School goal two
To improve literacy skills for all learners.
How can strengthening oral language and storytelling impact literacy skills in all learners?
Observations and Discussion points May 2023 during school planning session:
- Identify areas based on student achievement through informal assessments, FSA data, report card data and observations;
- Can we narrow down our focus to have a strong impact?;
- Teachers have noted many reluctant writers, especially in intermediate grades;
- SLP and kindergarten teachers report children ages 4-6 are coming to school with less oral language skills; and
- A number of students in intermediate grades with language challenges.
This is important because pedagogy in language acquisition indicates the importance of oral language skills.
Oral language skills are building blocks to literacy, social connections, culture and communication. The impact of oral language on written language is significant; proficiency in oral communication often leads to enhanced written skills. It forms the basis of grammar, vocabulary, and syntax which are all vital for effective written communication.
This goal and focused inquiry question aligns directly to our district strategic priority in Literacy. Additionally, our intended approaches are deeply connected to First Peoples Principles of Learning.
First Peoples Principles of Learning
The Literacy Goal needs to ensure that:
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place).
- Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story.
Over the course of the year, the following will be our direct areas of focus:
- Build capacity and training for staff in the area of supporting oral language:
- regular Lunch and learns for staff on relevant oral language strategies:
- Sept 20 SLP Caitin Mali - oral language - Phoneme and phonological awareness.
- explore oral language rubric for grade levels.
- regular Lunch and learns for staff on relevant oral language strategies:
- Make structural changes to interventions through class profile to include oral language support;
- Build materials and supplies for oral language instruction, and arts;
- Create more opportunities for storytelling, modeling, oral language instruction, and arts;
- Expand language learning pedagogy -increase proficiency in oral language to improve written communication, explicit linking of speech to print;
- Incorporate First people’s learning- cultural, knowledge and social value of oral storytelling; and
- Enhancement Agreement Goal: W̱SÁNEĆ, other First Nations, Métis and Inuit students will experience academic success while maintaining a strong cultural identity.
Over the 2023-24 year, we will track progress on our initiatives identified in this year’s plan. And, specifically:
- Class profile meeting- bi annual review of academic and SEL strengths and stretches with Inclusion support team (IST, counselor, admin, Ell, SLP, Psychologist, Literacy intervention) to guide term to term interventions in the area of SEL and support using the 3 tiers of intervention model and track over the year;
- Report card: data from previous year and current year to observe the oral language/ literacy growth
- Teacher capacity- Through PRO-D and Lunch /Learn - Increase in teacher competency in the area of strengthening oral language and regular targeted instruction of strategies and impacts on literacy achievement;
- Teacher observations - increase in student’s ability to communicate and increase oral language skills, opportunities for modeling and experience with storytelling; and
- Student Empathy interviews / Survey - base line on mental wellness, strategies to that are used to persevere through tasks and be resilience.
Summary learning, based on evidence gathered over the year, will provide us with key learnings to guide next steps for the 2024-25 school year and beyond.
