Comments

• Michelle Wishart

  While I meet with small groups, my students are completing independent work that applies the lesson's concepts. Then, they check the center work board and move to mixed ability-grouped centers that focus on the skills for the week. We spend a great deal of time teaching what each center should look like at the beginning of the year. They know how to use each center and it's tools. I always provide a sample for them to see what my definition of "finished" looks like for each task. As the year progresses, more choices of centers are added as they complete the required first center. They do not interrupt my small groups as long as I have my signal hat on. My assistant meets any needs as I meet with small groups.

  11/7/2008 7:41:20 AM
• tfcox

  We spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year teaching students how the rotations will go. While I'm working with a guided reading group, my other students are working on their independent work (which may be silent reading or an extension activity for a story) or on one of the 5 stations that they will do for the week.

  11/7/2008 10:13:28 AM
• JG

  Even though my groups are already small, I will often work with "smaller groups" of students within my small group or one-on-one with a student. During this time the other students may be working on Words their Way word sorts, "Take it to your Seat" phonics centers, or reading response activities. I make sure I model exactly what they should be doing on these independent activities and I try to make sure each activity has a finished product that I can assess. I sometimes turn on quiet bakcgroud music and remind the students that if we can't hear the music their voice levels are too high.

  11/7/2008 12:09:47 PM
• TS

  While I'm working with small groups, my students are completing and independent activity that correlates with that day’s lesson. When they have completed that, they check the center board, and continue on to that day’s center. If they have finished with their center and there is still time left, I have created a "busy box" which has fun phonics and other games that they can do until the times is over. I have also just introduced my students to file folder games so they are able to pull on of those at as well.

  11/8/2008 8:52:17 AM
• JT

  While I am working with my small group, the other students are completing literacy activities in indepedent stations. I make sure that I always have some type of product to be completed & at the end of the week (usually Thursday) I check their folders.

  11/10/2008 7:33:02 AM
• KF

  While I am conducting a small group, I have the other students in "centers". The centers are: Science in Reading, Listening, Computer, Reader's Notebook and Word Work. Each center has an end result, that the student must turn in when completed. On Friday before the test, we go over all the centers, and I allow them to self-check their papers.

  11/19/2008 9:15:16 AM
• ah

  While I am teaching a small group, the other students are working either in an Independent reading station (groups of 4 at two tables), or with a partner/group of 3 at one of five stations...Extensions, Vocabulary, Nonfiction, Computers...

  1/5/2009 3:22:57 PM