Small Group Reading

Royalty Free Photo of a Teacher and Student Reading. Stock Photo. Clipart.com School Edition, Vital Imagery Ltd., 01-09-2009, https://schools.clipart.com/download.php?iid=193745&tl=photos. Accessed 20-09-2021.

I have chosen to focus on small groups in reading...again!  This continues to be a frustrating endeavor for me because of time and behavior management issues.  As a kindergarten teacher, I train kids to a degree I think my expectations are quite clear.  However, in reality, I get about two minutes of quality instruction before the decibel level is unacceptable.  I also feel like my small group instruction is good, but maybe I could get better results if I landed on the right routines and instruction.  I'm hopeful I have been led to the perfect thing.

This summer when I taught summer school, I was asked to use How to Plan Differentiated Reading Instruction by Sharon Walpole and Michael C. McKenna.  I used the program with 3rd graders, but it is intended for K-3.  My plan is to use the interventions in this book, along with the readers from my reading series, to meet the needs of all of my students.  I am still working on a plan for what the rest of my class will be doing, but I am planning to have at least three groups as I only have 11 kids right now.

My BIG WHY for wanting to work on my small group instruction is because I feel like kindergarteners have a hard time meeting benchmark by the end of the year.  Most of the students reach benchmark in the Fall and Winter, but Spring seems to be hard to reach for many of them.  I feel like my whole group instruction is solid, although I know there is always room for improvement, but small groups are where I feel I need the most improvement.  I will know if my small group changes are working if I can keep 80% or more of my kids at benchmark by the end of the year.

Group work and Classroom Management Research 

What did you learn about this topic?

As mentioned in previous posts, I have decided to focus on group work and classroom management this year.  I have noticed that students often have a difficult time working in groups and I hope that helping to improve these practices for them will also improve our overall classroom management.  I read an article about emotional intelligence in Edutopia that really opened my eyes to different things. Emotional intelligence includes information on students’ ability to monitor their own behavior and feelings.  This has a lot to do with the self-assessments I will have students do in class to reflect on group work practices. In addition, there was an article in Edutopia about transitions and this is an aspect that will also help facilitate better classroom management.

What resource mediums were used?

I read a lot of articles on Edutopia, but also decided to investigate Solution Tree. When researching on my own, I also found examples and guides for how to create self-assessment rubrics which is helpful.

How will this topic enhance and support student learning?

Classroom management, in my opinion, is the single most important thing in a classroom.  In order for students to learn behavior-related topics, the class needs to run smoothly.  In order for students to learn academic topics, the classroom needs to have certain expectations and procedures in place.  In order for students to transition well, they need to know what is expected of them and be able to do it quickly and quietly.  All of these things lead to more successful learning processes for all involved.

Submitted by: Leah Piper

Engaging Students through Bell Ringers

What's My Plan?

Young student is lying on the floor and looks his laptop. Isolated on white. Stock Photo. Clipart.com School Edition, Vital Imagery Ltd., 15-06-2012, https://schools.clipart.com/download.php?iid=328814&tl=photos. Accessed 12-09-2021.

I would like to focus on bell ringers for my courses to improve classroom management and MTSS. I think having an attendance question at the beginning of each class will help build relationships with students. Then having them work on a bell ringer prompt will help keep them on task at the beginning of class so that class time is not being wasted. From past experience, I recognize that the days I have bell rings students are more focused compared to the days we do not have a bellringer. 

One of the areas I want to research is best practices for bell ringers. I want to make sure that my bell ringers are accessing students’ prior knowledge and that they are being used as a formative assessment. I plan on using a tally system to track what classes are on task at the start of the period from using the bellringers. I also plan on surveying the students about the bellringers to get their feedback on how well it helps keep them engaged.

Submitted by: Kelsie Engelken

Motivating Students to Work Independently

 

Excited Students Watching Robot Vehicle Move After Coding Lesson In Computer Programing Class. Stock Photo. Clipart.com School Edition, Vital Imagery Ltd., 05-08-2019, https://schools.clipart.com/download.php?iid=1646622&tl=photos. Accessed 12-09-2021

SMART GOAL: I will learn about and implement strategies to motivate students to work productively and assume responsibility for their own learning during group work through SEMBH and academic rubrics in order to produce an improved classroom environment which will lead to better classroom management.

What are you wanting to change about your practice and how will that impact student learning?

Science and social studies are subjects that lend themselves well to group work.  Often students work on experiments or projects with a partner or multiple students to learn.  I want to be able to not only facilitate group work well for students, but also help students take responsibility for their own learning when working with others or individually.  

What do you see as your topic for research?

My topic for research revolves around both classroom management and group work.  I believe these topics are very fitting because many of my students have trouble managing their time well and also completing assignments when working with others.  Through rubrics and self-assessments I hope to help students in their ability to work responsibly and complete their work successfully. 

Where will you look for resources on this topic?

I plan to not only talk to other teachers about the work they are doing or have done in the past, but I also plan to find resources in a book study that staff members are doing this year - “Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL” by Jeffrey Benson.

How will you know you improved in this area? What evidence will you have?

In order to note improvement or lack thereof, I plan to use rubrics for both SEBMH concepts and academic concepts.  These rubrics will include both self-assessment and the assessment of others.  In general, I hope that grades would provide a good indication of student work, as well.

Submitted by: Leah Piper