At

Agenda 5/06/12Brief overview of Self-Lit and the selection process

Self-Lit units of workSpelling, punctuation and homework. Do they really matter?

Parent’s roleTeacher’s role

Self-Lit at Willowbank SchoolStarted as a pilot in 2011

Designed and tested over 18 years in Nelson

Access to Educational Psychologist

Aim: accelerated literacy learning

First school in NZ to offer it

Identifying studentsTeachers nominate studentsScreener tool usedTeam looks at results, place may then be

offered.Further 2 hours assessment completed (over

2-3 sessions)Regular time slot allocatedParent’s meeting within first 6 weeksReassessments after 30 weeks

I will probably also ask:Can they organise their desk/layout of their books/care for

their belongings

Level of oral language

History of previous interventions

Family history of literacy difficulties

Level of home support

K.C’s-especially thinking/participating and contributing/managing self

Screener page 1

Screener page 2

Processing speed.Screener gives me clues about processing

speed.

Talking and observing student while working also gives me clues.

Group activity

Nominate one person-they will get a task from Jo

Once I say start your group has 3 minutes to discuss the following:

What I did over Queen’s Birthday weekend

A regular weekly session…90 minutes

3 students, 1 specialist teacher

Individual workstations

Reading, writing, talking & website based tasks

Self-Lit Practical Teaching Approach

Three Settings

1.Specialist Teacher’s Classroom2. The Student’s Classroom3. The Home

What might it look like:Building a brick wall.

Reading text.Read text twice. 1) Highlight 2) Reread and tick

3) Comprehension check

4) Write

Website tasksEach unit has a set of words that the student

sees, hears, types and writes over a period of 3 weeks.

Aiming for:acquisition of knowledge-----mastery------

automaticity

Tasks within a unit include:Work on list with teacher (pen and paper)

b_ _ght

Hear it and type it

Type a sentence with it

Read a sentence, hold it in memory, type as it disappears

Other tasks:T reads text to me that includes list words

I read a (simple) text with list words included

I read simple text with errors in punctuation and spelling. I write it correctly.

Also:Dictation tasks for vowel combination

families

Timed blending strips

Learning conversations to check developing metacognition

Research tells us…

Does spelling matter?

Is punctuation important?

Oh dear!

My job description includes..Sharing findings with Willowbank Staff

Sharing successes with students, their families, senior management, BoT and schools in our cluster

Working alongside individual classroom teachers

Giving feedback to the programme designers in order to refine and improve the Self-Lit Approach

Setting them up for success.Weekly 90 minute Self-Lit session

Regular classroom programme

Home learning tasks

Once a week is not enough!

Enviro school? Yes, but…

Encouraging good habits…

Parents, how can you help?Limit distractionsNegotiate days and times-DON’T BUDGE

AFTER THATHeadphones may help (Browser needs to be

Firefox)Encourage independence but monitor

frustration levelsEmail me for any reasonRoutines and clear expectations-read

to/with/by most days

Excuses

See me..Before school on a Monday or Wednesday

Every Thursday lunchtime

Yellow homework box ALWAYS available

Email me

Frustrated

Research tells us..Frequent, intense practice of new

items helps them “stick” in the memory

Students need to see, hear and manipulate sounds and letters many times (maybe 100s) before they can do this automatically

We can make a difference but it will take time

Teachers, how can you help?Explicit teaching of spelling rules, how to use onset & rime

and syllable breaks to spell new words-use workshops and dictation tasks

Word study-why do we say “brekfist” but we spell it “breakfast”

Make it as easy as possible-focus on one set of words that follow the same rule

Don’t let bad habits slide-it’s not ok to use lower case “i” as a word in Year 1 but we still see it in Year 6. It is very difficult to untrain the brain.

And..Allow time for slow processors-group them with others who

need time so there is a greater chance they can contribute their ideas

Read to your class EVERY DAY

Promote reading-expect SSR at home EVERY DAY

Letter formation is important-”cut” is not the same as “cat”

Rewrite the whole word if an error is made

Resources we already have…

This is on the server

From page 3 “…..dyslexia involves an unexpected and persistent difficulty in learning to read, write and spell that cannot be identified by other factors.”

Not all Self-Lit students have dyslexic tendencies.

Other factors may include: ADHD

Dysfunctional family situations

Delayed start to formal schooling (eg S.A students)

and..Resources we own

First Steps…and Jo!