Students in Mrs. Czap's kindergarten room enjoy the library center
Ms. Queen, Title 1 teacher, assists with small
group instruction in Mrs. Freed's first grade room
Submitted by Jackie Shimer, Reading Mentor Teacher
Reading First is changing classroom structure at Pleasant Hill School. Whole group instruction, learning workstations, and new programs make up the framework of the 120 minute reading block.
Learning workstations consist of students dividing into small groups throughout the classroom to engage in different activities to support their area of need(s) and to practice previously taught skills. Also, during this time, you might find students in library centers enjoying a good book. Three hundred new library books are in classrooms-- with more to come.
In addition, Isabel Beck and Margaret McKeown's vocabulary program is helping students express themselves in new ways. Students are immersed in a rich vocabulary study with interesting activities that permit them to expand their knowledge of words.
Vocabulary, phonics, phonemic awareness, authentic reading, fluency, small group instruction and progress monitoring are terms that have deeper meaning for teachers at PHS. The Reading First grant is providing teachers with many research based strategies, new materials, and activities to increase students' reading performance at Pleasant Hill School.
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