Dani, I have taught other grades and, believe me, the kids are all over the place at those grade levels as well. Think beginning kindergarten plus way beyond what you might get in kindergarten. At least in kindergarten we get to start at ground zero and build up. With the other grades, there is so much "undoing" and "reteaching" what was never properly taught.
Don't worry about launching your year of centers; just follow along and I will have plenty of suggestions for you. Plus, you are a deep-thinking, reflective, creative teacher and will modify what you see in my classroom to make it work for you.
Yes, we're going to have some fun with that one-on-one intervention time! You can get so much accomplished!
How great it would be to talk with Tim Shanahan! Please pass on my comment about "please come to MY classroom and see MY small group instruction and other centers." Ha! Seriously though--of course you can't recommend small group instruction if nothing productive is happening in the group or out of the group.
So much to say in response to these 2 articles. You really hit the nail on the head coming from the perspective of a kindergarten teacher - we are a whole different animal. Talk about students all over the learning spectrum! Last year I had a student easily reading at a 4th grade level, and a student who didn't turn 5 until early September, and knew less than 5 letter names. Without small group instructional time built into my day, there is no way I could effectively reach and teach both of them (and the other 15 kids between them!) at their zones of proximal development. Everyone deserves a full year's growth, and in a kindergarten classroom with such a wide spectrum of learners, we need to have some dedicated time for small group, and even some 1:1.
I appreciate what I have learned from you after joining your substack in January when it comes to center activities. I made a few simple adjustments, dropping activities I can see now were just busy work, while shortening each rotation so we kept moving at a pace to curb boredom. When rotations were too long, most kids lost focus (and interest) which resulted in poorly done, incomplete "work." I love focusing on simple center activities that have them writing, drawing, and of course reading in their folders. I've by no means fully arrived, and I'm a little uncertain how I will launch my year using this system, but I know I've landed on a better approach to centers w/small group instruction.
I am VERY excited to try your 1:1 intervention time right after lunch each day! Reflecting back on all you accomplished with your students, as well as the data driven decisions you yielded from this daily practice, I cannot wait to included this in my daily schedule.
I will be at a state education conference in Helena next month where Tim Shanahan will be speaking - maybe I'll get a chance to ask him more about this article and tell him a little about what my classroom (and yours!) looks like during center/small group time.
Dani, I have taught other grades and, believe me, the kids are all over the place at those grade levels as well. Think beginning kindergarten plus way beyond what you might get in kindergarten. At least in kindergarten we get to start at ground zero and build up. With the other grades, there is so much "undoing" and "reteaching" what was never properly taught.
Don't worry about launching your year of centers; just follow along and I will have plenty of suggestions for you. Plus, you are a deep-thinking, reflective, creative teacher and will modify what you see in my classroom to make it work for you.
Yes, we're going to have some fun with that one-on-one intervention time! You can get so much accomplished!
How great it would be to talk with Tim Shanahan! Please pass on my comment about "please come to MY classroom and see MY small group instruction and other centers." Ha! Seriously though--of course you can't recommend small group instruction if nothing productive is happening in the group or out of the group.
So much to say in response to these 2 articles. You really hit the nail on the head coming from the perspective of a kindergarten teacher - we are a whole different animal. Talk about students all over the learning spectrum! Last year I had a student easily reading at a 4th grade level, and a student who didn't turn 5 until early September, and knew less than 5 letter names. Without small group instructional time built into my day, there is no way I could effectively reach and teach both of them (and the other 15 kids between them!) at their zones of proximal development. Everyone deserves a full year's growth, and in a kindergarten classroom with such a wide spectrum of learners, we need to have some dedicated time for small group, and even some 1:1.
I appreciate what I have learned from you after joining your substack in January when it comes to center activities. I made a few simple adjustments, dropping activities I can see now were just busy work, while shortening each rotation so we kept moving at a pace to curb boredom. When rotations were too long, most kids lost focus (and interest) which resulted in poorly done, incomplete "work." I love focusing on simple center activities that have them writing, drawing, and of course reading in their folders. I've by no means fully arrived, and I'm a little uncertain how I will launch my year using this system, but I know I've landed on a better approach to centers w/small group instruction.
I am VERY excited to try your 1:1 intervention time right after lunch each day! Reflecting back on all you accomplished with your students, as well as the data driven decisions you yielded from this daily practice, I cannot wait to included this in my daily schedule.
I will be at a state education conference in Helena next month where Tim Shanahan will be speaking - maybe I'll get a chance to ask him more about this article and tell him a little about what my classroom (and yours!) looks like during center/small group time.