On 7/01/09, L6OH wrote:
> I think it depends on how you plan on teaching Reading. I taught
> 3rd-5th grades for many years and used Reading groups and
> centers. While I worked with a group, the rest of the students
> were working in centers which consisted of Writing, Grammar, and
> Spelling activities. I am now in a middle school setting
> teaching 6th grade Lang. Arts. I do whole class reading using
> our Literature book or novels. Writing is integrated with
> whatever we are reading as much as possible. I also do grammar &
> spelling. If we're working on a story in our Lit. book we
> usually spend a week per story. Generally two days are spent
> concentrating on reading and discussing the story. The other
> days are spent revisiting it with story elements, figurative
> language, grammar, etc. During these days there is normally more
> time for writing than on the days that we are spending time
> reading. Hope this helps. I'll be interested in seeing what
> other responses you receive. I'm always looking for ways to
> refresh my teaching methods.
>
>
>
> On 7/01/09, Jenny wrote:
>> "I do NOT want to shorten my reading lessons."
>>
>> I'm new here (1st time), but I have a lot of experience w/ 1
>> hr. 45 min. blocks in language arts. I have taught at the hs
>> level for 9 years under the same block schedule. While they
>> are worlds away in maturity, my best advice is that you will
>> probably have to shorten your reading. My 9th graders aren't
>> even capable of paying attention to reading lessons for an
>> hour and 15 min. on a regular basis. What I've found
>> successful is to not just block out the period, but block out
>> days. Maybe one week you'll do reading most of the class for
>> 2 days, then grammar 1 day, and writing 2 days. Change it up
>> based on your class' needs. It will keep them engaged. The
>> worst thing you can do under a block is to follow a strict
>> routine of blocked out time that stays the same every day
>> (reading for the first hour, grammar for 20 min., then
>> writing...). Also, whenever possible, merge the subjects. If
>> you're studying verbs, have them ID them in their reading and
>> use them for prewriting those essays you were talking about.
>> Like I said, I'm brand new here, and I know from other
>> message boards that newbies can seem insulting, but I promise
>> I'm just trying to share my experience. (And trust me, I
>> teach in CA, where the exit exam and state tests are nearly
>> Biblical, so I can sympathize w/ the need to get everything
>> in!). Hope I helped even a little :)
>>

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