Teacher Appraisal

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Year 7/8 Class Experiment: Testing eggs in different liquids What I will incorporate: Scientific diagram rules enlarged on the wall, very clear to see. The rules were also printed and glued into the the front of each students science book. Students are reminded to check the rules before and after drawing their diagrams.  Always referring back to the steps in science: prediction, investigation, observation, diagram and explanation. Sentence starters and oral examples from teacher and students practice with a buddy. E.g. I think this happened because... I observed that when... When some students share back their sentences, the teacher gave feedback regarding what they did well and scaffolds them to be more specific adding detail and scientific vocabulary. Also, sometimes she would ask if the rest of the class agreed or disagreed with the statements made and why. Success criteria discussed with students before they do each task. E.g. "What do I...

Observation - Wednesday 4th March 2020 9:00am Year 8 classroom - Writing session Sheena Cameron Success Criteria - writing must include a hook, how the character feels, four adjectives, what the character sees etc. Small group with teacher - learning what makes a sentence. Mixed ability group? Asking students ideas. Doing an example as a group. - capital letters - full stops - words Looking into the different types of words (verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions ect.) Interactive - using posters on the wall. Getting the student to use the resources provided for them. Writing on the whiteboard table - all students can see. They write in their books. creating a google slide with each students sentences so they can all look and analyse looking for clauses which makes it a complex sentence. Types of sentences - simple, complex and compound. Rest of class working independently on their contracts which includes writing, math and reading. They have Must Do's an...

Reciprocal Reading through RTLB What have I learnt? Reciprocal reading is a technique used to improve students comprehension and also their involvement. This reading comprehension strategy encourages students to develop their reading skills when it comes to being an effective reader. Naturally and automatically, effective readers predict, clarify, question and summarise what they are reading. However, students need to be taught how to do that and the more the do it, the more natural it will become. Reciprocal reading has also had a massive impact on student engagement in only the short time frame we have been doing it in class. I'm looking forward to it continuing and seeing the students become effective and enthusiastic  readers.  Reciprocal Reading consists of four strategies: 1. Predicting 2. Clarifying 3. Questioning 4. Summarising  The clarifiers can use different resources, such as, dictionaries, atlas's, Google and thesauruses to define unknown word...

Times Tables Intervention  Year 7 Team Term 4 2019 During one of our Year 7 team meetings we discussed that many of our learners do not know their basic facts and that this is having an impact on their mathematical progress.  We decided as a team that we would run a ‘short’ basic facts intervention during Term 4. Each Year 7 team member picked a small group of students (most who are achieving below the expected curriculum level) to work on their basic facts with.  Group sizes depended on teacher selection, but it seemed to be between 4-6 children per class. Each teacher gathered some pre-data from their small group, which was a timed basic fact test (1 minute to see how many out of 20 could be done). The teaching took place over a few weeks and then post-data has been gathered.  The post-data is the same timed basic fact test that was done at the beginning of the intervention. Here is the information we gained from the intervention: Engageme...

Guided Reading RTLB Support in Class Over Term 4, an RTLB teacher and I are working together to improve the reading of a small target group in the class. She is also teaching me different strategies and tools that I can then implement next year.  What I have learnt? Modelling books can be very effective and successful if it is prepared beforehand. Use a range of reading within the group e.g. aloud, in head, with a buddy, paragraph by paragraph. Comprehension questions can be written by students on a post-it note or larger sheet of paper and attached to modelling book. The teacher can also write their answers (or the students can) making sure to include their initials. Take notes of students using or not using certain strategies. All of the information in the modelling book can be used for assessment and reports. Sheena Cameron has loads of tools to use that cover the reading strategies. The students can create their own templates and complete tasks. These can then be...

Working with those who are Over-Sensitised Friday 19th July 2019 What did I learn? Complex behaviour requires simple interventions because we need to work with the lower parts of the brain. This includes the four R's; Relationships, Repetition, Routine, and Rhythm. The lower brain needs to be happy and safe to allow the upper brain to engage.  Lower Brain = Brainstem/Limbic (Survival/Emotional) -Survival tasks -Impulsive -Irrational -Selfish -"Two year old" capacity -Doesn't think of how things will affect others. Upper Brain = Cortex (Managing) -Over-rides impulses -Plans -Sequences -Manages time -Abstract -Empathises The first thousand years are crucial as this is when the foundation is built, even before a baby is born. 86 Billion cells need to form to create a newborn baby. This is done through production, migration and differentiation. This is a chemical process which is why it is so important to not mix with any other chemicals...

In what ways am I raising student achievement in writing? What I have done: Writing conferences Individual writing goals Used writing progressions alongside conferences and goal setting S.S.W (sustained silent writing) Allowing choice of genre Free writing using video or picture from literacy shed Writing that is mixed with other curriculum areas What I want to do: Write more often Introduce more ways to plan e.g. graphic organisers Create success criteria as a class more often Peer assessments

How am I extending my top readers? I am extending my top readers in my class by offering challenges for them to do when they finish work earlier than others. These challenges are always available in a box in the classroom. Every 5 or so weeks I update them and add more to the box They are laminated so they can be used again. All the children know where they are and any student can use them, however, they are aimed at a higher level as to challenge and extend. Another way I have extended my top readers this year is I have created a new guided reading group of seven children who need extending. My original guided reading groups are mixed ability to allow for tuakana-teina. These groups are still focussing on poems and school journals, as for my top readers, they are reading a thick novel of a higher level.  Lastly, to extend the top readers within my new guided reading group, I am using Blooms Taxonomy and developing those higher skills, such as, analysing, evalu...

How do my students know what they are learning in Mathematics? Students know what they are learning in Math as a result of consultation with them over the learning progressions for for each unit i.e. Measurement, Geometry. These progressions have been developed as a school and students are well aware of them. They outline what topics need to be covered and what needs to be achieved for that level (not all students are at the same level).  The progressions prove effective when looking for gaps in students learning. The progressions can also be accessed through Google Drive and each one has a link to the Maths Hub. On the Hub, students and teachers can find helpful videos, activities and tasks all about that specific section.  Students also know what they are learning in Math through the WALT (we are learning to...) for the lesson. This is written on the whiteboard, discussed and copied it into their books. Other ways would be through mathematical discussions, group w...

Observation of Classroom Practice Alicia Prescott Maths Lesson -16/05/19  Effective Classrooms will be: What this looks like in the classroom: Examples of this in the classroom: Well organised, tidy  and visually attractive ·   Flexible workspaces to support individual, pair and group work. ·   Well presented examples of children’s work displayed ·   Routines and clear expectations displayed ·   Consistent expectations ·   Children taught and consistently reminded about care of resources and tidiness of classroom. (their responsibility) ·   Learning tasks are challenging but  scaffolded to reflect prior learning. ·   Children are on task with independent activities - Alicia has a desk where she can work with a small group effectively.  - some students are allowed to work independently in the corridor. - the classroom has some artwork and writing examples around the walls and is visually at...