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A Well Oiled Machine

Six weeks has passed since the beginning of school. In those six weeks one of my "Friday Reflections" was about establishing a classroom within the first six weeks. Well, here we are. So how has it turned out?

I would say quite well. 

They are still pushing in their chairs when we leave...that's encouraging! And they are slowly but surely become a "well oiled machine".

One area that proves to be challenging for any class I've had is our rotating stations for Reading & Math. Three times a week, faithfully, we have Math Stations in the morning and Reading Stations in the afternoon. The kids are split into four groups and there are four activities. One activity is always with the teacher, the next activity usually involves a practice book of some sort (Math Journal or Daily Practice Book), a third station will be a game, grading, or extension activity, and the fourth station is always the computer station.

The groups of students spend about 12-15 minutes per station and then they rotate. After the hour or so, everyone has been through each station. It's the rotating that gets 'em every time & understandably so. They are focused on their work during the station time and when the timer sounds that it is time to rotate the room becomes filled with the flurry of conversation and movement.

It used to take them 2-3 minutes to travel the 12 feet from one station to another, settle down, and get to work. We worked on it. Every day we had stations we worked on it. We practiced, we timed ourselves, we worked on it.

This week, the sixth week of school they moved through the stations with relative ease and finesse. It wasn't perfect, but it was much better. They were clocking in at 1 minute, 15 seconds. A marked improvement. 

We took our Reading Street Selection Test and Spelling Test this morning. For the last 5 weeks of doing the same routine. They take the Selection Test, entering their answers on paper and then on the computer. Then they move on to their Spelling Test on the computer. After the Spelling Test is complete they print it down to the LRC and go retrieve it, turning it in to me upon their return. 



For the first 4 weeks of this routine many kids didn't finish in the given time. During this sixth week all of my students who were present finished the assessments on time. It truly was like witnessing a well-oiled machine.

So here we are...week six and the classroom is humming along. What a great environment to teach and learn in day after day.




Mr. Casten
Sept. 27, 2013

Copyrighted material of Michael C. Casten

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