Re: Another Question for Penny - Thanks!
Posted by Literacy teacher on 3/24/08
Thanks Penny! Are you able to meet with every group every day? I would think some days
it might be hard to meet with each group. If not, do you try to meet 3
days a week or so? I agree with you regarding the importance of small group instruction!
When I taught elementary, I felt they got so much more out of small group
than they did out of shared reading! Is it pretty easy to move things
around to suit your needs with Read 180? We will be looking at it next
week and I think this is the program they are leaning towards. Do you
feel the program is effective and pretty user friendly or do you spend
alot of time preparing? I know every program is not perfect, but I am
hoping that it isn't something where I have to do hours and hours of prep
work. As far as independant work, do you follow what is in the program? I know
there is supposed to be a computer componant which I know will be
supplied. Are there suggestions for the independant work or is that
something you make up? Is that a good time to incorporate more reading in
the curriculum. I like the mapping exercise! Do you do that in small group or independant
work? It sounds like the program is flexible to allow for it which is
great. I like your organizational tips! I am looking forward to learning
more about the program and seeing how it can be adapted! Thanks much for your response! I appreciate all of the information!
Mel On 3/24/08, Penny wrote:
> Our classes are currently 50 minutes long--next year they'll be 45.
> Read 180 ideally would be 90 minutes, but it's easy enough to make do--
> it just takes longer to get through all the rotations.
>
> I don't do much in whole group--just about all my teaching is done with
> my small groups. I feel they get more out of it and can't zone out.
> Some teachers do the whole group lesson on Monday as a set up for the
> week. It's individual.
>
> I also don't strictly time my small group lessons. I do have a timer
> and do set it for 20 minutes, but I find I do better by finding a point
> in the lesson to get to. I keep my small group until we get to a
> particular segment of the lesson--sometimes it's for a shorter period
> and sometimes it's for a longer time.
>
> I do use the SRI test to figure out the students' lexile scores, but I
> also like to do oral assessments--I use the San Diego Quick. I also try
> to do fluency checks with the students whenever I get a chance (usually
> about once a month.) I pull passages at their level and time them for a
> minute to get a gauge of where they're at.
>
> As far as content area reading--I love textmapping. I'll post the link.
>
> I hope this helped!
>
> www.textmapping.org
>
> On 3/23/08, literacy teacher wrote:
>> Penny,
>>
>> Can I ask how many minutes long your classes are? I will be teaching
>> middle school literacy in the fall and I believe we will be using Read
>> 180. Our classes are 50 minutes long and I know Read 180 recommends
>> longer class periods. I am wondering if it will work with classes that
>> are only 50 minutes long.
>>
>> I agree with you about pulling supplemental material! We are
>> considering adding content area instruction into our literacy classes
>> as well. Our students have difficulty reading charts/graphs, word
>> problems in math, non-fiction textbooks, etc. We would like to add as
>> much as possible into our literacy classes as we can. I am glad to
>> hear that it is doable with Read 180.
>>
>> Do you have any tips for classroom set-up or organizational set-up?
>> We hope to have the training from Read 180 before fall, but I am
>> looking for things I can prepare for before then.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Mel
>>
>> On 3/08/08, Penny wrote:
>>> I teach a middle school Read 180 class. I don't agree that "it's a
>>> scripted program that anyone can do." In my mind, the strength of
>>> the program is in the small group lesson. There is an Rbook that is
>>> scripted, but my district hasn't mandated that we use it. Even when
>>> we do, we don't follow the script exactly and we do implement other
>>> teaching strategies. I'm constantly pulling in supplemental
>>> material and the beauty of the Read 180 set up is that I can focus
>>> on a few students at a time and modify my lesson as needed. I
>>> haven't used the Rbook since last sememster. I like my own lessons
>>> much better.
>>>
>>> The computer software is not bad and does help their fluency,
>>> comprehension, and spelling, but I would never solely rely on that
>>> piece to teach the students. It is a good supplement and keeps the
>>> students focused and busy while I meet with my small group.
>>>
>>> The most challenging part of the program is the SSR component. The
>>> students don't want to read, hate reading, and since I'm focused on
>>> my small group, it's hard to keep them on task. I have a good
>>> monitoring sheet they're required to turn in after the rotation to
>>> prove to me they've read, understood, and thought about their
>>> reading. I also allow my students to use that time to do homework,
>>> since I operate with a loose definition of what "reading" means. I
>>> also believe I'm there to support other teachers and will sometimes
>>> replace my small group lesson with a tutorial to assist kids with
>>> their homework.
>>>
>>> I don't think Read 180 is the end all of reading instruction, and it
>>> is really expensive, but it does have advantages and really the
>>> program relies on the strength of the teacher.
>>>
>>> On 3/06/08, co-teacher wrote:
>>>> Great!! Please let me know what you think of it when you do have
>>>> a chance to go. I'm curious to see what others think of it. It's
>>>> nice of your middle school to invite you to see it - I know that
>>>> our middle and elementary schools are pretty teritorial, and don't
>>>> ever mix! :-)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 3/06/08, suzy wrote:
>>>>> I appreciate your information. Reading 180 is used at our
>>>>> middle school. I do not know much about it but I thought it
>>>>> might be worthy. Today I presented what we do at the elementary
>>>>> level at the middle school faculty meeting. I was invited to
>>>>> observe Reading 180 at the middle school. I think I will. My
>>>>> gut feeling is that you are right.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 3/06/08, co-teacher wrote:
>>>>>> Read 180 is simply a scripted program that anyone can do. I
>>>>>> am not a fan of scripted programs, and particularly do not
>>>>>> like Read 180. It has 3 components to it
>>>>>> 1. a computer program that the child sits at for 20 minutes
>>>>>> watching videos and answering questions to.
>>>>>> 2. silent reading for 20 minutes
>>>>>> 3. guided reading in small group.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It is not geared for students who have severe reading problems
>>>>>> (i.e. special ed students). Anyone who can read the "script"
>>>>>> that comes with it can do it. It's not any different than
>>>>>> those God awful basals that we all grew up with.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Better trends:
>>>>>> Reader's workshop and writer's workshop. Look into those. I
>>>>>> really love a book called Teaching Reading in Middle School by
>>>>>> Laura Robb. It talks a lot about making connections, mini-
>>>>>> lessons, reader's reflection journals, etc.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hope this helps.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 3/04/08, suzy wrote:
>>>>>>> Reading 180
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 3/04/08, shannan wrote:
>>>>>>>> Help! I have been out of the classroom for 3 years. What
>>>>>>>> are the new trends/programs in junior/senior high reading
>>>>>>>> and writing? Any suggestions on books to read to stay
>>>>>>>> current?
Posts on this thread, including this one
- updating teaching skills, 3/04/08, by shannan.
- Re: updating teaching skills, 3/04/08, by suzy.
- Re: updating teaching skills, 3/06/08, by co-teacher.
- Re: updating teaching skills, 3/06/08, by suzy.
- Re: updating teaching skills, 3/06/08, by co-teacher.
- Re: updating teaching skills, 3/08/08, by Penny.
- Re: Question for Penny, 3/23/08, by literacy teacher.
- Re: Question for Penny, 3/24/08, by Penny.
- Re: Another Question for Penny - Thanks!, 3/24/08, by Literacy teacher.
- Re: Another Question for Penny - Thanks!, 3/25/08, by Penny.
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