Primary TAs:Literacy Support
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When I wasn't in FLS,
0002 10:00:01:19 10:00:05:04
I didn't really know
how to open up my imagination.
0003 10:00:05:04 10:00:07:13
But now I just always let it free.
0004 10:00:12:10 10:00:14:23
(narrator) FLS -
Further Literacy Support -
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is the third intervention programme
to bolster achievement in literacy,
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with a large support component
delivered by teaching assistants.
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Mary Billios is a TA at St Mary's
Primary School in South London.
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Initially, I just started supporting
children in the classroom,
0009 10:00:32:00 10:00:37:07
and then the offer of the FLS
training came about.
0010 10:00:37:07 10:00:40:22
The headteacher asked me if I
would like to go on this training.
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I jumped at the idea.
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(narrator) FLS is a 12-week
programme aimed at year 5 pupils,
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building their skills
in three different literacy areas -
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persuasive writing,
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imaginative storytelling,
and chronological reports.
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This morning we're going to look at
a story about a child called Danny
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and how he gets on
with school and learning.
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(narrator) The first FLS lesson
is led by class teacher Dan Pickard,
0019 10:01:06:12 10:01:10:03
to introduce everyone
to the FLS idea.
0020 10:01:10:03 10:01:12:21
Although class teachers
guide the overall programme,
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the bulk of it is delivered
by teaching assistants like Mary
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to groups of six children,
outside the classroom.
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Mary is going to demonstrate
the three modules that make up FLS,
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and show us three of the 36 lessons.
0025 10:01:27:01 10:01:29:16
She's been running groups like this
for three years.
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In the beginning, I had to take work
home with me every day, for ages.
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Even before each session
I would sit down
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and vigorously go over it,
and think, "Have I got it right?"
0029 10:01:43:17 10:01:47:22
And then I'd make little Post-it
notes for myself everywhere.
0030 10:01:47:22 10:01:53:10
But it's so well laid-out for you -
literally, a step-by-step guide,
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saying this is what you do,
this is how you can do it.
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After three years, though, I found
that I just do it as I feel now.
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Now, today's session.
We're learning to persuade.
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We're learning to write to persuade.
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Initially, when we both
looked at the FLS programme,
0036 10:02:13:20 10:02:18:16
Mary and I were taken aback by the
level of work that was required -
0037 10:02:18:16 10:02:21:16
together as a partnership,
but also for Mary as an individual,
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taking six children for those
three sessions in the week.
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In the beginning, I consulted
with Dan most of the time.
0040 10:02:30:20 10:02:33:15
I used to say,
"This is what we're doing today."
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And he'd say to me, "You can
do this." He'd always give me ideas.
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It was always very,
very useful to me.
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When we look at adverts,
walking along the street,
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they jump out at us and they make us
want to look and read what they say.
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The first module is helping children
to be aware of their surroundings
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in terms of commercials,
advertisements.
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- Do you remember what a slogan is?
- "Promise of better meals to come."
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Yes. It's something
that you remember.
0049 10:03:06:14 10:03:12:02
A slogan sometimes just comes into
your mind, for no reason whatsoever.
0050 10:03:12:02 10:03:13:19
Who can find another one?
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It was a real learning curve,
them being aware
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of what an advertisement is trying
to do to the reader, the passer-by.
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What do you of this? "If you don't
agree that VIP made those meals
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fan-taste-tic..." Just here.
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"..then we'll give you money back."
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Why is that wordplay?
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They're learning things
like alliteration,
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exaggeration,
what a snappy slogan is,
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the benefit of a product if there
are any - you can lie about that.
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"VIP will make everything
taste delicious,
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so be careful what you put it on."
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Where would that fall into
our key features, do you think?
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- Exaggeration.
- Exaggeration, yes.
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"Be careful what you put it on."
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Identifying the key features
of adverts
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was one part of the final outcome
of producing their own adverts.
0067 10:04:09:19 10:04:11:23
Yes. "Vote for VIP."
