Thursday, January 16, 2014

A Day Our Way: The Life of a Reading Specialist

Eek!! It's almost been a full week without another post. Sorry about all the gaps between posts. I feel like we've done so many things that I need to share about, but I've got to get myself back into a routine!

Today would technically be the day when I would have my Teacher Fitness linky, but I've decided to put that on the back-burner, at least for now. I have seen other more successful link-ups for it that I would encourage you to join (if I remembered exactly who had them and when). There are a few reasons - I haven't actually worked out in months and need to get myself back on track, participation has been low, my time management is all out of whack right now - and I am sorry to those of you who were participating. I really appreciate all of your support!

But on a completely different topic, I decided to join in on a scheduling linky to share what my typical day at school looks like. Click on the button to join in!


Since I'm now the Title I Reading Specialist for school, I am all over the building and pulling around 30 kids throughout the week. I also push in to seven different classrooms and have to keep up with curriculum for three grade levels. It can get a little hectic keeping up with everything!


I try to plan ahead (days in advance, although sometimes it's the morning of) with the teachers on what exactly we will be working on when I come in; sometimes it's a whole group lesson, but I often pull small groups in their room to work on the skill or book they are focusing on in class. When they come in to my room for pull-out, we use a variety of resources. Usually I make Friday "Game Day", and we pull out my reading comprehension games to practice skills that they have been focusing on in class. The rest of the week, we use books and short articles/passages to work on skills. Sometimes I will use centers and pull students individually for reading conferences. The nice thing is that I can change it up and keep them guessing a little as to what we'll be doing.

Most of the kids enjoy coming to me and are even sad when I "release" them from services. I have a few that still come and ask if I will pull them again. I guess that's proof that even on the days where I feel discouraged, I must be doing something right!


6 comments:

  1. I wish we had someone like you at our school. It would be so nice to have someone to work with to get my low readers back on track. It's tough to do interventions and keep the rest of the students working.
    Kelly
    I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher

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  2. Push-in always keeps things interesting! It definitely sounds like you are doing something right. I am not surprised your students do not want to leave you!

    Amy
    Eclectic Educating

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  3. WOW! Can you work at my school? :) I would love to have you pushing in and pulling my kiddos out! I'm not surprised that your kiddos don't want to leave. Thanks for linking up!

    Amelia
    wherethewildthingslearn

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  4. That sounds like a fun schedule where you get to go into a regular classroom part of the time and do small groups part of the time. I hope you're enjoying it!

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  5. How much work do you take home at the end of the day?

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  6. Melissa, thank you for sharing your linky about what a day in the life of a reading specialist looks like. I plan to work as a literacy specialist after I graduate, so your schedule looks like a lot of fun to me! I am learning about leadership in the literacy classroom right now. Does your school integrate any leadership instruction into the curriculum? Do you feel that your students become student leaders as they spend more and more time with supplemental reading instruction? Have you seen them gain more confidence in areas outside of reading?

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