"You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book."
(Dr. Seuss)
At the Tisbury School we are fortunate to be able to offer extra support in the academic areas of reading, writing and mathematics in addition to students' regularly scheduled academic times in the classroom. Students who are on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) are working towards their individual goals and objectives specified on their IEPs. After consulting with the classroom teachers and the special education teachers, students are selected to participate in small group instruction based on teacher recommendations and assessment scores from selection/theme tests, GRADE, Scholastic Reading Inventory, HM Leveled Reader Assessment, MCAS and DIBELS Next.
A resource block is set up within each classroom schedule to allow for students to be pulled for small group instruction without missing any of their Unified Arts classes. Currently, I meet with students three to five times per week for 30 - 45 minute blocks, depending on students' needs.
My goals are to provide extra literacy support, build confidence, motivate students to read and to foster a love of reading. Sometimes, I am lucky enough go into a classroom during the reading block for small group station work. This year, I am having fun working with many first graders during their reading time. Mostly, I work with small groups of students in my classroom to provide children with the support they need to make and maintain literacy progress. Some students receive specially designed instruction while others are practicing and reinforcing what they have learned in their classroom to help them become more confident in their reading and writing abilities.
Weekly consult times with the ELL teacher, special education teachers, and classroom teachers are essential to ensure we are all focusing on the same topics and using similar techniques, vocabulary and strategies with our students to try to keep reading and writing instruction coherent throughout the grades. This collaboration helps maintain consistent communication and expectations within each grade level and to monitor my students' progress.
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." - Dr. Seuss