Reflection of my RPI journey

Looking back over the 9 sessions, I feel this PLD has changed the way I think about my role as a reading teacher. I have always valued reading in my classroom, but these sessions have made me think more carefully about why I am doing things and how they help my students become better readers. One of the biggest things I have taken away is the importance of knowing my learners as readers. I am now thinking more carefully about their interests, experiences, reading behaviours and the types of texts I choose for them. I want students to see themselves in texts, while also being exposed to different cultures, experiences and perspectives. The sessions on small-group reading, vocabulary and higher-order thinking have also influenced my teaching. I want to be more intentional about building background knowledge, explicitly teaching vocabulary and asking questions that make students think beyond what is directly written in the text. I have also changed the way I think about what happens after reading. The ideas around Create and Share showed me that reading does not have to finish with comprehension questions. Students can use what they have learnt to create, discuss and share. For example, after reading Bak Choy, my students created a skit recreating the scene where Jacob fell into the water and interviewed the bystanders. This showed me how students can demonstrate their understanding in different ways. Overall, these 9 sessions have helped me become a more intentional reading teacher. I am thinking more about how my texts, teaching, questions, activities and assessment all connect. Moving forward, I want my reading programme to give students more opportunities to read, think, discuss, question, create and share. Most importantly, I want my students to see reading as more than just a school task. I want it to help them learn about themselves, understand others and explore different worlds.

Create put into practice

After putting the “create” ideas into practice, I could see how much more engaged my students were when they had the chance to use what they had learnt from a text. We read Bak Choy, and instead of just answering questions, the students chose to create a skit based on the part where Jacob fell into the water. They decided to recreate the scene by acting as different characters and interviewing the bystanders about what happened. I really enjoyed seeing the students take the text and make it their own. They had to think about what the characters may have said, how they would have reacted, and what information from the story they needed to include. It also gave them a chance to work together, share ideas and be creative. I noticed that some students who are usually quieter during reading discussions were much more involved when they were acting and creating. It showed me that students can sometimes demonstrate their understanding in ways that are different from simply writing answers. This has encouraged me to continue using more “create” activities in reading. I will still make sure the task has a clear purpose and is connected to the text, but I want to give students more opportunities to choose how they show what they understand.

Day 8: The Power of Create

Today made me think about how I can give my students more chances to use what they have learnt rather than just read a text and answer questions. I realised that “create” can give students a real purpose for their learning and allow them to show their understanding in different ways. Next week I will make my create activities more closely linked to the texts we are reading. For example, after reading about a character, students could create a diary entry, comic, video or poster from that character’s point of view. I also want to give students more choice in how they show their learning, such as choosing between a Google Drawing, slideshow, video or written piece. I will also build in more opportunities for students to work together and support each other. This could include pair or group projects where they share ideas and strengths, linking to tuakana-teina. Another change I want to make is to give students a real purpose for their creations. Instead of simply asking them to make a poster, I could ask them to create something that teaches another class what they have learnt. This makes the task more meaningful. I also want to make some of my reading units longer so students have time to really develop an idea and create something meaningful. For example, after reading several texts around a topic, students could use information from all the texts to create a presentation, poster, digital book, a short film or other product that shows what they have learnt Overall, I want to move away from “read it, answer it and move on” and give students more opportunities to read, learn, create and share.

RPI Day 7 Reflection "Thinking"

Today’s PLD made me think about the types of questions I ask my students when we are reading. I realised that I sometimes focus too much on questions where students just find the answer in the text. Today's learning reminded me that I also need to give students opportunities to think more deeply, share their opinions, and explain their thinking. One thing that stood out to me was the idea of reading "between the lines" and "beyond the lines." I want my students to think about what the author is trying to say, not just what is written on the page. This means giving them opportunities to make predictions, make connections, and think about different points of view. I also liked learning about the three ways to build higher order thinking into reading lessons. Modelling my own thinking, planning meaningful follow-up activities, and giving students time to have discussions all help students think more deeply about a text. The Zoo Debate activity showed me that good discussions need to be planned and that students need regular chances to practise sharing and building on each other's ideas. Another thing I will think more about is using Bloom's Taxonomy when I plan. It reminded me to include tasks that go beyond remembering facts and encourage students to explain, create, and justify their ideas. I also liked the idea of using provocations to start discussions. I think this will help students who are unsure how to join a conversation and give them a starting point for sharing their ideas. Overall, today reminded me that reading is about more than understanding the words on the page. It is also about thinking, questioning, and talking about ideas with others. What I will take back to my classroom Ask more open-ended questions that make students think more deeply. Give students more time to talk in small groups and share their ideas. Use provocations to start meaningful class discussions. Plan follow-up activities that ask students to explain, create, and justify their thinking. Model my own thinking more often so students can see how good readers make sense of a text. Use Bloom's Taxonomy when planning to make sure I'm giving students different ways to think about a text. I think these small changes will help my students become more confident readers who are willing to share their ideas, think more deeply, and support their thinking with reasons.

