Today a new student joined the small reading group that I have been using for my research project. I am not collecting data on him as of now, but I might send home a permission slip just in case.
In my original plan I was going to start a new activity, but I decided to do another week of bumpy writing with this week's phonics skill. BP joined our group and I began to pass out the screens for bumpy writing. He had a big smile and said "This is cool!" The other students were excited to tell him how we use it in our reading group. The students divided their paper into thirds to practice writing a few of their spelling words. First we go over the phonics skills by tracing over with thier finger "ee" and "ea" that they have already bumpy written on Monday. Then they listen and write the spelling word I say, "meat". They write it then trace it with their finger and say the letters then read the word. They do this for the next two words, "seat" and "treat". Most of the students were able to write the words on their own, but some of the other students depended on our conversation as we talked about "ea" and "ee". FP needs me to remind him to say the letters as he traces them. He is a very quiet student and doesn't really like to say much during class time. I have watched him at recess and he is much more social. I wonder if it is because he doesn't feel as comfortable in reading group.
I hope that using the bumpy writing to initiate our phonics skills will help them with their spelling words. I need to remember to use their spelling test scores as data.
Wikki Sticky Sight Words is the first multisensory activity I taught the group. Now they do it independently during word work center. They use the sight words they don't know to trace with wikki stix. It seems to have great results when I introduced it and practiced it with them during small group. I recently assessed them on their word list and they did not make the improvement I expected. They are supposed to say each letter as they form it with the wikki stix and then read the word. I have told them if they have trouble reading the word, they have to ask a group member or another student to help them. I could tell they were not doing that because of the small gain in words. I figured that I better pay more attention to them as they are working in that center. Today I noticed that they take way too long to get started on the activity. After they leave my reading table, they are strolling around the room and then finally they get their materials out and get started. BD seems to be more focused than the others. He sat a little father away from the others. EP didn't even go through her entire list. I had to remind them to stay on task 8 times in 20 minutes. The whole class was very chatty and off task during reading centers. Maybe it is because of the anticipation Valentine's Day.
Ohhh Valentine's Day seems to have that effect on everyone! This thick description really describes what is taking place during your observation. Have you tried using a timer or music to get students started in their centers? Maybe if they only have a few seconds to get settled and started they will be more motivated to hustle. I like how you connected the data from word list assessment and the observation in this post. It makes sense that they wouldn't perform as well if they aren't completing the activity correctly.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are making inferences about why you think these things may be happening. You seemed to really pat attention to how long it took students to get started, where they were sitting, and how many reminders they needed. I think I need to do a better job with keeping track of these things, as well. Megan, I like the idea of using music to get them started with their independent work. I use a timer and it really helps! The kids pay attention to it and it keeps me on track too.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys! I do use a timer, but it sits by me and they don't see it so maybe I need to get one that is easy to see time running out, or just give that one group their own timer. Thanks for the ideas!
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