Post Data Presentation

You all heard about my lovely Teresa and her poop. I was in the classroom yesterday and got an opportunity to observe her again. Unfortunately, I have been gone for the last six weeks. Teresa had been working with me a lot and had come SO far. I did not take data on her while I was there, but I did see and hear a lot of blurting during my time in the classroom. She was trying to run the group time, she was frequently out of her seat, she was trying to run group time, singing Dancing Queen very loudly, being very disruptive. I feel that she has regressed since I've been gone. It's very difficult toward the end of the school year, I understand that, but with my students, you CAN'T let your guard down. Hopefully her teacher next year will step it up a lot more.

Looking Back

Looking back at the book, Focus, was a tough one for me. The book focused more on how to incorporate more reading, science, social studies, and math into the school day. Working in my classroom it's very difficult to incorporate these things. Unfortunately, we do not focus on science or social studies at all. My students focus more on functional tasks and skills needed for being in a gen ed classroom such as raising your hand, waiting in line, not ALWAYS being first, etc. What I tried to take away from the book was that even though I may not be teaching core academics, I still need to teach more of and more creatively the skills that I do teach. How can I incorporate more teachable moments for raising hand and walking in a line. How can I make the most of my school day.

Lost My Focus

I have not blogged since February!  I have lost my focus on the book Focus.  I was not able to meet with my fellow readers this evening due to the district retirement dessert. Too many places to be, and not enough of me. This time of year it is hard to find my focus.  This year I took action so that I would be ahead of the game and June would not sneak up on me.  Or so I thought....I am still in a whirlwind.

Focus

Something this book has made me continue to think about is the piece about authentic literacy and how I can help create an environment that promotes a love for reading, whether it's to gain information or just for enjoyment. I started to give my students 10-15minutes of free reading after our specials (and while they eat their snack). As I observed this time and compared it to other parts of our day that include literacy activities, I realized that this short period of so-called 'free choice' was one of the most engaging activities. Every student was engaged in a book, whether browsing through the pictures or truly reading. It has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect it is because I allowed them to choose books that were interesting to them and knowing it is a short period of time gave them the ability to get focused since this was a time that gave them some independence.
I am excited for our new science curriculum because we have leveled nonfiction readers that will also help create more opportunities for authentic reading and enjoyment for my students next year!

Data Class

I just have to say that I am celebrating one student who has shown tremendous growth in reading this year! She started the year with zeros across the board for EasyCBM (partially because of her timid demeanor and low self confidence) and was struggling to complete any work by herself or read for fear that she will do it wrong. However as the year went on, we (myself and Jenna Zenk who sees her for speech), worked at building her self confidence and allowing her to be successful at smaller feats, which in turn helped her gain some independence! Now that the year is wrapping up she moved up from High Risk to Some Risk in EasyCBM and most importantly is a reader! She is not quite at grade level for running records, but she is close. The growth she made in academics, as well as her personal confidence and independence is awesome! Just thought I'd share one story that I consider a success as the end of the year stress is setting in! ;)