Elementary Literacy Context for Learning Information

About the School Where You Are Teaching

1. In what type of school do you teach?
1. Elementary school
2. Urban
2. List any special features of your school or classroom setting that will affect
your teaching in this learning segment.
1. I teach in a general education kindergarten classroom. There are 23 students
with one teacher, one paraprofessional, and me. Two of the students in the
classroom are bilingual. One student in the class receives gifted services, and
the gifted teacher co-teaches with the general education teacher two times per
week for 45 minutes.
3. Describe any district, school or cooperating teacher requirements or
expectations that might affect your planning or delivery of instruction, such as
required curricula, pacing plan, use of specific instructional strategies, or
standardized tests.
1. There are curriculum guides for each subject area at Gaines Elementary.
Teachers are encouraged to follow all curriculum guides. However, they are able
to tweak the lesson plans if needed. Teachers are mandated to teach the
following based on the Clarke County protocols: shared reading, word sorts, and
cognitively guided instruction (CGI). Kindergarten does not participate in
standardized state testing so this places no limits on my classroom.

About the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. How much time is devoted each day to literacy instruction in your classroom?
1. Two hours are devoted each day to literacy instruction in this classroom.
2. Is there any ability grouping or tracking in literacy? If so, please describe how
it affects your class.
1. All students are ability grouped or flexibly grouped for reading groups and writing
groups. Students are placed in groups according to their reading levels and
writing ability. As they improve they may move from one group to another.
Students accept their groups and understand that they are placed in these
groups so they have the best opportunity to learn that we are able to offer.
3. Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for literacy
instruction.
1. At Gaines Elementary no textbooks are provided for kindergarten classrooms.
The county does provide picture books and poems for shared reading which
teachers are required to use.

4. List other resources you use for literacy instruction in this class.
1. The school has subscriptions for each student to have access to the following
programs: Fast Forward, Ticket to Read, and Classworks. These programs can
be used for RTI for Tiers 2 and 3. The students also work on the Smartboard and
iPads using sites such as ABCya! and Starfall in order to promote literacy skills.

About the Students in the Class Featured in this Learning Segment

1. Grade-level: Kindergarten
2. Number of students in class: 23
1. Number of males: 13 females: 10
3. Summarize required or needed supports:
1. Students with IEPs/504 Plans: None
2. Students with Specific Language Needs
3. Students with Other Learning Needs
Students with Specific Language Needs
Language Needs

Number of Students

Supports, Accommodations,
Modifications

English Language Learners who

speak Spanish in the home and
know little English

2 ESOL teacher 30 minutes every

morning, picture support,
students use words that teacher
teach ahead of time

Speech impediment- specifically

using r and s

2 Speech teacher twice weekly 40

minutes

Students with Other Learning Needs

Other Learning Needs

Number of Students

Struggling Readers

Behavior Plans

Supports, Accommodations,
Modifications
5 flexibly grouped, targeted guided
reading, running records, leveled
texts, ongoing reading
assessment, Fast Forward,
Ticket to Read

2 (1 being tested for SPED

because of behavior)

Reward system, behavior charts,

stickers, behavior spirit stick