Norma and all, It's very, very challenging. We have 3 Reading Specialists for our K-5 building. Each of us is responsible for instruction for a daily 90 minute reading block. Our intervention time is in addition to this.
It feels like we never stop moving. We have dedicated "intervention" blocks for each grade but have to share these with related service providers. Also, the blocks are scheduled at the same time for K-2 and at a different but also simultaneous time for grades 3-5. We do not "push in" because over time we have felt like we end up hovering rather than providing intervention. My goal is for my students to have exponential progress. We start the year screening all kids who received intervention in the previous year, all new students and any students who flag at risk on benchmark assessments. When we group kids, we don't get stuck on scheduling by teacher. We might have a first grade group with kids from 3 different classes in it. We try to not let groups get any larger than 5. Hopefully 3-4 students max. We aren't locked into a certain intervention "product". We have a wide variety of materials to choose from-based on the student need. We don't try to be everything to everybody-if a child needs comprehension intervention, that's what they get. Same for other strategies. Our neediest readers (Tier 3) get seen with more frequency. We also work pretty closely with Special Ed. Special Ed kids are legally entitled to AIS reading, as well. I sometimes see SPED kids for intervention and sometimes a SPED teacher will include a non-IEP students in her groups. I don't mind the whole assessment thing as much as some. I'm trying to be flexible about the increasingly data driven world of education. We do use DIBELS but other things, too. I once heard the DIBELS people quoted as saying that, "DIBELS is a toothpick to check a cake-not a blowtorch." I think there are a lot of people making a lot money selling assessment products and services. We use the QRI 5 big time. The QRI 5 has many stories at each level (starting Pre primer). That is our most used diagnostic and progress monitoring tool. Miscue analysis from that can be powerful. Our principal stands behind us pretty well in the scheduling mess. It is stressful. And seems to become more so as the economy struggles. On another note, I feel that this economy is being exploited to erode much of the shared decision making that had been a hallmark of the district I work in. Sorry if this is random. Please feel free to email privately to discuss more nuts and bolts. Cathy -----Original Message----- From: norma baker <[email protected]> To: mosaic <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Oct 10, 2011 5:32 pm Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] title 1 reading - help Question Cathy, I love the way you talk about grouping kids, but my question s how do you schedule the help? We are a 3-5 building. Grades 4 & 5 switch or Science and Social Studies (each a 45 min block every day) and much of our pecial ed services are pull-out which creates even less scheduling flexibility n the part of teachers. We try to service the comprehension and mixed needs in n inclusion model. Last year we had a dedicated RTI slot that we used to ervice kids that were in more need for phonics or fluency, but that slot was liminated this year. Responsive classroom morning meetings supersede a need or reading instruction. Is there anything that I can suggest given all the onstraints I've mentioned. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!!! Thanks in dvance for any thoughts you might have! norma work in a Title I school as a Title I Reading Teacher. We screen students ndividually and plan their intervention based on their specific needs. Some hildren are grouped for only comprehension, some for specific decoding trategies, some for phonological issues (yes, even older kids) and some for a undle of combined skills. athy pstate NY ___________________________________________________________ enny Stock Jumping 3000% ign up to the #1 voted penny stock newsletter for free today! ttp://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4e93572e5e976ce7cd8st02duc ______________________________________________ osaic mailing list [email protected] o unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to ttp://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
