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.