RPI DAY 6 Reflection

Today’s PLD made me realise just how important vocabulary is for learning. The more words students know, the easier it is for them to understand what they are reading, share their ideas, and make sense of new learning. It really reinforced the idea that vocabulary plays a big part in reading comprehension. Something that stood out to me was that knowing a word is not as simple as knowing its definition. Words can have different meanings depending on the situation, and students build their understanding of words over time. This made me think about how often I expose students to new words and whether I am giving them enough opportunities to use those words in different ways. I also reflected on my own practice. At the moment, when we come across tricky words, we often look up the meaning, but today's learning reminded me that vocabulary teaching needs to go beyond that. Students need opportunities to discuss words, work out meanings from context, and look at parts of words such as prefixes and suffixes, can we maybe use it in a sentence or part of our writing? My students already do some of this through our You Can Spell programme, but I think I need to be more explicit in showing them how these word parts can help them understand unfamiliar words. I also enjoyed the activity where we had to explain and justify our thinking. It reminded me that students need regular opportunities to share their opinions and back them up with reasons. This is something I can build into my reading discussions more often. What I will take back to my classroom Spend more time talking about new words before and during reading. Encourage students to use clues from the text to work out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Be more explicit when teaching prefixes, suffixes, and other word parts (maybe through warm ups or even setting up tasks as homework) Give students more chances to explain their thinking and justify their answers. Revisit new vocabulary throughout the week so students hear it, use it, and remember it. Overall, today reminded me that building vocabulary is not a one-off lesson. It needs to happen regularly, and the more opportunities students have to hear, discuss, and use new words, the stronger their understanding will become.

RPI Day 5 Reflection

Today’s PLD made me think more carefully about how I plan my reading programme and independent tasks for students. One thing that really stood out to me was that follow-up tasks should not just be activities to keep students busy while I work with a reading group. The tasks should actually have a purpose and connect to the learning intention and success criteria. I also reflected on how important it is to make learning easy for students to access. We talked about class sites and making sure students can find what they need quickly without getting confused. It made me think about how clear my own class routines and online tasks are. Another thing I thought about was whether students really know what to do when they are not working with me. This reminded me that strong routines are important so students can work independently and stay focused while I am conferencing with groups. I also liked the discussion around linking learning across different subjects. It makes sense that if students are learning poems in reading, they can also explore poems in writing. This helps make learning feel more connected and meaningful for students. Lastly, we talked about using digital apps in a meaningful way. Technology should help students think, learn, and engage with the task instead of just giving them something to do. I have been using epic but its mostly for student to use it as enjoyment and reader mileage however I now know there are more features to this reading tool that I can use explicitly to link the stories they read on EPIC to the topic of inquiry or the texts they are reading during guided reading sessions with me. Action Points Make sure independent tasks clearly connect to the learning intention. Check that my class site is simple and easy for students to use. Strengthen classroom routines so students know what to do independently. Continue linking reading with writing and other learning areas. Use digital tools and apps more purposefully during learning tasks.

Small Group Reading Adjustment Reflection

Over the past few weeks, I started using some of the small group reading ideas during our ANZAC unit, which my mentor Josh helped our team to create. Before reading the text Lest We Forget, I showed the students a video about ANZAC Day and got them to take notes while watching. I noticed this helped a lot because students already had some understanding of the topic before we even started reading. During guided reading, I tried to slow down more and pay attention to how students were thinking and responding to the text instead of just focusing on finishing it. I noticed students were more engaged because they were already interested in the topic and had some background knowledge. I also made sure the follow-up tasks connected properly to the reading. After reading the text, students did inquiry work around the “who, what, where, and why” of ANZAC Day. They also made posters about some of the fallen soldiers mentioned in the text and learned more about their lives. Later, they wrote poems and letters from the perspective of a soldier. I found that these activities helped students connect more deeply to the topic and really think about what soldiers may have gone through. Something else I noticed was that students were sharing more ideas during discussions and using information from the text to support their thinking. Because all the learning connected together, the unit felt more meaningful for them. Overall, this unit reminded me how important it is to build background knowledge first and make sure reading tasks actually connect to the text and learning. I could see that students were more engaged and got more out of the learning because of it.

