t4_emm

We had a great meeting on Thursday, October 17th. The hot seat question was about how to implement math small groups.  While small groups are an expectation of our county, it is difficult to find time to do small groups everyday. The 90 minutes allotted for math flies by. With iReady time, ten minute math, whole group lesson, questions, examples and practice time 90 minutes doesn't seem to be enough. It seems the time just has to be chiseled out and a schedule stuck to, to make this happen. One of our group members shared a rotation done on her grade level to ensure math groups are done. Students rotate through different activities including math games, iready, zearn, and meet with the teacher. This is done for 30 minutes each morning.  I am hoping to implement something similar if only for 1 or 2 days per week.  I usually form my small groups while grading papers.  I sort the papers into students who have it and those who need help.  Then I sort those who need help according to

     I've recently been in a meeting that seems to be indicting a shift in education. I love learning something new about teaching. I love trying new things in my classroom.  I do have some excitement about this opportunity. The meeting and the shift seems to be based on the the idea that children today are different than children in the past.  Hmmm.  I don't know if I totally agree with that.I think there are more similarities than differences in the children of today and the children of the past. I think they need a lot of things from their parents and families that children have always needed and will always need. I think their needs at school are also similar.       I think most children need the guidance and support of their teacher. I think most children enjoy the structure of school, knowing what to expect when, the consistency of discipline and all that comes with process and procedure. I think school is a safe, somewhat predictable place that students can count on.