No matter the name, it can be a very important part of your curriculum if used and presented correctly!
Here’s the thing, teachers know and understand how valuable this time can be, but many students do not. Instead, they see it as a “free time” or worse, a time when they are tracked by ability.
Because of this, my team and I have worked hard to create an intervention time that works for everyone and is something students feel successful doing so they look forward to it.
Our common time is from 11:50-12:30....every, single day! I know, it’s kind of a strange time, but we can thank the school recess/lunch schedule for that! We made that time a priority for all involved. The only exception is on Friday, when we have our “weekly reward” activity that is built into our behavior management system.
Our intervention block includes the 4 core teachers who make up our 4th grade team, our intervention specialist, our gifted teacher, and our reading specialist. During this time, the students know they will be going to different places based on their individual needs. We each post a chart on our Smartboards that we can quickly place our students into the groups that are needed for the day. The students do not go to the same place everyday, so there is no stigma of “being in THAT group” since they are always changing based on need.
Here is what happens during an intervention block in my own classroom.
1) I have 5 identified gifted students in LA, so on Mon those students meet with the gifted teacher and receive instruction for her. She often gives them tasks that can be completed individually throughout the week and they will spend the rest of their intervention days doing this in the classroom (some meet an additional day for math as well).
2) The intervention specialist pulls students that need extra help in various areas based on their IEP goals. This also changes on a daily basis.
3) The reading specialist will pull a small group for TIER 3 intervention based on our reading assessment. Students who show deficits in phonics and other crucial reading building blocks will be pulled for intensive remediation. Again, this is on a rotating basis daily.
4) The remaining students are placed into 2 flexible groups based on any current skill assessments.
Flexible Group 1: Those who didn’t show mastery of a specific topic will travel to one of the core teacher
classroom in order to receive an additional lesson/review of this topic. This could be a game, a review packet, etc.
Flexible Group 2: The students who did show mastery of this skill will work on activities that will extend or review
our current skills. I developed a “Bingo Board” that provides the students with a chance to complete an activity of
their choice. They will eventually complete all of the activities, but I find the element of “choice” is very helpful
to keep kids engaged and feel empowerment in their learning path!
I’ve included a picture of what one my Bingo Board
looks like below.
I actually have 2 levels of my Bingo Boards. For students who need a little more enrichment with their critical thinking skills, I include activities such as logic puzzles, word games, analogies, Brain Pop videos/quizzes, and vocabulary extensions. For students who need a little more review over just basic skills, I include word review matches, spelling city games, Quizlet review for vocabulary, Boom card reviews, etc. Both groups also have options for silent reading and working on their individualized computer pathway that we use (iReady).
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This program has worked extremely well for our grade! However, it wasn’t that we just got lucky with this intervention time. We really put the time in beforehand to develop a plan that would work for all involved. We all helped to develop the activities and prep the materials that are used on a weekly basis. Because of this, commitment, we feel confident that our students are getting exactly what they need and can say with certainty that our program is a success!
Here are my 5 “MUST HAVES” when developing a successful intervention time:
1) Make sure to set a designated time that everyone knows and respects!
2) Have a plan!
3) Flexible grouping is key!
4) Build in activities that students feel successful with to build confidence
5) Communicate with team members!
Please let me know what things you try for your intervention time. We are always willing to implement new ideas and strategies that will help students!
Happy Teaching!
:) Jen
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