RPI DAY 4 Reflection

Today’s PLD made me think more about what guided reading should actually look like in a small group setting. One thing that really stood out to me was that guided reading is not just listening to students read out loud. It’s about teaching them the strategies they need to understand harder texts and become more confident readers over time. I also reflected on how important background knowledge is before students even start reading. Some students already know a lot about a topic, while others need more support first through pictures, videos, discussion, or just talking things through. It reminded me that I need to spend more time preparing students for the text instead of jumping straight into reading. Another thing I took away was the importance of observing students closely while they read. Sometimes I get caught up in making sure everyone gets through the text, but today reminded me to slow down and really watch for reading behaviours, patterns, and strategies students are using. Those little observations can tell us a lot about what support they need next. I also thought more about follow-up tasks. They should actually connect to the text and help students build on their understanding, not just be an activity to complete afterwards. That’s something I want to be more intentional about in my planning. Lastly, I liked the focus on getting students to explain their thinking using evidence from the text. I want to work on getting my students to give deeper answers and back up their ideas instead of just giving quick responses. Overall, today’s session reminded me to be more purposeful during guided reading and to really use that small group time well.

Text Selection Reflection

Over the past week, I have been more intentional with my text coverage and how I plan my reading programme. Instead of choosing random texts, I started thinking more about how my texts connect to each other and to my learning intention. I focused on building a small text set rather than using one-off texts. For example, I included texts that connected to culture and identity. I brought in a text linked to Tongan culture, which supported students like Pauline and Toni in seeing themselves in the learning. I also included other texts that showed different cultures and perspectives, so students were both relating to and learning about others. I noticed that when texts were connected, students were more engaged and able to make links between what they were reading. Discussions were stronger because they had more to say and could build on ideas from previous texts. In my planning, I also made sure the texts matched the learning intention. This helped keep lessons more focused and made the tasks on my task board more meaningful. I am starting to see that text selection is not just about interest, but also about purpose. One thing I am still working on is making sure the level of challenge is right for all groups, especially when using the same theme across different abilities. I also want to continue building stronger text sets that flow more clearly from one lesson to the next. Overall, being more intentional with my text coverage has made a positive difference. Students are more engaged, discussions are richer, and the learning feels more connected.

RPI Day 3 Reflection

Today made me think more carefully about the texts I choose for my students. I realised how important it is to pick texts that students can connect with and relate to. They should be able to see themselves in what they are reading, but also learn about people and experiences that are different from their own. This helps them understand the world better and build positive values. For example Pauline and Toni in my class are from Tonga and they adore their Tongan heritage however since they never visited Tonga, I could have books about Tonga such as myths and legend from Tonga as a means of culturally enrich them both with more knowledge about their country of origin. I also thought more about how I group my students. There is a place for both mixed ability groups and same ability groups, depending on the purpose. It made me reflect on being more intentional with how I group students during reading time and be more careful when it is time to move them up. I also was able to self reflect and realize I need to be more specific with the texts I select during my guided reading sessions as it needs to match both student interest and the learning intention. It’s not just about picking a “good” book — it needs to support what I am trying to teach and what the students want to learn more about. Furthermore, another thing I noticed during one of our discussions around “Taking stock and tuning up”, I realized the thing I am proud of is how much I have promoted reading to my students through independent reading. I make sure all of my students get AT LEAST 20 minutes of independent reading per day every day of the week. I managed to break it down into two 10 to 15 minute sessions a day right after they come back from play time and I use reading as a means for them to get their heart rates down and just to bring down those energy levels and get into “zen mode” hahaha. However, an area I would like to work on more is “Reading to” part and this is something I have talked with my Mentor Josh about and he is helping me out with different strategies to get this done more efficiently. Lastly, I reflected on my task boards. I need to make sure that all tasks clearly link to the learning intention and success criteria, and that they flow well together. Everything should have a clear purpose and help students move towards the goal. Overall, today reminded me to be more thoughtful and intentional in my planning so that everything I do supports student learning in a clear way. I really enjoyed today's session and I thank Amie for doing an excellent job in facilitating the whole day's programme.

RPI Day 2

Today's PLD had alot of korero around the PAT data assessment and how effecttive it can be for planning and teaching, I learnt that assessment data is not just for reporting marks back to our whanau, it’s a way to really find out what students can do, where they need support, and what their next steps are. Looking at my PAT data got me thinking about my students’ gaps and helped me see how important it is to plan learning intentions and success criteria that are clear and achievable for each learner. It was also awesome that Kiri and Amie acknowledged that the LI and SC doesn't need to be super fancy but simple and easy to be understood by our learners. I realised that I can be more intentional about teaching reading when I really know my students. If I know their strengths and gaps through assessments then its far easier to plan lessons that actually meet their needs instead of just trying to tick off a box. I also feel more confident knowing that clear learning intentions and success criteria give both me and the students a focus of the lesson and it’s not just “Hey! Let’s read this book,” it’s “practice this skill, show this understanding.” This helps me see reading as a teaching process I can guide, not just something the students do alone. I will use what I learned today by making sure students know their own reading goals and what success looks like. I also learned that knowing each student’s reading habits and interests really matters. I can suggest books they will actually enjoy, and that will help build both their skills and their love of reading and I loved the example that was given by Kiri about the use of EPIC app and getting students to read a scary book and this kind of sets a purpose for reading instead of students just browsing randomly. Next week we have a parent teacher conference and I could also share with whānau that supporting students to read at home isn’t just about having them read any book, but about helping them enjoy reading and notice their progress. I will also promote our local library to the parents so they can visit it more often with their children.

