How to Find & Fix Classroom Academic Problems

On Friday, 7 November 2014, Jim Wright presented the workshop How to Find and Fix Classroom Academic Problems at the Southern Westchester BOCES campus in Harrison, NY. Here are resources from that training:

1. Teacher as Intervention 'First Responder': Introduction

2. Documenting Classroom Interventions/General-Education Accommodations to Support Struggling Learners

3. The Self-Managing Student

ONLINE APP: Academic Survival Skills Checklist Maker [12]
HANDOUT: Academic Survival Skills Checklists: 5 Ways to Help Students to Become Effective, Self-Managing Learners [13]

Classroom Academic Problem Identification Checklist

Reading: Sight-Word Vocabulary

Sight-Word Vocabulary. The student has rapid recognition of sight-words.

Reading Racetracks. [14]The student engages in repeated reading of a wordlist packaged in a 'racetrack' format. Reading Racetrack Interactive Form [15]
Vocabulary: Classwide Tutoring. [16] Students are paired off to tutor each other in sight-word vocabulary.

Reading Fluency

Fluency. The student reads with adequate fluency to comprehend the text.

Assisted Cloze. [17] The tutor reads aloud while the student follows along silently in the practice passage. Then the student reads aloud.
Choral Reading. [18]The tutor (lead reader) reads aloud while the reading group or class all read aloud as well.
Duet Reading. [19]The tutor and student alternate in reading aloud, with the tutor deciding how much text the student reads during their turn.
Echo Reading. [20]Student and tutor alternate in reading short sections of the practice passage.
Listening Passage Preview. [21]The student listens to the passage read aloud, then reads the passage aloud with tutor feedback.
Paired Reading. [22] The tutor and student read aloud together from a passage, until the student isgnals that they would like to read alone.
Repeated Reading. [23]The student reads a passage several times in succession with tutor feedback about accuracy and fluency.
Repeated Reading: Group. [24]This version of repeated reading is delivered to a group of 3 students.

Reading Comprehension

Self-Monitoring:The student monitors understanding of the text while reading.

Click or Clunk. [25]The student uses self-signals to monitor understanding at the sentence, paragraph, and page level--and applies 'fix-up' skills.
Reading Reflection Pauses [26]. The student monitors understanding periodically and applies fix-up skills.

Main Idea:The student locates the main idea of a paragraph or passage in informational text.

Main Idea Maps. [27]The student uses a graphic organizer to record main idea and supporting details of a passage.
Question Generation. [28]The student locates or creates main-idea sentences for all paragraphis in a passage and uses them to create study cards.
Read-Ask-Paraphrase. [29] The student locates main idea and supporting details for each paragraph and summarizes them on a graphic organizer. RAP Interactive Form [30]
Partner Retell. [31]The student reads a passage, then pairs with another student to engage in a tutoring exchange to identify main idea.

Linking Ideas:The student makes connections between ideas in the text.

Linking Pronouns to Referents. [32]When reading advanced texts, the student circles pronouns, writes their referents above them, and then rereads the text, inserting the referent for each pronoun.
Ask-Read-Tell. [33]The student creates a reading plan and sets reading goals, monitors understanding while reading, and reflects on the reading once finished. ART Interactive Form. [34]
Phrase-Cued Text Lessons. [35]The student reads aloud from annotated text and is coached to observe all pauses/phrase breaks, which correspond to groupings of ideas within the text. ONLINE APP: Phrase-Cued Text Generator [36]

Spelling

Spelling Acquisition. The student is able to spell a grade-appropriate range of words correctly.

Cover-Copy-Compare. [37]The student studies spelling-word (or sight-word) models, covers them, copies them from memory, and compares copied words to the originals. CCC Interactive Form [38]
Self-Correction with Verbal Cues. [39] The student takes a brief spelling pre-test, follows a self-guided process to check and correct spelling errors using verbal cues, and then takes a spelling post-test

Writing

Sentence Complexity. The student writes sentences of appropriate variety and complexity for the subject and/or grade level.

Elements of Effective Writing Instruction. [40] The student receives writing instruction that contains some or all of these 9 'best writing practices'.
Sentence Combining. [41] The student is given examples of 2 clauses to be combined into a single sentence.

Self-Management

Self-Management in Academic Skills. The student uses appropriate skills and strategies to manage their own learning.

Work Planning. [42]The student creates a plan for carrying out complex academic tasks, evaluates actual performance, and makes appropriate adjustments as needed.
Academic Survival Skills. [43] The student possesses strong work habits in global skills such as time management, study skills, and organization.