How do / Nihao / ‘ello!
Miss Aleks and I were sent to Shenzhen last week. In a rather odd way, it happened just as Guangzhou had one or two cases of modern day Black Death, COVID-19. The coronavirus just won’t go away. So, to be safe, face masks, hand-wash and direct transport was arranged. In-out, and quiet areas for dinner: Nepali food and Vietnamese pho made up for average lunch options.
Day one started little after nine in the morning. It finished around six o’clock (due to homework). Day two was similar. There was no real time to add to my end of semester student comments at T.W.I.S. Notes were scribbled and presentations listened to in quick succession. First up was the energetic Nicole Ren, from Scholastic in Beijing. Considering her flight arrived late the evening before, she did not lack vim. Before entering the Grand Mercure hotel conference room, I was assigned the number 1. That meant I was on the first table. Aleks chose a random number too. She was despatched somewhere near the rear of the room. There were at least a dozen tables. The bum-numbing seats did not make a difference in positioning. The screen was visible and speakers had been installed.
Setting up a balanced literacy programme
Day 1: Balanced Literacy in Action Word / Intro & implementation: Setting up Your Balanced Literacy Program. Understand appropriate materials for each components of Balanced Literacy. Understand components of Balanced Literacy Approach. Key stages of Literacy Development and appropriate texts for Early (D-1) and Transitional (J-N) readers. LEXILE Reading Framework: Assess Reading Levels and Find the Right Book for students. Shared Reading: Comprehension & Shared Writing. Demo: Explain the before-, during-, and after sections of a Shared Reading lesson. ldentify how comprehension skills, word study, and writing fit into a Shared Reading lesson. Workshop: Set instructional foci and deliver a shared reading session. ·Guided Reading (I): Teaching Comprehension With Response Formats.
Video observation: Explain the before-, during-, and after- sections of a Transitional. Guided Readina lesson. ldentify instructional foci and phases of a GR session.
Day 2: Study & Writing Workshop / Guided Reading for Early and Transitional Readers
Focus: Conduct small-group Guided Reading lnstruction including use of Literacy
09:00 – 10:30 .Understand appropriate materials for each components of Balanced Literacy. Centre activities and classroom management approaches. Plan, implement and
manage differentiated small-group GR instruction within a Balanced Literacy approach
to Early and Transitional learning in English for all students. Explore differentiation in
·small-group instruction, use of groups, and managing literacy centres.
Students
Session 2 Guided Reading Lesson Planning (!): A Deeper Dive With Word Study
(90 mins)
· . Introduction & Discussion:
10:40-12:10
·Understand the Place of Phonics and Spelling in Word Study·Teach Word Study During A Guided Reading Lesson
·Quick and Easy Activities for Word Study
Apply the word solving strategies to figure out words: Cover the ending / Use known
parts / Chunk big words / Break down contractions / Use analogies
Session 3 Writina About Reading: Exploring Types of Writing With SRP
(80 mins) · . Specific structures, devices and features of each type of writing.
14:00-15:20 . First step toward essay writing – understanding textual structure.
.Demo: The before-, during-. and after- sections of a Guided Reading lesson with . Demo: From reading to writing – How Modelled, Shared, Guided Writing
support respondina to text.
quided reading session.
.Workshop: Set instructional foci and select teach points. ·Discussion: How writing workshops support students’ writing development.
Session 4 Launching the Writing Workshop: Planning a Trait-Based Writing Lesson
Guided Reading (U): Teaching Reading Strategies With Graphic Organizers
(80 mins) .Demo: before-, during:, and after- sections of a Guided Reading lesson with . Demo: Observe the trainer carrying out a lesson to give you a model of what
15:30 – 17:10
nonfictional text. identify how graphic organizers support academic reading in a quided instruction looks like in action and the inspiration to develop your own
reading session. trait-based lesson plans.
·Discussion: Explain how comprehension skills fit in a GR lesson: Connect / Predict/ Question / Determine importance / Infer / Visualise / Evaluate / State and support . Discussion: ldentify the Writing Process; Blend writing traits and processes within a
opinions trait-based writing lesson.
Assignment Round-up of Day 1 Round-up of Day 2
(15 mins)
Homework activity: Reflection:
GR fiction lesson plan How am l going to implement GR in my classes?
Each session started with goals and an overview.
Xiexie / Thank you kindly / Ta’ra for now.
(Unpublished notes from 2021)