My students need LakeShore Learning kits and Time For Kids magazines for differentiated, standards based, high interest material for their daily center rotation and to be actively engaged and excited about their learning.
Mrs. G's classroom is filled with a fabulous group of students. I teach two rotations of Language Arts/Social Studies each day, with each class having 20-23 students.
My classes are inclusion, meaning my classroom is a mix of general education students, students with learning disabilities, English as a second language students, and students with ADD and ADHD.
Our school is a Title I elementary school located in Jacksonville, Florida, serving an ethnically diverse group of students.
Since we are a Title I school, that means at least 75% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced price lunch and because of this, a large majority of my students do not have access to books at home and have not developed a love of reading.
Students sometimes view center time as a time to have off topic conversations with their classmates because the teacher is occupied with a teacher led guided reading group. By offering my students colorful, high interest, standards based centers at their individual reading level, they become actively engaged and the centers in turn encourage the students to have accountable talk with each other.
My Project
Each day, my fifth grade students participate in differentiated center learning in addition to whole group novel studies and informational and expository writing. Students work at their learning level on curriculum standards that have been taught in whole group. Throughout the week, students rotate through multiple centers including teacher led, writing, independent reading, word work, standard based skills, and computer based programs.
This time in centers allows the teacher to tailor the small group center instruction to fit the needs of each student while reinforcing the standards taught during whole group instruction.
The Lakeshore Learning Kits, such as 5 minute vocabulary practice cards, Grammar and Writing Folder Games, and Figurative Language Comprehension kits allow the students to practice the Language Arts standards that they will be assessded on with the state's FSA in the Spring. Using differentiated, high interest material in centers allows for maximum student growth and individual success.
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