TA TALK

Issue 31

May 2018

Our most recent community webinar was presented by reading coach, Rebecca Glynn from the Reading Centre, Queensland Department of Education. Rebecca gave us many ideas on how to support readers and included some great activities allowing participants to practice reading strategies on the spot. We had great attendance which shows a clear demand for resources on reading, and literacy in general. The recording of this webinar is now available to members in our professional development library. We also have other reading related resources, including the webinar, Teach Children and Adolescents to Read and Spell with Confidence, as well as a reading vocabulary series based on Marzano's steps.

If there are 'content experts' you would like to hear from during our community webinars, please let us know via our Contact Us form. We are always keen to know what you want to know more about.

We are also interested in how you are celebrating National Reconciliation Week. Did you know that ABC Splash is collaborating with First Languages Australia to see Marrin Gamu sung in as many different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as possible? School students and staff are being invited to learn the words of Marrin Gamu in English and then engage with their local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to translate it into their first language. The competition is open until mid-August. For full competition details, read more here.

We have received some great feedback from schools about their experiences as ATA members and we share some of that feedback on our website. Now is a great time to talk to your school about ATA membership, particularly if you want access to our resources for Term 3.

That's it from us this month. Stay warm and well with winter just around the corner.

Warm regards

Mandy and Stella

LINKING TO YOUR ORGANISATION'S MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT

Is your school or training organisation an ATA member? If so, have you linked to the organisation's membership account? When you do, you will have unlimited access to live webinar events, professional development resources and our private online community for teacher aides.

COMMUNITY WEBINAR: Strategies to Support Reading - Before, During and After

Effective readers use a range of strategies to comprehend texts, before, during and after reading. In this webinar, Rebecca Glynn, a Reading Coach from the Reading Centre (Queensland Department of Education) explores some of the strategies that students can apply at each stage of reading to support their comprehension of texts.

MEMBER WEBINAR: Mathematics - Helping Students Develop Number Sense

Number sense develops gradually and is the foundation for confidently using mathematics in our everyday lives, and for academic purposes. In this webinar, we explore a range of practical strategies that teacher aides can use to support students in their early development of number sense, including strategies for counting, place value, addition and subtraction.

MEMBER WEBINAR: Mathematics - Helping Students Develop Computation Strategies

During primary school, students learn a range of mental computation strategies to work out and estimate answers to mathematical calculations, which become essential for secondary mathematics. In this interactive webinar, we will identify the sequence of learning mental computation strategies in primary school, and explore some practical activities and games that teacher aides can use to help students develop their mental computation skills in multiplication and division. Hope you can join us on 12th June!

COMMUNITY WEBINAR: Supporting Students With Mental Computation Strategies 

ATA guest presenter, Judy Hartnett of Making Maths Reason-able, is joining us on 26th June to continue our current theme of mathematics. Judy will present a way of thinking about computation strategies that makes this area of maths easier for students. We hope you will join us and learn from Judy's strategies, activities and games.

TA TOOLBOX - STEM

What is Number Sense?

Number sense begins in the early years and continues throughout children’s schooling. It enables us to think about numbers and represent them visually; solve everyday problems and know when our answers are reasonable.

Teacher aides are a work of heart

84,974 views

7,419 reactions, comments and shares

They truly are! according to your reaction to this post. Perhaps the theme for TA Appreciation Day this year? What do you think?

What's your definition of a teacher aide?

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2,951 reactions, comments and shares

Well, admittedly, we did get a bit creative here with the dictionary definition of a teacher aide. But, hey, many of you agreed with our first attempt, did you not? :)

MEMBER SCHOOL FEEDBACK

We had a very successful workshop last night and it was very positively received! I took them all (support staff) through the site and explained how it can be useful.  We then focussed on the "Understanding Learning Difficulties" program and did it together. It created fantastic discussions and allowed us to share concerns, ideas and suggestions for specific students that we work with. Staff loved it! So thank you!

- Jo Opie, Oak Flats High School, NSW