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This teaching method was implemented in a fifth grade writing class. The class is made up of 22 fifth graders, seven of them identified in the area of writing to receive special education services. When this teaching method was implemented the class was writing a story together after completing two graphic organizers to make a plan for the story and arrange the ideas and details. As the regular education teacher taught the lesson and led the students in writing the story, I circulated through the classroom, helping individual students. There are many students in the class that struggle with idea generation and organization and I used this opportunity to help them generate ideas, contribute to the class story, and understand the structure and organization of the story.

When using this teaching method it was extremely beneficial for the students who struggled to follow along because it gave them a cueing system for following along and participating. Many of them struggled with the language of the whole class instruction and benefited greatly from specific instructions designed to meet their needs. Another benefit of having a teacher drift or float through the classroom, during instruction, is that it helps tremendously with classroom management issues that typically can arise. At times, as I floated through the classroom and would help specific students, it became a distraction for other students sitting near the student. In this case, I would back off and be a quiet floater or move to a different student. The students never seemed to have trouble giving their attention back to the teacher leading the lesson.

This particular teaching method would be beneficial in a large class or when there are a lot of students with specific needs. It could also be used if one teacher pulls a group of students to work on a specific task and the rest of the class has an assignment to work on and the other teacher can float throughout the classroom and help those student as needed.

When using this strategy it is important to think about the strengths of each teacher. For example, one teacher may be more comfortable teaching to the whole class or one teacher may have more of a rapport with the students and can be a disciplinary figure just by floating through the class. It is also important to consider how the students will react to a second teacher being in the room. It is critical to explain to them the situation and the expectations that they will be held to.

One Teach, One Drift Lesson Plan

Writing Composition: the student uses writing to communicate, reflect, and learn.

Uses the writing process: prewriting, writing, revising, editing and publishing.
Writes for a variety of purposes: personal narrative.
Writes well-organized compositions, in paragraph form with transitions and beginning, middle, and end.
Expresses ideas clearly with supporting details.
Expresses ideas in a personal, interesting, and original manner.
Chooses a variety of words, appropriate to the topic to improve writing.

8.2.2 By the end of eighth grade, students will write compositions with focus, related, related ideas, and supporting details.
8.2.4 By the end of eighth grade, students will demonstrate the use of multiple forms to write for different audiences and purposes.

Many of the students struggle with idea generation and organization so the team decided it would be beneficial for the class to write a group story, taking the class explicitly through each step in the writing process and each step that they were going to have to complete when writing their own story. All seven of the students in the class identified to receive special education services have goals on their IEPs referencing support needed in the areas of idea generation and organization, using a graphic organizer.

Write
Narrative
Graphic Organizer

The students will, as a class, write a story, using two graphic organizers.

The student will be able to collaborate with other students to generate at least three ideas for each main idea.
The student will be able to apply information on the two graphic organizers to the class story.
The student will be able to sit with the class and follow along with the discussion.

Two graphic organizers (on chart paper)
Class story (on chart paper)
Markers

• Prior to beginning the story, review with the students what is on each of the graphic organizers, talking through the main ideas in the story. This will get the students thinking about the story

• As the regular education teacher directs and leads this, I will circulate and ask specific students probing questions to help them with their idea generation.

• Lead students through the first main idea on the graphic organizer, talking about how to create sentences out of the details on the graphic organizer. Have students generate different possible ideas for the wording of the story and also the little details to include that are not necessarily on the graphic organizer.

• While this is going on, I will float through the classroom helping students follow along and understand the organization of the story and how to relate the story to the graphic organizer. The regular education teacher will do some of this as she leads the class, but I can provide additional help to those who need it.

• Continue to work through the graphic organizer and writing the story until there is twenty minutes left in class.

• Have the students work in their seed notebooks for the last twenty minutes of class. Give them a prompt and have them do a rough sketch of the graphic organizer in their seed notebook and then give them fifteen minutes to write.

• During this time, I will move through the classroom and make sure that students understand the directions and help students get started on their writing.

Teacher observation during whole class instruction-writing the class story.
Teacher observation while students are working in their seed notebook.

Move students to a different part of the room so that they are not distracted during work time.
Have a student periodically share their ideas with a partner/peer in order to provide support and modeling.
Give the students prompts to complete as part of their graphic organizer.
Have a student dictate their ideas to a teacher or classroom helper for the graphic organizer, and then the student can write the story himself or herself.

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