Primary TAs:Literacy Support

0001 10:00:00:00 10:00:01:19

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 -

0005 10:00:14:23 10:00:18:14

is the third intervention programme

to bolster achievement in literacy,

0006 10:00:18:14 10:00:22:22

with a large support component

delivered by teaching assistants.

0007 10:00:22:22 10:00:27:00

Mary Billios is a TA at St Mary's

Primary School in South London.

0008 10:00:27:00 10:00:32:00

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.

0011 10:00:40:22 10:00:42:20

I jumped at the idea.

0012 10:00:42:20 10:00:46:21

(narrator) FLS is a 12-week

programme aimed at year 5 pupils,

0013 10:00:46:21 10:00:49:23

building their skills

in three different literacy areas -

0014 10:00:49:23 10:00:51:11

persuasive writing,

0015 10:00:51:11 10:00:54:22

imaginative storytelling,

and chronological reports.

0016 10:00:54:22 10:00:59:14

This morning we're going to look at

a story about a child called Danny

0017 10:00:59:14 10:01:02:10

and how he gets on

with school and learning.

0018 10:01:02:10 10:01:06:12

(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,

0021 10:01:12:21 10:01:16:02

the bulk of it is delivered

by teaching assistants like Mary

0022 10:01:16:02 10:01:19:19

to groups of six children,

outside the classroom.

0023 10:01:19:19 10:01:24:08

Mary is going to demonstrate

the three modules that make up FLS,

0024 10:01:24:08 10:01:27:01

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.

0026 10:01:29:16 10:01:35:21

In the beginning, I had to take work

home with me every day, for ages.

0027 10:01:35:21 10:01:38:23

Even before each session

I would sit down

0028 10:01:38:23 10:01:43:17

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,

0031 10:01:53:10 10:01:56:15

saying this is what you do,

this is how you can do it.

0032 10:01:56:15 10:02:02:14

After three years, though, I found

that I just do it as I feel now.

0033 10:02:05:04 10:02:08:21

Now, today's session.

We're learning to persuade.

0034 10:02:08:21 10:02:11:01

We're learning to write to persuade.

0035 10:02:11:01 10:02:13:20

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,

0038 10:02:21:16 10:02:26:22

taking six children for those

three sessions in the week.

0039 10:02:26:22 10:02:30:20

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."

0041 10:02:33:15 10:02:40:05

And he'd say to me, "You can

do this." He'd always give me ideas.

0042 10:02:40:05 10:02:42:10

It was always very,

very useful to me.

0043 10:02:42:10 10:02:45:04

When we look at adverts,

walking along the street,

0044 10:02:45:04 10:02:50:10

they jump out at us and they make us

want to look and read what they say.

0045 10:02:50:10 10:02:56:19

The first module is helping children

to be aware of their surroundings

0046 10:02:56:19 10:03:00:09

in terms of commercials,

advertisements.

0047 10:03:00:09 10:03:04:02

- Do you remember what a slogan is?

- "Promise of better meals to come."

0048 10:03:04:02 10:03:06:14

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?

0051 10:03:13:19 10:03:16:19

It was a real learning curve,

them being aware

0052 10:03:16:19 10:03:21:06

of what an advertisement is trying

to do to the reader, the passer-by.

0053 10:03:21:06 10:03:25:22

What do you of this? "If you don't

agree that VIP made those meals

0054 10:03:25:22 10:03:30:07

fan-taste-tic..." Just here.

0055 10:03:30:07 10:03:32:14

"..then we'll give you money back."

0056 10:03:32:14 10:03:34:01

Why is that wordplay?

0057 10:03:34:01 10:03:37:00

They're learning things

like alliteration,

0058 10:03:37:00 10:03:41:15

exaggeration,

what a snappy slogan is,

0059 10:03:41:15 10:03:46:11

the benefit of a product if there

are any - you can lie about that.

0060 10:03:46:11 10:03:49:14

"VIP will make everything

taste delicious,

0061 10:03:49:14 10:03:53:18

so be careful what you put it on."

