Earlier, when Brittney was at Working On Writing (described in field notes 2-20)I was very disappointed with the work I saw. She spent the majority of her time talking to the other student that was also at Working on Writing and very little time actually writing. While she did end up with a final product, I wish she would have followed the expectations we decided on at the beginning of the semester.
Brittney is the only ESL student in my classroom. While she does not receive any special ESL services, I still make sure to clarify my directions and check that she understands everything I say and what she is supposed to do. Brittney's father is very involved in her education, and wants the absolute best for her. While he speaks pretty good English, her mother speaks very little. At home, Brittney mainly speaks in Spanish- although her mother is taking English classes. Brittney's dad always wants to be informed about her behavior and how she is doing academically. I really value this partnership and know that it will help Brittney succeed in school.
She is reading just at grade level, although she sometimes struggles with understanding vocabulary. On this day, she was Reading with a Buddy. Her buddy is another student in my classroom who is reading above grade level. The two girls decided to sit together at a table in the middle of the classroom (usually the kids don't sit at tables, they choose a comfy place on the floor). The first thing I noticed was the girls spread out all of their books from both book bins (I have noticed Brittney doing this before). Then I saw them choose the book The Lorax to read together. The girls were using the "I Read, You Read" procedure they learned at the beginning of the semester, where one student reads one page and then the other reads the next page. Both girls were paying attention and following along. I could hear them reading the words since they were near my reading group table. The girls did not finish the book, before they stopped and selected a different one. They chose Wacky Wednesday, another Dr. Seuss book to read. This time they used the "Choral Read" method we learned where both students read the words at the same time. They were reading fluently and I could hear the rhythm that naturally comes from reading some of Dr. Seuss's rhyming books.
I was very pleased with Brittney's work today at read to buddy. She was on task the entire time and followed the Daily Five expectations. The two girls got started right away and were reading together the entire time. They even showed that they could use both of the buddy reading strategies we learned at the beginning of the year.
I wonder if Brittney's behavior and work ethic was different this time because she enjoys reading much more than writing, or if it was just a fluke that she was off task before, and on task this time I was watching.
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