Learning story

Childs Name: Amelia Litchfield

2016

: Courtney spezza S00171438

Learning Story No. 1.

Child Name: Title:

Domain Dated Commentary of critical Artefact
incidents

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
2
 When Millie arrived to the first session
(22nd of August) she was quiet and
reserved. However, when the other
members of the Tell Tales group came
along, Millies outgoing and optimistic
personality shined through. Millie was
highly engrossed in the first telling of The
Percussion Bush Dance story. This was
evident by Millies enthusiastic responses
to questions posed by the preservice
teachers and her ability to make
connections between the animals in the
story and her prior experiences. When the
preservice teacher introduced the green
frog puppet and asked What animal am
I? Millie eagerly responded with Its a
frog! I have seen one near a lake before.
Taking an interest
An inspiring event took place in the last
twenty-minutes of the first session (22nd 1. Millie listening attentively to the telling of
of August). This event involved Millie re- The Percussion Bush Dance story.
enacting the story with the puppets. It
was lovely to see Millie utilise the story
books and puppets to help her retell the
story. During the retelling, Millie read with
expression and passion whilst
enthusiastically moving the puppets in
accordance to the words from the story.
After Millie retold The Percussion Bush
Dance story, she then moved on to
creating her own story and dialogue. Her
story was about her favourite character
from The Percussion Bush Dance, this
being the possum. Millie also
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
3
 incorporated aspects from Possums
magic into her interesting story. Millies
story was about a possum who lived in
the bush and could make himself
invisible. Millie began the story by
introducing the possum. My name is Mr
Possum and I live in trees and eat
leaves. What a fascinating introduction
Millie!

In week two (29th of August), the students

created a diorama of a habitat for one or
more of the characters. Millie was
particularly captivated in this activity. She 2. Millie creating her own story about a magical
even stated later on in the session that possum who lives in the bush.
this was her favourite activity because I
love art and making things. Millie initial
created her diorama to be a habitat for
her favourite character, the possum.
However, whilst making her diorama,
Millie made an interesting observation
that A frog, a wallaby, a snake and a
possum could all live here because there
is a pond, grass and trees. This was a
very insightful observation.

3. Millie creating her diorama for the possum,

frog, snake and wallaby.

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
4
 Throughout the Tell Tales program, Millie
was both an active and enthusiastic
participant who was always willing to
contribute and be involved in all
activities.

In week two (29th of August), each

character of the story asked the students
a few questions regarding The Percussion
Bush Dance story. The purpose of these
questions was to to test the students
comprehension of the story. Millie was
Being able to correctly identify that the story
Involved took place in The Australian bush and
also was able to recall the characters in
the story. This was very impressive Millie,
4. Millie participating in the shared reading of
considering you only heard the story the
week before. the text.

During the second session, the students

engaged in shared reading of the story.
Millie was highly engaged and involved in
the shared reading of the story. Millie
elected to read the possum part of the
story. She read her part with rhythm and
expression, which was quite fitting for the
story. I was impressed with how quickly
Millie was able to identify the repetitive
lines of the story. This enabled her to read
more proficiently in other lessons and to
perform the routine for the final
performance in a lively manner.

In week three (5th of September), we 5. Millie acting out the Red kangaroo.
played a game of Australian animal
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
5
 charades. Millie was both a cooperative
and active participant. During charades,
Millie listened attentively to the
description of each animal. This allowed
for her to be creative in her moments.
Millie particularly loved acting out the Red
kangaroo. Millie bounced around in a
cheerful and energetic manner to
represent the movement of the Red
kangaroo. Millie was also a very polite
participant, as she would put her hand up
rather than calling out her answer when
the other students were acting.

During week four (12th of September), the

students created a picture relating to The
Percussion Bush Dance story. For this
activity, Millie used the story book as a
reference. During this activity, Millie
made two extraordinary comments. The
first of the comments Millie made was I
can dance with any song is on every 6. Millies picture of the Percussion Bush Dance
page. Millie also stated that Nearly story.
each page has by the light of the moon
and the magical tune on it. Millie also
identified an example of alliteration,
which was impressive to hear. When
reading the part about the bat character
in the story, Millie identified that the
words twirled and twisted both started
with t and then w. Millie, you produced
a wonderful picture that accurately
described the setting, characters and
dialogue from the story.

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
6
 Millies persistence and sheer
determination enabled her to overcome
any challenges that she faced. This
allowed her to remain focused and
involved thought the course of the Tell
Tales program.

During the second session on the 29th of

Persisting with August, the students created a diorama
of the habitat for their favourite animal
difficulty from the story. Millies favourite animal
from the story is the possum. For the
purpose of creating a realistic looking
habitat for the possum, Millie collected 7. Millies diorama.
natural resources, such as rocks, sticks
and leaves. Millie was determined to find
a tree to include in her habitat, as she
said I need a tree, because my possum
lives in the grass and sleeps in the trees.
Millie searched high and low to find the
right tree, and when she stumbled across
the perfect stick, Millie squealed with
excitement and said I found the
possums tree.

