Transcript Individualized Instruction - Home

Class Size Reduction Module III
Individualized
Instruction
Presented by Theresa Hoag
Troth Street Elementary School
Second Grade Teacher
and John Allen
Instructional Resource Teacher
Jurupa Unified School District
What exactly does good smallclass teaching look like?
As class size shrinks, possibilities grow. The
teacher can really get to know each child. He
or she can individualize the lessons. The
basics can be covered more thoroughly, with
time for varied and creative enrichment
activities. Extra classroom space can be used
for a reading corner or learning center that
gives students options, encourages peer
interactions and helps develop decision
making skills and a sense of responsibility.
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… small-class teaching con’t.
Students gain time to discuss what they read.
They can get instant feedback on a math
problem from a teacher who moves around the
room as they work.
This one to one interaction between teacher
and student is the heart of the matter, says
WestEd’s Nikola Filby, a veteran researcher on
teaching. The key is equipping teachers with
the know-how to make the most of it.
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… small-class teaching con’t.
Smaller classes give the teacher the leeway to
connect with each child, including that quiet
boy in the corner. She can talk with him and –
especially - listen, to see where his real
strengths and difficulties lie.
From WestEd, Fall, 1996
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Whole Class Instruction
• Phonemic awareness songs/lessons
• Morning Message or Morning Meeting/Calendar
activities
• Big Books (Shared Reading)
• Story time/Teacher Read Aloud
• Phonics/Grammar Instruction
• Literature/Basal/Anthology
• Sharing Time/Listening and Speaking
Most of the above is found in the Blue Band of the
Houghton Mifflin program.
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Small Group Instruction with Flexible/Dynamic
Grouping
AKA Universal Access
• Phonics in context
• Reading Instruction/Guided Reading
• Reading strategies:
– Using the picture
– Rereading for meaning – Does it look right?, Does it sound
right?, Does it make sense?
– Getting a running start
– Reading on
– Sound it out
• Reteaching
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Much of the instruction from the
various Houghton Mifflin
handbooks (English Language
Learners Handbook, Challenge
Handbook, and Extra Support
Handbook) will occur in a small
group setting.
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Centers!
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Independent Activities
Learning Stations
Independent Work
Cooperative Groups
“Must do, May do”
Discussion Circles
Interactive Groups
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A Learning Center is a physical area
set aside for learning purposes.
• It has appropriate
materials to allow the
children to explore
and work
independently.
• It is not quiet time.
Students are not
independent from
each other. They are
only independent
from the teacher.
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• It is task oriented –
the best and most
productive centers
involve open-ended
inquiry.
• It is not goal oriented.
It shouldn’t
necessarily have a
worksheet or project
to complete.
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• It is student directed.
It provides children
with an opportunity to
make choices of what
they want to do.
• It is not teacher
directed. Teachers
trust that children will
make good choices.
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• It is a time for
practice and
assessment.
• It is not a time for
evaluation.
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What the Experts Say
It is usually not efficient or effective for teachers
to teach reading across the span of skill levels
represented in an entire class of students. Flexible
grouping helps teachers match instruction to the
widely differing skill levels typically found in a
classroom. Flexible groups are skills based and
temporary, allowing instruction to align as much
as possible with the skill level of those children
in the group; children who learn at a faster rate or
slower rate move to a different group as needed.
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A variety of whole-class, small-group and
individualized instruction is necessary to meet
the diverse needs of students. Grouping should be
flexible and allow for regrouping based on
ongoing assessment. Grouping for some skills
instruction is useful as long as the grouping
remains flexible, with students reassigned as their
needs and the tasks change.
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Pull small groups and individuals for explicit
instruction. Explicit instruction – as long as it
arises from ongoing, authentic assessment
(classroom-based data gathering and observation)
and evaluation (making judgments and decisions,
and taking action based on the assessment) – is
integral to all good teaching.
