ELA Rotation
Group Organization
As a special education teacher, all day I teach small groups. Sometimes, I end up having larger groups and that will contain several reading levels, even other academic areas. If you are a special education teacher, you know!!!! I began to work on organizing my groups into an ELA Rotation.
Special Education teacher’s schedules are very dependent on classroom schedules. Sometimes we have to have to teach students who needed replacement reading and writing along with students who needed support services. That’s a lot of levels of instruction to teach at the same time!
I realized that if I could work with the students in a rotation schedule, then I could have more small groups. At the same time, students who are not working directly with me, are still working on their individual level and meeting IEP goals!
Creating ELA Rotations
I created ELA Rotations when I have a large group. If you have a mix of students who need various levels of support, this is a good set up.
I usually set the rotation at fifteen, twenty or thirty minutes and some times I set them at thirty minutes. Rotation options are the teacher table (ELA direct instruction), technology, word work, or independent reading, etc. Students can come for just a few rotations or stay for the full time.
Even though I teach special education, this can also work in a classroom setting. This will allow you to work with students individually or in small groups. Many of these activities can accommodate students of all different skill levels and still have meaningful work.
Small Group Organization
Realize that the students you group together for reading can be different from the students in writing small groups. Depending on how long you choose rotations, realize, you can have students work at the teacher table for one or two rotations.
Reading Groups
I will try to group the students by their reading levels or by what skill needs to be worked on. Sometimes I divide the groups based on what reading program or level within the program they are on. These similar skill groups will be together at the teacher table.
Writing Groups
With writing, you have different levels at your table at one time, but each student will have different expectations. In a special education setting, students will spend one or more rotations at your table with direct instruction.
I like to begin with a fun writing unit to get the students engaged and excited in writing. Some of my favorites to start at the beginning of the year are:
