Strategies for teaching numeracy in the middle years

List and briefly describe five strategies you will use for teaching numeracy to middle years students. To reinforce number patterns: An activity Ian Howard endorsed (and made look fun!) during the Intensives was Finding Factors. Ian distributed square pieces of paper and 1/2s and 1/4s and 1/8s of that square to each table of four,…

Numeracy in the Curriculum

Respond to each of the review questions on p.199 after reading Chapter 9 Numeracy in the Curriculum in Teaching Mathematics: Foundations to Middle School. 1. How would you describe the relationship between mathematics and numeracy? Numeracy involves choosing and using mathematics in a broad range of authentic and practical contexts, so being numerate is about…

Numeracy and the Curriculum

‘All teachers are teachers of numeracy.’ Discuss this statement with reference to your understanding of numeracy. Regardless of their future careers, all young people need high levels of numeracy in order to participate effectively in Australian society. So mathematics learned at school shouldn’t be isolated knowledge. “Numeracy is the capacity to bridge the gap between…

Strategies for developing literacy skills

List and briefly describe five strategies you will use for teaching literacy to middle years students.   For improving vocabulary and communication skills: Semantic maps: a graphic organiser that helps students visually organise the relationship between pieces of work, revolving around a key word/s. Students share the recorded words, then as a class the words are categorised….

Literacy in Years 5-6

What have you learnt about teaching literacy to Grade 5 & 6 students? I have learnt that teaching literacy to Year 5 and 6: is busy and interactive. usually takes the form of a morning block, with structure to include reading, writing, speaking and listening, spelling and vocabulary and handwriting and keyboard skills. These modes…

Literacy in Years 7-9

What are the three most important factors to consider about teaching literacy to Years 7 – 9? Literacy needs to grow rapidly through the middle years as the material of the curriculum becomes more specialised and distinct; the differentiation of the curriculum is increasing at this crucial time. The assumption that the need for literacy…

The 4 Resources Model

Is this a helpful model for you to use? Why/why not? When I look at this program, I can ensure that my students are learning language features, understand what they read, know why it was written and can evaluate a text critically. Each of the roles takes places at all grade levels and can be…

Multiliteracies

What are the five most important ideas you have learned about in your exploration of multiliteracies? I have learned that: For the digital native generation the digital age is their language, so it follows that education should entail much more than reading, writing, spelling and comprehension to meet the demands of a changing world where…

Writing

Look at these resources, then identify and explain two ways you will help your students develop their writing skills There were some great ideas, resources and strategies here to develop writing skills, that lend themselves to all learning areas. I was excited by the penpal example, something I took for granted as a child in…

Reading and Comprehension

Record the main features of each part of cueing system model. The main features of the 3 cueing system or the MSV system are: Meaning (Semantic): Does it make sense? Making sense of text and  relaying meaningful connections Structure (Syntactic): Does it sound right? Making sense of the actual words in the sentences Visual (Graphophonic): Does it look right? ­­Breaking words down into…

Literacy and the Curriculum

‘All teachers are teachers of literacy.’ Discuss this statement with reference to your understanding of literacy. All teachers, including those teaching subjects like maths and science, are teachers of literacy; it is integral to all areas of learning. Literacy, or being literate, is more than being able to read and write. To me it is…

Teenage brain

What makes the teenage brain unique? Research into understanding the teenage brain shows that teens are hardwired to make immature choices due to their unique, still-developing brain. A growth spurt just before puberty and then a period of “pruning” are most noticeable in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain where information…