Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
Rosie, I hear your and others frustrations about the numerous restrictions placed on how/what/when you can teach. I am strongly an advocate of teacher decision-making in the classroom. Trouble is, you are under these restrictions... so your choices are to be miserable, find a way to make it work, or find another school. While not the ideal teaching situation, many teachers in Reading First schools have been able to make it work for themselves. I disagree with the notion that literacy workstations don't work. They can and do work in many classrooms. Teachers I have worked with have used every model... reading workshop, the Daily 5, literacy workstations... some struggle with the methods while others excel. Honestly, I have found the biggest factor in success to be the teacher, not the method used. Needless to say, you are stuck with workstations for better or worse. I suggest you check out the book Differentiated Literacy Centers by Margo Southall, published by Scholastic. The book will work with any material (including your basal) and gives open ended differentiated activities directly linked to comprehension, fluency, and word work. If you want to discuss this topic further or find that you would like other teachers feedback who use workstations in Reading First schools, feel free to check out my Yahoo! group on literacy centers. You can find it at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/literacycenters/ ~Stephanie Bartell, Reading Specialist Chicago, IL - Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. ___ 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.
[MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
I currently teach in a third grade classroom, my school is Title I and we are in our third year of not making AYP. We are requied to teach a 90 minute literacy block. 30-40 minutes of whole group instruction with a 60 minute rotation for stations and small group instruction. We are NOT permitted to teach any other curriculum during this time and cannot have students engage in writing activities unless it is in direct response to something they read. We MUST teach from the basal in the order dictated by the county. My question is...we are supposed to be differentiating the stations for four levels of abilities. I know that we aren't doing this correctly and sometimes not at all. How do we go about doing this? We get very little common plannig time as a grade level. Our grade level chair is expereinced with 20+ years of teaching, but the rest of us have little experience. I have looked at several great books but many of them assume you get to choose the curriculum or can integrate other subjects into the literacy block. I am truly at a loss as to what to do. There is no additional adult with me during this time. I have about five low readers, and the rest of the class is average or slightly above. HELP!!! I feel like I am about to loose my mind. Rosie **Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
Rosie, What basal are you required to use? Deb (SpEd in IL) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 4:14 PM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations I currently teach in a third grade classroom, my school is Title I and we are in our third year of not making AYP. We are requied to teach a 90 minute literacy block. 30-40 minutes of whole group instruction with a 60 minute rotation for stations and small group instruction. We are NOT permitted to teach any other curriculum during this time and cannot have students engage in writing activities unless it is in direct response to something they read. We MUST teach from the basal in the order dictated by the county. My question is...we are supposed to be differentiating the stations for four levels of abilities. I know that we aren't doing this correctly and sometimes not at all. How do we go about doing this? We get very little common plannig time as a grade level. Our grade level chair is expereinced with 20+ years of teaching, but the rest of us have little experience. I have looked at several great books but many of them assume you get to choose the curriculum or can integrate other subjects into the literacy block. I am truly at a loss as to what to do. There is no additional adult with me during this time. I have about five low readers, and the rest of the class is average or slightly above. HELP!!! I feel like I am about to loose my mind. Rosie **Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 ___ 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. ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
In a message dated 1/5/2008 6:45:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Rosie, What basal are you required to use? Deb (SpEd in IL) I am required to use Houghton Mifflin which from what I can see does not offer the differentiation that I am supposed to be doing. Rosie **Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
HM does have what they call differentiation strategies in the Universal Access stuff. It's crud. PLEASE understand there is no one correct way of differentiating. As a professional, you need to asses what your kids know, and what they need to know. You need to do what THEY need you to do to get them there. I, personally, hate centers and find I spend too much time managing them. So I never did them. Another tip know your grades' state standards inside out and backwards. HM does NOT address all the standards. As you learn the curriculum, you will find what's done well enough and what's just yuck. Some of what you HAVE to teach will have to come from somewhere else, or your AYP will never go up. I spent the last few years of elementary in a situation where the powers that be didn't recognize anything but the text and the workbook as viable materials (gag). I found the textbook squashed both my and the kids creativity. SO, because I am stubborn and because to me a good teacher is an artist not a drill sergeant, I got creative. I also turned to the experts: Donald Graves' Investigating Series, *Strategies that Work* by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, *Invitations*, *Transitions*, and *Conversations*, by Regie Routman. I read Janet Allen, Jim Burke, and so on. I just had a limited lens to think through. When I was in a situation where I HAD to use the textbook exclusively (barf) I took the text activities that came in the TE, the workbook (which I refused to use whole class), the word work, etc, and developed WRITING activities and presented them to the kids as menus. Out of seven activities, the needed to choose 4 to do. The writing that was an eeny teeny comment at the bottom of the page was rewritten and expanded to become the focus of the lesson. During the writing time, the kids had to do research through the offered extension activities I knew I had to use the textbook, so I tried to see how to take what the experts offered and apply it to a limited selection of text. It wasn't easy, but I finally figured it out. I used the textbook, but I tried to use it as a common text to teach strategies, questioning, and responding. The year I had to use the workbook, it became homework. I would still divide the 90 minutes into two 45 minute workshops. I would still do a whole group mini lesson based on a strategy, story, literacy term, etc. Send the kids off to work on buddy reading the story, taking notes or searching the text for whatever you want them to do. I would give them a list of response ideas while I would meet with small groups based on NEED, not level. I would gather the kids together at the end to share with me or one another to see how each one tackled the assignment. In writing, I would do the same thing except I would conference with kids individually about their responses and their strategies while they worked on the writing menus. It wasn't what I would have chosen. I fought it at every turn. But I felt like I was giving the kids the best with what I was given to work with. Please don't let this get to you. You will make it work for your kids. We can always help you. Keep writing and don;t get discouraged. -- Kim --- Kimberlee Hannan Department Chair, ELA Sequoia Middle School Fresno, California 93702 The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. ~Author Unknown [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ 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.
Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations
I think that is what we use in our building - let me look at the teacher's edition this week when we are back to school and see if I can come up with any ideas. Deb (SpEd in IL) -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 6:15 PM To: mosaic@literacyworkshop.org Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Differentiating literacy stations In a message dated 1/5/2008 6:45:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Rosie, What basal are you required to use? Deb (SpEd in IL) I am required to use Houghton Mifflin which from what I can see does not offer the differentiation that I am supposed to be doing. Rosie **Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape. http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise?NCID=aolcmp0030002489 ___ 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. ___ 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.
