Teaching at Many Grade Levels

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Teaching at Many Grade Levels

  • April 21, 2021
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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One thing that is especially unique to LSEM teachers is that they can teach across a range of grade levels. This allows them to be useful to a school’s individual student needs. One teacher can support a larger number of children who have learning needs. Michelle Parreno at Westchester Lutheran School in Los Angeles, CA shares an update on a couple of her students.

My 1st-grader met her short-time objective. We were working towards reading each word with fluency. I type each word in Google Slides (1 word per slide) and present it to her, so that it won’t be overwhelming for her visually. I also have her write the words to practice spelling.

My 4th-grader met his short-term objective as well. His goal was to improve his math identification and problem solving. We reviewed “Math Signal Words” every session, which has helped a lot. I start with one-step word problems first for warm-up, so he doesn’t get frustrated. I believe it is very important for a child to feel confident and victorious so as for him to be motivated to solve challenging problems next. I then used a digital graphic organizer for him to be guided on what steps to take in solving the problems.

For my 6th & 7th graders were assigned to read a class novel every quarter in their English class. For the past 2 quarters, I read to them orally and when it was time for them to take the tests (for a few chapters assigned, and then a final whole book exam), they were able to express themselves well in written form.  I was constantly checking their comprehension when reading to them orally, and being “animated” in reading helped too.

There are also times that students just want to tell a story or express themselves.  I give them time in between sessions to just share something about themselves or about anything.  I set the timer for 2 minutes to share. They love it and I want to believe they look forward to our sessions because of that.