Once it was time to construct the

possums habitat, Millie encountered a
minor difficulty when trying to glue down
the stick in her habitat. Initially Millie tried
to glue her stick standing upwards beside
the pond. However, this was unsuccessful
as the stick was not stabilised. Then Millie
realised that the stick need support and
found the perfect solution. Millies
solution was to place the stick in the
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
7
 corner of her diorama and cut a hole in
the bottom of the cardboard to place the
bottom of the stick in and cover the hole
with glue.

During independent reading in week

three, Millie showed persistence and
determination when she came across the
word sliding. During the initial reading of
the sentence, Millie first thought the word
was squirming, which was still quiet
fitting for the story. However, Millie then
said I dont remember reading or
hearing the word squirming in this story
before, is it squirming? Millie then
utilised chunking as a strategy to help her
identify the word. After identifying the
word as sliding, Millie then reread the
sentence with great enthusiasm.

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
8
 Over the course of the Tell Tales program,
Millie was a contributing member, who
was able to express and communicate
her ideas and feelings in a clear and
efficient manner to both the other
students and the preservice teachers.
Mille was also polite and courteous
Expressing an idea or throughout the duration of the Tell Tales
program. Millie would wait her turn to
a feeling speak and listen attentively to both the
other students and the preservice
teachers.
8. Millie and the girls acting out the movement
Throughout the four sessions, Millie
for the frog.
communicated her ideas and feelings
willingly. One of her greatest
contributions occurred during the first
practice of the final performance in week
two (29th of August). Millie suggested and
demonstrated some phenomenal
movements that could be used to
represent the actions of the possum,
wallaby and frog characters. Millie utilised
the verbs within the story to come up
with the following actions. Her idea for
the action for the possum was to pretend
that they are climbing a tree. For the
wallaby, Millie suggested that the
students bounce around like a kangaroo.
For the action of the frog, Millie
recommended that the students leap
around on the floor. Millies suggestions
have enabled us as a group to create an 9. Millie and the girls having a discussion about
entertaining and dynamic performance. how they would like to implement the musical
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
9
 instruments into their performance.
In week four (12th of September), we had
our last practice for the final
performance. During this time, the
preservice teachers introduced the
students to some musical instruments.
This was to see if the students would like
to incorporate music into their final
performance. Millie was highly engrossed
with matching the instruments to the
sounds found within the story. Millie took
particular interest in the rainmaker
instrument and suggested that we could
use the rainmaker for the ring, ring,
ringing line in the story.

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
10
 Throughout the Tell Tales program, Millie
showed initiative in regards to her
learning and the learnings of others.

During the shared reading of The

Taking responsibility Percussion Bush Dance story in weeks
one and two (22nd of August and 29th of
August), Millie volunteered to read the
possum part. Millie read her part clearly
and with expression. Millie also joined in
and read along with the other students
during the shared reading of the text.
During this time, Millie demonstrated
taking responsibility for the learning of
others. This occurred when Emma was
reading the bat part of the story and was
10. The girls performing the movement for the
stuck on the word twirled. Millie read
along with Emma and encouraged Emma possum that Millie and Aurora created together.
to sound out the word. This was
impressive to witness Millie!

In week two (29th of August), we had our

first practice for the final performance.
During this time, we had a discussion
regarding the actions that the students
could do for each animal within The
Percussion Bush Dance story. Millie
demonstrated initiative and provided
suggestions for the movements of the
possum, wallaby and the frog. Aurora had
also provided a suggestion for an action
for the possum too. Together, Millie and
Aurora discussed a way to incorporate
both of their suggestions into the one
movement. The two girls both agreed
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
11
 that their combined movement was a
better suggestion than the individual
suggestions they first gave.

In week four (12th of September), we

allowed for the students to spend some
time finishing off their habitats. However,
Aurora was away and therefore was
unable to finish her habitat. Millie being
the caring girl that she is, was concerned
about what to do with Auroras diorama.
Millie initiated a discussion with the other
students and the preservice teachers
regarding what they should do with
Auroras diorama. Millie suggested
Maybe we could just stick down the
things where she had them? Layla then
suggested that she could take them to
Auroras house for her to finish. Millie
demonstrated taking responsibility for the
learning of others by engaging in a
discussion regarding what to do with
Auroras diorama.

