Okay, I’m simply going to write what I’m thinking—WOW! I just tried to scroll through a Common Core teaching “module” for grade K that focuses on “Count Numbers 1 to 10.” I couldn’t do it. The document is 361 pages in length!
The document appears to be extremely informative. From what I can gather, it offers teaching lessons for 180 school days and includes activities, activity pages, rubrics, assessments, projected teaching times, and more. What surprised me the most was that every lesson is scripted for the teacher.
How do you feel about scripted lessons? Love them? Hate them? Find them useful in certain situations?
Eager to hear!
Diane
PS: To check out the module I’m referring to and others, click here.
I feel that scripted lessons or programs are good if they are supported by your school or district and are for a specific purpose. I teach at a low-performing school and my district adopted the Direct Reading Instruction method of teaching reading by SRA almost ten years ago. I was trained in the method and taught it for six years. I did see a great deal of improvement in our most naive readers. Now our school is comprised of almost 50% English as a Second Language students. So many of them are in these classes. I feel that if their language system is similar to English, then the Direct Reading Inst. program will be useful.
If all lessons were so scripted it would almost seem like any computer could take over for me and classroom control would be made possible by earphones and a teaching assistant (who, by the way, would save districts money due to lower salaries).
Too many scripted lessons would boost student boredom and zoning out. I think the scripting is a great way to train oneself to be an effective speaker to disseminate knowledge and facilitate questions and conversation–especially if this is one of your weaknesses.
I do not like scripted lessons. The only time I think I’d find them useful is if I needed to leave lessons for a substitute.
It should NOT take 361 pages to teach kinder students about the numbers 1-10.
On the whole, I am against scripted lessons. I do find that some provide good strategies and sequence for some struggling students, but most don’t meet the needs of the majority of students. The ones we are required to use are to be done whole class. This is a waste of learning, discovery, and application time for my students. These tend to be very costly and do not reach the needs of a majority and the pay off is not significant enough for the minority. Also, each year my classes are different. Therefore, they do not have the same needs on week 24, day 3. With the push of differentiation, I don’t see how these fit in.
Maybe if my students replied with the “scripted” answers, I’d feel differently.
I actually enjoy scripted lessons! I am familiar with the document you’re speaking of as well. I had to make 6 copies of it! I feel that if you look over it ahead of time and gather the necessary materials, you will do well. And, there’s always room for your own creative spin, especially in Kindergarten!
Having a scripted lessons can be a stress reliever as well because that is one less thing you have to worry about getting together during planning or on the weekend. I had them for a reading intervention program and I love it because it kept me on task and on time. As a parent, I used a scripted reading program and, when I was finished, my daughter was reading on a second grade level at 5!
Now, there are times when they are terribly written and you’re telling yourself that you could’ve done a better job of coming up with what was needed. In those times, I rely on my creative spin. Hope this helps.
I’ve never had to teach with a scripted lesson, but I don’t think I would be happy using one. I like the freedom to adapt what or how I’m teaching to the needs of my students.
So far I have not had to use scripted teaching but I doubt I would like it.
We used Voyager reading for awhile and it is scripted. I didn’t mind it because there was very little “thought” that went into the lessons and very little actual planning involved. The downside was that only so much creativity was included in the lessons and we couldn’t veer “off course” to add more foldables, crafts, etc. to the lessons.
Jennifer’s right! Every time I teach a lesson, I plan to reteach specific items for specific students, and because students are human, the lessons are always different.