Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think the larger issue is these long Math and Reading blocks. 45-50 mins should the the longest block. Kids can only focus for so long.
I have trouble with the length of time the students are self-directed. Our math block is scheduled for an hour. Out of that hour, figure ~30 minutes of center time after number sense and a focus lesson. I'm supposed to be working with small groups during that time. That is followed by another 20 minutes of intervention, during which I am still working with small groups. That's 50 minutes straight of small group time while others are working independently. For me it is almost impossible to plan, implement and monitor all of it. There just isn't enough time to plan and prepare for all of it. Behavior issues and disruptions are tough to manage during this time. This is followed by 40 minutes for writing. We have an hour for reading in the afternoon.
The alternative is to group students by ability. School districts have moved away from that because of equity reasons.
Students are still grouped by current ability in a given topic (e.g., by reading level), it's just flexible grouping rather than inflexible tracking which tended to solidify inequities.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I think the larger issue is these long Math and Reading blocks. 45-50 mins should the the longest block. Kids can only focus for so long.
I have trouble with the length of time the students are self-directed. Our math block is scheduled for an hour. Out of that hour, figure ~30 minutes of center time after number sense and a focus lesson. I'm supposed to be working with small groups during that time. That is followed by another 20 minutes of intervention, during which I am still working with small groups. That's 50 minutes straight of small group time while others are working independently. For me it is almost impossible to plan, implement and monitor all of it. There just isn't enough time to plan and prepare for all of it. Behavior issues and disruptions are tough to manage during this time. This is followed by 40 minutes for writing. We have an hour for reading in the afternoon.
The alternative is to group students by ability. School districts have moved away from that because of equity reasons.