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
12
Short Term Review
Type in this section.
Listen to, recite and perform poems, chants, rhymes
and songs, imitating and inventing sound patterns
including alliteration and rhyme (VCELT209) (VCAA,
2016).
Evidence:
During the activity that involved the students creating
a picture that represents features such as the setting,
characters and the language of The Percussion Bush
Dance (Winer, 2005) text, Millie identified an example
of alliteration found within the text. Through the
utilising of the story book, Millie was able to correctly
identify that the words twisted and twirled, both introduce her to texts of similar nature to The Percussion
began with tw. Upon her discovery, Millie
enthusiastically stated I just realised, these two words
both start with t and then w(Artefact six, page six,
week four).
Through the constant reading and hearing of the text
during weeks one, two and three. Millie was able to
identify examples of assonance. These being the
repetition of similar sounds, particularly vowel sounds
(Duffy, 2014). During a one on one consultation with a
preservice teacher in week four (12th of September),
Millie stated that the words moon and tune, and
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
13
What Next?
Type in this section.
Throughout the onset of the Tell Tales program, Millie
demonstrated that she has the capability to distinguish
between sounds, and identify different sound patterns such
as alliteration, repetition and rhyme (Duffy, 2014). To further
develop Millies phonological awareness skills, it would be
beneficial for her to be explicitly taught reading strategies
such as: blending letter sounds; rhyming; phenome
segmentation; alliteration and identifying the syllables of
particular words (Hickey, 2012; Duffy, 2014). This will not
only develop Millies phonological awareness skills, but will
also enable Millie to be a more proficient reader (Hickey,
2012). In addition, it would enhance Millies conceptual
understanding of rhythm, repetition, rhyme and alliteration to
Bush Dance (Winer, 2005) text. For example, text such as
Ocean Dancer, There are Bears (Winer, 2005) and Many
Marvellous Monsters (Heck, 2010). Exposing Millie to a wide
range of texts will both extend her vocabulary and allow her
to see how different texts use these sound patterns and
language features to make the texts more stimulating (Duffy,
2014).
Millie was highly engaged during the course of the Tell Tales
program, but particularly during the telling of The Percussion
Bush Dance (Winer, 2005) and during the rehearsals for the
final performance. Millies familiarity with the structure and
the repetitive dialogue within the story, enabled her to retell
 along and song, have the same sounds.(Artefact the story in a lively and dynamic manner, when rehearsing
six, page six, week four).
Students will be able to recite and perform the text
through the utilising of movement, rhyme and
repetition (linked to VCELA199, VCELA201 and
VCELT209) (VCAA, 2016).
Evidence:
In week one (22nd of August), Millie began her journey in
regards to being able to retell The Percussion Bush
Dance text. During the session in week one, Millie
began to retell the text by utilising the puppets and the
story book. Even though this was Millies first time
hearing the text, she demonstrated understanding of
the verbs in the text through the way she moved the
puppets. For example, Millie moved the wallaby
puppets across the floor of the stage in a bouncing
motion (Artefact two, page four, week one).
By the third session (5th of September), Millie was able
to correctly identify the three repetitive phrases within
the text. Millies comprehension of the repetitive
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
14
for the final performance. To extend Millies conceptual
knowledge regarding repetition and rhythm, it would be
beneficial for her to conduct reading and writing workshops
that focus on exploring texts that have repeating patterns
and rhythm through deconstructing and reconstructing the
texts (Duffy, 2014). This will allow for Millie to develop an
understanding on how rhythm and repetition create a more
engaging and easy to follow text and will hopefully allow for
Millie to incorporate these language features in to her own
storytelling (Duffy, 2014).
During session one, Millie created her own oral narrative. The
story was about a possum who lived in a bush and had
magical powers. Millie was able to incorporate the main
features of a narrative in her own creation, these being
having a setting, having a character/s and having a plot. To
extend Millies ability and knowledge surrounding narratives
and the features of narratives, it would be beneficial for her
to be exposed to a range of narrative texts. This will increase
her exposure to many interesting storylines; view how
authors create both the setting and character profiles
through the use of descriptive language; the language
features authors utilise to create engaging and stimulating
stories and the structure of narratives: orientation,
complication, climax and resolution (Walker, 2012). To aid in
developing Millies ability to create her own texts, it would be
beneficial for her to begin by utilising story maps when
creating her stories. This strategy will enable her to sequence
the events of her story and therefore, result in a more defined
 phrases within the text was apparent in two incidents. narrative structure (Walker, 2012).
The first being when one of the preservice teacher
asked the students, Can anyone identify any
sentences within the story that repeats? Millie swiftly
raised her hand and enthusiastically identified that the
lines I can dance to any song; by the light of the moon
and the magical tune repeat. The second incident
occurred in week four (12th of September), during the
activity where the students drew a picture about the
story. During this activity, Millie utilised the story book
to aid her in her drawing. Whilst Millie was reading the
story book, she said I can dance with any song is on
every page. Millie also stated that nearly each page
has by the light of the moon and the magical tune on
it (Artefact six, page six, week four).

By revisiting the story each week, Millie came to be

familiar with the structure and words within the text.
Her knowledge of the order that the animals appeared
in the story; the verbs that represent the actions of
each animal and the repetitive lines, allowed for her to
retell the text through song and movement. This
knowledge allowed Millie to put on a lively performance
in each practice, without the need of prompting from
the preservice teachers (Artefact eight, page eight and
artefact ten page ten).

Students will demonstrate their ability to create

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
15
 texts imaginatively using performance (linked to
VCELT192).

Millies creativity and imagination shined through during

her creation of her own story in lesson one (22 nd of
August). Millie adapted and wove aspects of The
Percussion Bush Dance (Weiner, 2005) and Possum
Magic (Fox, 1983) into her own story. Millies oral
narration was about a possum who lived in the bush
and who had the special ability to make himself
invisible (Artefact two, page four, week one).

Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
16
Template created by K.McLean. Adapted from Carr, M. (2001) Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories,
London: Sage Publications
17