The needs of my readers are so diverse. How can I manage it all?
Sandy’s first grade classroom is comprised of students who read everything from Elephant and Piggie books to Clementine and beyond. Within Sandy’s classroom of 26 readers, she has nine students who are learning English, a student with Asperger Syndrome, several students on IEPs, and at least three students who are working through the social/emotional effects of trauma. Her current assessment shows 10 different independent reading levels ranging from what her school considers kindergarten to third grade and beyond. She often worries she won’t be able to meet the needs of these diverse learners.
Does Sandy’s classroom sound familiar? Every classroom is comprised of children with diverse strengths, needs, interests, backgrounds, and experiences, and therefore Sandy’s worries are common to most teachers.
We don’t pretend to have a quick or slick answer to doing this important work, but in today’s post we share eight starting points for creating conditions to support a very diverse class of readers. Perhaps a couple or all eight might resonate with you. Continue reading “Diverse readers? Eight Ideas to Consider”