What Doesn’t Work: Literacy Practice We Should Abandon

This is from an article from www.edutopica.org blog.  published 11/12/18

I am currently teaching Special Education at Ocean Beach Elementary.  I run a phonics group for both 3rd grade and 4th grade. The article opens with calendar time as a waste of time using 20 minutes of valuable time per day.

1.  Looking up vocabulary words with a dictionary.  This does not seem to increase vocabulary in the students.  I have adapted this and let a student look up one word while the other students are each looking up a word.  I comply this information in a google slide show which we practice through out the week.  The student runs their word by showing a picture, reading a sentence and then having students guess at the meaning at each step.  By the end of the week, most students scored an A on a test.

2. Giving students prizes for reading.  Making reading exciting and letting students pick the books for read aloud show more long term reading motivation.  I also pull vocabulary words from the books we are reading so I integrate both.

3.  Weekly spelling tests.  Yes students can do this but it does not carry over into their writing. I think a spelling test where they are editing an article containing their spelling words might be a better use of time. Also bonus points if they use their words in their writing.

4.  Unsupported Independent Reading. - many of my students were just looking at pictures and not really reading at all Partner reading where their is evaluation works better.

5..  Taking Away Recess as Punishment. — I hate this.   Many of my students have ADHD and. Not letting them release their energy creates more problems.  I had my students come in before school or stay after school to complete their class work..

We do need to get rid of things that are not working in the classroom and not do things that way because we always do things that way.

Helping Students with Executive Functioning

When students have attention deficit their brain's executive functioning is off?  Do you know as a teacher you are able to help these and all of your students improve their executive functioning?  This information is from Dr. Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers called Brain Based Learning which has been posted on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, published September 12, 2016.

Teachers need to explain some students have good brains which act like the head of the company, a coach of a team or the drum major leading the band.  Their brain can tell them what to do, what is due when, and what might the possible consequences be for possible actions.  BUT students who are lacking this!!!

These students are:
impulsive
move too much
have trouble following directions
can start work,
can't plan work or behavior
can't stay focused
can't keep in memory what they need to learn
cognitive flexibility which means to adjust one's thinking based on new information

Middle School Cont.

It appears that the special education teacher assigned to this class rarely attends as their is an aide scheduled to work it as well.  I ask students if I can help and they state, “I do not need help and you make me uncomfortable if you stand near me.”  So why am I here?

Students are working in groups on their computers.  There is light chatter going on around the room.  It is unclear the purpose of having a second teacher in the room.  The substitute aide says the same thing happens in the next period where I am supposed to support students.

I think I prefer to just test students.  Making me attend classes to support students, that they don’t even go to seems awkward.

In the next period, there was an epic fail and not one student had the google doc created from their form.  I was able to retrieve data for one student.  I was also able to show two other students how to reclaim their data from the form.  Tedious but doable.

In math class, I was able to help some students do the classwork.  Once they completed 8 out of 20 problems they stopped and just chatted.  They said they new enough to take the test.

Back in another English class, they are quite talkative.  The teacher blocked some sites using LAN School.  They is wonderful.  Students should not be able to go to sites and just play games or goof off.  I try to help students but they said they turned in their perfect paragraph and their I am poem.  I can’t see who has turned in what so I have to take them at their word.  One boy is throwing paper balls across the classroom.    IT feels like the class is out of control.  There is a sub runnning the class.  I was here last week and there was a sub as well.

Middle School

I have been reassigned to a Middle School one day a week.  Supposedly we do not have enough students for me to work at Ocean Beach Elementary.  I had 19 but was bumped.  Now I have 19 and only get to work four days a week to get all my work done.  I just love San Diego School District.

At the middle school, I sit in classes so their Spec Ed teachers can have a period off to do their work. I am supposed to co-teach but usually just get to sit in the back and watch the general education teacher teach.

I don’t even know who in the class is a special education student.  I see many bright students not care and do not do the work.  During tests, I am not even allowed to read the problem to the students.  It seems like a waste.  I would like to help but do not know how to help.

In this classroom, all the students are on their computers.  They are supposed to be working on writing a narrative as a group project.  Today there is another aide in the classroom.  The last two times I was here there was not an aide present.

I will keep you posted on how my day goes.

The Best Reading Position for Nearsighted Children

By An Lukits, The Wall Street Journal August 2, 2016

Did you know position when reading can matter?  I had not idea but according to a study by Acta Ophthalmologica reading while on their backs is best fore nearsighted children.  This position seems to slow the progression of the eye condition, myopia.

Nearsightedness affects 41% of all students.  Studies showed that limited time outdoors while growing up and too much time on close work (ie iphones, ipods, itouch, tablets, etc) can increase myopia. But lying on ones back to read reduces myopia.

So encourage students to lie on their back to read as an alternative to reading at their seats and perhaps they won't need glasses as soon.

Summer is Over and I am off

First trip was to PA to see my daughter, son-in-law and grandson's, Connor and Seby.  Fun, Fun!

Now I am off to INDY via Harrisburg, PA to Charlotte, NC to INDY.  But I am still on the ground.  I have been waiting for over one hour.  At least now the AC is running.  It was over 100 degrees here and we were on the ground with the doors closed and windows shut with no air.  I am dripping wet. 

Now the engine has started but we are just waiting.  The captain has not said what we are waiting for.  Perhaps there is a line for take off.  US Air/American must not have been a good merger.  I hope this flight makes it safely to IN.  I am worried.  In the seat a head of me is another pilot.  So if he feels this is ok, I need to just hang in there.

I hope to start up tutoring in July and August.  I have Dr appts to make and work to do on the house.  All the things I put on hold while I was working. I am so excited about next year.  I have the room to myself and a computer for each student.  I can't wait to start planning.  I want to make a reading center, writing center and math center.  

I will start going in to work the second week of July.  I will try to just work once a week.  I also signed up for a 12 week get active program.  So I will see how that goes. I want to change my lifestyle.

The reason I am on the way to INDY is to celebrate my Mom and Dad's 60th wedding anniversary.  This is so exciting.  I never thought they would actually stay married when I was growing up.  I do hope to blog more next year.

I can't believe I made it a whole year.  Wow.  I just went to a job interview after HR called.  This was the week before school starting.  After a 15 min interview, he asked ok pick what school you want.  I dont know all the names of all the schools or where they are located.  I just picked Scripps after the HR guy says it was near La Jolla.  I knew that was near our house so I picked a .6 assignment.  MWF.  That only lasted two months and then I was full time.  It was a whirlwind but I think I made it.  I am happy.  I enjoy the time with the students and planning my days, curriculum and then writing IEP's. 

A.D.H.D. Electronically

I found this article in the Wall Street Journal 11/25/15 and was shocked to read that "in a pilot study, a video game was shown to help children."  This seems counter intuitive.  TV and video games were supposed to be aggraviging children's ADHD.   But Project "EVO is a computer program created to improve attention and reduce impuslsivity in children withh attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "

Scientists created a game to improve cognitive skills in old age and they found it 'helped aging adults improve their focus and ability to multitask.'  

So study shows the same results as ADHD medication and 30 minute sof Activate omputer exercies and 40 minutes of physcial exercies thre or four times a week for 16 weeks.  But warining is can cost $195 for three  months for the computer software.  So check out Katherine Ellison book :  ADHD: What Everyone Needs to Know: (Oxford University Press, Nov 2015)