Help! Too many reading levels in one room

Lisa,

All I can really do is sympathize. This is very common, and it shows a total disregard for the needs of those kids. No one can do a good job with that many kids at one time. It would be hard if they were all on the same level. This is a good reason why we have a shortage of special ed. teachers..people will not tolerate this kind of situation for long. They cannot do what they desire to do an that is to be an effective teacher. At the very least I think you’d need an aide to be able to make this situation work. I hope someone can give you some ideas. Good luck!

Janis

I’m a parent and this is part of why Im homeschooling my 6th grader this year. I am not ANTI-schools by any means, but I realize the system isnt designed to meet his needs, especially in middle school

Number one, is is possible for the higher students to be phased back into a regular classroom-soon. Part time??? I would think a child reading at a 5/6 level would be better off in a regular classroom with modifications OR, if their need is writing/grammar, not reading, perhaps they could only come to you two days/week when you focus on those and be in the regular class with modifications the other three?

If you have none of these options(and I would pursue them aggressively rather than say “that wont work”), I would split your time between the two groups as much as possible. MW you give your full attention to the lower half and TTH to the upper with F up for grabs.

In terms of what to do with those you are not actively working with, would it be feasible to get a mobile computer lab in there and purchase some Lexia software or Earobics or SoundReading-maybe even some fun software like Sims as a reward for good behavior. How about a listening lab? There are some pretty nitty-gritty books on tape for boys that age that might hold their interest that are of a reading level they couldnt do but could attend to.

I know funds are short, but I also have known schools to have computer labs used for keyboarding classes that sit empty the rest of the day.

Video games, movies, and computer games are big for this age group. I would try to use that as a motivation for good behavior and cooperation.

As a mom, I would gladly see Fridays written off watching a DVD if I knew that m-th schoolwork was being accomplished(okay, Id probably want you to have some comprehension questions on the movie the follwoing Monday-a writing exercise on what they thing will happen in the 2nd half of the movie or something)

Thanks for caring

You are on the right track about how to make your classroom more effective. As a middle school resource teacher I have a few ideas for you to think about and adapt to your own style. Your effective reading instruction is the most important part of the class and you do need to individualize portions of the class to keep your students interested, productive and well behaved. Having even two groups will help. First though, take a look at your classroom procedures and organization. Make things consistant and predictable. My students had classroom notebooks that they got as they came in the room. (no, I can’t find it or it’s at home). The first section in the notebook is a starting class activity. It could be vocabulary, spelling or a sentence to proofread. After correcting this work, you can work with one group while the other works independently. You will need to have guidelines and practice what to do when students need help during independent time. Second, you need a good consistant discipline plan, a Lee Canter type program. Your name on the board if you disrupt. Your name and a check means go work at the quiet desk that faces the wall in the back of the room (less of an audience). Your name plus two checks = 20 minute detention and a call home. Everyone with no name on the board for the whole week earns game and computer time for 1/2 hour on Friday. Helps if you can team up with another teacher to send the behavior problems out for the Friday reward. Start the behavior plan fresh each Monday, so everyone has a chance to improve. When you can visit your students in their regular classes and see how they behave there. Sometimes it is quite a surprise to see them so quiet and well behaved. Notice what that teacher does to set high expectations. Hope these are some ideas to encourage you. Keep trying!

Thanks Everyone for your Responses,
I feel a little better now, because at least I have been doing many of the things have been suggested. Its just that I sometimes feel incompetent and frustrated because no one seems to care. When I voice my concerns to the child study team, they look at me like I have two heads. I have been trying to get some of the higher students back into the regular ed. classrooms with support. I do have them separated into two groups and try to work with each group every other day. I have been devoting more time with the lower group. I also offered to stay after school to do some one on one OG. I feel like it is the least I can do for my students.
Thanks again,
Lisa

That’s teaching! Good days, bad days, but making a difference in the life of a child. I too found that many of my students needed the stimulation of being with their peers. I was gradually able to strike up a team teaching English class for my higher functioning group. It went so well another teacher asked me to team teach. Eventually all my students were mainstreamed in regular ed teams for English, social studies and science. The big key to success is that I saw those same students in a reading/study skills class with just kids from their team. I could teach concepts, start assignments. Most behavior problems stopped because they wanted to get work done that would look good with their peers and the regular ed teacher. In all honesty, I still did not have a good environment for remediating reading (decoding) problems, but then I had little training in effective programs. Thankfully, I have gotten that training in my new job. Still I am proud that I kept my program evolving and improving to give my students an education. It sounds like you are a very good teacher. All of us get frustrated, shed some tears, but watching your students learn and grow makes it a very worthwhile career.

I remember expressing concern because I was supposed to be teaching 8th grade History, 7th grade Science, “Resource” and I forget what other subject simultaneously. “It’s legal,” was the response, followed by “it’s always been done this way” when I suggested that perhaps more than legalities were desired.
It *is* frustrating. Any chance of bringing in outside help to work on reading skills for your higher ones while you focus on the lower end? What literacy and/or tutoring groups are in the community?

