First Coaching Session

Coaching with Jenna                                                           20th Here-Turi-Koka, 2018

Problem: I’m finding it hard to find quality time and independent learning experiences that will be beneficial and relevant to Kazanovah, who is only reading on Yellow and is finding it hard to make letter/sound connections in writing. I will focus on his reading and building up his independence and ownership of his own learning. 

Goal

Jenna: If we work together on this for a while what would you like to have happen that is not happening now?

Jessie: I would like to see him with a set program which he can do independently without having a check in constantly.

What will be the benefits of achieving this goal?

The benefits will be he'll be able to work independently and he'll feel proud of his own accomplishments and the work will be at an appropriate level for him.

When you achieve this goal what will it look like?

It will look like him checking in with me first as the class get ready for Daily 5, and then him working independently and making connections and staying focused on given tasks.

What else?

It will look like he has gone from yellow reading to blue reading and that he is making connections between his alphabet letters and sounds for his writing.  

Reality

What are you already doing that will help to achieve this goal?

We've got an IEP for him and I have started strong with checking in in Terms 1 & 2 with his basic sight words and letter recognition, but I have faded out as the term has gone on, and he’s been away for 8 weeks, so that threw the routine. I need to get solid planning up and running for his personally instead of getting him to do the Reading Contract like the rest of the class. I thought I could spend 10 - 15 mins with him daily after lunch when the rest of the class are doing Read to Self.

On a scale of 1 to 10 where are you now?

I feel like currently I'm at 3.

Options

What things could you do to achieve your goal?

I will check in with him daily before Daily 5 while the rest of the class is getting organised and read with him after lunch. He needs a separate program specifically for him so that he reads with me individually after lunch everyday. He works best with one on one time.

What have you tried yourself or seen others try in similar situations?

Other children have seen to be able to manage themselves a bit more independently as he finds it difficult, but he works best with one on one teacher. He was making progress when I was checking in with him daily on his sight words.

What advice would you give someone else who was in a similar position to you?

I would say set aside some time which is what I'm going to do after lunch. That's good little chunk of time that I can give him that I can find in my day. I would say don't give up even though he doesn't feel like he's making progress because I think with him he just needs repetition, repetition, repetition of the same stuff and that that's actually important, not having to go up lots of reading levels.

Would you like suggestions from me

Yes!

Have you thought about buddying him up with someone to do the yellow card, and all that basic stuff to cut down time that you need to spend with him. Are there other students in the class that would feel comfortable doing it, and another thing with the basic sight words that I found has worked in the past is putting each one on like a little car or whatever he's into, and he gets to keep it once you learn that word.

That could work well because he's so young mentally he still loves to play so maybe every word he gets right he could get a piece of equipment and then he could have 3 minutes to play with it and make something out of that equipment for a break.

For writing I could try him saying the sentence and me writing it out and cutting it up and putting it back together and then he has to write it out himself  in the right order.

Will

What options do you like the most for action during the coming week?

I will make a plan for Week 6 to lock in after lunch every day to read with Kazanovah and I'll get Faith to remind me every day to do it.  I can try the voice recording device and he can speak one sentence out loud and I’ll write it out, then cut it up, and he can order it and write it correctly in his book. I'll also try the equipment things have every basic sight words and any he gets right he gets to build something with that because he does really love playing with equipment.  

Tactics

How and when will you do it?

Week 6 and I'll get organised in week 5 to start at week 6.

Do you need to make a note in your diary?

I'm going to do it on Wednesday and Thursday this week so I am organised after Art Week this week.

Habits

How will you make sure that you carry out these actions?

I’ll have the children in my class remind me every day that Kazanovah should be reading with me and by just making it part of my weekly planning. We can read or spend just spending 10-15 minutes of going over the work he has already covered in his work book over the week. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

What might get in the way and how can we fix that?

Probably stuff will get in the way but if I just try and aim for at least 4 out of 5 days to do it and I can put a note on my computer to remind myself and I could do it during library time on a Monday if I forget.

What sort of person do you need to be to achieve your goal?

I need to be organised and have reading books and we can review the work he has already done to try and help him retain the new information.

What support might you need?

Just my class to remind me, and I think the support of a teacher aide for 1 hour a day will be invaluable to him as well but who knows when that's gonna come along.