Hi Natasha, I am also making the transition to Montessori; getting the training online while being an intern/assistant. I don't really understand what your teacher has done, except our kids get reading almost daily, with a parent, one-on-one, with the little ones and literature circles with 2nd and 3rd graders. How can you possibly work with such a varied group of students, in the manner she is suggesting? Are they using language towers, secret windows and other works to build phonics skills? If I were you, I would suggest breaking them up into groups that fit together and going from there, with what they need (basic reading practice, or *beginning *identification of characters and retelling the story. I would use the story walk technique as well. I personally don't think it's terrible to say "you can read now, or after you've had your snack." Each teacher is a bit different, even in Montessori, but try hard to pull them in by being excited yourself, about getting to read together. My lead teacher is a bit more toward the middle... she does require certain works to be done each day, then they choose their other works. I come from public school and it's a huge stretch for me, but something I have always believed worked and I see it with our kids each day. They are growing and learning and are a great group of kids. Good luck! I don't know if this is any help or not, but you are not alone! Mary
On Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 11:41 AM, natasha domina <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > After teaching 4th and 5th grade for 12 years, I am now working as an > assistant in a Montessori classroom with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. The > teacher has let me be in charge of reading with the 1st and 2nd graders. > There is 1 block of time scheduled per week, generally 45-60 minutes. (I > know! I know! This should be happening daily! It's killing me.) The > teacher said she wanted kids to be able to identify characters and retell > the plot, so I spent a couple of weeks having kids pay attention to > information about characters (hard for them) and a few weeks having kids > practice retelling the stories they've read. From there I moved into > having students use sticky notes to mark spots in the book--we talked about > different reasons we might want to mark a spot (it's confusing, it's funny, > it's special in some way, you like imagining this part of the story, ...I > told students a few and then helped them add to the list). > > I could use suggestions of where I should go with the students. I do have > Comprehension Connections and could go through those activities. I'm just > not sure how to prioritize what is most important for me to do when the > time for reading instruction is so limited and students' abilities are so > varied (struggling to sound out cvc words all the way to reading chapter > books like the Rainbow Fairies and Fantastic Mr. Fox). I guess I do know > that I want to prioritize teaching kids that reading is thinking--but > beyond that... > > I've also been told that because this is a Montessori classroom I'm not > supposed to require them to do anything--so if they really don't want to > read they don't need to. I haven't done anything with reading partners, > since that seems more directive than the lead teacher wants me to be. I've > been just saying things like, "You could talk about your book with a > friend." Any suggestions on this? It's hard for me not to be placing kids > in partnerships, but I also don't want to overstep my role or be > "non-Montessori". > > Thanks for sharing ideas! > Natasha > > > _______________________________________________ > 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
