Early+Years+Teaching+Practice

Early Years Teaching Practice What have you learnt about approaches to teaching early years literacy through your observations of classroom activities and student organisation? During the classroom observation we each observed various approaches to teaching early years literacy. To view detailed accounts of the observation, click on one of our names --> Rochelle, Michelle, Elena, Grace, Laura. There are various approaches used to teach early years literacy. This can include students working individually, organising students into groups based on their literacy level or working as a whole class. Each approach offers many benefits but aren’t suitable at all times. We all observed whole class work, this was often at the beginning or end of a literacy lesson. Most of the teachers explained the work as a class, this minimised time wastage and ensured all students understood what was going to take place in the lesson. Many of us observed a whole class activity such as a shared reading or shared writing activity. This allowed the class to work together and achieve something as a team. Many of the observed literacy lessons ended with a share time, this allowed students to share their work and what they have learnt.

The students also had to work individually; they were all given the same activity to work on alone. This encouraged independent learning, but we learnt that this was not always suitable as the activity was not catered to all students; for some it was often too hard or too easy.

There was a lot of group work in the literacy lessons. We learnt the importance of dividing the classroom into groups based on their literacy level; this allowed students to work together as a group and participate in activities specifically catered to their ability. As the higher level students were engrossed in their group activity and often did not require help, the teacher was able to work with children in the lower literacy groups. Organising children into groups is an excellent way to ensure the children are receiving work suited to their ability, and it also encourages team work. One of the group activities we all observed was a guided reading session. Although we attended different schools the guided reading session was identical in all of our classes. A guided reading session is a terrific way for teach ers to see how the students are progressing in their reading  skills and their comprehension of a text.

Other activities we observed were work sheets involving cut and pasting, drawing and colouring etc. Organising activities that are educational AND fun encouraged many of the students to get involved. As the activity was engaging, the students were more motivated to complete the set task. Ensuring activities are not only educational but also fun and interesting improves class productiveness. All observed approaches had their benefits. Using a range of different teaching practices improved the effectiveness of the literacy lesson.

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