I also teach middle school resource reading classes that are similar to yours. My largest class is 15 and my smallest class is 10. Here is what I do. Ever y student has a notebook and a folder which I provide and it stays in the class room. I have a helper for the week who passes out material and picks up material. Everyone has an agenda planner provided by the school. Students must write their objective for the day in their planner. they also must do the bellwork in their notebook. I set a timer and check both planners and bellwork when it goes off. I record an X on a chart if they have both completed. They earn classroom privledges by having an X. The class also earns letters for a class reward. Right now they are working toward an ice cream party. I give the class a letter in ice cream if there is 100% planner and bellwork completion with no talking or disruption (hasn’t happened yet, but they are geting close). I give a letter for 100% homework completion. I also give letters when 100% of students are on task and actively engaged in learning.
I teach one objective for the group and differentiate with different material. for example, we may be studying story elements. I model, we read a short passage together and practice together, next, they read another short passage with a partner and find the story elements. finally, each student has a story or book on their level and they complete a story map independently. This works well but it takes a little bit of time to gather material and get organized. The kids like it and we can read a variety of material without being stuck in a reading program.
Nan

Don’t get discouraged; get some activities that they can do independently or in pairs while you work with individuals or small groups. I had a very similar problem a number of years ago and my child study team suggested that I make up some spelling worksheets for my severly dyslexic student to go along with the Glass Analysis he was doing with the reading teacher. (I had 4 other reading/spelling groups at that time as well and no aide), so I made worksheets up and set him up with a partner. It was extraordinarily successful. Because 90% of the activities can be done independently or with a partner, it freed me up, and the student went up nearly 3 years in reading! I made it into a book, now three levels, appropriate for grades 4-12 with reading levels of 2.0-6. It’s called Looking Glass Spelling, and you can check it out on my website www.gwhizresources.com.
Good luck,
Fern

Just keep on doing what you are doing. You seem like a caring teacher. It is very frustrating to know what is best for you students and can’t get the people who make decisions to hear you. :( I know where you are coming from… Just keep on caring for the children. :D

I am also very frustrated with the way things are going in my resource classroom. I teach reading and language arts and three of my classes are multi-grade level as well as ability. I need help with some basics. Since I will have these students possibly for three years, I feel that using different materials per grade level is important, especially in reading. I don’t know if I should use regular ed. textbooks and modify (6th-8th) or drop down and use 3rd-5th grade level books. The content in these books is very young for my students and I have not been too comfortable with it, although they can handle the reading levels. I need to hear from some experienced middle school teachers about choosing literature to read to the students, appropriate writing projects etc… We have three good computers in my room and access to some good materials. I have worked so hard since school started, but the time I spend going over and over materials and lesson planning is beginning to tire me out. I don’t think I could keep this up for very long. If any of you can give me some help on planning and running a more efficient classroom, I would be so grateful.

crob,

This is a good question. I’d repost it as a new message so more people will see it.

Janis

I like to let my students have their grade identity — whatever I can do to help them think like “normal” students, I do it.
Does your library have any “hi-low” books? (If not, ask the librarian to order some — if you go to my website at http://www.resourceroom.net and click on “links” there’s a listing of hi-low publishers).
Personally, I think we make a huge mistake to give our students books that are too hard and remind them with every glance that yes, they can’t read (though many of them don’t realize what reading is and just think the rest of us are NUTS for liking it).
I’ve got a lot of stuff on my site that you might find useful — under “older students” there’s a general article about my perspective on having a resource room and how to make the best of it.

Thank you EVERYONE for your WONDERFUL suggestions and words of
encouragement!!!!! It is truly frustrating to know what I need to do in order to help my students and receive zero support from administration.
I have been breaking them up in groups with independent work, along with bringing them together. I have also paired myself with a regular language arts teacher. (This has been difficult because our schedules are not exactly the same). We have already put in our request to team teach next year, because we both feel more students can benefit from both of us. While she works with the higher groups, I can focus on remediation with the lower groups. I have also offered to work with my lowest functioning students after school, during homeroom, lunch, etc. just so they can get some one-on-one. One would think that if a child is walking into a 7th grade resource room on a primer, 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc. reading level, whatever they were doing in the early grades just did not work and something new must be tried. I’ve been trying to get administration to understand the importance of an OG Reading program, and they continue to turn a deaf ear. Just recently, some of my students have made positive comments on how much better they are doing with this program. I guess this is what matters the most. Not only will they finally begin to make some progress, but they also get excited about it too. This is why I went into teaching and special ed.
Lisa

:cry: Hey Lisa…Just a parent here…..
I see this too when I visit/help. How you all do it is way beyond me!!!
Now I work on the other end of the spectrum with Elderly….
As you all,…. we have “care plans” so I kinda understand where your comming from.
But…Lisa…at least your looking for solutions!!!! I wish you the best of luck and regret not having any answers for you as I’m not a teacher.
I’m trying to help our LS teacher and Reg Ed Teacher….I hope I lighten the load for them somewhat….
I hope you recieve the some help as well…….I’ve been seeing what all you all have to deal with and I sympathize….but in no way do I expect less for my daughter…I’m just trying to “help” in general.
Do the best you can Lisa……this is all we can ask from any one person.
God Bless
Binky