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"This full-flavoured candidate
offers a fair deal for dull dishes."
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VIP - super tasty and super cool.
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Tempting, tasty treat.
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VIP - it's the best food sauce.
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For weeks later,
they would come in and say to me:
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"I saw wordplay on that advert,
and I understood it."
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VIP - The V.I.P.
0075 10:04:36:12 10:04:38:14
A tempting, terrific treat.
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Buy one, get one free.
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Good cooks cook with VIP.
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Pretend you're putting
this key into your heads.
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You're turning the key
round and round and round.
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It's clicked.
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Module two is finding the key and
unlocking the creative imagination.
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The door's open.
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Imagination, colour, is bursting.
Everything's flowing around.
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You just have to
put it all together.
0085 10:05:12:14 10:05:16:10
The way we're going to do that
is by telling our story.
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So what do we do first in a story?
What would we do first?
0087 10:05:20:21 10:05:24:24
- (girl) Tell the setting.
- (Mary) Who's got the setting?
0088 10:05:24:24 10:05:29:18
In the nice green meadow,
there was a golden temple.
0089 10:05:29:18 10:05:34:17
Having the cards, I think,
enormously helps the children
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to just try and visualise something
that isn't in front of them,
0091 10:05:40:08 10:05:42:16
something that doesn't exist,
0092 10:05:42:16 10:05:47:04
something very, very bizarre. And
the same with the hero and heroine.
0093 10:05:47:04 10:05:50:12
It can be something that's
way back in their imagination.
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So we have our setting, we have our
hero. What next, do you think? Glen.
0095 10:05:55:02 10:05:58:01
- Beast.
- Our beast. Our fantastic beast.
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And who has that?
0097 10:05:59:23 10:06:03:09
Debra, are you going to make us
quiver with fear?
0098 10:06:03:09 10:06:06:19
- A cyclops.
- Ooh!
0099 10:06:06:19 10:06:09:23
- He's green and slimy.
- Ugh!
0100 10:06:09:23 10:06:15:11
He's got one eye, and
he's only got a little bit of teeth.
0101 10:06:15:11 10:06:18:01
A child can just sit there
and look at the picture,
0102 10:06:18:01 10:06:21:17
and just describe the picture,
but that's not what I'm looking for.
0103 10:06:21:17 10:06:24:11
I'm looking for
what that picture does,
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and where it is,
and where it can lead to.
0105 10:06:28:18 10:06:32:06
- Is he anywhere near our meadow?
- Our meadow.
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And the temple?
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Yes, he lives under the mountains.
0108 10:06:39:15 10:06:41:12
- Near the temple?
- Yeah.
0109 10:06:41:12 10:06:44:10
I have to prompt them.
Otherwise, they'll just sit there,
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and they'll just describe
what they see.
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It won't go on from there, so I have
to constantly prompt their ideas.
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The hero's sister
had lost a magic ring.
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She remembered the temple
that had a curse.
0114 10:07:02:09 10:07:05:04
(Mary) Do you want to tell us
a bit about this curse?
0115 10:07:05:04 10:07:08:02
It was your setting,
perhaps you've thought of something.
0116 10:07:08:02 10:07:12:19
- There lived a witch in there.
- A witch lived in the temple, yes.
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They're constantly listening to
each other, and building from that,
0118 10:07:16:11 10:07:18:19
but not only building on the story,
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they're building on their character
they've introduced to the story.
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The superhero met these women
that looked like witches,
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but they gave him a special power.
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So that he can get the ring back.
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It's not just talking about a hero.
0124 10:07:36:10 10:07:40:04
This hero has to be part
of what happened before,
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and what's going to happen later on.
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Why did these women
give him this special power?
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Because they didn't like
the witch that lived in the...
0128 10:07:51:04 10:07:57:05
I understand. Can you see how we're
linking all the different parts?
0129 10:07:57:05 10:08:00:11
All the different recipes.
