24/6/24
This blog serves as an ongoing space for me to reflect on how I continue to grow in my understanding and application of Our Code, Our Standards, as outlined by the New Zealand Education Council. This blog began in 2025 and I am using this platform to capture the insights, challenges, and learning that is shaping my professional practice from 2024 onward. It is both a record of where I’ve been and a guide for where I’m going as an educator committed to continuous development.
Sunday, 23 June 2024
Monday, 17 June 2024
Writing Through the Structured Literacy Lens
18/6/24
Writing through the structured literacy lens (last workshop)
Literacy Connections - Jo Jessop and the team
Latrobe University - Aus
Topic sentence gives you the general jist of the writing.
Can use a sentence type, subordinating conjunction or an appositive.
Paragraphing
Use articles and videos to look at the breakdown of a paragraph.
Taking notes and creating a paragraph.
SPO=single paragraph outline
Work whole class for quite a while.
Do notetaking work turning them into sentences first.
Outcome can just be writing an SPO
Use the template.
SPO is handy as a summarisng tool
Combined outline. Changes your topic sentence into a summary sentence.
Revision
Revision and editing are separate. Editing is correcting errors. Summarising is clarifying your writing, putting in oomph into your writing.
Vary vocab - co create a word list
Transition words

You could use a paragraph and have the students add in the transition words.
Use an unelaborated paragraph and ask them to revise the paragraph by using the following strategies.


MPO - multiple paragraph outline (e.g. essay)
SPO’s use a main idea MPO’s use a main theme for their topic sentences
You’d want 4 notes per paragraph.
Intros = upside down triangle
General - concept based sentence
Specific - first time you hone into the actual topic
Thesis - What we are actually writing about.
Teaching intros

Doug Lemov “Teach like a champion”
Sustained focus
Discussion - controlling the discussion using whiteboards, yes/no on whiteboard, turn and discuss with a peer, cold call to share.
29/5/24
Teaching Writing through a Structured Literacy Lens
Literacy Connections - Jo Jessop and the team
Note taking
…. = key words
_____ = full sentences
Underline the key words and phrases in the sentences
Use symbols e.g. = +
Model your thought processes
Give them an inspiration/context to make it more specific
Use a pen or pencil
SPO = Single paragraph outline.
Topic-audience-purpose
DFI - Reflection 3
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