guided lesson (small group instruction)

The second strategy that Marla Newton talked about was guided lessons. After a whole class lesson, the teacher pulls a group to work with with her, while the rest of the class are doing various activities. The teacher then reteaches the lesson with a different example. For Example, when teaching a lesson on persuasive writing today, our class looked at a persuasive sample text together. We then went through it together and talked about the features of a persuasive text. I created an anchor chart with them to keep in the classroom. I then gave the class an activity to do independently. During this time, I pulled my IEP and ESL students to work with me. We went through the entire lesson again with a different sample text.
During the guided lesson, I realized that my IEP students really didn't get anything out of the whole class lesson. It really benefited them to hear the entire a lesson again, and force them to follow along. A lot of times, these students find it hard to focus in a large group setting.

Placemat activity

After meeting with Marla Newton, from the Ministry of Education, I decided to implement some of the strategies she has shared with us. Her intent was to teach us strategies that would help get are level 2 students to level 3.

First Strategy: Place mats.

Description: Have students in mixed ability groups, and pose a higher level question. Each student has a section on a place mat to record their answer. Once time is up, groups are to combine their answers together to come up with one good answer. In order to make students accountable, they are to sign their name in their square.

How does this help students with a learning dissability?
Students get the opportunity to be a part of a group. They benefit from hearing the rest of their groups answers. While theirs may be a basic answer, they can contribute something to the group. They get the experience of what a higher level answer should look like.