Alternate title: This balanced literacy thing can kiss my ass
Today was day 10 with the kids, and already I've hit a wall with regards to teaching reading. In spite of two years as a coach, I feel like I don't know what I am doing. I know I can't ever go back to the way I used to teach, because something about it just doesn't feel right anymore. (Maybe I've been brainwashed, maybe I've just evolved in a good way? Don't know.)
My morning lesson today was the pits. It was so bad that I decided to let my afternoon class have a silent reading/conferencing period instead of that lesson. Fortunately, they like silent reading and I was able to do several conferences.
The Region put out a curriculum calendar for the school year, which I have to grudingly admit is decent, and there's a unit of study for September too. I decided not to reinvent the wheel and use that unit, modifying it as needed. And I haven't been able to really put my heart into those lessons. I've spent a lot of time tailoring them to fit the needs of the kids and to work with the materials available. But I know they're ineffective, and I don't really know what to do. The kids have been patient and well-behaved, but I am not going to take their patience for granted.
I have one group of kids who are on level or very close to it, and don't need the hand-holding that I think the Region lessons provide. And the other class is a range of levels, but since that class has only 20, I can do a lot with grouping. The fact that I have such good kids overall makes me want to give them the very best that I have.
Writing this entry has been useful, though. As I wrote it I remembered the way I used to break my kids into small groups with different activities, and I would do a guided reading lesson with one group at a time, rotating all the activities until all of the kids had done each activity once. That would definitely work with my smaller class and maybe the bigger one too. I am also thinking about giving my bigger class a survey or something, to get ideas about what will be helpful to them. Since those kids are on level and pretty self-aware I would expect some good responses.
I just hope that I am able to figure out something clear and specific, and soon. Our school has a literacy coach and a lead teacher. I would say that they are both approachable, even though I hardly see the lead teacher, and the coach is still overwhelmed by boxes upon boxes in her office. Though I am the kind of stubborn person who prefers to do things without help. Besides, I have a feeling I'd just hear more of the same.
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11 comments:
Go with your instincts and work with the students using tehniques that you feel best helps them.
I better get a new keyboard soon ....Those typos.....!
As you're growing up as a teenager, there are a number of things that you look forward to; getting your drivers
license, graduating from high school, going to your senior prom, having your first date and having your first beer.
The problem with this last one is that the drinking age and the thing you want make it something that you just can't
have yet. And still, you want it and will go to any lengths to get it.
Underage beer drinking is certainly no secret and to try to sweep it under the carpet isn't going to make it go
away. But the most odd thing about underage drinking when it comes to beer is that even after kids sneak their first
beer, they still want to have another one. If you're wondering why that sounds so strange then you need to think
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taste or the fact that they're not used to the alcohol yet.
Since ages, chocolate is loved by all people due to its special taste. Many experts have noted that chocolates are unhealthy
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Here's how to make delicious chocolate covered strawberries. First of all ensure that the strawberries you are intending to use are dry, then allow them to be room temperature warm prior to making them. After the strawberries have been covered in chocolate, put them in your refrigerator to cool, but do not store them in the fridge. Consume within 1-2 days.
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A few years ago, it was difficult to find synthetic motor oils, and equally difficult to find someone who admitted to using them. Nowadays, however, you can find synthetic motor oils on the shelves of Wal-Mart, and other retailers, and the number of people turning to synthetic motor oils, particularly in light of the recent events affecting fuel prices, has risen greatly.
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The history of perfume goes back to Egypt, although it was prevalent in East Asia as well. Early perfumes were based on incense, not chemicals, so aromas were passed around through fumes. The Roman and Islamic cultures further refined the harvesting and manufacturing of perfumery processes to include other aromatic ingredients.
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Brew low cost beer. The amount of time you spend on brewing beer makes the small difference in cost between "just OK"
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Beer Brewing Equipment Basic, simple, cheap equipment that gets the job done. Sometimes it adds to the challenge. But
through the mystique of brewing and remember that illiterate alewives brewed for centuries using tried and true recipes and
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Beer Keg Brewing. After using bottles for years, you can jump to the corny keg (Cornelius keg). This is an important step
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If you are interested in wine making then you need to do a little homework before you get started. Wine making is not something that you can just plunge into and learn along the way, you need to do some research so that you know that you are not missing any vital wine making steps or processes. If you do miss these wine making your wine could very well turn out tasting like anything but wine.
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