Julie Holloway Year 3/4 Chris Wickes Year 2

Why did we get involved? Children at Cowes Primary School come from a variety of backgrounds but at least 95% are born in Australia, speak only one language at home and come through the kindergarten system. The Prep teachers however found anecdotally that some of the children had poor oral language development. This was also indicated by our results from the On-line English Survey We felt that if we could improve oral language we would also improve our reading and writing results.

In 2014 our school became involved in a number of programs in an effort to address this perceived shortfall: C.P.O.L. The Big 6 V.C.O.P. Jolly Phonics All of which stress the importance of good oral language. In fact the Big Six states “Oral language is the foundation for the development of literacy skills and is considered to be a strong indicator of later reading, writing, and overall academic achievement.

Reflections about our students: All teachers in Prep and one completed the ‘ICPALER Oral Language Screening Profile (brief) ‘ and when deemed necessary the ‘ICPALER Oral Language Observational Profile (in depth). Approximately 20% required this. Results indicated that some children: did not always speak in full sentences. rarely used complex sentences. had immature vocabulary and lacked descriptive language. had difficulties ordering their ideas. confused pronouns. (especially E.S.L. students) did not always retain auditory information. could not sequence the main ideas in a story or a recount in appropriate order. had articulation problems.

Reflections about our teaching practice We realized quickly that if the children were not gaining the skills we required then we could not be offering them the opportunity to gain and practise these skills. In 2014 as Prep teachers we made a conscious decision to provide a time for oral language in every Literacy lesson. We used Big Books to generate discussions for predicting, going further and providing alternatives to the ending of the story. We used ‘turn and talk’ times prior to writing to help the children to write their own stories and then to discuss their finished product.

Teaching practice continued … We realized that it was important for us to move slowly and so initially we concentrated on having the children answer in full sentences. We regularly shared our successes and trials at PLT meeting and systematically planned our program to give the children plenty of opportunity to communicate in a variety of situations and on a variety of topics. We explicitly taught the skills we wanted them to gain.

Over time we found… Children were more interested in predicting what will happened next in the story Children were more capable of retelling a story in sequence Children used some of the descriptive words from the story in their sentences Children were beginning to use full sentences in both their retells and in everyday conversations There was better quality questioning in sharing. Writing was of a higher quality and of greater length (this was particularly evident with the lower writers) And most interestingly we began to talk less and the children began to speak MORE, they asked more questions and looked for the answers themselves.

Planning for 2015: Cowes Primary School is a Birth to grade six school. With two other local schools we are involved with the “Linking Learning” Program with the main aim of improving student outcomes by developing oral language. This is our whole school focus.

Planning for 2015: Whole School At Cowes Primary School the development of Oral Language is now planned for alongside reading and writing and not just left to chance. It is considered to be the cornerstone of future learning and therefore if any child has difficulties then they are dealt with using a variety of intervention programs. We utilize speech therapists to help children with severe articulation problems We Run the STA Program for children with severe language difficulties or minor articulation problems. We provides additional assistance for ESL students All children in Prep to two are screened at least twice a year To ensure they are not falling behind.

Planning for 2015: Whole School The whole school now does oral language on a regular basis. We: Have purchased many wordless books. We use an increased number of Big Books as a starting point for quality discussion of both words and pictures We Explicitly teach new words with the aim of increasing oral vocabulary We have increased the use of techniques such as ‘pair and share’, ‘no hands up’, ‘talking through puppets, microphones’ ect We have written oral language testing into the School Assessment Schedule so that we can track the progress of individuals.

Planning for 2015: Birth to Age 4 It was realized that if oral language was to develop at an early age children needed an increased opportunity to listen to good books and then to discuss them. In 2014 the teachers at the Early Learning Centre began to borrow books from the school to share with the children. They are also setting up ‘Share bags’ for the children to borrow. These contain a number of books on the one theme, some activities or games and a series cards that give the parents hints on how to help there child. They have purchased many more quality books ready to share.

Planning for 2015: Kindergarten The development of oral language has always been a focus of the kindergarten program however in 2015 and beyond it will become even more important. In 2015 all teachers will undergo Professional Development on how to deliver an oral language based program based around the results gained from the Early Years Evaluation’ of oral language assessment. (EYE). In 2014, all children underwent the ‘EYE’ in November. This year the evaluation will take place much earlier in the year so that targeted teaching and intervention can take place even before the child reaches school age.

Planning for 2015: Foundation Results from EYE Oral assessment drive large group language experiences carried out each morning and intermittently throughout the day Explicit teaching takes place during large group, small group or pair discussion Songs, poems and chants are practised regularly A child’s individual needs are targeted through small group work Oral activities are short thus maintaining the interest of the children.

Planning for 2015: Years One/Two All teachers will completes ICPALER Screener for all students in terms 2 and 4.(Specified in Assessment Schedule) PLTs will determine areas to be covered in Term Planner. Teachers will program daily oral language activities to meet the needs of students Teachers will continue to use methods of teaching that will encourage the development Teachers will not leave the teaching of oral language to chance and will state in their work programs the Learning intentions for the week Content Descriptor Understand the use of vocabulary about familiar and new topics and experiment with and begin to make conscious choices of vocabulary to suit audience and purpose (ACELA1470)(ACELA1470) LI: We Are Learning To clearly share ideas by linking events with time connectives. SC: I can relate an event to others using words like next, then, after that and finally.

Planning for 2015: Years Three to Six PLTs will determine areas to be covered in Term Planner. Teachers will program at least three oral language activities each week Teachers will continue to use methods of teaching that will encourage the development of oral language Teachers will encourage the children to use more interesting words when both speaking and writing and explicitly teach to improve their knowledge of words