When I taught second grade, I used many of the strategies
suggested for a comprehensive literacy program.
I wanted my reading time to encompass many experiences, and I operated
within a tight curriculum structure.
I read aloud to my students every day. At the end of the day, the students and I
would gather at the carpet area of the classroom with the lights off. They
could lie down or sit as they pleased as long as they listened. I began with fun, kid-related stories by Judy
Blume. The students loved the books
about Peter Hatcher and his brother, Fudge.
Towards the end of the year, I started reading a book that was
definitely on an adult level. But, I had
described one time to the class to mention what I was reading, and their
interest was piqued. So, I read the
book, Meg, by Steve Alten. It was about
a Megaladon shark that was resurfacing after remaining hidden for many, many
years in the Mariana Trench. The
students LOVED it, and I have never had such an engaged read aloud time. The text prompted the students to research
sharks and visit museums.
We had guided reading every day.
While I met with different level groups, the rest of the class worked on
reading-oriented skill tasks (story elements, curriculum-integrated activities,
vocabulary enrichment) independently. The
students rotated from group to group based on progress, and by the end of the
year, the members of the yellow (struggling readers) group had advanced, so the
“yellow” group did exist anymore.
The students had an independent reading time every
day. There were labeled/leveled bins for
them to select from, and there were organized, individual forms for each
student to write their information.
Accelerated Reader was used for comprehension checks, and often the students
were buddy reading.
I conducted individual reading conferences on a weekly basis, but it was not on
the level the book described.
Unfortunately, the students and I focused on fluency practices to assess
their progress. This is an areas I would
like to develop further using the book’s suggestions.
After lunch and recess, our
routine was to participate in writer’s workshop (shared, guided, writing to learn, and sustained writing). We would begin the workshop with some sort of
grammar lesson or parts of speech. With
a previously determined topic, we would talk about ideas and decisions and
organize ideas into webs or charts. The
students were given quite time to work, and I was there to assist them with
vocabulary or spelling. As their drafts
evolved during the week, peer revision helped them make any corrections. I used a rubric to assess the final draft.
I used many components in
my classroom, but I’d like to try different techniques. If I am in a Montessori teaching environment,
those practices and curriculum may be different, so I will need to adapt
accordingly.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI liked the way you organized your reflection by telling of the different components you used in your classroom to then display a typical day in your classroom. As a recent graduate, it is interesting to look at other peoples outline of a typical day and the different reading/literacy instruction a teacher may include. I like the way you utilized most of the literacy components throughout your day. That tells me that your students received a great variety of reading instruction along with a great, consistent practice of reading and writing which is so valuable. I also like reading about how you evaluated your students. I feel like I learn so much from reading everyones reflections and getting advice and suggestions from educated teachers like yourself, so thank you.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of reading to the students everyday with the lights off. Allowing students to get comfortable and listen to a story is often time’s what my class enjoyed the most. During my student teaching I was placed in a third grade class and we read the book, “Superfudge.” They too loved reading about Peter Hatcher and Fudge. During reading class, we conducted guided reading as well. My students loved being able to read different stories with their peers as well as myself. It sounds as if we used a lot of the same literacy programs throughout the classroom!
Wow, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI loved your story about reading the adult-level book to your students and how it prompted them to research more about the topic. Isn’t it great when that happens and you are able to engage them and spark a new interest within them without even trying or planning to do so?
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don’t have in my classroom and would really like to develop soon is a leveled classroom library. I’m realizing even more now after starting this master’s program how important it is. I moved grade levels last year, so I was pretty much starting from scratch. I use leveled books in my teaching and during guided reading, but I don’t have an actual leveled library for kids to have access to and really understand what level they are on and be able to choose from a variety of texts on that particular level. I plan to focus on this more next year.