Teaching Lower Level Comprehension Students

            Today my Teaching Partner (TP) and I had the opportunity to teach a class that was a bit different from the four classes we’ve been observing and teaching. This class was a lot smaller in size than what we were used too, with only 15 students. What makes this class different from the other classes that we have been observing/teaching is that this class is lower level comprehension and has more behavioral issues. This is the type of class that I have been dying to observe/teach!         (As you folks already know, I am a Secondary Education major with a concentration in English but I am also getting certified to teach Special Education: Mild to Moderate.)

I have experience being in classrooms that are considered lower level comprehension, that are filled with kids who have IEPs or behavioral issues (and I am not saying that these are the students who are always in lower level comprehension classes, I am merely saying that these are the classrooms that I have observed/taught) and it is so different from teaching/observing a honors or college prep class. These are the students who challenge me, test me, and remind me of why I want to be a teacher. I get so much out of these classes and I always leave with more knowledge than I entered the classroom with. The class that my TP and I taught today was not any different.

            These students did not approve of the disruption of their daily routine that was my TP and I, but still we carried on. We were warned that the students in this class were going to be very talkative and this proved to be true. I used my “teacher voice” and started reviewing the homework with class while our CT walked up and down the aisles checking it. Then we started filling out a worksheet filled with 9 questions meant to help the students review for their test on The Crucible. I noticed that there seemed to be the same five students raising their hands to volunteer answers, so my TP and I encouraged the other students to talk by saying “Let’s hear from somebody who hasn’t given an answer yet” and this worked! When we started reading Act 4, the students became a little antsy. From my background in Special Education, I know that this can sometimes be curbed simply by standing next to or near the desk of a student who is particularly antsy or off task. You don’t have to embarrass the student in front of their peers, you simply just stand near them. My TP stood between two aisles on one side of the room while I placed my copy of The Crucible on the desk next to a student who was off task. This helped us regain control of our classroom and kept everything pretty calm.

            These students tripped over words that the other classes had not and they read aloud at a much slower pace. We often stopped the readings in appropriate spots to check for comprehension, which is not something that we did with the other classes. I loved the opportunity to teach The Crucible through the eyes of reluctant learners. I enjoyed observing the literacy skills that they employed to sound out words or gain meaning from the text.  These students aren't bad students, they just require us to use different techniques. They certainly kept us on our toes, but we did not falter. I hope to have an opportunity to work with these students again.