Chapter 3 - B. McKinney
Trying to see every group everyday will not yield quality teaching. Remember, quality, not quantity. Meeting with every group everyday, will burn you out quickly. When moving a student from out of a group use a combination of both formal and informal assessments. As you meet with students in small group, you will get to know them much better than if you worked with them only in whole group. You will know who is improving in fluency or phonics skill. The teacher will see who needs help. Monitor your struggling students progress every few weeks.
Pay attention to what students are doing as readers with regard to phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency, as well as what they do as writers. Make decisions.
- Is the student able to do this on his or her own?
- Must I give support to the student?
When a student consistently demonstrates use of the skill and strategy at a level with increasing independence try the student at a higher level.
FROM: D. SKAGGS
ReplyDeleteWhen implemented in a mathematics classroom these strategies would work almost identically to the way they work in a reading classroom. Teachers would rotate which small groups they worked with each day, and would monitor the students closely to see if they were at a point where they can work more independently.
To evaluate this strategy for effectiveness, I would use informal assessments like students' responses to questions and the students' achievement level on independent work. I would also use formal assessments like six weeks tests, unit tests and benchmarks, all of which I would be sure to profile.
Posted by 5th Grade Math-Mr.Le
ReplyDeleteReflection: I reflected on my use of small groups in math as it pertains to this chapter. This chapter details the monitoring, scaffolding and advancement of daily readers in small groups.
Implementation: I agree with the chapter on the need to include formal and informal assessments. I plan to utilize both assessments as it pertains to moving students out of groups.
Loftis/ Bitner
ReplyDeleteTo be most effecitve we will work most consistently with those students who face the biggest challenge in their learning. The activity being studied should determine the make-up of each group, and whether or not the group will be homogenous or heterogenous (mixed).
Groups will be flexible depending on formal and informal assessments and the anecdotes in the teacher notebooks.
From: Mrs. P. Williams
ReplyDeleteI have three small groups; spelling, sentence structure and editing and revising. My spelling group meets every day (only for about 10 minutes). These members can leave the group after successfully passing the weekly spelling test. Sentence structure and editing generally meet twice a week. However sentence writing is a part of homework and I review their sentences a couple of times a week.
Post by Gary S. Lopez
ReplyDeleteChapter 3
Time, time, time, how I wished we had more of it. Opportunity cost is playing a part here. Time is what is needed to really plan for quality instruction, but I feel there just isn’t enough. I need to become better at prioritizing my time. Are there some things that aren’t as important as lesson planning taking up time that I could be using to plan for quality instruction? It’s a tough balancing act trying to make effective time for God, family, work, and breathing. I will know that I am practicing quality instruction when students demonstrate independently the mastery of the skill taught. Formal and informal assessments will be utilized.