Field Observation Evidence Report #3

TC NAME: Ashley Guile
RICA DOMAIN: 1: Planning, Organizing, and Managing Reading Instruction
RICA COMPETENCY: 3A: Flexible Grouping, Individualized Instruction, and Whole-Class Instruction
GRADE LEVEL: 1st Grade

INSTRUCTION:
I observed Mrs. Burrows arranging reading rotation groups and selecting stations that the students would rotate through for the week.  She was planning which students should be paired together, and organizing the students into reading groups based on their reading level and reading abilities.  She said that she groups the students in homogeneous groups so that they can work on similar activities and reading comprehension books.  She mentioned that the groups are flexible and that if she notices students not working well together, or not making good choices while they are supposed to be reading or working on seat work during the reading rotations, that she will regroup them.  She uses the reading groups as a differentiation strategy to allow students to work on worksheets and read books that are appropriate for their reading level and ability.  She keeps the books constant to the same topic, but differentiates on the specific books so that they are able to be read by all students.  By grouping the students for reading rotation learning centers, she allows herself time to work with students in small groups, as well as individually, so that she can assess student learning and address any issues or learning confusions they are experiencing.  The students have different stations such as seat work, English in a Flash (on the computer), guided reading center (books on tape), the leap frog center, and the phonics center.  Students also work with her in small groups to read a story and create lecture notes and review the theme of the book.  Students rotate through all of the centers before the end of the language arts unit, and are able to pick from multiple books that are leveled with their reading ability.  It allows the students to focus on the material they are comfortable with and gradually move to the next level of difficulty.

INSTRUCTIONAL SETTING:
Students are paired in 2's and 3's and rotate within the classroom according to their reading group and station.  Mrs. Burrows posts the reading rotation schedule for the groups and reviews it before the students start to rotate.  The students use computers to work on their English skills using English in a Flash, read on Leap Frog learning center books, can follow along to a short story on tape, can read independently or in small groups at their desks, and can work on forming words in the phonics center.  She has a schedule of where the students rotate to, and what they need to complete while in the different learning centers.  When I am in the classroom, I walk around to the students reading independently and to those on the computers, and assist them with any questions or issues that arise.  Students know who their reading rotation partners are, and know that if they stop working or start playing instead of reading, that their reading partner will change.  By using this rotation strategy, students are able to select books that interest them and read more than one in the rotation time frame.