second Technique I will explore is Repetition- This is when a single word or phrase is used multiple times in a successful effort to get a point across, for example “I have to practice so I can get better, I have to practice so I can get better.”

Listing, this is a language feature that is used on a daily such as counting the roll in class for the amount of students or listing who is going to a birthday party, this technique specifically is effective in the massacre poem as it was used to list the ages of 8 of the 51 victims that passed that day one of them being only 3 years old very simple but useful technique."

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT: Understanding what the context is and being able to articulate the context is an area that my students have struggled with. I know that I probably need to provide more pre-reading exercises that talk about the context around Avia's 'Massacre' (The Christchurch shooting 2019) and go through this with the students prior to them reading the text. Just as we have done so with the three other poems, I feel that the students need the same scaffolding and direction with the fourth text. I assumed that they were able to get through it on their own as we had covered so much during our intensive reading period. One of my colleagues shared an article from The Guardian which is a good resource that I'd like to integrate into the pre-reading for Massacre - see the link here The Guardian: Exclusive: Racism, homophobia fuelling thousands of crimes in New Zealand each year, figures show

The assessment is one where the students have to think beyond the text and really understand the context both social and political contexts, that surrounds the text. It requires the students to inquire and research into what is happening before, during and after the text. The prior assessment work such as the reading logs and working through this as a class is important as it helps the students to gauge the context. I know that I need to continue this even when the students are working on their independent inquiry with their chosen text, I need to help guide the understanding and learning of the context. 

NEXT STEPS

• Work through the final phase of the assessment with the students
• Share the article to students who are struggling to connect/identify the context
• Get the assessment done by Week 6 Term 3