Thread: Is anyone else a resource teacher?

I have been a resource teacher for years and really enjoyed the experience.Different schools use the resource teacher in a variety of ways. Since you are alone for 5 grades, it would appear that you will see children from many levels.If you have your own room.you could possibly withdraw students who need extra help from each class for several periods weekly.I began this way but later found that some teachers would welcome me into their classrooms to assist the children who need extra explanation or someone to keep them on task.This helped the children in an inclusive class where they did not feel badly about going out of the classroom.It is importantt to have an open relationship with the classroom teacher who will be helpful in sharing the needs of the students who will be under your guidance.You will need to find interesting ways of presenting work to students who do not feel very successful.More information if you wish...just answer the message and I will respond.

Thanks for the advice. I met with the principal and some of the other teachers at my school and it seems like the position is not well defined as of yet. The past resource teacher tried to give me some guidance but she said that things will be changing a lot this upcoming year. The regular ed teachers will be held more responsible for the children in their classes with IEPs. So, from what I can tell my role will be to write IEPs, meet with the IEP committees, and do pull out with children who need extra time with decoding, reading strategies and math. I have a small office (really a closet) to work in so it is impossible for me to have more than 7 children in at once. Also, I have to pass through the back door of another teacher's classroom to get to my "room". I plan to set it up as a mini classroom. I want the children to feel welcome and comfortable there. Is there room for creativity within the responsibilities of the position? I would like to do things like student of the month, picnic with the teacher on Fridays to reward behavior, etc. Are you able to do these types of things or is your position more cut and dry? Sorry to go on and on but I really don't have a concrete idea about what I will be doing and that makes me nervous. Also, when do you start providing services? The first week of school or later?

Thanks so much.

I feel that you will do nicely in your new job.A few comments may help.You will want the children you work with to be happy and learning but keep in mind that when children are actually learning and feeling successful they will be happy.Therefore you will keep the task in mind and assist them in accomplishing them.There is hard work ahead and they must see you as a fair,caring person but one who knows what they need to learn and will help them in these tasks.Time in the resourse room is very precious and must be used wisely. I personally do not like the student of the monthconcept but tended to acknowledge whenever the child did show good effort.It is important that every child is respected for effort ,they must be treated in a positive manner. Set your little room up comfortably.Get some write on white boards....dollar store has them ....and the white board markers.Old socks do well as erasers. The purpose of those is to monitor what they are doing close at hand and allowing them to erase errors without penalty.I will comment on other suggestions if you wish. Just respond.

Hi Mae:

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I begin with my group of children on Monday. I set up my room in a cozy way with bulletin boards, computers, a kidney bean table, etc. So far, I have two reading groups, two math groups and a language arts group each day. I am aware of the need to be extremely organized and efficient in order to fit everything in. Do you use SRA/Reading Mastery for your Reading students? I am mandated to use this series for my reading groups. I do have more flexibility with my Math curriculum so am going to plan to use a variety of manipulatives. This way, I hope to work with a variety of levels at the same time allowing them all to gain something from the experience. Next week, I am going to begin with creating classroom guidelines together, establishing procedures and making them familiar with their schedule. I am a big believer in journals. I am going to create a Math journal, behavior journal (I am calling it a choice journal) and a Reading journal for use when appropriate. Do you have any suggestions, ideas or extensions for any of these ideas. Do you have any good diagnostic assessment measures that you use for Math and/or Reading? I would like something to establish a start point. Also, any new ideas would be great. Thanks so much.

I have in the past used SRA but have grown in my feelings about the structure of this programme.I feel in the Resource Room we need to actively teach to take advantage of the short amount of time we have,If they come in groups at similar levels, I would do a mini lesson each time I see them.This could be a short paragraph on a chart sheet or the blackboard.I would write the paragraph in front of them and take advantage of explaining the use of capital letters ,punctuation,etc.Also introduce vocabulary and play around with the words, Are there rhymimg words,words which are difficult to spell or read because they do not follow the usual pattern.When I did this I did not keep the information at a low level but introduced new ideas at a higher level.This lesson was fast paced and not drilled to the point of boredom.After that the SRA could be used if you must and you could move among the group asking questions to make sure they understand,The thing I have against SRA and similar methods is there is no writing component and I feel they must write.Do keep the questions coming.Your classroom sounds lovely...warm and inviting.