I’ve written this post for the teachers new to Prep who have asked me for support, and I’m always happy to do this. I always stress that I’m still a learner as well. I learn from others, professional reading and my students. It’s day 12 of formal education for my Australian Prep students, and I’m amazed by their ‘have a go’ attutude. They are certainly displaying the IB – PYP Learner Profile – Risk Taker. Today I was amazed by their use of strategies, looking around the room, sounding long, saying short, prompting each other, referring to the alphabet tool cards and ‘thinking aloud’.
Today I modelled my own journal, using taught strategies, and ‘thinking aloud’. I asked my students for help, played ‘Hangman’ (without the picture) for some words to identify a missing letter / sounds, and referred to our tool cards. I used spacers, and talked about capital letters. Our next inquiry will be: What is a capital letter? After writing my journal, I removed it. I want my students to write independently. To introduce the ‘concepts of print’, I constantly refer to the PM Emergent Writing Exemplar Big Books.
Day 12 Journal Samples:
I’m using the PM Emergent Writng Exemplar Big Books to introduce initial concepts, but I’ll move on to PM Writing Book 1 later in the year & PM Writing 1+ for extension.
Our next writing session will be PrepD Student Led Interactive Writing. This is the strategy which I believe best supports young writers, and is perfect for older students. There is no doubt in my mind that collaborative writing, where children use their collective knowledege to support each other makes a significant difference to student learning outcomes.
Cheers Nina
Nina Davis: Teaching & Learning in Australia 