Goal:
To strengthen daily classroom routines by embedding consistent maths warm-ups, enriching oral language opportunities, and providing structured literacy and numeracy activities that support independent rotations. Additionally, I aim to optimise the use of my kaiāwhina through a targeted 1:1 timetable during Te Ara Pānui time and increase oral language opportunities for my tamariki.
Date of Goal Setting: 21 May 2025
Reflection Date: 30 July 2025
1. Implementing Numicon-Based Activities for Teina and Tuakana
After attending Numicon PLD at Moerewa School, I adopted a tuakana–teina approach within my maths programme. Fortunately, the Numicon Structured Maths Program has a mixed-aged long term plan. While I work with one group, my kaiāwhina supports the other. This has created a more focused environment for targeted teaching, and I’m looking forward to seeing the long-term impact on student progress.
One key takeaway from the PLD was the importance of encouraging tamariki to subitise and see number structures, rather than relying solely on counting. This aligns with the 2025 NZC Phase 1 progression, which emphasises:
“Subitise the number of objects in a collection up to 10, including by combining two patterns of 1–5.”
We’ve both been working on shifting our language and activities to reflect this. What’s become clear is how reliant our tamariki are on counting—likely because our warm-ups frequently focus on this. This has prompted us to review the balance of our number activities.
On a practical level, I’ve been creating Numicon slides to upload to our class site. While useful, I’ve noticed this is doubling my workload unnecessarily. We have all of the physical resources needed, and moving forward, I may reduce this digital preparation to avoid burnout and prioritise hands-on learning.
One challenge has been the maintenance of maths equipment. While I was away (either off-site or unwell), activity bins weren’t consistently looked after. This highlighted the need for clearer systems for equipment management when either adult is absent.
2. Finalising and Trialling the Kaiāwhina 1:1 Support Timetable
This term, I co-created a 1:1 support timetable with my kaiāwhina. We identified a small group of target learners—students working below expected levels across core subjects—and also considered our newest learners who would benefit from extra support.
Our initial focus was the BSLA + Handwriting block. While I worked with the full class, my kaiāwhina led a small group using structured materials from the UC Learn site, including a Teacher Aide guide and student workbooks. I also shared practical tips and teaching strategies.
By Week 2, we had expanded this support across additional blocks:
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Te Ara Pānui: Focused teaching of pepeha and mihi.
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Maths warm-up: Frontloading concepts with a small group before the main lesson.
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Afternoon block: Relationship-building sessions supporting social and emotional learning.
We revisit the timetable regularly to see what’s working and adjust where needed. So far, the BSLA and Te Ara Pānui blocks have been the most impactful, with clear progress from some of our target tamariki. The co-planning process has created shared responsibility and ensures the kaiāwhina’s mahi is targeted, valued, and effective.
3. Exploring Additional Oral Language Opportunities
In Term 2, I displayed a series of oral language prompts sourced from Play-Based Learning PLD. These posters offer sentence starters and question prompts for both kaiako and kaiāwhina. While they are up around the room, I haven’t actively embedded them into our teaching or group rotations yet.
This remains a next step. I see real potential for these tools to support richer oral language exchanges—especially in shared reading, writing, and inquiry time.
Reflection – Look, Think, Act
Look – What do I notice?
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Tamariki are still highly reliant on counting rather than seeing number patterns.
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Co-planning with my kaiāwhina is lifting the quality of 1:1 and small group support.
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Oral language prompts are visible, but not yet embedded into practice.
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My workload increased due to duplicating physical resources digitally.
Think – How can I address what I notice?
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Shift warm-up routines to build more subitising and patterning.
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Continue weekly check-ins with my kaiāwhina and prioritise time for reflection.
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Use the oral language posters as a shared focus in planning and teaching.
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Reduce unnecessary duplication—focus on purposeful planning only.
Act – What will I do?
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Trial new subitising warm-ups using Numicon patterns and dot images.
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Review equipment systems and assign shared responsibility to tamariki.
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Introduce one oral language prompt per week during shared mat time.
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Scale back digital slides and lean into physical Numicon resources already available.
This journey has been a valuable reminder that strong routines don’t happen by chance—they are built with intentionality, reflection, and collaboration. Through refining our Numicon practice, co-designing support systems with my kaiāwhina, and laying the groundwork for richer oral language opportunities, I can see our classroom becoming more responsive to the needs of our tamariki.
While there is still work to do, especially in embedding oral language and streamlining my own workload, I feel more anchored in my approach. I’m proud of the progress made so far and remain committed to creating a calm, purposeful classroom where routines, relationships, and rotations work together to support success for all learners.