one step at a time: presentation 3 a quick guide to one step at a time why spoken language matters...

One Step at a Time: Presentation 3

A QUICK GUIDE TO ONE STEP at a TIME

Why Spoken Language Matters

Making Language Teaching Manageable

One Step at a Time

What to Teach

How to Teach

Links to Literacy

First Steps1

A Quick Guide to One Step at a Time

WHY SPOKEN LANGUAGE MATTERS

Spoken language matters for:

communication

teaching

learning

literacy

thinking

social and emotional development

2


WHY SPOKEN LANGUAGE MATTERS

Inadequate spoken language is increasingly a problem in schools:

more and more children are coming into school lacking basic spoken language skills

the demands on children’s understanding and use of spoken language increase as they progress through school

children who start behind are likely to fall further behind

Competent spoken language needs to be: the main educational priority at ages 3 to 5

a joint priority, with literacy, from 5 onwards

for all children3


MAKING LANGUAGE TEACHING MANAGEABLE

But spoken language is a complex system

not fully understood

seldom included in teacher training

difficult to teach in classroom settings

because of the quantity and complexity of the language that children need to know

and because the normal conditions of language learning are difficult to reproduce in a mainstream classroom

4



Schools and staff need something that will:

take the difficulty and uncertainty out of language teaching

guide them in what to teach, when to teach it, how to teach it, and how to assess children’s development and progress

embody the expertise needed to teach spoken language

and enable staff to develop that expertise themselves through active experience in the classroom

but above all

be easy to implement and manage in mainstream classrooms

5



Spoken language can be made more accessible to schools by using a teaching programme that:

identifies the skills most needed for progress in school

and provides explicit teaching and learning objectives appropriate teaching techniques simple ways of assessing development and reviewing progress

6



A teaching programme must also be:

flexible: adaptable to the needs of different schools, different teachers and different children

easily manageable in the classroom: reflecting and supporting the wider curriculum building on existing classroom practice and activities without adding significantly to teachers’ workloads, or requiring

additional resources or special expertise

This is what One Step at a Time aims to do.

7


ONE STEP at a TIME

One Step at a Time is

a structured teaching programme for developing spoken language in the early years and primary school, through the active use of spoken language in the classroom

a whole school-programme for children aged 3 to 9, which can also be used with single classes and/or older children

an all needs programme, providing differentiated teaching for all children in mainstream education

8


ONE STEP at a TIME

One Step at a Time:

concentrates on the spoken language skills that are most critical for educational progress, year by year

breaks them down into sub-skills that can be worked on year by

year, term by term, and week by week

and ensures that all these skills are established by all children

9


WHAT TO TEACH

10


WHAT TO TEACH

Vocabulary is vast, too extensive to be taught systematically or in detail.

Grammar is complex, difficult to assess, and probably impossible to teach directly.

But the four uses of language:

are fundamental to the development of literacy and other skills

can be used to develop vocabulary, sentence structure and fluency

11


WHAT TO TEACH

Conversation is crucial for communication and social

development, is used for teaching and learning, and underpins most other language skills

Listening is crucial for learning, understanding, and the

development of reading

Narrative or extended talk is crucial for coherent thought and expression, and for the development of writing

Discussion is crucial for the development of thinking skills, social understanding and emotional literacy

12


WHAT TO TEACH

One Step at a Time develops these four uses of language in sequence:

Conversation Skills for children aged 3 to 4 (or older)

Listening Skills for children aged 4 to 5 (or older)

Narrative Skills for children aged 5 to 7 (or older)

Discussion Skills for children aged 7 to 9 and older

There is also a preliminary step – Getting Started – for children who are not ready for systematic work on conversation.

13


HOW TO TEACH

Each main level of the programme includes:

an initial screen for assessing children’s competence in the relevant skills

three skills checklists for guiding intervention and monitoring progress

guidance on lesson planning, classroom intervention and teaching method

a vocabulary wordlist of 100 essential words

guidance on monitoring progress and moving on

discussion of the links to literacy

The content and procedure for Getting Started is slightly different from the other levels.

14


HOW TO TEACH: Initial Screening

The initial screens help staff:

‘tune-in’ to the relevant skills at each level of the programme

identify children’s current level of development

determine the amount of support each child is likely to need

15


HOW TO TEACH: Initial Screening

The initial screens identify children as:

Competent: they seem to be acquiring the relevant skills without too much difficulty and are not expected to need special attention

Developing: they seem to be slower in acquiring the relevant skills and are likely to need some support and attention

Delayed: they seem to be having difficulty in acquiring the relevant skills and are likely to need more intensive support and attention

This identification is flexible and likely to change in the course of a term or year.