0130 10:08:00:11 10:08:04:14
The recipe is beginning to take some
sort of shape, some sort of form.
0131 10:08:04:14 10:08:08:09
In the beginning, I was quite
nervous about how I would portray
0132 10:08:08:09 10:08:10:19
everything that I needed to say
to the children.
0133 10:08:10:19 10:08:14:20
I thought, "Would it come out right?
Will they understand?"
0134 10:08:14:20 10:08:19:00
Often, you find with children,
you say something one way -
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some will understand
and others won't.
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You have to say the same thing
in several different ways.
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So our ingredients
are all going into the big bowl,
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and we're beginning
to mix them all together.
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The FLS programme is very demanding.
0140 10:08:32:17 10:08:37:06
It's very, very well resourced, but
you have to put everything together.
0141 10:08:37:06 10:08:40:23
But it's a great development curve,
0142 10:08:40:23 10:08:44:18
because there is so much
that you can do on your own.
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I can even chop and change some of
the sessions to suit the children.
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I have done that.
0145 10:08:51:08 10:08:57:13
So, today is just the beginning
of what we're going to do.
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We will put together
our own stories.
0147 10:09:00:19 10:09:04:15
"Long ago in France,
a beautiful land..."
0148 10:09:04:15 10:09:08:16
"Long ago, when the sun shone,
and all the people smiled..."
0149 10:09:08:16 10:09:13:12
They begin with a setting. It can be
anything. Literally, anything.
0150 10:09:13:12 10:09:18:08
Then they will start introducing the
characters, their fantastic beast.
0151 10:09:18:08 10:09:23:18
"..ugly, horrible beast appeared,
stamping and destroying everything."
0152 10:09:23:18 10:09:26:17
"Angelika hid
behind a blackberry bush,
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but there was something behind her."
0154 10:09:28:15 10:09:32:13
"Then Claudius punched the beast
on her body, really hard."
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"Then the beast fell on the floor."
0156 10:09:34:21 10:09:36:15
And, of course, the resolution,
0157 10:09:36:15 10:09:41:04
which makes the hero an even bigger
hero and saves the day.
0158 10:09:41:04 10:09:44:01
So they love that. They just
get carried away with it.
0159 10:09:44:01 10:09:48:19
"That's why they all depended
on him to save them from danger."
0160 10:09:50:20 10:09:54:02
(Mary) Who can tell me something
about a chronological report?
0161 10:09:54:02 10:09:57:23
What does it mean to you? What does
the word "chronological" mean?
0162 10:09:57:23 10:10:01:24
Module three
is about report writing.
0163 10:10:01:24 10:10:05:13
Chronological report writing.
0164 10:10:05:13 10:10:07:16
Order?
0165 10:10:07:16 10:10:10:15
Very close. Good.
0166 10:10:10:15 10:10:14:06
The children had to imagine
that aliens wanted to visit.
0167 10:10:14:06 10:10:16:00
Where would they land?
0168 10:10:16:00 10:10:19:23
From there,
within their own mind's eye,
0169 10:10:19:23 10:10:23:19
they had to put themselves
in the aliens' shoes,
0170 10:10:23:19 10:10:29:00
and try and think, "What would I see
on the way to St Mary's?"
0171 10:10:29:00 10:10:33:08
"Out of the spaceship, and go to
the edge of the pavement and stop."
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- (Mary) And stop.
- You cross the road.
0173 10:10:35:08 10:10:40:03
(Mary) Wait until the road is clear,
and then cross to the other side.
0174 10:10:40:03 10:10:44:11
Where you will see... And then you
have to decide where they will be.
0175 10:10:44:11 10:10:49:02
It was entirely focusing
on being somebody else,
0176 10:10:49:02 10:10:51:03
rather than just themselves,
0177 10:10:51:03 10:10:55:11
and how they would see it through
that other person's eyes.
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Think about something that you see
once you cross the road.
0179 10:11:01:10 10:11:06:03
Children tend to live in their own
little enclave, in their own world,
0180 10:11:06:03 10:11:10:22
and anything beyond that,
it has to be pointed out to them.
