My first period class today was stacked. During the mini-lesson, Principal N. asked if it was okay that C.M. and two teachers came in to help coach my Unison Reading groups. I was happy about the prospect of getting extra coaching. Students in groups A & B, on the other hand, may not have been so excited.
Instead of just me in their faces during Unison Reading, they had the originator of the theory herself there with them. Rather than speaking with the students directly, however, the professor communicated with a teacher coach who then communicated with me who then communicated with the students. It was an interesting process of "active coaching."
Personally, I wouldn't have been stopping the students as much as the coaches do, nor for as long.
But the coaching is teaching me a lot about how to better check for understanding and the social processes therein. As it turns out, the processes are more critical to the Unison format than the reading itself.
Meanwhile, consternation exists among teachers regarding Writing CBM's. These assessments are not fun to grade, to say the least, and debates are in motion relating to how important these assessments are. I was just told the next round are to be graded by next Monday, which seems like a very tall order indeed.
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Something new I learned today:
Nearly 80% of people in upstate New York live within 25 miles of the Erie Canal.
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