Early+Years+Language+and+Literacy+Class

= Observation an Analysis of and Early Years Language and Literacy Class = “In a scaffolded approach to literacy, there is a place for the teacher to //model, share// and //guide// and encourage //independence// in reading and writing.” (Hill, S 2006) In the classroom the teacher will use many different approaches to develop their students’ reading and writing abilities. They develop learning activities for students to do as a whole class, in smaller groups and individually to teach different aspects of reading and writing. Mostly, they do this in a 2 hour language and literacy block, dedicated to developing the students’ reading and writing skills.

Observation sheet
Observation of a grade 1/2 composite language and literacy class. Students worked individually on the picture books they were writing about the sea. Different students were at different stages of ‘publishing’, so some students continued to write their stories, while others typed their stories up or illustrated their books. If they had finished their books, they started a new independent writing exercise on the pirate based ‘incursion’ they had at school the week before. The teacher had a help station at the back of the room, and if the students had any questions about their work, they could take their work down to the help table and their teacher would assist them with their task. || The teacher read aloud to the class from ‘The A-Z of Pirates’, pointing out vocab they had already learned, and asking if anyone knew the meaning of unfamiliar vocab. They also matched the text to the illustrations. || The teacher got the class to read the text on the board together, and then pick out the spelling mistakes in the text. || One group of students copied the short story written on the board.
 * ** Time ** || ** Groupings ** || ** Resources ** || ** Teaching approaches/learning experiences ** ||
 * 8:45 am || Whole class || Readers || Swap readers, discuss independent writing. ||
 * 9:00 am || Individual work || Own books, dictionaries & computers || **Independent writing.**
 * 9:30 am || Whole class || ‘The A-Z of Pirates’ || **Modelled reading.**
 * 9:40 || Whole class || Text written on board. || **Shared reading.**
 * 9:45 am || Small Groups || Text written on board, sea creatures book, vocabulary list of pirate terms and phrases & worksheets. || **Guided writing.**

**Guided reading.** The guided reading group sat at a table with the teacher and read and book about sea creatures. She got each student to read a bit of text at a time so she. When they had finished their guided reading task, this group then went on to complete a ‘Mermaid Match’ comprehension worksheet, matching captions to illustrations (see figure 1)

Another group also completed a worksheet (see figure 2), where they rearranged the jumbled words in a poem and put them in the correct order. They then went on to design their own ‘jolly roger’.

The remaining group was given a spelling exercise to do, where they were to practice spelling words in their pirate vocab list, and then choose their favourite pirate saying to quote. ||
 * 10:20 am || Whole class || Work students had just completed || The class got back together to complete a speaking and listening task. Each group explained their task to the rest of the class, and showed them what they had done. The poetry group read their poem together to the class, the guided reading group showed the class their mermaid match activity, the members of the spelling group each had a go at spelling a word off the vocab list, and then got to share with the class their favourite pirate saying, and the modelled writing group showed held up their modelled writing task, and read it out to the class. ||

Figure 1- 'Mermaid Match' Figure 2 - 'Pirate Poem'

Analysis
The first exercise I observed was //independent writing.// ‘The purpose of independent writing is to build fluency and motivation, and is a time to express ideas and experiment.’ (Hall, S 2006) At level 2 ‘students write short sequenced texts that include some related ideas about familiar topics… They reread their own writing and use a range of editing resources to revise and clarify meaning. They write upper- and lower-case letters legibly with consistent size, slope and spacing.’ (VELS, 2008) The students had access to dictionaries to assist with editing, to correct spelling mistakes, or help them spell words they did not know. They also used editing software on the computer, which ensured that they used capital letters appropriately, and corrected most spelling mistakes they had missed. They were allowed to write anything they liked, just as long as it related to the beach in some way. The class does not generally begin their language and literacy block with independent writing, but the task was overdue, and the teacher needed to fill in time until another student teacher was able to make it to the class.

The next task, //modelled reading,// the teacher **modelled** reading aloud to the class, by reading from a pirate book titled, ‘The A-Z of Pirates’ (Hill, S 2007). It was more complicated than the texts that the students would read on their own, and is meant to ‘provide syntax models, vocabulary and meanings that children may not hear in everyday conversations but which then become part of their talk and writing’ (Hill, S 2007) The teacher also continued to encourage students to make connections between the text and the illustrations in the book.

The teacher then began a //shared reading exercise// and asked the class to read the text on the blackboard as a group. When they had finished reading, she then asked them to pick out any spelling mistakes in the text. According to Hill, ‘big books’ can also be used during shared reading as it is possible for the students to see the text and illustrations clearly.

The class then split up into groups to do a variety of writing, and reading activities. A //guided writing// activity was given to one group where they each had to copy down the writing from the board, focusing on capital letters, correct spelling and punctuation.

One group took part in a //guided reading// exercise. The teacher discussed the book with them first, and then they took it in turns to read aloud a section of text from a sea creatures book. The teacher was able to correct any pronunciation mistakes and help with difficult words. When they had finished reading, the teacher asked the students questions about the contents of the book, which enabled her to assess the students’ comprehension levels. This group then went on to do the ‘Mermaid Match’ activity.

The ‘Pirate Poem’ activity was similar to the ‘Mermaid Match’ activity. The group doing the ‘Pirate Poem’ rearranged the sentences in the poem so it would make sense. This activity helped to demonstrate that the structure and order in text affect the flow and significance. Students in this group then got to design their own ‘jolly roger’.

The final group practiced spelling words from their pirate vocab list. They could then gain knowledge of the meanings and spelling of these words, so they can use them later on in the pirate topic. They also picked their favourite pirate phrase to later share with the class.

The class got back together for a final whole group activity. During this speaking and listening activity, students demonstrated that they were at the appropriate level for speaking and listening in regards to VELS. Students at Level 2 in English ‘contribute to group activities by making relevant comments and asking clarifying questions to facilitate communication. After listening to short live or recorded presentations, they recall some of the main ideas and information presented. They listen to others and respond appropriately to what has been said.’ Each class member spoke to the entire class, and demonstrated what they had learned.

The class didn’t follow the structure I was expecting, i.e. ( Christie, N 2009) But in the 2 hours, they did do roughly the same amount of reading and writing as a class and in groups as I expected, just in a different order. The teacher used a variety of different learning techniques outlined in Hall throughout the class. As she was able to work with small groups, it gave her a better chance to assess each learner individually.
 * === Reading (1 hour total) === ||
 * Whole Class || Focus on topic || 10 mins ||
 * Small Groups || 1 small teaching group, rest of class do own reading task || 40 mins ||
 * Whole Class || Share time || 10 mins ||
 * === Writing (1 hour total) === ||
 * Whole Class || Focus on topic || 10 mins ||
 * Small Groups || 1 small teaching group, rest of class do own writing task || 40 mins ||
 * Whole Class || Share time || 10 mins ||