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Using a Work Board
• Using a work board will help the teacher
and the students remember the jobs for the
day. Icons can be used for kindergarten and
grade one. Word labels can be used in older
grades.
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Assessment
• Use a clipboard to record anecdotal notes.
• Have students keep a folder of work
they’ve completed during Center Time.
Collect it at the end of the theme.
• Students turn in work as it’s completed
• Debriefing – after Center Time (Universal
Access) ask students:
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•What went well today?
•What were the problems encountered today?
•How might we change things to make it
more successful tomorrow?
•Use this time to “show off” some great work.
•Give students a standard of quality to work
toward.
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Let’s Try Centers!
Number off 1 – 4
• 1s = Summer Mural
• 2s = Clipboard, name rings
• 3s = Post Office
• 4s = Free Reading
• 5s = Houghton Mifflin Investigation
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The First Six Weeks
Weeks 1 – 2
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Working With Children
Mostly whole group activities
Show children parts of the
room
Practice using parts of the
room – give explicit
instructions
Introduce independent reading
time – how to take out books,
use theme, and put them away
Give children praise and
encouragement for using
materials in the room.
Suggestions for Materials
• Have only basic materials well
organized.
• Be sure there is an uncrowded
place for whole group work (a
rug is good).
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Weeks 3 - 4
• Open new areas one at a time,
for example, the writing center.
Provide explicit demonstration
each time. Show how to use
materials and how to put
materials away when finished.
• Begin to have children work in
smaller groups. Observe the
process, praising them for selfmanagement.
• Begin to meet with individuals
for assessment.
• Create an assessment table for
yourself with your own
materials ready so that you can
observe the whole class at once
while working for a few
minutes with an individual.
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Weeks 4 - 5
• Establish the routine of
working in small groups in
centers for a period of time
(minimum 30 minutes for HM
Universal Access)
• Emphasize independence
during group work so you can
work interrupted with one or
two children.
• Introduce the work board and
help children follow it.
• Teach children how to take
care of materials.
• Establish places for children’s
own materials and their
individual records to be kept –
for example, their journals and
poem books.
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Week 6
• Begin working with two small
groups, at first for only 15 to
20 minutes each.
• Continue with whole group
activities.
• Have materials in place for
students to use. They should
know where materials are kept,
how the should be used, and
how they should be put away.
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Teachers like Centers because
they . . .
• provide a time for small group instruction with
flexible/dynamic grouping.
• give teachers a chance to interact with the
children.
• can be a mix of abilities, even grade levels.
• provide students an opportunity to apply their
skills in a meaningful setting.
• help children become problem solvers.
• reduce behavior problems.
• are easy to create and implement in classroom.
• meet the individual needs of students.
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Students like Centers because
they . . .
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are fun.
are “hands on”.
provide an opportunity to choose
allow students to interact (talk) with each other.
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Tips and Guidelines for Learning
Centers
• There is no one way to run centers. Each class
(and teacher) has its own personality and limits.
• Students need to know the function and objective
of each center. Explain and demonstrate! Explain
and demonstrate again!
• Be consistent with discipline. Students need to
know correct center behavior. Use positive
reinforcement. Explain and demonstrate.
• Teach students to be problem solvers. They can
ask other students (“Ask 3 before me”), look and
see what others are doing, use the Work Chart, or 26
stop and think before coming to the teacher.
Tips con’t
• Train students to set up and clean up centers
independently.
• Student must know routines. Where do they put
unfinished work? Where do they put finished
work? Do they clean up at the end of each center
or after all centers are completed?
• Create a system for assessment: clipboard with
anecdotal notes and observations, portfolio for
each students work, gradebook – develop a
program that works for you.
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Tip’s con’t
• Don’t judge the success of your centers after one
or two days. The students need time to explore
before they’re comfortable and successful. The
quality of work increases each time they students
go to a center. If after four or five tries, it’s still
not working, modify it.
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Have a great year!!
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