Standard 2

Describe artifact that was used as the example for the standard

I chose to show how I created the Daily 5 groups I have made for the students in the classroom. Daily 5 is another name for a time where the teacher can meet with small groups of students and do guided reading while other students are doing reading stations. I teach three groups and my mentor gets three groups. The left side groups are our lower level groups and the right side are our higher levels. We flip groups each week.

The lower groups in stations 1-4 are broken down into students ability to decode unknown words and their need to work on fluency. These students could read upper leveled texts, however, they wouldn’t be able to comprehend what they are reading. Students in stations 1-2 mainly need to work on their fluency. Students in stations 3-4 are all sight word readers and need help with decoding. Group 5 is our ELL group who need to work on all the skills including decoding, fluency, accuracy, etc. Their ELL aid is in at this time and also provides the extra support needed during reading groups. The upper groups were mainly broken into behavior groups while also created based on skills. Students in stations 1-2 need help in answering comprehension questions within the text. Students in stations 3-4 are all speed readers and like to finish everything as quick as they possibly can which affects their quality of work. Students in station 5 just need an extension on their thinking.

Give a rationale on why this activity is appropriate

The Daily 5 leveled groups is appropriate for InTASC standard two because it demonstrates my knowledge of the students and their learning differences. Groups are always subject to change, but generally stay almost the same. I have been with these students since October and have gotten to work with each of them individually and in groups during reading. Throughout this time I have been taking anecdotal notes on things I had noticed about their abilities. Through all the time and notes, I decided with my mentor that these groups were best for each students needs and they ensure that each learner is meeting higher standards.