Newton Elementary 22-23
OUR CONTEXT
OUR LEARNERS
BIG IDEA
Literacy involves understanding the world around us, and communicating with others as a foundation for all learning. As students grow their literacy skills, they deepen their ability to connect, create, wonder and imagine. The BC curricular competency of Comprehending and Connecting focuses on students being able to explore foundational concepts of print, oral and visual texts.
WHY THIS GOAL MATTERS
Learning to read and understand print is a critical skill for our youngest learners as they begin their journey into school. Decoding text (identifying letter sound relationships, blending sounds) allows students to make meaning of written words. Learning to read allows students to succeed across all areas of learning.
Our learners can:
choose print material for reading independently and with peers
track print left to right
use picture clues to help with understanding
In the following photos we see students exploring print.
The photo on the left shows students identifying speech sounds (phonemes) and blending them together to form words. In the photo on the right, students are practicing using letters to create words they recognize from books or the environment.
OUR FOCUS
The BC curriculum highlights the fundamental importance of reading, which brings satisfaction, purpose and joy to our lives.
Our focus is on Literacy, targeting reading in the early grades. Reading and understanding print is a foundation for learning in school and it allows students to be successful in other curricular areas.
Our cohort is a variety of early primary students from several classrooms.
Our students’ learning goals include:
Identifying sounds associated with letters
Segmenting sounds in a word (bat = b - a - t)
Blending letter sounds (b - a - t = bat)
Demonstrating an understanding that words have meanings
In the following photos, students use developmentally appropriate reading, listening and viewing strategies to make meaning of text. They view print materials individually, with partners and with teachers.
Students are working with their peers separating words into sounds and identifying the letters associated with the sounds.
Students understand that words are broken into individual sounds (phonemes). Students work to understand the meaning of the sentences and match the pictures.
As a strategy to "track" text, students use their finger to follow the words as they read. This helps them focus and process letters in the correct order. They can hear the sounds that make up words.
OUR NEXT STEPS
Literacy is a key to academic success and the reading skills developed in the early grades build the foundation for learning in all subject areas.
Our students’ learning goals included:
Identifying sounds associated with letters
Segmenting sounds in a word (bat = b - a - t)
Blending letter sounds (b - a - t = bat)
Demonstrating an understanding that words have meanings
Students were able to demonstrate their learning and growth through activities such as the following.
Students are placing letters into squares or "sound boxes" and saying each particular sound. They have learned to combine letters such as "sh" or "ch" which make one sound and put them into one box.
Students showed their growth in learning through the use of the ELPATS (Early Literacy Phonemic Awareness Tool Surrey) in January, and then again in May. This tool identifies if students can say the beginning, middle and final sounds in a word, as well as how they are able to blend sounds in words.
One Student's Journey
This student is in an early primary class. In September, they were becoming familiar with the process of reading and learning to understand rhyming patterns.
September to November - Support Received
The student received support from the classroom teacher, Early Literacy Teacher, and the Learning Support Team to develop phonemic awareness (identifying rhymes, first, last and middle sounds, number of syllables, blending first sound with the rest of the word, blending individual sounds and providing rhyming words). Students practiced their phonics skills through writing as well.
November Assessment
The student scored 35/45 in a phonemic awareness assessment. They also identified 25 letter names in upper case and 19 letter names in lower case and 19 and 15 letter sounds in upper and lower case respectively.
November to May - Support Received
The student received support from the classroom teacher, Early Literacy Teacher, and the Learning Support Team to develop decoding skills.
February Assessment
The student identified 26 and 25 names in upper and lowercase letters respectively. The student identified 25 and 26 letter sounds in upper and lowercase letters.
May Assessment
The student is able to read with accuracy and within seconds can read some words (like, cat, top, and, yes, all, the). They can also sound out and blend more challenging words (fish, cash, ball). The student can successfully read sentences, short paragraphs, and fiction books with words that have three or four sounds. We are very proud of their growth!
Moving Forward We Will:
Continue to look at evidence of student learning and provide multiple avenues for students to access and make sense of print.
Continue
We will continue to focus on engaging, purposeful activities and instructional strategies that promote the connections between sounds and letters. At Newton Elementary we work as a team with our Intensive Literacy Teacher, Learner Support team, families and classroom teachers to promote interest and generate excitement for learning to read and write.
Go Deeper
Students will develop a stronger connection between reading and writing. They will engage in activities such as Story Workshop where students tell a story using a variety of objects and then begin to write their story in words and letters.
Explore
Students have shown a great deal of interest in writing about their own lives, cultures and practices. We will continue to honour our students' lived experiences by exploring diversity in our choice of writing topics, and fiction and non-fiction books. We will weave in First Peoples Principles of learning to promote these ideas, such as taking time and patience to develop a skill.
Connect
We will support students in understanding that we write for a purpose: to share ideas, to communicate with someone, to tell a story, to better understand and make connections between ourselves, one another and the world. As students learn to read they connect with different ideas, learn about new things, places and experiences. As students develop fluency in reading, and can understand what they read, a vast world of learning opens up before them.
Surrey Schools
Formed in 1906, the Surrey School District currently has the largest student enrolment in British Columbia and is one of the few growing districts in the province. It is governed by a publicly elected board of seven trustees.
The district serves the cities of Surrey and White Rock and the rural area of Barnston Island.
