Chapter 1 RTI

I currently have two students being served outside of my classroom.  I have another with interventions in place, but he is not served outside of my classroom.  The interventions I have used range from very simple things such as making sure the child is always at the front of the room to things that require more time such as oral testing and reteaching, and computer programs set up specifically for that child and his or special needs. Then there are the interventions that can be tough to keep up with such as a chart on the desk that I have to put stickers on each time I notice the student on task.  The oral testing and reteaching are easy to remember and do.  I generally have two or three with this intervention and it becomes automatic to pull them when we are testing.  They also know they have this accomodation and can remind me if I were to forget.  Pulling students into a small group is also pretty easy to maintain and most of the time students love this one on one time.  I've also found this can be done by going to the child's desk individually if time is runnning short for pulling the group.  For children with behavioral issues proximity to the child goes a long way.  Many of these students are completely different when you have them one on one, so being nearby while teaching can greatly reduce disruptions from them.  I feel we do a good job of regularly assessing the progress of these students and communicating that to the parents and student.

One place that I know I need work is in my time management of my lessons.  It's amazing how fast time goes when you are teaching a lesson.  Too often I do feel pushed for time and my small group time gets pushed aside.  I also feel that I need a few more strategies in my arsenal to help students with learning difficulties.  With students with learning difficulties spending more time in the regular classroom, the regular classroom teacher needs more special ed strategies to reach theses students.  It's so important that these students experience success and I know that it is my job to see that this happens.

One thing I would like to do is to create a notebook of strategies for students with learning difficulties in reading and math areas.  This would be a great resource for helping these children in my classroom.  I have also thought about setting a timer so that I will stop my regular lesson in time to make sure I can meet with my small group each day.