0181 10:11:10:22 10:11:14:19
Don't forget that you have to
constantly give them landmarks.
0182 10:11:14:19 10:11:18:20
So say, "You will pass a restaurant,
you will pass an estate agent's."
0183 10:11:18:20 10:11:22:18
I think that's why they struggled.
They couldn't do that very easily.
0184 10:11:22:18 10:11:26:11
That's very much what this module
tries to get them out of.
0185 10:11:26:11 10:11:28:12
A little bit beyond that.
0186 10:11:28:12 10:11:31:08
Let's look at our target
for this week.
0187 10:11:31:08 10:11:36:05
We have learned how to adapt our
writing for a particular purpose.
0188 10:11:36:05 10:11:41:10
So our purpose today was to give
instructions, to use the imperative.
0189 10:11:41:10 10:11:45:05
Evaluations and monitoring
of the children go on all the time,
0190 10:11:45:05 10:11:47:11
and at the end of each week,
0191 10:11:47:11 10:11:51:07
there is an evaluation section
within the programme.
0192 10:11:51:07 10:11:53:10
Both Dan and I will fill it in,
0193 10:11:53:10 10:11:57:15
and we'll write about what we have
thought has come out of that week.
0194 10:11:57:15 10:12:01:24
"Out of the spaceship
and walk straight and turn left."
0195 10:12:01:24 10:12:05:00
"Look around you
until the road is clear."
0196 10:12:05:00 10:12:08:01
"When the green man shows,
0197 10:12:08:01 10:12:11:21
go forward to the sweet shop
and stop there."
0198 10:12:11:21 10:12:14:14
"Turn right, and go straight
0199 10:12:14:14 10:12:17:21
until you see a road
called Crescent Lane."
0200 10:12:17:21 10:12:21:07
"Go across the road,
and you will see a big black gate."
0201 10:12:21:07 10:12:25:16
I always think they feel,
"Oh, yes, we made it."
0202 10:12:25:16 10:12:30:19
"I've got to the school gates.
I was able to press the buzzer."
0203 10:12:30:19 10:12:33:22
"Press the button
and announce who you are."
0204 10:12:33:22 10:12:36:19
"Press it, and you're there."
0205 10:12:38:15 10:12:42:01
I always like to see
where the children start,
0206 10:12:42:01 10:12:46:08
and where they finish
at the end of the 12 weeks.
0207 10:12:46:08 10:12:52:04
And it's an enormous buzz,
if you like, for me,
0208 10:12:52:04 10:12:56:00
to think, "Yes, that child
wasn't able to make two sentences,
0209 10:12:56:00 10:13:01:12
but now he can write a complete
story and feel good about it."
0210 10:13:01:12 10:13:06:06
Those children have developed
confidence in their own abilities,
0211 10:13:06:06 10:13:09:21
and to look back, at the end of
the year, at the tracking documents,
0212 10:13:09:21 10:13:12:00
and to see those children
come through
0213 10:13:12:00 10:13:15:05
and how they've progressed in terms
of the levels they achieve.
0214 10:13:15:05 10:13:20:20
I thought that it was good
to teach and to help children
0215 10:13:20:20 10:13:27:11
do things like story writing
and writing to persuade.
0216 10:13:27:11 10:13:29:01
When we grow up,
0217 10:13:29:01 10:13:32:14
we might be one of those people
that need to write to persuade.
0218 10:13:32:14 10:13:38:23
There are children in the group and
you can tell they have these ideas,
0219 10:13:38:23 10:13:42:03
but they never really know
how to put them down on paper.
0220 10:13:42:03 10:13:45:12
So to see that at the end,
I come out and I think:
0221 10:13:45:12 10:13:48:06
"Yes! I've done it today."
0222 10:13:55:04 10:13:58:04
Visiontext Subtitles:
Joanna Wilkinson
0223 10:13:58:04 10:14:00:04