Reciprocal Teaching

Reciprocal teaching is a DI method where the students lead a small group to read, summarize, clarify and question a text with a group of their peers. This is often a shared reading passage with students each contributing a summary or question about the text.

I believe that this is a good strategy for older students that have built trust with each other. It also takes a great deal of direct teaching and guidance before it can be a useful strategy. Struggling students are often reluctant to participate in these activities because they are afraid of being singled out.

I love using literature when teaching in all subjects. It is a great way to engage all students, provide a different view and provide a variety of both non fiction and fiction readings to a lesson.

When selecting literature it is important to consider a number of factors (Cunningham, 2016):

• reading level

• interest level

• utility (connection to the work)

• purpose

• access to materials

With the new electronic age, many electronic materials can be used to enhance student’s learning about diversity. Students have more access to a variety of materials, assistive programs (such as read and write), and a greater access to resources that help both students with exceptionalities and their peers. Often these electronic resources are available with the click of a button making them accessible when needed.

The variety of literature available now is extremely vast. When helping students select literature it is important to teach them to look for books that will benefit them. This requires direct teaching on how to select book that best suits their purpose (for information, for interest, to solve a problem). Learning how to select a text is an important skill for all students to have.

When educators select literature for their students, it is usually for a specific purpose or lesson. It is not always the choice the student would make. It is important as a teacher to consult with students on their choices and find the balance between important literature selection factors.

Homework or no homework?

In my elementary class, I do not assign homework to students. I feel that students work enough during the day and that students should focus on play skills after school. I think that if students are struggling in an area, I would encourage the families to engage in less formal homework and focus on developing skills through play (ie card games, strategy games, reading books together of interest).

Study Skills

For students who struggle, they should review information frequently, within 24 hours to retain more information (Hoover, 2009) . Some strategies for memorization are:

• Sort information
  Put information into categories.

• Frequent review
  Review new information daily

• Use humor or exaggeration
  Make it interesting to remember it easier

• Explore the senses
  Use your senses when learning

• Color code
  Sort information using colours

• Make visual aids
  Draw pictures or other graphics to aid memory.

• Rehearse aloud
  Verbal rehearsal is an effective tool.

• Make it physical
  Use physical activity to enhance memory for many people. Typing or rewriting notes can be effective

• Turn memory practice into a game
  Make cards to match words and definitions, math facts to answers, etc. and play a memory game