Click "Play" for English audio.
TEACHER TRAINING
Questions and Answers
Q.
I looked over the material
and am at a loss as to how
to implement it in one hour
tutoring sessions.
A.
If your time with students
is limited to one hour,
you can cut down
the time for each part
of the Peterson Reading
Teaching
Outline.
For example,
you can do 4-4-4 for 20
minutes
3-3-3 for 10
minutes
and 5-5-5 for 30 minutes.
If you only want to supplement
your current curriculum,
you can cut the times down further
for each of the sections.
Cutting the times
will reduce the results.
Quick results require
6 hours per week minimum.
-------------------------------------
Q.
I have some students
who are not reading
at a 3.5 reading level.
What meaning phrases
should I choose
for 4-4-4?
A.
For younger and ESL students:
Grammar 2 and Paired Phrases
are a little simpler.
You may also want to try
running the Highlighted Audio.
You can run it from
the Literacy
Free site.
Links are on the left side
of the screen.
The phrase lists are played
with a highlighter that bounces
across the words as they are spoken.
It is fun for kids
to sit at the computer with headphones
and watch/chorus with the highlighter.
-------------------------------------
Q.
I have been using
the Grammar 2 phrases lists
to do 4-4-4 with my tutoring students.
What do you do
when you get to the end
of the lessons?
Do you just move on
to another lesson?
A.
You can use any of the phrase lists
from the Literacy
Free site:
I would suggest:
Alphabet/Paired Phrases
and Meaning Clusters
as well as the U.S.
Government
and U.S. History
phrases lists
because they also teach a subject.
----------------------------
Q.
Should there be any kind
of discussion about the phrases
before starting?
A.
No. Teacher talking should be kept
to a minimum.
There should be no dialogue
during 3-3-3, 4-4-4 and 5-5-5.
If students have questions
about the materials,
they may ask in writing.
The more time the teacher spends
explaining and lecturing,
the less time students spend
in the act of reading and writing.
When a teacher lectures,
students get distracted
by facial expressions
and body language.
They easily get off-task
and memory is decreased.
---------------------------------
Q.
For Test 3-3-3
should I choose different tests
for different levels of students,
or are they all the same level?
A.
Some tests are simpler than others.
You can browse the Test333 Index
and choose the appropriate tests
under each subject heading.
Clicking the site index link
will allow you to view
an alphabetical list of the tests.
Important Note:
We have found in our classrooms
that as long as the lessons
remain strictly auditory,
a wide range of students
can be accommodated
by the same materials.
Younger students
are capable of copying
phrases from the text
and doing a tell-back
of key words or phrases
or reading their memory triggers.
For fast-writes,
younger students can
draw pictures or scribble.
-------------------------------------
Q.
What standardized testing
do you use?
A. Metropolitan Achievement
CTBS or Iowa’s
-------------------------------------
Q.
If I was to come out
to visit your school,
when would be a good time?
Do you run trainings
at particular times?
A.
You
are welcome
to come to our classes anytime.
We only close one day
for major holidays.
We are a year-round school.
If you can't make
a 6-week commitment,
that's okay.
It will be helpful for you to see
as much as you can in person.
You will be able to observe
our full day school and
our evening scholarship classes.
After the first day
we expect you
to participate
as a model student.
Let us know if you plan
to visit the school:
1-800-SCHOOL3
-----------------------------------
Q.
Do you use the same materials
for the different ages of students?
A.
We use the same materials
with an 8 year range of students.
There are lower and higher levels.
Lower
levels use more 3-3-3
with animals and presidents.
Higher levels use more 3-3-3
and 5-5-5 with
literature,
math and science.
The methods are the same.
-------------------------------------------
Q.
Where can I find more information
about the philosophies behind
Peterson Reading?
A.
Please read through the many articles
on our various websites, particularly:
www.test333.com
www.readingimprovement.org
www.teach555.com
www.meaningphrases.com/
---------------------------------------
Q.
I wanted to try the 5-5-5
with one of my older students
but the audio was very poor
on the book that I chose.
I read to him for 5 minutes
from a book we chose together
and had him write 2-3 word phrases
then do a Tell-back and
then do a Fast-write.
Does
that sound feasible?
A.
It's okay to read aloud if necessary,
but it’s best to use the computer audio
so that you can sit next to your students
and model the note taking process.
The computer audio
also avoids distractions
caused by teacher talking,
like facial expressions
and body language.
--------------------------------------------
COMMENTS ON 555:
You can do 5-5-5
with younger students, too.
If they are too young
to take notes,
they can draw pictures
of what they hear
or copy/trace a list
of guide phrases
you have prepared
in advance.
Most kids will be able
to do a tell-back of some kind.
They can copy/trace
or draw again
for the fast-write.
You can even modify it
to a 2-2-1 for young students.
TIP: It is best to have younger
or lower achieving students
sit next to older
or higher achieving students
so they will have a good
model to copy.
------------------------------------
Q.
How do you pay students?
Is there a form to use
to record their points and pay?
A.
You can use a daily contract
to score students and keep track
of their points and pay.
You can staple the contract
to the front of each student’s portfolio
where their work is kept.
See the sample daily contract
and modify it as needed.
You can offer as many points
as you want for each category
and you can pay whatever amount
you want for each point
and written page.
Example:
You can give one point
for each category
and pay .05 for each point,
or you can score
up to five points
and pay .01 for each point.
In a 2 hour session
at our school,
hard working students
can earn a .50 cents
or a dollar instead
of allowances.
It’s a nice round number
students can shoot for.
You can even say,
“if you do everything
you’re supposed to do
you can earn a paper dollar!”
Use an envelope
to hold their money and
record their performance.
Write their total
points and pay
on the outside.
---------------------------
Q.
How should fast-writes
be scored?
A.
How you score fast-writes
depends on the age and ability
of each student.
Quickly scan their writing
and give them points for:
- amount
they’ve written
- keeping
their pens moving
- effort
- improvements
- ability
to add their own
previously
learned details
on the topic (older students)
Comment on and reward
improvements in their writing,
but never give negative feedback.
or constructive criticism.
i.e. NEVER mark spelling
or grammatical errors.
They will disappear
after a thousand pages or so.
Negative feedback is discouraging,
especially to unmotivated students.
Students must learn
to self-correct.
If you want to mark anything
on their fast-writes,
mark what they did RIGHT.
----------------------------
Q.
I will send you improvements
that I see in my students
at your request.
What improvements
should I be looking for
and how would you
like them recorded?
A.
Send us periodic e-mails
with any notable
gains or improvements.
We will need the ages
of each student,
as well as any beginning
and ending test scores
you may have gathered
from standardized testing.
More subjective comments
will also be helpful.
Make note of any improvements
you notice in students’ abilities
to stay on task, cooperate
and produce written work.
------------------------------------
|