What are  "Walk Throughs"? "Walk Throughs"is a list of agreed upon practices that can be readily observed in each one of our classrooms at Lockland Schools. Our goal is to create classroom environments and student experiences that are consistent.  This consistancy will aid in better sharing among staff members and a happier parent clientile that can rest assure that no matter what teacher their child is assigned, rigorus standards and practices are upheld uniformally.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

•  Students organized in groups, pairs, etc. rather than in rows (cooperative learning)
• Variety of reading materials (books, magazines, brochures, recipes, maps, etc.)
• Reading strategies displayed, such as: Get your mouth ready, back up and reread, look a clues in the picture, does it make sense, does it look right, does it sound right, etc.
• Students’ writing displayed
• Thematic approach evident
• Word walls
• Print rich environment
• literature circles
• Variety of response modes used
• Use of drama when responding to text
• Integration of content areas
• Dimensions of Learning
• Whole group instruction, small group, guided practice, independent practice
• Evidence of risk-taking

WHAT STUDENTS ARE DOING

• Reading self-selected materials as well as assigned
• Buddy reading
• Use of reading strategies
• Responding orally and in writing to text
• Involvement in self-directed learning activities
• Reading and writing across the curriculum
• Discussions of literature
• Sharing written work and ideas
• Self-assessment
• Asking each other questions
• Using classroom resources, such as: dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases, maps, etc.

WHAT THE TEACHER DOES

• motivates students to read
• uses modeling
• engages in think-alouds
• reading aloud to students
• strategy instruction
• skills instruction within context
• activating prior knowledge
• asking a variety of questions, including stance questions (Global Understanding, Developing Interpretation, Personal Reflection, Critical Thinking)
• awareness of students’ learning styles
• language development activities
• offering specific, constructive feedback to oral/written responses
• on-going assessment
• taking advantage of “teachable moments”
• modeling “how to” read for the 3 purposes (Reading for Literary Experience, Reading for Information, Reading to Perform a Task)
• conferencing with students