One of the best things about taking classes with other teachers in the Wilkes/Discovery program is sharing with other teachers. Last week we reviewed web sites to give us more ideas that we can use to differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of our students. As I read through teachers’ reviews of web sites I took notes and bookmarked many on my Diigo account. Since I will be teaching fifth grade next year I have been on the lookout for good web sites for students to practice basic skills, for research, and to explore areas of interest.

Another great place to share and learn with other teachers is sponsored by Discovery Education and this is how they describe the DEN, “The Discovery Educator Network (DEN) is a global community of educators passionate about teaching with digital media, sharing resources, collaborating, and networking.” The opportunities Discovery provides for teacher education are outstanding. Discovery provides local, regional, state and national events. After attending a few events, I was encouraged to become a STAR Discovery Educator. The above link will take you to the page that explains the benefits of becoming a STAR Discovery Educator. This link will take you to page that explains how to become a STAR Discovery Educator. It is a great resource for professional development. You may also want to check out the Discovery webinars another great place for technology information and how to integrate it in your classroom.

It is because of my association with Discovery that I am finally working toward my master’s degree in instructional media. How has Discovery helped you to be a more effective teacher? Have any Discovery products made your teaching more engaging? Discovery has made a world of difference in my teaching

Today’s students are very diverse. They enter classrooms with widely varying backgrounds, skills, abilities and parental support. The range of abilities grows ever wider and the student-teacher ratio increases as they move from the primary grades to upper elementary.  How can a teacher meet the needs of all her students?

This week I am attending a math institute to review the new math frameworks and current research on math instruction. One of the strategies that I have learned about is called Universal Access (UA). According to the California Department of Education “The ultimate goal of mathematics programs in California is to ensure universal access to high-quality curriculum and instruction so that all students can meet or exceed the state’s mathematics content standards.”

UA is a technique designed to assist teachers in meeting the diverse needs of their students. These are procedures that may be useful in planning for UA:

1. Assessment of the student’s current ability level is the first step. Teachers need to know which standards the students have mastered in order to provide instruction at their particular level.
2. Diagnose areas of difficulty and try to determine the cause of the challenges and intervene quickly.
3. Plan instruction to address those areas of need.
4. Focus on the key standards that students need to move up to the next grade level and differentiate curriculum or instruction or both.
5. Students should be grouped according to the students’ needs. Groups will change based upon ongoing assessment and specific skill to be addressed that session.
6. Enlist help of others, such as parents or community volunteers, older siblings and peer tutors.

There are four phases for implementing UA. The time spent training students is time well spent as it will increase effectiveness of instruction for the rest of the year. In the first and second phase the teacher monitors.

1. The first phase includes instructions and rules.

a) A goal is established. Rules and procedures for UA time are explained.
b) Students work on an activity independent of any teacher support.
c) The instructions include a list of people the students can consult with if they have questions or problems. This could include their partners or the others at their table.
d) Students may not interrupt the teacher.
e) Teacher debriefs students on their experiences.

i) Did students interrupt the teacher?
ii) Were their partners or students at their table able to help them?
iii) Praise for working well together.

2. The second phase includes a review of rules and procedures.

a) Practice transitions from one required activity to a choice activity.
b) Students work on an activity independent of any teacher support.
c) When required activity is completed make a choice between optional activities assigned by teacher. Work on that assignment.
d) The instructions include a list of people the students can consult with if they have questions or problems. This could include their partners or the others at their table.
e) Students may not interrupt the teacher.
f) Teacher debriefs students on their experiences.

i) Did students interrupt the teacher?
ii) Were their partners or students at their table able to help them?
iii) Were students able to transition effectively from one activity to another?
iv) Praise for good transitioning and working well together.

3.  The third phase includes a review of rules, procedures and transitions.

a) Same as the second phase except the teacher pulls one group for instruction.
b) Teacher debriefs students on their experiences.

i) Praise for good transitioning, working well together and participating.

4. The fourth phase includes a review of rules, procedures, and transitions.

a) Same as the third phase except the teacher pulls multiple groups. 
b) Teacher debriefs students on their experiences.

i) Praise for good transitioning, working well together and participating.

UA is an effective technique for providing students with instruction at their level. Formal and informal ongoing assessment is a very important part of this process. Our new math program has a 5 question quick check and rubric to help teacher with placement in groups based on that lesson. Teacher models in their groups how to run group center activities. As time goes on students take on a leadership role for directed their group activities while the teacher is working with another groups. The number of groups is determined by the variation in the skills of the students. There are generally at least three groups.

In order to provide more differentiated instruction last year, the second grade team started teaming for a portion of the Language Arts time each day. We had five second grade classes. Each teacher had just over 20 students. All students were pre-assessed at the beginning of the year on their reading skills. From this test students were assigned to one of five groups. The below-level learners were assessed every two to three weeks. The other students were assessed about every three months. However, teachers were able to move students at any time to another group that they determined might better fit the students’ needs.

• The top group consisted of all above-level learners. They could work on extension activities because those students were already reading fluently with adequate comprehension.
• The next group also had above-level learners. They were not quite as high so they spent some time working on comprehension skills, but a lot of time was spent on group work and writing.
• The middle group students were at-level learners on fluency but below-level learners on comprehension. That teacher was able to work on lots of activities to increase student comprehension of their reading.
• The second to the bottom group had below-level learners in their reading fluency. An additional teacher joined the regular classroom teacher during this time. That gave the lowest students in that class a ratio of 6 students to one teacher. The regular second grade teacher worked on both fluency and comprehension with the rest of the class. She also met with small groups during that period but not daily.  The additional teacher worked with her small group in about the same way that I did.
• The most intensive group consisted of below-level learners and far-below-level learners. I had that class and three additional teachers joined me for this time. The students in my room were in small groups the entire time. The most intensive students were in groups of three to five. I had the highest of the below-level learners in my room. I usually had four to six students.  The additional teacher in the group just above mine would move students between our groups about once a month. We both spent time on phonics, lots of time listening to the children reading aloud, practicing high frequency words, and chunking words into phrases. We spent a little time on comprehension but the focus was to increase their reading speed. I worked on Dolch words with the kids daily. I sent lists home with kids and we would do speed drills with those words.

I think the 30 minutes a day that we grouped students by their ability level especially the far-below-level and below-level learners increased their reading ability. It was much easier to differentiate instruction at that time because most of the students at that time were at the same level.

Have you ever been part of an experience like this? What do you think about being responsible for a different group of students for thirty minutes a day?