This past Monday, I went in the wrong direction and got to do walk-throughs on my own. I am happy to report that HHS is still rocking and rolling along. Here is what I saw:
- Mrs. Gayla Pierce administering one-to-one reading instruction and readying for the AAA.
- Mrs. Tara Bailey differentiating reading instruction with small groups. Special emphasis was given to silent sounds at the beginning of words such as in the words gnaw, kneel, knife, and wrinkle. "Pen Pals" was the reading assignment for this particular group. Finger tracking, read them like you know them and teacher echoing were strategies used.
- Mrs. Kim Best's class working with money. "On Monday, the girls counted 14 pennies in their jar. Can each girl get 1/2 of the pennies?" Sure they can.
- Mrs. Gwen Jones's math class working with a/b, a/b/b, and a/a/b patterns.
- Ms. Virginia Holladay differentiating reading instruction with small groups. Outside of the small group, this most functional environment consisted of two students at a listening center, one working with a high school assistant, paraprofessional Helen Gamble working with a student, another student on the computer and one reading to himself. The teacher bell then sounds and students rotate and other activities begin.
- Mrs. Connie Jacobs working with counters and addition via the hovercam and dice. Per the "Ten Turns" activity, students roll the dice and add each roll to the previous. Counters are placed in rows of five. Discussion then occurs in regards to placing counters in rows of ten and how students can best organize counters.
- Mrs. Bridget Worthington working in reading groups discussing words such as dwell, discover, resident and welcome. Students discussed cause and effect using the reading the book entitled "Special Buildings." (I thought the Chrysler Building was the Empire State Building...guess I need to get out a little more.)
- Mrs. Wanda Rogers was too working in small reading groups. Again, there was much structure and organization as students were working at their desk, reading centers, and in smaller groups. There was much emphasis given to "Read it over and over until you read it fluently." I also observed good use of writing journals.
- Mrs. Amanda Hughes was discussing following the rules with patterns and shapes. "Does the pattern break the rule? Does the whole side touch or do just the corners touch?"
- Mrs. Kasey White's reading students were working in groups via "Child's Life in Korea."
- Ms. Leann Perdue's K4 students were watching sloth video and crayoning large murals.
- Mrs. Melissa Phillips working students were discussing part of a whole---fractions. Tremendous mention was given to homework and parental involvement. Her "Hello Letter" was most impressive.
- Mrs. Sabrina May's students were finishing an assignment from last Friday. Students were organized into small groups and spread throughout the room. Cups, magnifying glass, color coded cubes were disseminated. Students performed various tests on an unknown substance.
- Mrs. Sandra Kilpatrick's class was preparing for the ARMT+. Students were allocated 15 minutes to complete 4 problems and one open ended question. Emphasis was given to time allocated and working at an appropriate pace.
- Mrs. Becky Richardson's class built a cheeseburger and listed descriptive words while listening to Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise." (Jimmy's sister LuLu makes a mean cheeseburger...hope to get one real soon!)
 |
| Zachary Shepherd and Charlie McVay in Mrs. Connie Jacob's Room |
