Classroom Management is the Key

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"Preparing in the summer really pays dividends all year long."—Justin Lim, READ 180 Teacher

Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be asked to write about READ 180. It's very nice to have your work recognized, but honestly, READ 180 is the real star here. My success has only come from taking advantage of the tools, resources, and expert advice that Scholastic and READ 180 offer. If anything, I think I am pretty good at learning from the experts and bringing their ideas to the classroom.

I've been teaching READ 180 at Rosemead High School since February 2007. READ 180 was my very first experience in a public school and overall, I've seen tremendous growth in the reading ability and performance of my students. My most rewarding successes have been building bonds and relationships that continue to bloom as my students and I continue to tackle new academic challenges.

Justin Lim, Rosemead High School

READ 180 students are used to living with terrible labels such as "lazy, slow, underachiever," and they know it. Getting them to trust you is half the battle. I really point to the Small-Group settings and structured discussions because those activities give every student a chance to be heard. I've seen how my students are no longer afraid to share their ideas because they're confident that they have the right answer. You can see the light switch go on. I think Dr. Kate Kinsella puts it best. She says, "Competence builds confidence." That's a great theme for students, and I think for teachers as well.

The more competent we are in the classroom, the more confident we are as teachers—and our students are the ones who ultimately benefit. Good classroom management is so important in READ 180. So with that in mind, I'd like to share some ideas to help you improve classroom management by building your capabilities over the next couple of months. Preparing in the summer really pays dividends all year long. I've seen how my own personal improvement has enhanced the classroom experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy similar success with these tips and ideas:

1. Learn From Others (Especially at the READ 180 National Summer Institute)

Knowledge sharing is a great way to improve your competency with READ 180. Use the summer months to compare notes and strategies with your fellow READ 180 teachers or administrators. You never know when you'll come across a great idea!

Summer is also when you can learn from the experts at the READ 180 National Summer Institute. The Institute offers the best opportunity to see the experts demonstrate the READ 180 model right in front of you. It's really quite an experience. When you see the developers applying the READ 180 strategies, the entire program comes to life. I have to say, I've applied many of the strategies verbatim from the speakers at the Institute. So if you have an opportunity to attend this year's event, take advantage of it. The experience is sure to make you an even better teacher.

2. Put More Technology to Work

Have you ever used an overhead projector in class? It's a simple, but fantastic tool for READ 180. Instead of spending a minute or more to explain what page to turn to in which booklet, I'll project a scanned photo of the correct rBook page. It's the fastest way to give instructions and show students where we are in a lesson, and it really speeds up classroom management. Since I started using the projector, I get a lot less, "Mr. Lim, where are we?"

How frustrating it is when you have to describe where you are in the rBook by saying "We're on the second column in the third paragraph next to the guy's head in the caption!" To avoid this issue, I have the students number the paragraphs in the rBook. This way, I can point to my projected rBook page and say, "We're right here, on paragraph number three." That saves lots and lots of time.*

3. Classroom Management: Workbooks and Colors

I have had great success using my own color-coded workbooks to enhance lessons and improve classroom management. I started this after attending the National Summer Institute in 2007. I was still pretty new to READ 180, and at the conference I could see how the lessons were supposed to be structured. I also realized that I needed a way to seamlessly integrate all of those tools and strategies to streamline the rotations. I started by making worksheets for the pair/share activity. Remembering how Dr. Kate Kinsella had structured her workshops, I thought about everything the kids should have at their fingertips: worksheets, QuickWrites, vocabulary, writing, etc.

I tweaked my worksheets, using many of Dr. Kate Kinsella's ideas, and turned them into workbooks with colored pages. The workbooks save time because I don't have to hand out separate worksheets. But the real advantage is in the color-coding. Now I can glance around the room and quickly see that every student is on the right page. The more you empower students with good procedures, the better their chances for success.

4. Use SAM for worksheets

If you look at the Scholastic Achievement Manager suite, you can find plenty of worksheets organized by skill. You can print them out for the students and you can download PDF files of them as well. I project those PDFs in class and the students can follow along with their original worksheets.

5. Visit the READ 180 Community Website

There are always plenty of resources available on the READ 180 Website. For example, in the Scholastic RED Professional Development section, you can watch video footage demonstrating the classroom strategies. Those can really help you visualize how an approach would work in the classroom—and the summer is the best time to do that.

I hope that these tips give you some good ideas to try over the summer. Overall, if there's one final piece of advice that I can share, it would be to follow what the developers suggest as closely as possible. The best strategies are already embedded in the rBook. So if you trust Scholastic, you are virtually guaranteed to succeed. Good luck and have a great summer!

 

Editors Note: Justin Lim is happy to respond to any questions or comments you may have about his READ 180 ideas. You can email him at jlim@emuhsd.k12.ca.us. You can also find him in the READ 180 fan group on Facebook.

*NEW! Spring 2009 Scholastic is introducing the READ 180 Interactive Teaching System for v1.9 Schools. For more information, please visit www.scholastic.com/read280/its .

READ 180 Community Newsletter - Summer 2009
Nothing Else to Say But Thank You! With summer rapidly approaching, we at Scholastic and READ 180 want to thank you for what you do every day to raise reading achievement and turn around the lives of students. What you accomplish is incredible. Thank you!

A Conversation with Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams and Dr. Ted Hasselbring, Principal Scientists for System 44
A Conversation with Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams and Dr. Ted Hasselbring, Principal Scientists for System 44, appearing in the READ 180 Community Newsletter, Fall 2008.

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