Week #3

Assignment #1
HILDI PEREZ'S CLASSROOM

Shared Reading:

Reading the poem aloud together as a class, engaged all the students at different levels. The weaker students, who were not so fluent with their reading were able to follow along with Ms. Perez, picking up on whichever words they recognized, and were able to identify. And the stronger students were able to follow along with the whole poem!

When the students have time to read and do activities on their own, they were helping each other figure the sounds out, and putting the words in the right place. The assistant teacher did not tell them the right way to do things, rather she gently pointed out the student's mistake, allowing the student to fix it on her own, thereby learning from her mistake.

Shared reading is a smart and helpful tool for students to pick up on fluency of text, and read together as a whole.

Guided Reading:

Through guided reading, students are able to develop more fluency and comprehension. The more they verbalize aloud, the more they are able to make connections with the text, and internalize what they're reading. Ms. Perez gives her students the tools to be able to dissect a book, asking and answering questions on sentences or concepts which they did not understand, thereby understanding what's going on in the story. They are able to start verbalizing the strategies they use, and become more independant in that way, leading them to her goal of independant reading.

Differentiated Instruction:

Ms. Perez organizes her classroom to support a wide range of learners. She does this through giving her students their independancy, and letting them make their own decisions based on their wants. She also sometimes divides the class into leveled groups. Ms. Perez ensures each student receives what he/she needs. At times, some students can choose to do a harder learning activity, such as writing their own book, as others can choose something a bit easier.  The learner that needs some more help is given a student teacher to help her master her skills. The smarter learners in the classroom feel challenged and excited with the activities Ms. Perez offers them, such as taking notes, and writing posters. Reading & writing go hand in hand, when it comes to classroom activities. Students are expected to spell out words, write them down, and read them as they go along.

Assessment:

Ms. Perez assesses her students numerous times throughout the year, keeping track of their progress. She starts with the first assessment in September, to see where each student is holding, what skills he/she has, and what must be worked on. Based on these assessments, she implements different activities in the classroom, zooming in on the different skills that need to be learned. She then assess her students again in December to see how far they've gotten, and what they've learned since the begginning of the year. Ms. Perez sometimes divides students according to level, based on her assessments. Once again, assessments are done in March and finally at the end of the year in June. 

Assessments are a great way of checking out where the student is up to, and how much she/he is learning from you, as the teacher. It can also guide the teacher to focus on important skills which must be mastered by certain students, and to see how far the student can reach within a certain time period.