I'm Barbara Herziger. I work at Peel Language Development School.
How are you finding...?
Mel, how are you finding using the spelling file?
I'm mentoring two teachers. One is a new graduate.
Coming in as a new graduate teacher, you don't...
BARBARA: The spelling file contains pathways and programs and resources
to help them teach literacy,
especially phonological awareness, to our students.
Peel Language Development School is in Western Australia.
-How are you today? -Good, thank you. How are you today?
BARBARA: We look after students who have specific language impairment.
Good, thank you. How are you today?
I'm good. I love the way you're sitting.
Ready? Point over here. Point at the letters, Will.
BARBARA: I wanted to get some reflection
as to whether the spelling file is actually current with practices
and is actually supportive enough for them.
What do you think it might be?
I develop...help the school develop pathways.
Especially with literacy.
In the past, I've done quite a lot of extensive research
into what would be a better way of having our students
to retain the phonic knowledge.
Do you find there's enough resources in there
to be able to look at phonics in your classroom?
Yeah, definitely. We...
Because we use Jolly Phonics from Kindy all the way up to Year 3,
the kids are used to it.
They know exactly if you go like this,
they know exactly what sound it makes.
Is it using the same language?
It's the same language across the board
from Kindy all the way to Year 3.
So it's really important to stick with what they already know,
their prior knowledge, to what they know now, and so...
So you're finding using the common language is helping,
especially with those students who are coming through
who have been in our school in pre-primary.
-You're finding that... -Kindy, yeah.
..they're more advanced than those that are coming from...
-From a mainstream... -..a mainstream class?
Yeah, definitely.
Our students need to have more opportunities to learn concepts.
In the... Isaac.
BARBARA: They need to be highly scaffolded.
And they need to have high repetition of things, but with variety.
-BOY: My... -Me and the boy.
Do you use the South Australian spelling test, which is in the file,
to help you with diagnostic spelling capabilities?
Yes.
This year and last year,
you know, it was really hard to judge what they did know
and what they were just rote learning.
But this term, we've actually bought the new revised test B
and that's just helping because they don't know the words.
They haven't seen it before?
They haven't seen the words, so it is helping me to realise,
"Oh, this is where they are actually at."
Now, Jess, I know that you were feeling that the spelling file
wasn't catering towards the kindies and pre-primaries.
You went about and started
implementing kindergarten/pre-primary aspect
of the spelling file.
How have you found working in your class?
Basically, the reason we decided to develop it
was because there wasn't enough in the Year 1 to 3.
It's been a lot easier for a kindergarten teacher
to grab this and be able to follow a developmental progression.
BARBARA: Yeah, because I am...
I don't know about you but I am also finding
there's not a lot of information for kindergarten.
JESSICA: Kindergarten and pre-primary.
BARBARA: What would be good is if you are able
to, maybe after Term 1 next year, put out a feedback
not for K...Kindy and Pre-Primary teachers but Year 1 teachers
to see if there is a difference
between the students from last year to this year.
Because they would have been using this.
We can presume all we like, we actually need to make sure
that we have enough evidence to show that, yes, it is good,
and, yes, everyone is using it and it is user-friendly.
KIDS: Six, five, four, three...
BARBARA: I'm trying to develop a pathway now for numeracy
that ties in with the new Australian curriculum,
as well as First Steps Mathematics,
which we found would be more beneficial for our students,
because it breaks down concepts a bit further
and provides more of a scaffolded environment
which our students benefit most from.
So that's my focus at the moment.