I have several reading intervention groups, I have worked extensively with the targeted support teacher to create plans for each grade that target specific skills. When possible, I have integrated literature into these skills lessons.
Our 5th grade reading group enjoyed a presentation from one of our special education teachers about communication boards. Similar to the one used by the story’s main character in the book we read. The students had questions about interacting with a peer with communication needs on our campus. Then each book club member designed their own (paper) communication board by identifying which words & phrases would be most necessary for their daily lives.
The Targeted Support teacher and I collaborated to develop a Read Around the School event during Read Across America week. Older students paired with younger students and walked around the school, choosing up to three different read-alouds based on the poster advertising the story to be read in each classroom!
The STEAM teacher, the counselor, and I worked together on an SEL lesson about Guatemalan worry dolls. After a guidance lesson with the counselor, I did age-appropriate research with students about Guatemala and the custom of the dolls. Then the STEAM teacher provided the supplies and instruction for students to make their own.
The 1st grade teachers and I worked together on a small research project on reindeer. Before coming to the library, students completed a brain warm-Up (anticipation guide) in the classroom to prepare their brains. Then they went to the library and gathered information about reindeer. (This part had to be divided between two lessons.) We used three sources: a short YouTube video, paperback non-fiction books about reindeer (purchased especially for this project), and the PebbleGo article “Reindeer
After viewing or reading each source, students wrote the most interesting new fact they had learned about reindeer on the last page and drew and colored a reindeer on the front. The project concluded in the classroom, where the kids again answered and discussed the questions in the anticipation guide as a group. They could easily see how much they had learned! This was such a fun project, seeing the children’s knowledge about reindeer and understanding of how to find information grow!