Reader Profile Survey Reflection

When I looked at the survey results, one thing really stood out to me. Every student said they love reading and feel passionate about it. On the surface, this is extremely positive and something I’m proud of as their teacher. It shows that reading has a positive image in our classroom. However, when I looked deeper at their habits, I noticed something interesting. Most students only borrow books once a week — when we visit the school library together. Very few are independently borrowing books outside of that time, and many do not have a local library card. This made me reflect on the difference between enjoying reading in theory and actively engaging in reading in daily life. It made me question whether students see reading as something connected mainly to school, rather than something they independently seek out. It also highlighted possible barriers. Some students may not have easy access to books at home. Others may rely heavily on school structures to prompt reading. Even though they identify as readers, they may still need support to build independent reading habits. Moving forward, this has challenged me to think about how I can strengthen reading beyond the classroom routine. For example, I could: Encourage students and families to sign up for local library cards. Create more opportunities for book recommendations and peer sharing. Increase access to engaging texts within the classroom. Talk more openly about when and how I read in my own life. Overall, the survey results were encouraging, but they also reminded me that building a love of reading is not just about attitude — it is about helping students develop consistent reading habits and access to books. This is an area I would like to explore further in my practice

RPI Day One Reflection

What did I learn that increased my understanding of an effective reading programme? One thing that really stood out to me this week is that reading is much bigger than saying words correctly. Strong readers are active thinkers. They question, connect ideas, and read for different reasons — sometimes to learn, sometimes for enjoyment. I realised that a reading programme should help students grow as confident, motivated readers, not just accurate ones. I also reflected on how important the classroom environment is. Students need to feel safe to share their thoughts and respond to others. Without that culture, reading stays silent and individual, instead of becoming something students learn from together. Another idea that stayed with me is that motivation matters. When students feel capable, they are more willing to engage. That reminded me that building positive reading experiences is just as important as teaching strategies. I was also challenged to think about myself as a reader. If I want students to value reading, they need to see that it has value in my life too. I now see more clearly that reading supports learning across all subjects. When students can use reading skills in different contexts, it becomes a tool for understanding the world, not just a classroom task. What did I learn that could improve my capability and confidence in teaching reading? This learning helped me shift how I think about my role. Teaching reading is not about checking answers — it is about guiding thinking. I need to show students how readers make sense of ideas, not just what the right answer is. I also gained clarity around the importance of structured talk. Students cannot be expected to discuss ideas effectively unless they are taught how. When expectations for listening and responding are clear, discussions become more meaningful. This gave me confidence because I already support these kinds of interactions in other learning areas, so I can transfer those practices into reading. Another useful takeaway was the importance of understanding students as readers. Learning about tools that help identify students’ interests and habits showed me that planning should start with knowing who my learners are. This helped me feel more purposeful and intentional in my approach. What did I learn that could be used with my learners? I realised that my own attitude toward reading directly influences my students. If I want them to see reading as enjoyable and worthwhile, I need to demonstrate that belief through my actions. Talking about books, sharing recommendations, and showing genuine interest can make reading feel more real and relevant to them. I also recognised the value of intentionally learning about my students’ reading preferences. Gathering information about what they like and how they read will help me support them more effectively and guide them toward books that engage them. Another practical takeaway is the need to explicitly teach how to participate in reading discussions. Students benefit from clear guidance on how to listen, respond thoughtfully, and respect different viewpoints. These behaviours support deeper thinking and more meaningful learning conversations. What did I learn that could be shared within my wider community, with either colleagues or whānau/aiga? A key message I would share is that developing readers is not something that happens only at school. When adults show interest in reading, talk about books, and encourage reading for enjoyment, children’s confidence grows. I would also share the importance of understanding students as individuals. Learning about their interests helps us guide their reading journey more effectively. Supporting reading works best when teachers, families, and students work together with a shared purpose.

Teaching as Inquiry Process

 

Below is an overview of the of the labels for each stage of the TaI Framework

LEvidence	Learn - Gather Evidence	CPlan	Create - Make a plan	SPublish	Share - Publish
LScan	Learn - Scan	CTry	Create - Try new things	SCoteach	Share - Co-teach
LTrend	Learn - Identify Trends	CInnovate	Create - Innovate	SModel	Share - Model
LHypothesise	Learn - Hypothesise	CImplement	Create - Implement	SGuide	Share - Guide
LResearch	Learn - Research	CReflect	Create - Reflect	SFback	Share - Feedback
LReflect	Learn - Reflect			SReflect	Share - Reflect