FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

Assessment 3: Portfolio

Understanding Language and Literacy

READING ALOUD TO CHILDREN (CREATIVE COMMONS, 2005 < HTTP://BIT.LY/1IZQIBP>)

Implications of culture and home language

Children develop their literacy skills at different rates and this is especially important if your child is learning English as a second language. Your child is not only getting accustomed to a new environment, but they will be learning new cultural practices, values and expectations of society and of the learning environment (Clarke, 2009). Your child will be developing new vocabulary, non-verbal language, gestures and facial expressions (Clarke, 2009). They will be recognising rhythm, the changes in our voices (stress and intonation) and different sounds and sound groupings (Government of South Australia, n.d.). Standard Australian English has a different grammatical structure which can often be confusing but this will help them understand the jokes and other Australian ways of saying things (Clarke, 2009). Your children will also be reading from left to right (also known as print conventions) and learning a different word order in sentences (grammar conventions) (Government of South Australia, n.d.).

There are other new things your child will be learning during this time and this includes classroom routines and deadlines. We recognise that your children will require extra assistance in these areas as well as assistance with understanding the concepts of reading and writing and undertaking classroom tasks. We will also be providing assistance to you by providing high levels of support socially, emotionally and culturally by maintaining an open classroom (ACARA, 2012). We encourage the use of the childs first language in the centre as this gives the children a sense of identity and belonging (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009).
Child reading aloud (Creative Commons, 2009 < http://bit.ly/MzLaxC>)

Resources to support literacy development

There are many things you can to support childrens literacy development. We want to explore the learning potential for your child and it is crucial to do this in partnership with the families who are part of our centre. By working together, we can evaluate your childs learning potential and structure events, routines and play to meet their individual needs. We want to understand what experiences your child has at home and provide appropriate opportunities to learn (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). This week, we have scheduled information sessions that can help the parents in developing literacy skills at home. Our first visit is from Libraries of SA and they have two programs for parents. Dads Read encourages fathers to spend 10 minutes a day reading with their children.

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FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

Their other initiative is the Little Big Book Club Its Story Time. Your child will be issued a reader pack by the visiting librarian so that you can share the stories at hom (Government of South Australia, n.d.). Our second information session is aimed at parents with children from Birth to Four years old. We will be discussing the Learning Together Program which focusses on the development of oral language. The program encourages parents/caregivers to read to their child and looks at how important play is in supporting your childs development (Government of South Australia, 2013). The third information session will be provided by The Smith Family. Their Lets Read program provides information and books at four stages of a childs life. Come and listen to see if you qualify for this program (The Smith Family, n.d.).

Guidance on engaging with children to support language development

All children love to play and it is in play where children bring their own unique and diverse experiences, perspectives and expectations to their own learning. They are able to express their personality, develop curiosity and creativity and develop new physical, social, emotional, personal, spiritual and linguistic skills (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009) There are many techniques that we use at the Centre that can easily be used at home environment. Playing games is a fun way of extending their language development. For children aged from birth to three years old, simple games such as peek-a-boo or incy wincy spider or round and round the garden, can be effective ways of developing their language (Clarke, 2009). For two to three year olds, have a two way conversation with your child. Make sure you show a real interest in what they are talking about, ask questions but also, encourage your child to ask questions as well (Government of South Australia, 2013).

Kindergarten is fun (Creative Commons, 2008 <http://bit.ly/1byFwlo>)

From the ages three to five, being interactive in reading will assist your childs development. Talk about the pictures and if possible, see if they can act out some of the story. It is important to also share stories in your home language. Consider talking to them about what you did when you were a child and when reading, use both English and your home language to describe what is happening in the books (Government of South Australia, 2013). But the most important thing you can do to help your child is to play and have fun with them. Playing isnt to be confused with teaching though, let your child take the lead.

Children practicing literacy skills (Creative Commons, 2004 < http://bit.ly/1dwLZwZ>)

Kindy is fun (Creative Commons, 2012 <http://bit.ly/LYVG1h>)

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FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

Assessment 3: Portfolio

Reading out aloud assignments To implement reading out aloud practices when completing the assignments to ensure rhythm, flow and assist with composition (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). To be evidenced by the lack of minor errors in the assignments and the e-LAs commenting on the improvement in the construction of the assignments. This then results in a reduction of points lost from the rubric. Improvements will be noticed in the first assignment of the next unit. Provide more examples to explain the theory To implement providing examples in each of my three assessments in Teaching Period 1 to assist with explaining the theory and concepts presented to construct understanding, learning and application of the topic. To be evidenced by producing appropriate examples through understanding Blooms Taxonomy, modelling learning objectives and using subject specific illustrations in the assessments. Further evidenced by using these techniques when sharing and transferring knowledge about childrens learning (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009).by completing the weekly assignments on Blackboard. Comparing and contrasting To improve my use of contrasting and comparing examples in assignments by assembling unique components of a theory and drawing similarities and differences between the situations. To be evidenced by the range of texts that bring together different perspectives and those that analyse the concepts (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). I will demonstrate this and develop strength from the first through to the final assessment.

