I started in a new district this year. I have 4 sections of English 1 (freshman), some upper level electives, and a "corrective reading" class, which is all my struggling freshman/iep students from my English classes.
I'm struggling with managing this reading class. It's the exact same kids as my 2nd hour, minus a few kids. They are a little squirrelly in the morning, but nothing major, no big deal. But when I see them later in the day for this additional class - omg. I feel like I can't do anything or give them any help, because I spend all hour correcting behavior. (Sit down, don't throw things, get this out, put that away.) There are a few kids who work and would really benefit from my help, but they don't get it (or really any of my attention) because I'm too busy dealing with stupidity.
I wasn't really provided with any resources for this class, other than being told it piggy backs of what we do in English, and is basically an extra help/supplemental class. It's pass/fail, but many of the kids don't do their work to begin with, so holding grades over their heads doesn't work.
So two questions. 1. Any suggestions? I'll take anything at this point. 2. I'm thinking I may go talk to my administrator about it. I'm embarrassed, but I feel like the class has the potential to get completely out of control, and I don't want to let that happen. I have zero issues with the rest of my classes. I've never had major management issues in ten years, but I'm to the point I dread this class every day, and it often makes me crabby the rest of the day. Being new to the district, is it going to look bad if I have to ask for help? I guess I'm a little concerned that it'll make me look bad prior to evals.
Post by UMaineTeach on Sept 24, 2017 13:20:08 GMT -5
A whole class of hard kids being asked to do what they have the hardest time with for the second time in a day, in the afternoon, is practically asking for trouble.
I think I’d look at the structure of the class. Can you do center rotations and meet with small groups?
Post by W.T.Faulkner on Sept 24, 2017 13:20:25 GMT -5
It sounds to me like the setup of this class doesn't lend to student investment. Kids are probably already embarrassed that they're in the "corrective reading" class, and the P/F grading definitely doesn't encourage effort. I'd talk to an administrator about the grading system.
Throw out whatever resources they gave you and make this class interesting and relevant for the kids. I've always had success with my struggling readers when I bring in reading material on subjects about which they can form an opinion. My freshmen were obsessed with relationships (lol) so we read the play Fences by August Wilson and they got to talk about romance and infidelity and all that stuff...as long as they read. You can do this with NY Times articles, etc.
A whole class of hard kids being asked to do what they have the hardest time with for the second time in a day, in the afternoon, is practically asking for trouble.
I think I’d look at the structure of the class. Can you do center rotations and meet with small groups?
My struggle is that several of them seem to have a hard time working independently. There are also a few that just can't seem to leave one another alone. I'd love to do small group instruction, but I think I need help getting then to the point they can handle working independently while I'm working with others.
I've also been told that the clads they had last year that was the equivalent in the middle school was more "free time" than help, so I think part of the problem is their expectations of the class, even though I've made it clear what my expectations are.
It sounds to me like the setup of this class doesn't lend to student investment. Kids are probably already embarrassed that they're in the "corrective reading" class, and the P/F grading definitely doesn't encourage effort. I'd talk to an administrator about the grading system.
I agree. I'm curious why they made it pass/fall. (I wasn't even told this unto I stated putting grades in the computer and saw "P" as a grade for several.) Also, they apparently used to have a freshman level and a sophomore level corrective class, and dropped the second one.
I'm probably going to ask about the grading, as well as how much wiggle room I have on curriculum. About half the students are failing or are close in English, because they don't turn anything in, so I'm not sure if unrelated additional work is the answer. But something has got to give.
I'm just disheartened, because normally I love teaching. This class knocks me down, and I feel like a crappy teacher. It sucks, and it's only a month into the year.
That said, you're in it. At that age, I would stop class for a day or two and ask the kids about it. "I'm really struggling with this class. I get it. It's hard to be in here again and most of you don't want to be. I want to help you. What do you think will work best?" And I would give weight to every suggestion - it sounds like they need some motivation before any work can get done.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
Post by polarbearfans on Sept 24, 2017 21:20:16 GMT -5
Not a teacher but can they work on the homework they are not turning in for the other class? Not everyone has the home life or support system that allows homework to actually be done at home.
What would they like to read? Current events? Graphic novels? Magazines? A lot of great books have been redone in graphic novels and a little bit more find to read.
We have a class like that and it seemed like it was all the behavior kids from regular class getting stuck in the extra reading class.
In fact, my 6th and 7th grade reading class is the same way. However, I have buy in from the 7th graders because a) it's morning and b) all but two want to do well. My 6th grade section feels like a mess.
We're thinking of starting a whole group book and using a graphic novel to try to buy interest.
As weird as this might sound, I'd recommend that you begin a novel study that YOU READ TO THEM. Pick something of high interest, and do everything the same way as you'd do a traditional study, only you read aloud.
A lot of struggling readers have low comprehension, and have no idea what the "flow" of literature should be. They don't get the cadence of speech, and punctuation is meaningless. It becomes a vicious circle.
I did this with a particularly weak grade 6 class last year. As a part of the study, they had to do bullet journal entries (which could be as simple or elaborate as they wanted), we did a lot of predicting (inferring), and for content checking I used Kahoot to create quizzes (this was a HUGE hit. It was like the Price is Right in my room on those days).
For them, it was the most fun they'd ever had. Discipline stopped being an issue because they knew if I spent too much time on that, they'd miss out on the fun lessons.
Stepping away from traditional texts and evaluations went a long way. Getting them to care about a protagonist was key. By the end of the year, over half of them were bridging the gap and reading more willingly.