Sunday, June 19, 2011
Chapter 7
In chapter 7 the focus was put on perfecting quality before moving onto another skill. With the timeline and the emphasis put into testing I often moved my third graders on before they had time to master a previous skill. Although I hated the fact that most of my students would have benefited from more practice and perhaps me reteaching certain skill, I also felt obligated to move along in order to meet all standards by the end of the school year. Time restraints are a huge effect on teaching as well as learning. Also reading through this chapter I loved the rubric that describes what a good readers should do on page 151. That is such a great idea, so students can get a better understanding of what is expected of them. When creating a rubric like such you are able to integrate the standards and expectations into one. The more I read through this book, the more ideas I get for next school year. I have set a goal for myself to find time, master and integrate more writing for my students.
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I HATE that feeling of being pushed and so pushing the kids, ready or not. Differentiated instruction helps, but again, the time to figure it out and see who needs what is hard to come by. Our 3rd grade team (3 classes) levelled everyone based on their map tests and set up small groups for daily centers, 3 in each classroom - one with a teacher, one at the computers, and one on their own. It gave us time to work with small groups (5-6 kids) but the planning time involved was incredible. We created it as we went last year, and saved everything in a huge binder in the order we used it. I was really looking forward to having that this year, but I'm off to 7th grade - a whole new world! We did NOT do enough writing - too much skills in a vaccuum, I see now - but I can't wait to get going with my new class with these new ideas from our book.
ReplyDeleteAshlay,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel with not feeling as though the students are ready to move on, but feeling the time crunch and the pacing guide, and the testing windows interfering with having students master certain skills. It certainly is a balancing act I think that all of face when it comes to finding the time, teaching, checking for understanding, assessing, and moving students on. It is amazing that we don't go crazy at the prospect of it all!
Comments by: Jacinda
ReplyDeleteI find myself in the same position as you. Sometimes I move my kids ahead when they are not quite ready nor have they mastered a particular skill. Just like in our wiki project time seems to be a major problem. How does one find time to teach everything? There are so many great ideas from teachers, but sometimes those ideas don’t get shared because there isn’t enough time. I am also going to try and strive to make more time this upcoming school year.