Excellent point, Myra! I can't agree with you more, and I've seen this have pretty amazing results in my class. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Why does differentiated instruction have to be homogeneous grouping? Can't it be where you offer many choices of how to present what they've learned or how they want to learn, and each child chooses the way that is most successful for them? For instance, when the reading partners in my classroom (4th grade), complete a genre or author study, they must present what they've learned to the rest of us. Some options are a power point presentation, a collage, essays, pretend interview of the author, one partnership came up with designing an award for the author. They designed & built it, and included the reasons why they thought he deserved such an award. I believe if you allow your students some independent thinking time, they'll come up with ideas that feed into their strengths. And if you need to teach into their weak areas, pair them with someone you know is strong in that area. The teacher is not the end all of our student's education. I think we need to give some of the responsibility and autonomy to our students. Myra 4th grade Plainview, NY ----- Original Message ----- From: Christine Halliday Date: Sunday, February 18, 2007 10:20 am Subject: [MOSAIC] overwhelmed To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org
> Hi, > I'm a "nontraditional" teacher in my 5th year teaching 4th > grade. Have read > "Mosaic", "reading with meaning" and parts of Fountas & Pinell > for 3-6. > Went to an inspiring in-service with Ellin Keene @ a week ago. > Despite all > that, I feel a bit overwhelmed and, consequently, at sea. > Matching state & > district requirements to what I've found in the research seems > impossible. > Am especially stumped by my district's requirements to do > "Differentiated > Instruction":( i.e. homogeneous grouping) for 30-60 min a day. > This goes > against everything I believe in: that we can all learn from each > other. > Meanwhile, ELA and Special Ed students are being mainstreamed > with no > back-up or extra personnel. > Does anyone else feel overwhelmed? Sometimes, I fall back on a > routine > simply because I don't know what else to do. Thanks for letting > me vent! I > want to teach my students in teh best way possible, and some > days I don't > know what that is! > Chris/4/PA > > _________________________________________________________________ > Play Flexicon: the crossword game that feeds your brain. PLAY > now for FREE. > http://zone.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_hmtagline > > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org 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. Joy/NC/4 [EMAIL PROTECTED] How children learn is as important as what they learn: process and content go hand in hand. http://www.responsiveclassroom.org --------------------------------- Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org 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.
