Overall implementing the word map strategy went well. One particularly positive aspects was when the students being taught the strategy generalized word part knowledge into the science classroom. The student was able to “to just know” what a root meant, this is important as these students historically have not been proficient memorizers to earn passing grades on science stems quizzes.One thing I will plan for differently next time is to have blank color coded morpheme glossary sheets for students to add word parts to when we they are not on the list. Also, another thing I struggled with a bit was planning for individual students who master skills at different times. For example, one particular student struggled to independently score 80% correct on the prefix, suffix and root separating aspect. I had to have independent work available for those that mastered those levels quickly while the slower worker had more time.During part three, practicing the strategy, ended up being utilized in small pieces in order to keep these students working through their reading program. These small, about 10 minute, activities were the students favorite as they were small, easily mastered learning targets that were easily fit into even a tight schedule. The only drawback is it prolonged the entire strategy implementation.I think that next time I begin this strategy, I will plan for individual student conferencing within the implementation structure. This conferencing would allow me to see struggles and support students in order for them to reduce the amount of time they are practicing wrong. I also think I will structure the student notebooks differently, for example I would organize all the notes sheets together separately rather than having them separated by the prefix, suffix, or roots practice sheets. I also want to create a large chart paper size word map box as well as the word part tables so they could be used over and over again. Overall the strategy gave my students increased confidence when encountering grade level words. Once we began generalizing, students enjoyed mapping words from grade level text that the science teacher had not taught yet, like these students were getting some sort of advantage or “cheat code” for reading, something this small group has rarely felt when working with long words. It has also made my students more discerning customers, before we began I talked extensively about the research backing that the SIM strategies have. All teachers should be able to produce the research behind what we ask our students to do, so many minutes are wasted with “cute” pinterest or teachers pay teachers activities.
I taught the word mapping strategy to a fellow special education teacher. Together we identified a group of students to implement the strategy. I shared the google drive folder and we went through the powerpoint slides and I printed the mappable word lists and implementation schedule for her. We also mapped some words together and walked through the instructional steps of the strategy.
