The strategy was adopted by Boyd Elementary to give students some consistency through the crisis. She knows how much school many of them missed - and why. She taught them in first grade and second grade, and followed them to third. Gilbert-Jackson has an important advantage: She has known Michael and most of his classmates and their parents since the first fall of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson) LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPSĪs the first semester draws to a close, 14 of her 19 students aren’t meeting expectations for reading. After that, students are expected to read more challenging texts in all of their subjects and to improve reading skills on their own. Until the end of third grade, students generally receive guidance from teachers to perfect their literacy. Third-graders Michael Crowder, center, and Malaysia Strickland, left, work together on a reading comprehension project at Boyd Elementary School in Atlanta, on Dec. Says Gilbert-Jackson: “I don’t know why I’m hearing so many yeses when only half got it right.” “Yes!” some of the children shout from their desks as their scores pop onto their screens. Students have to choose between “teach” and “teatch.” The students perk up as they race to set up their laptops. To inject fun into the lesson, Gilbert-Jackson turns it into a quiz game. It can be dry and tedious stuff, replete with obscure jargon like “digraph” and “trigraph.” The strong readers nod and respond during these sessions, but the students still learning the basics look lost. Last year, the district started mandating the same curriculum for all first and second graders. It’s a phonics-based program that the district now mandates for all third graders, in line with science-backed curricula gaining momentum across the country. Some students have spellings memorized for those who don’t, Gilbert-Jackson explains the rules that govern spelling.
#2nd grader with kindergarten reading level how to#
She reviews suffixes, how to spell words ending in -ch, -tch, and how to make different words plural. The lethargy is palpable, but Gilbert-Jackson moves on with her lessons. “You need to tell Mama to put you to bed.” “You gotta wake up, baby girl,” Gilbert-Jackson says to her gently. One girl has been out for weeks now, back in class, she swings her arm across her desk and tries to go to sleep. A handful of students, anticipating the long break, don’t come to school. Right before December vacation, Gilbert-Jackson’s class is subdued and visibly tired.
To address learning loss caused by the pandemic, Atlanta has been one of the only cities in the country to add class time – 30 minutes a day for three years. Third-grade teaching assistant Keione Vance leads a reading session with a small group of students at Boyd Elementary School in Atlanta, Dec. That’s more time for Gilbert-Jackson to explain the confusing ways that English words work and to tailor lessons to small groups of students based on their abilities. To address pandemic learning loss, Atlanta has been one of the only cities in the country to add class time - 30 minutes a day for three years. Nationally, third graders lost more ground in reading than kids in older grades, and they’ve been slower to catch up. Third grade has always been pivotal in a child’s academic life, but pandemic-fueled school interruptions have made it much harder. If Michael and his classmates don’t read fluently by the time this school year ends, research shows they’re less likely to complete high school. Third grade is the last chance for Michael’s class to master reading with help from teachers before they face more rigorous expectations.
So, like most of his classmates at his Atlanta school, he isn’t reading at the level expected for a third grader. He missed a good part of second grade, too. Michael’s mom had just had a baby, and there was no quiet place to study in their small apartment. It was the first fall of the pandemic, and for months Atlanta only offered school online. Michael missed most of first grade, the foundational year for learning to read. “A-E-I-O-U,” she and the students say in unison. “Let’s help him out,” Gilbert-Jackson says. His eyes search a chart that lists vowels, consonant pairs and word endings, but he doesn’t land on an answer. “Give us some vowels,” says his teacher, La’Neeka Gilbert-Jackson. ATLANTA (AP) - Michael Crowder stands nervously at the front of his third grade classroom, his mustard-yellow polo shirt buttoned to the top.
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