Jaime Steading--Classroom Spotlight

This course, and the articles and books that I have read throughout it, have shown me the importance of reading and writing in all content areas.  Writing, in general, has been a struggle for me to teach to my students because the spoken language is so difficult for them.  This impacts their ability to write as well.  I have learned that writing across the curriculum does not mean that students have to write lengthy paragraphs or essays every time they pick up a pencil.  I have learned the importance of quick writes, notetaking, "I Wonder" statements, and graphic organizers.  These are all types of writing and allow the student the opportunity to freely express themselves without the burden of a particular topic or the constraints of a paragraph. I have tried, this year, to be more intentional in incorporating the above strategies in my classroom, where my students are constantly writing across the curriculum without even realizing they are doing the work.  I have attempted research in the past with my students and it has not been very successful.  I have been looking for ways to incorporate more inquiry in my classroom, as well as, more independence in research.

In my special education classroom, I teach four grade levels.  This can make teaching science and social studies standards very complicated.  This year, I am planning with second grade.  This has given me the opportunity to collaborate with them and gain some very useful tools along the way that I have been able to adapt to meet the needs of my students and our classroom.  Our second grade team has laid a great foundation of reading and writing across the content areas and using research stations in their classrooms, so planning with them has been very beneficial to me as a teacher.  The credit for this classroom spotlight goes to them (Amanda Fortenberry, Abby Eidson, Mary Bobo, Kayla Schauss, Lindsey Harris, and Taylor Berry).  

My current unit of study in science is Animals.  My students love animals and are very excited about this unit.  They already know a lot about particular animals, so I am challenging them to choose animals for their research that they do not already know about.  The students will be learning about the different classifications of animals (insects, mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians) and their adaptations, habitats, and life cycles.  This unit is also the unit I created my text set for, so I am easily able to incorporate reading into this unit.  I am able to incorporate the writing and research into the unit with the help of second grade.  We began this unit with an "I Wonder" wall about animals.  We then discussed the different classification groups (a broad overview) and used our anchor text to introduce these.  Then, students chose an animal that they would like to know more about.  Throughout this unit, students will be conducting research about each classification group through research stations.  They are using websites, nonfiction books, and videos in their research.  They are working in small groups with a teacher to assist them because I have learned the importance of scaffolding these research stations with my students.  Here is an example of the research sheet students are having to complete on mammals:

  

                           


Here are some examples of student work and the sites they had to visit to conduct their research:

http://school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/353414#

"Marvelous Mammals" by Lydia Carlin

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/profile_mammals.htm

http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/027257AE-1BD2-469E-8EFB-F89F77D058F3

                       
 Students will have a research sheet for each classifcation of animal that we are studying.  What I like most about these sheets is that they are already covering many of the accommodations that my students need.  For example, so students are not overwhelmed or overstimulated, the sheets can easily be folded in half or cut in half so students only have to view one section at a time.  The website for the first section has a megaphone to click on, so the material can be read aloud to the students if they are unable to read the text.  I have paired higher readers with lower readers, so that as they gain independence, they are able to help each other in their groups without the teacher's assistance.

Throughout our study of the different classification groups, students are going to be given one day of the week to work on the research for their chosen animal during our science block.  They will also have the opportunity to work on their research during independent reading time or during their free time if they finish an assignment early. The students will be given the opportunity to check out books on their animal from the library.  They also have Big Universe, videos, and other online texts to choose from on my itsLearning page.  The research sheets they will be completing on their animal will be similar to the research sheets we are using in our research stations.  That way, they are familiar with the format.  For their presentation, students will be given the choice to write a paper, write a poem, make a poster, create a Power Point presentation, or use Voki to teach the class about their animal.

The students are already enjoying this unit.  I know that by being provided with the support they need, they are going to come up with some amazing ways to share all that they have learned and have fun in the process!