reading observation-beginning of unit.

At the beginning of every unit, I start off by giving the reading assessments for that unit. After giving the assessments I can see where their weak areas are, and create lessons based off this information. In the picture you see 3 green sheets of paper. These are the student passages. On the clipboard is my data sheet where I make my observations. The binder is an individual student assessment notebook where I keep their data. And of course a calculator to figure the scores.

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where to start?

It is all so overwhelming in the beginning.  There is so much information on the site and so many different ways to get started.

1st thing I did was enter my students information into the system and created student profiles.  The system configures all the data and then spits out a level that they should be instructed on (level 1, 2, 3).  These levels coorespond with the 3 different levels of lesson planning.  AWESOME!!!

After all my student data was in, I went straight to that month's lesson plans.  I am fortunate to have a principal that allows us to print off each unit of study.  You can access some of the lessons if you have a smartboard, but I prefer to print everything off.  My students are tested through paper pencil method, so I might as well teach that way as well. 

Here is a picture of 1 unit printed off.

Lots of paper huh! I have found that placing these lessons into a binder doesn't work for me.  Once you pick apart each lesson and make the lessons for your students, it just won't fit!  So, I keep all of my prepared lessons in a crate, like this one:

I keep my lessons in tabbed generic folders...lesson 1, lesson 2, lesson 3 etc...  This way, I can do this month after month.

Hopefully this at least gives you an idea of 1 way to organize your lessons!

Happy teaching!

J.D.



Who am I?

I am just a teacher in a large district who has been given the opportunity to teach with a new curriculum bought by the county. 

The curriculum that is being provided to us is called UNIQUE LEARNING SYSTEMS. 

http://unique.n2y.com/

From their website:

Unique Learning System is the ONLY online, dynamic, standards-based curriculum specifically designed for special learners. Subscribers download monthly instructional thematic units of study. Each unit contains 29 lesson plans and downloadable materials that teachers can readily implement into classroom learning activities. All materials are created using SymbolStix graphics. The unit lesson plans define three levels of differentiated tasks to accommodate the diversity of learners with significant disabilities.

From the moment I opened up my account, I have fallen in love with this curriculum.  I guess, I could be called a UNIQUE-aholic! 

Here is a sample of their program for the intermediate level (gr. 3-5)

http://unique.n2y.com/samples/IntermediateSample.pdf

Just for the record, I DO NOT get paid for this blog, or is this blog sponsered by the company.  I'm just a teacher loving what I do and sharing ideas along the way. 

I will NOT be giving out their lessons or lesson plans, but will reference what we are studying and show you how I incorporate this into my everyday teaching. 

So....welcome to my journey!

J.D. Teaching