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FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

Reflection I initially started this unit reading the content on the blackboard and then answering the questions from the activities. On the odd occasion, I would write a few notes in my notepad and then commence with other units. At the beginning of the teaching period, my focus was aimed at the activities only and not the upcoming assessment. For the assessment, I started jotting information into a PowerPoint and then trying to align to the rubric. At first I thought this was an easier approach but towards the end of the teaching period, I became more focussed on the assessments. This led me to rethink my practices and I created a plan by using the headings from the assessment sheet and inserting key points from the Collaborate sessions and the rubric. I found that by not making the plans, I was not able to fully establish an appropriate response to the assessment requirements. As the assignment was being constructed, although I was reading it through in my head, I had been creating minor errors by not reading aloud to ensure that the work was clear and the syntax correct. This is one teaching practice I can take with me to a classroom. Encouraging students to read their own work out aloud or alternatively, read aloud to a group of peers to ensure rhythm, flow and composition (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009). In the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2012), standard 3.1 is Establish challenging learning goals. I believe that by implementing my three smart goals, I will be undertaking new practices that will not only improve my own literacy skills but I will be able to extend myself to finding new ways of developing curriculum. Becoming more familiar with the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum will be a challenge in itself due to the extensive content that needs to be covered.
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FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

Standard 5.3, Make consistent and comparable judgements (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2012) is also useful for me as a pre-service teacher and as a student and meets my smart goals. It is important that I use this skill to enhance my assessments so that I can demonstrate that i am gaining and applying the knowledge that I am developing. I will look at the relevant aspects of the assignments and apply through the use of theory, my opinions and facts as represented through the theory chosen. It is important as part of the learning process, that I consider what my strengths are and what skills need to be further developed. As I have reflected upon and reviewed my practices, I have identified that I need to be more accurate in my literacy skills as far as composition, rhythm and flow of the assignments. It is imperative that in order to improve, I apply the skill of applying more examples to the theory that I am explaining. I also need to be conscious of the framework that I will be operating under as well as the professional standards.

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FIONA PIDGEON STUDENT ID: 657999X

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. 2012. English as an additional language or dialect. Teacher resource. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/English_as_an_Additional_Language_or_Dial ect_Teacher_Resource_05_06_12.pdf Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). 2012. Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Professional Practice. Retrieved from http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/DomainOfTeaching/ProfessionalPractice/Standa rds Clarke, P (Dr). 2009. Supporting Children Learning English as a Second Language in the Early Years (birth to six years) pp. 6-27. Retrieved from http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/earlyyears/supporting_children_learning_esl.pdf Commonwealth of Australia. 2009. Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework. Retrieved from http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the _early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf Government of South Australia. Dads Read. Retrieved from http://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=556. Government of South Australia. Little Big Book Club. Retrieved from https://www.libraries.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=483 Government of South Australia. Professional development and resource materials for ESL DECS languages & multicultural education portfolio. Retrieved from www.decd.sa.gov.au/literacy/files/links/link_65315.doc
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Government of South Australia. 2013. Child development: 4-5 years. Retrieved from http://www.cyh.com/healthtopics/healthtopicdetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1870#4 Government of South Australia. 2013. Child development 3-4 years. Retrieved from http://www.cyh.com/healthtopics/healthtopicdetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1886#4 Government of South Australia. 2013. Learning together program. Retrieved from http://www.earlyyears.sa.edu.au/pages/Programs/learning_together_parents/ The Smith Family. Lets Read. Retrieved from http://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/what-wedo/our-work/at-home/lets-read-duplicate

Images Creative Commons. 2004. Children practicing literacy skills. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1dwLZwZ Creative Commons. 2005. Reading aloud to children. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1izqIbp Creative Commons. 2008. Kindergarten is fun. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1byFwlo Creative Commons. 2009. Child reading aloud. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/MzLaxC Creative Commons. 2012. Kindy is fun. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/LYVG1h

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