Planning lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective

teaching strategies.

Classrooms that promote active literacy burst with enthusiastic and engaged learners. Students
contribute their opinions, thoughts, and ideas. They talk to each other, have inner conversations
with the text, leave tracks of their thinking, and take part in literature circles. In my classroom,
students are actively questioning, connecting, inferring, discussing, debating and inquiring. In
essence, they are surfacing their thinking by talking and writing about it.

Beginning the teaching and learning sequence

To what extent do students possess the skills, abilities and background knowledge needed to
begin the teaching and learning sequence?

To plan my active literacy lesson sequences, I use knowledge of student learning, content and
effective teaching strategies. I will use a variety of sources that included; consultations with my
supervising teacher and listening to students read and examining previous work. I will then make
sure that I organise and present my lessons so that they are built on this foundation. As a result,
students will be placed into one of three groups.

Group 1 – will consist of students who can answer comprehension questions that are located in
the text
Group 2 - will consist of students can answer questions that require them to infer meaning from
the text
Group 3 - will consist of students can answer questions that require them to infer meaning from
the text and are able to synthesise and apply meaning to other contexts.

Planning

My planning will consider the range of possible learning opportunities that will enable students to
demonstrate their learning against the curriculum standards. My planning will be guided by
current best practice. Sound assessment principles, learning and management questions and an
understanding of effective learning will be accounted for when planning and designing
assessment.

Where does the learner need and want to be?

Each group has their own success criteria to follow. Students are encouraged to regulate their
own learning in order to achieve success (e.g., using their learning logs, conferencing, think-pair-
share, goal setting etc.). Students are able to negotiate their assessment activities. Students are
continually reminded of how a particular task fits into their learning journey, for example, students
will be given a flow chart of comprehension strategies.

How do my learners best learn?

How will I inform learners and others about the learning progress? How will I check the learner
has made progress?

 Negotiate success criteria with students in each group

 Students record their success criteria in their learning logs
 Help students set goals for this learning sequence
 Show students how they can monitor their goals
 Use the two stars and a wish method to keep track of their goals
 Conference with each student and provide descriptive feedback
 Record progress at each meeting
  Provide visual reminders of various comprehension strategies for students to refer back
to

From assessment to instruction

 Assess individual students

 Discuss finding with students
 Set a new goal and teach new strategy to student
 Student declares goal on a class goal sheet and in their notebooks
 Teacher fills out individual reading conference form
 Teacher fills out strategy groups form
 Instruction

Framework for checking to see whether my learners have achieved targeted outcomes?

 What is the planned outcomes of this task?

 How has this been made explicit to the students?
 What is the expected end product?
 How will the task be implemented?
 What is the task requiring the students to demonstrate?

During the teaching and learning sequence

On which learning tasks are students performing satisfactorily. On which tasks do they need
help?

 Individual conferences will quickly identify which students are having difficulties that
require remedial work or other interventions.

How will I inform the learner and others about the learner's progress?

 Students will be able to evaluate their progress and determine future learning goals from
this task? At the end of each conference students will be given feedback and assigned a
learning goal. Students are required to reflect on their learning (reflection template to be
glued into their learning logs). Students will be given ample time during discussions to
reflect on their learning.

Formative assessment

I will gather ongoing evidence of learning in a variety of ways including; reading conferences,
student interviews, reading logs, learning logs, personal reading reports and analysis of word
identification strategies. I will provide continuous oral and written feedback to students. I will
make standards explicit and, through the use of anchor charts, they will be made visible
throughout the learning sequence.

End of the teaching and learning sequence

I will identify which students have achieved the expected learning outcomes and prepare them to
proceed to the next comprehension strategy in the sequence. I will identify which students need
extra help and provide extra scaffolding for this group. I will determine which grade or
performance level should be allocated to each student.

Feedback

I will offer a variety of feedback including corrective, alternative, clarifying, encouraging,

evaluative and/or instructional feedback. I will use a feedback model to guide classroom
discourse (e.g., Where am I going? How am I going? What progress is being made toward the
goal? Where to next? What activities need to be undertaken to make better progress?)

Reporting

Emerging, solid and comprehensive descriptors can be used when making judgements about
student learning. Any judgements identifying the growth and quality of student learning will made
using multiple samples of evidence of learning.

Reflection

The following questions will provide a framework for reflective practice.

 How well did I teach and assess this learning?

 What strengths did this teaching and assessing have?
 Did the achieved learning of the student reflect the intended curriculum?
 Did I adapt my teaching focus strategies to meet the needs of the learner?
 Did I allow the opportunity for the learner to reflect on and take action about their
learning?