Gwendolyn Reeves

3. Portfolio of Implementation

The strategy was implemented and completed during small group instruction both in the resource classroom and later during remote learning.

  • June 8, 2020 at 6:41 AM
  • Visible to public
I taught this strategy to a small group of 5 students with writing goals in their IEPs.  This group included students being served under the category of  specific learning disability, emotional disability, other health impaired, and autism. The program was implemented during homeroom (lasting from 10 to 15 minutes) 3 days a week, if there were no interruptions due to schedule changes.  In March we went to Remote learning due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.  Attendance to the virtual lessons, the implementation being reduced to once a week, was not always consistent with 1 to 4 students logging on.  However we were able to complete the strategy in the last week of remote lessons.  
During regular classes, I used the cue cards for anchor charts and I used smart board lessons to review key concepts and introduce lessons.  Homeroom was not the most beneficial time to present the lessons due to late attendance and schedule interruptions, however when scheduling  a time in a middle school schedule you need to be creative.  Trying to implement a strategy during remote learning was difficult in that the students were not always consistent in attending the virtual lessons.  Even when they attended, very few responded to my request for them to post sentences to Canvas.   

I initially took the Fundamentals and Proficiency of Sentence Writing in the 2015 Summer Institute in North Carolina.  Later I took the Paragraph Writing Strategy from Deborah Higginbotham and Luann Jordan in a 2018 Summer Institute.  I corresponded by email concerning continuing to implement the program.  I, also, received guidance from Elizabeth Gibbs, who has supported me throughout the process.