0062 10:03:53:18 10:03:57:12

Where would that fall into

our key features, do you think?

0063 10:03:57:12 10:03:59:21

- Exaggeration.

- Exaggeration, yes.

0064 10:03:59:21 10:04:01:19

"Be careful what you put it on."

0065 10:04:01:19 10:04:04:13

Identifying the key features

of adverts

0066 10:04:04:13 10:04:09:19

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."

0068 10:04:11:23 10:04:16:12

"This full-flavoured candidate

offers a fair deal for dull dishes."

0069 10:04:17:15 10:04:20:09

VIP - super tasty and super cool.

0070 10:04:20:09 10:04:22:18

Tempting, tasty treat.

0071 10:04:22:18 10:04:24:24

VIP - it's the best food sauce.

0072 10:04:24:24 10:04:27:17

For weeks later,

they would come in and say to me:

0073 10:04:27:17 10:04:34:06

"I saw wordplay on that advert,

and I understood it."

0074 10:04:34:06 10:04:36:12

VIP - The V.I.P.

0075 10:04:36:12 10:04:38:14

A tempting, terrific treat.

0076 10:04:38:14 10:04:40:14

Buy one, get one free.

0077 10:04:40:14 10:04:42:19

Good cooks cook with VIP.

0078 10:04:43:19 10:04:48:01

Pretend you're putting

this key into your heads.

0079 10:04:48:01 10:04:52:04

You're turning the key

round and round and round.

0080 10:04:52:04 10:04:53:16

It's clicked.

0081 10:04:53:16 10:04:59:22

Module two is finding the key and

unlocking the creative imagination.

0082 10:04:59:22 10:05:02:02

The door's open.

0083 10:05:04:10 10:05:10:05

Imagination, colour, is bursting.

Everything's flowing around.

0084 10:05:10:05 10:05:12:14

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.

0086 10:05:16:10 10:05:20:21

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

0090 10:05:34:17 10:05:40:08

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.

0094 10:05:50:12 10:05:55:02

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.

0096 10:05:58:01 10:05:59:23

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,

0104 10:06:24:11 10:06:28:18

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.

0106 10:06:32:06 10:06:34:11

And the temple?

0107 10:06:36:01 10:06:39:15

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,

0110 10:06:44:10 10:06:46:20

and they'll just describe

what they see.

0111 10:06:46:20 10:06:52:07

It won't go on from there, so I have

to constantly prompt their ideas.

0112 10:06:52:07 10:06:57:05

The hero's sister

had lost a magic ring.

0113 10:06:57:05 10:07:02:09

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.

0117 10:07:12:19 10:07:16:11

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,

0119 10:07:18:19 10:07:22:18

they're building on their character

they've introduced to the story.

0120 10:07:22:18 10:07:27:04

The superhero met these women

that looked like witches,

0121 10:07:27:04 10:07:31:05

but they gave him a special power.

0122 10:07:31:05 10:07:33:12

So that he can get the ring back.

0123 10:07:33:12 10:07:36:10

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,

0125 10:07:40:04 10:07:42:04

and what's going to happen later on.

0126 10:07:42:04 10:07:46:03

Why did these women

give him this special power?

0127 10:07:46:03 10:07:51:04

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 -

0135 10:08:19:00 10:08:21:06

some will understand

and others won't.

0136 10:08:21:06 10:08:24:03

You have to say the same thing

in several different ways.

0137 10:08:24:03 10:08:27:00

So our ingredients

are all going into the big bowl,

0138 10:08:27:00 10:08:29:07

and we're beginning

to mix them all together.

0139 10:08:29:07 10:08:32:17

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.

0143 10:08:44:18 10:08:49:18

I can even chop and change some of

the sessions to suit the children.

0144 10:08:49:18 10:08:51:08

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.

0146 10:08:57:13 10:09:00:19

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,

0153 10:09:26:17 10:09:28:15

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."

0155 10:09:32:13 10:09:34:21

"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."

0172 10:10:33:08 10:10:35:08

- (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.

0178 10:10:56:12 10:11:01:10

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