This has been such an interesting and thought-provoking discussion - I'm thrilled it continued until I had time to join in!My point of view is that of a Reading specialist and ESL Teacher - I am the one who has to pull students out of ... something! ... in multiple classrooms/grades/subjects. Here are a few of the thoughts I've had in response to the many comments made on this topic: I do believe pull-out is generally more effective than push-in. One of the reasons for this is that in my experience that many classroom teachers are either not open to true collaboration, or they are but we don't have time to plan together. And the bottom line is that unless instruction can be adapted to my students' needs they are not getting what they need to get to advance their learning. For example, a student who is two grade levels behind everyone else is not going to be able to keep pace with grade-level instruction in reading or content area studies requiring decoding and comprehension skills they don't have. A 5th grade ESL student with a vocabulary below K-level (less than one year in the country) will have no idea what is going on if faced with standard English-only instruction in any subject, with the possible exception of Math. Can the classroom teacher differentiate for them? Yes, but it's difficult to differentiate every subject that far down, and do it in a way that allows the student(s) to maintain self-esteem among their classmates. Pulling students into a small group instruction setting allows the instruction to be scaffolded at their level, and reduces their anxiety about looking foolish in front of their peers. I have successfully pushed into reading workshop periods and that can work well with both teachers pulling small groups and other students working independently. It's just difficult to conduct small group instruction in the classroom if the classroom teacher is simultaneously teaching whole-class. So in my mind, pull-out is often the better option.As for what to pull out from, I try not to hit any one subject too hard. In my school the students have two of each special (Art, Music, PE, World Language) every week, and I flip my schedule back and forth to make sure the students get at least one of everything each week. Because PE is mandated, I don't pull from that class unless I absolutely have no other option. In my school there is a 90 minute reading period, with about half of that for whole class instruction and half for workshop/small group. I try not to pull from whole-class reading instruction, but I may pull from or push in to the workshop time to do reading support. If I pull from other content area instruction, and I try not to hit the same content area subject more than once or twice a week, I will usually plan something related to the classroom teacher's instruction. (As an ESL Teacher I provide support for both reading and content area.) My schedule is a nightmare as a result of all the things I work around, and it usually takes a few weeks to work the kinks out. I sympathize with the classroom teacher, especially when some of their students are being pulled out for multiple support purposes, but I think it is often the better option for the student. That said, it is vital that the classroom and support teachers consult often to make sure that the student is progressing in both settings. If I know a student is falling behind in a particular subject I can preteach, reteach, or parallel teach the subject matter when I do my pullouts.I absolutely agree that students who are struggling with reading need to read more. However, skill instruction is also very important. Students with reading difficulties may be missing key pieces of phonemic awareness that impacts their spelling, or key phonics knowledge that impacts their decoding. Research has shown that direct instruction followed by drills can be effective in practicing these building blocks of reading. Explicit instruction on identifying definitions in context is another example of instruction that is needed for some students while others pick up this skill without needing instruction. I do agree that skill instruction can't be the only exposure students have to reading however. Readers need to read! As a Reading Specialist, when I pull out I usually focus on the skill instruction because that's the piece the classroom teacher may not have sufficient time or resources to address. The rest of it must still come from the classroom teacher. Carol McLoughlinReading Specialist/ESL TeacherLong Island, NY
---From: Flemming, Melanie E. <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] adding instruction for remedial... T My school has amazing special are teachers that ask for our imput every month. They make sure to reinforce whatever we are working in in the classroom! It is amazing to see how they apply Reading skills to all aspects. It's great for those kids who are so low, they get exposed to Reading in a completely different way. To take away specials is a shame for all. Instead of take away incorperate! Sent from my Android phone using TouchDown (www.nitrodesk.com) Melanie Flemming 5th Grade Franklin Elementary -----Original Message----- From: Sally Thomas [[email protected]] Received: Sunday, 17 Jul 2011, 1:36pm To: mosaic listserve [[email protected]] Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] adding instruction for remedial... You have me thinking as I am going to bring the two emails to my class on Thursday for discussion. Maybe there should be a "push in" with knowledgeable support teachers co-planning with the regular teacher to help create better reading workshop type classrooms. And two informed teachers have to be better than one in terms of giving differentiated support to children???? Sally On 7/17/11 7:54 AM, "Renee" <[email protected]> wrote: > Oh my..... I SOOOOO disagree with this! No child should be excluded > from equal access to the curriculum, and that includes Art, Music, > P.E., or whatever else, no matter where they are performing. In fact, I > would say that low-performing children might need these parts of > curriculum most of all.... to help them see and experience the grand > intertwining of all parts of learning. Children who are > "underperforming" according to some standardized assessment shouldn't > be punished and have their curriculum narrowed down. Children don't > need *more* reading instruction, they need *better* reading instruction > (and in my opinion, that means more actual reading and less actual > drilling). > > I understand too well the frustration of having students pulled out of > class for small group instruction and in fact I am not particularly > supportive of trading students around among teachers that people do so > much of these days. But narrow the curriculum because a child is > reading below grade level? Sorry..... can't support that one. > > Some food for thought: > > 10 Lessons the Arts Teach > > On Jul 16, 2011, at 3:13 PM, Amy Lesemann wrote: > >> We had arguments about this, and I lost until a new teacher came in and >> supported me. Frankly, if a student is 2 or more years- even less, >> frankly - >> then they really do need to sacrifice music, or art, or another >> special for >> extra reading instruction, and stay in the regular class for regular >> reading >> instruction. Before I got that extra vote in the faculty meetings, the >> remedial kids were getting pulled out of their regular classes to meet >> with >> me...so they were getting exactly the same amount of instruction as >> everyone >> else. That's not the idea. They should be participating in reading and >> writing workshop, and then going to the specialist to target their weak >> areas - in phonics, using context clues, and so on. >> >> Good luck! >> >> -- >> Amy Lesemann, Reading Specialist and Director, Independent Learning >> Center >> St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School > > ______ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