16


HOW TO TEACH: Skills Checklists

Each main level of the programme includes three skills checklists (two in the case of Getting Started).

The checklists are used to focus and guide intervention, and monitor children’s progress

Each checklist consists of a number of distinct behaviours or sub-skills grouped together into a few broad types of skill

Skills and behaviours are listed in rough developmental order as a guide to intervention

Children work through each checklist in sequence, a few behaviours at a time but usually only one broad skill at a time

17


HOW TO TEACH: Classroom Intervention

One Step at a Time uses a mixture of whole-class work, small-group work, partner work and informal interaction with individual children.

The balance varies but the primary intervention is:

Getting Started: informal interaction with individual children

Conversation Skills: staff-led small-group work and informal interaction

Listening Skills: whole-class and staff-led small-group work

Narrative Skills: whole-class, small-group and partner work

Discussion Skills: whole-class and independent small-group discussion work

18


HOW TO TEACH: Teaching Method

Parents normally teach their children spoken language (usually without realising they are doing it) by:

Highlighting: drawing attention to a word or behaviour by indicating or emphasising it

Modelling: providing an example for the child to copy

Prompting: encouraging him to respond, directing him towards an appropriate response

Rewarding: rewarding any appropriate response with praise and further encouragement

One Step at a Time uses the same techniques, but uses them explicitly and systematically.

19


HOW TO TEACH: Vocabulary Work

Vocabulary work is optional, except for Getting Started and

Discussion Skills

Each level of the programme includes a list of 100 key words chosen from early vocabulary, the vocabulary of properties and relations, and/or the vocabulary of feelings and emotion

These wordlists are intended to be supplemented with essential topic vocabulary

But, except for Getting Started and Discussion Skills, systematic vocabulary work need not be introduced until children and staff are thoroughly familiar with skills teaching

20


HOW TO TEACH: Monitoring Progress

Children or groups work through the checklists at their own pace and with varying degrees of support, one skill at a time and one checklist at a time

The checklists provide a quick and simple way of reviewing and recording individual progress

Staff should also ensure that each behaviour has been properly consolidated, and return to any items that have proved difficult to check they have been retained

21


HOW TO TEACH: Moving On

Classes may vary in how long they need to work on each checklist and at each level, but in general:

Getting Started runs in parallel with Conversation Skills and is expected to last less than a year

Conversation Skills and Listening Skills are each expected to last a year, each checklist taking about a term.

Narrative Skills and Discussion Skills are each expected to extend across a couple of years but will still benefit all children if it can only be used for a single year. Each checklist is expected to take more than a term.

It is more important that children consolidate the basic skills than that they complete any particular level

22


HOW TO TEACH: Creating a Context

Schools need to create a language-learning environment, where

children’s talk, including spontaneous talk, is valued, not just allowed but actively encouraged

children feel secure, comfortable and confident, willing and

able to express themselves in whatever way they can

23



A language-learning environment can be created by:

developing a more interactive, conversational style of teaching

using children’s talk as a way of teaching and learning, e.g. classroom discussion partner work and independent discussion groups

maximising opportunities for informal conversation with individual children

making the most of those that exist creating new ones where we can and involving everyone

24



Everyone includes parents. Schools should explain to parents:

the importance of spoken language for their children’s education

what they can do at home to help develop it

how One Step at a Time works and what it is trying to achieve,

how parents can help their children with specific skills at home

and provide opportunities for them to work with children in the classroom under staff guidance, where possible

25


HOW TO TEACH: Links to Literacy

26


FIRST STEPS

The first year should be a learning year for staff and the school as much as children:

Staff need time to familiarise themselves with the programme, adapt it to their needs, and identify suitable teaching activities and resources

They should not proceed any faster than is comfortable for themselves or their children

They need not try to include all aspects of the programme, especially in the first year

All procedures should be interpreted flexibly, in whatever way suits the school, staff and children.

27


and finally

Confidence enables:

children to learn

and teachers to teach

Confidence is:

the first of the ‘first four C’s’ (confidence, curiosity, concentration, communication) which eventually lead to the fifth C, conversation

what children need to demonstrate in their learning (they need to be using a skill confidently, competently and consistently)

And confidence in language learning is what One Step at a Time provides, for children and for staff.

28

one step at a time: presentation 3 a quick guide to one step at a time why spoken language matters...

Documents