E:
What grade level do you teach and where?
R:
I teach fourth grade at Washington* Elementary Community School.
E:
How differentiated are the reading levels of the students that you teach?
R:
They vary, now I could tell you what reading groups I have, which is B through
E. Or I could say to you that I have grade levels second grade all the way up
through eighth.
E:
So how does B through E translate to second through eighth?
R:
My Bs are more second and third, my Cs are third to fourth.
E:
So it’s like the second half of one year and the beginning of the second?
R:
Yeah, exactly.
E:
Alright. How do you integrate instruction for these differentiated reading
levels into whole group/ class activities?
R:
By the skill, and not so much the story. Like if you’re working on main idea. I
basically use something that nobody uses; I use the main idea from a story that
nobody’s previously read.
E:
So do you ask like different kids different questions based on what reading
level they’re at, if you are doing it in a whole group?
R:
I find myself doing that, although I don’t agree with doing that. A child may be a low reader but can
conceptualize the answer to very big questions. I have one child in
particular who I’m thinking of right now who is very good orally, but not
written. It’s hard to tell sometimes.
E:
I don’t think reading level always translates to comprehension.
R:
It doesn’t. Or even greater skills than just comprehension, retaining and using
the information to do like analysis.
E:
Do you find that the students that can analyze the best are analyzing the best
when you're reading it? Versus themselves reading it, since they aren’t at a
higher reading level?
R:
I’m going to say yes and
no. Yes if its something they're reading that they don’t really care about or
are not interested in. And no if it is.
E:
How do you use individualized, one-on-one instruction to help children who are
behind and challenge those who might be ahead? Or are you working more to get
them all on the same level?
R:
No. To get them all on the same level, that’s just unfair. I’ve got students
who work on special projects, like I’ve got two special projects this week that
I know that only five will do.
E:
Is that for the students that are ahead?
R:
Yeah. When they finish their work they can start on their special projects. I
get kids who aren’t ahead, who want to do the special projects, because sometimes
it involves cutting out, gluing, artistic things. Sometimes you’ll have kids
who are artistic that aren’t really into writing and reading.
E:
So what do the special projects entail, or do they vary from week to week?
R:
They vary from week to week, and it always involves memorization. Always.
E:
Do they have to present to the whole class?
R:
That’s extra points if they do, so they don’t turn that down.
E:
Can you explain your point system?
R:
Okay it’s complicated. And I’ll tell you what I’ve got such a wide variety of
kids this year that some of them will keep up with their own points too. So I’m
accommodating that. They have their own sheet to add up their own points. They
may not know it but they’re analyzing their own work. If they get three checks,
they can get their 100 line points.
E:
So you only have to do it three out of the five days?
R:
I’d like them to all get line grades every day of the week if that can happen.
E:
If they do, do they get extra points?
R:
They do, they do. Every 100 points is a dime. So every 1000 points is a dollar.
Now when we start working on decimals, they really get that. It really
reinforces their knowledge of money, which they don’t have a whole lot of
experience with.
E:
And do you think the parents, by and large, agree with you giving money to
their children?
R:
Oh, absolutely. I’ve never had a parent turn me down. And I always ask. And
they’ve always agreed with that.
I
find that students: like this student has got 1,540 points. Now, when we get
more into decimals he’s going to know that that’s a dollar and forty-five
cents. He’s going to know, because it’s just a matter of moving that decimal
point. If he had another five there, we’d work on rounding up. That keeps them
in charge, and let’s them know that what they do here is just as important as
going out and working in the real world, because this is a job.
E:
Do most of them keep track of their own points?
R:
No, in fact, this is just a new thing. Last year, when they were just third
graders, no way. But now, since they all ask, “How many points to I have now?
How many points do I have now?” I decided that this is what we’re going to do,
as big fourth graders. The difference between them now and after Christmas
break is enormous, and they’re going to struggle with that. They’re making
goals for what they want to spend their money on, and they know what they have
to do to do it. Now I have had kids who have earned up to thirteen dollar in a
week. Ask me for workbooks; I will never turn you down! I will hand you a
workbook if you want to do it. You know sometimes I have handed them workbooks
with answers in the back. I know that seems unfair, but when you think about
it, if they’re looking at it, they’re actually reading it to get the answer
down. And they’re comprehending whether or not they know it or not. On some
level they’re still learning. That’s just part of memorization. I believe in
memorization more than I think a lot of people do. I still have kids who can
tell me the order of the planets, form two years ago.
E:
I think if you teach it the right way, like with a song or something, it can be
really helpful. You’ll remember it for a long time.
So
do you use a lot of worksheets in your class? Do you think that’s a good way to
instruct kids?
R:
In this instance, it is, to a degree, because they have half homework they can
work on, half the class they have to work on homework. And they get points. If
they get homework done in reading, it’s a thousand points, math a thousand
points, and that’s always in worksheet form. As far as their reading, it has to
be. It has to be because there’s no way you can accommodate.
E:
So the way you introduce reading into other subjects is mostly through
worksheets? You do classroom discussion too; I’ve seen you do that.
R:
Oh yeah, definitely. I try to integrate. I have reading that talks about
quotients and science concepts, social studies, but the reading samples I use
for my kids are al varied. Is it prime or composite, that’s math, using
landforms, social studies, physical science for group C, and life science for
D.
E:
How do you decide when a kid gets moved up a group?
R:
I do a fluency assessment. I do student interviews. We talk about behaviors, we
talk about goals, we talk about their skills, and we do a two-minute reading
sample. And basically, what I do, is see what level they are on. This is where
they land as of two weeks ago, so it’s pretty fresh. They get a chance to move
up.
E: Do you do it only on words per
minute?
R: I do. I do it because that’s all
I’ve got time to be able to work on with.
And that’s where the volunteers come in. We’ll get volunteers to come in and do
that too, since that’s one-on-one.
E:
How important do you think it is to know every child’s reading levels and
habits and how do you keep track of such?
R:
It’s essential. You have to know where they’re at. In the beginning what I do
is a reading assessment, an interest inventory. That’s how I sneak in their
birthdays. It’s just a little student information thing that tells me what they
like. I know that at this point in their academics they’re over Magic Treehouse
books, and Zack Files, they’re done with that. They’re more into Diary of a
Wimpy Kid. You can see the progression with those. We’re going to read novels
too; we’re going to read books.
E:
Are they reading books in their actual classes yet?
R:
I don’t know if fourth grade is or not. I know fifth grade read the Wynne Dixie
book.
E:
Alright. Final question: do you think standardized test preparation in any way
impedes a teacher’s ability to individualize reading instruction?
R:
Oh it has to, doesn’t it? If you’re tested on something you have absolutely no
interest in, or you were hungry that morning, you’re shoes weren’t tied and you
tripped. That one day that you’re taking that test something terrible could
happen, and it seems like you're never caught on the one day where you feel
like you’re on top of the world. And hey, if you do that’s great too.
E:
Do you have any way of making what they have to be tested on more interesting?
R:
Oh yeah, we play games all the time. This thing back here is filled with all
sorts of games. Word
games, math games, they’re very competitive. You know that; you’ve seen
them. You’ve taken score plenty of times.
E:
Alright. Good to go!
R:
Awesome.
*Names
have been changed to uphold confidentiality
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