Teach With A Sense of Urgency
Making every moment in the classroom count. Ensuring that our instruction engages students. Daily evaluation and reflection to make wise teaching decisions. Teaching with urgency...what a interesting way to look at it!
One of the main things I took away from this chapter seems so basic, yet sometimes it does need to be stated...Do More Teaching! I think so many teachers get caught up in the standards and the testing, that sometimes their actual teaching gets a little skewed. It is important to remember, especially when teaching reading, that we as teachers should demonstrate that we are readers, provide an excellent classroom library, let students choose books they want to read, teach strategies students need to know to process and understand text, and evaluate students regularly giving them feedback and helping them set goals (conferencing). In following these guidelines, teachers will begin to base instruction on what kids need rather than on the components of a literacy program. This is exactly what my pull-out program provides!! That is why I love what I do. I am very fortunate in that I am able to work with a small group of students and I can base my instruction on what THEY need. Although a regular classroom teacher has many more demands placed on them, I do think it is possible to Do More Teaching and provide this type of instruction.
The reading/writing connection is a powerful one and one that I need to put more focus into. I did notice that the chapter states that having students spend large chunks of time searching for vocabulary words is questionable. This hit home with me because both of my small groups struggle with vocabulary and we have been spending a great deal of time looking up words and using context clues to determine what new words mean. I'm now thinking that there may be a better way to approach this topic. Wow! It looks like I need to teach with a sense of urgency!
Great reflection! And, it's always good to look back and evaluate if what we are doing is meaningful best practice. (This really applies to every area of life. :))
ReplyDeleteOne other thing . . . even in the regular classroom, it is our job to teach to the students need. We have standards, yes. But, we shouldn't be teaching to the standards . . . checking off lists to make sure we covered everything. We should be identifying through formal and informal assessment what the needs of the individual student are and teaching to the need.
I agree Kelli...I think many teachers today have become so overwhelmed that they have forgotten that it is our job to teach to the student's need. It seems the standards have taken over rather than guide our instruction. I'm glad we have you to help us "get back on track"!
ReplyDeleteI love how Routman reframes "urgency" in this chapter. You have a passion for teaching your students with urgency, and I love that you are thinking of even more effective ways to develop vocabulary in context with your students!
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