Planning for Instruction . . . On a Short Timeline

Okay, so as of last week--the new semester--I have five new classes of kids, four of which are Intensive Reading. There are three levels of reading classes here in Florida: A (the lowest performing), B (those in the middle range), and C (those who are close to passing the FCAT). All three levels are really complicated because the students in them fluctuate in scores from year to year--no big surprise there. That said, I have new kids--the Cs--and my job is to get them ready for FCAT retakes, which are in three months from now. No pressure there! The FCAT is a mandated hurdle that all kids must pass; I hate it, and I think it's complete BS. However, it is what it is. I want my students to pass and LOVE to read and THINK CRITICALLY and become INFORMED YOUNG ADULTS. First things first--how to plan instruction to maximize time and help students the most.

I downloaded all their FCAT overall scores and sub-scores and created excel files for each class mainly looking at the last two test administrations. With this data, I hope to be able to both differentiate instruction and create small groups to focus on the individual literacy practices that students need the most help with. Mind you, I also have to use two "texts"/"programs" that our district spent a bajillion dollars on. Neither one is aligned with (a) what the FCAT tests or (b) what I would do based on my PhD and ten years in higher ed. Like all things (I am thinking about AR), "programs" are often erroneously equated with teaching. Moreover, neither one promotes critical thinking. So, critical literacy/critical thinking is what I will have to come up with and USE in between the "mandated" texts I have been given (oh, and I only have 5 copies of one required text and I have 25 students! HA, the irony)