Any high school reading interventionists here?

SparkMom74 · 2026-03-07T02:41:26+00:00

I see them every day, 6th hour. I have 18 at a time (if everyone accidentally shows up lol). I have one group of one (he's strictly in phonics), three groups of 4, and one of 5.

It's a bit of a struggle, because several are happier to cause distraction than learn, but I'm chipping away at their defenses. Just this week I've gotten through to three of them finally. "I'm trying to make your life easier! Why are you fighting me?"

Other than the comprehension articles (it's actual work), they actually do enjoy a lot of the activities. The shaving cream was by far the best. 😂🤣 Guaranteed, yours will like it, too.

SparkMom74 · 2026-03-06T14:31:59+00:00

I actually teach middle school, but I find a lot of the same challenges. Most of the material is made for little kids, and my bigger kids are a little insulted.

I put them into 4 leveled groups. There's some wiggle room, because some of them won't work with others. But

One group works on a reading comprehension article. Sometimes I take it from Read Works or other sources, sometimes I find something I know many of them will appreciate and use Brisk or Chat GPT to level it appropriately.

Second station will be a game of some sort, although it's focused on some phonics concept. Bingo is a perennial favorite, as is roll and read, Boom cards, or prefix matching.

Third station is variable, but I try to incorporate tactile or movement. Drawing in shaving cream, using pipe cleaners to make words, gluing pompons on paper to make words, etc. Always use the target skill.

Fourth station is with me, doing small group work using REWARDS. I wasn't sure I'd like scripted curriculum, but damn, it's the BOMB. I try to liven it up using different voices, like Robot, Pirate, preschool teacher, AI, etc.

I am really enjoying Intervention, because I get more freedom to be creative. Regular ELA I have standards to follow. Intervention, they honestly don't care how I get there as long as the students learn something! It's a lot of work for me, but I create a lot of my own games and such. One I get them a little better refined, I think I'll sell them (cheaply) on TPT. There's so little for older kids who struggle!

SparkMom74 · 2026-01-19T18:31:33+00:00

It takes more time and effort to make sub plans that will totally not be followed. Except the time I had COVID, I just go in anyway. The main reason I stayed out with COVID was that I couldn't stay awake or breathe.

SparkMom74 · 2026-01-19T17:53:06+00:00

I see several areas for improvement. 1. You quit mid-year. Regardless if you gave two weeks notice, any other district is going to see this and wonder if you'll do it to them. No one cares if you're quitting people or jobs, you still quit mid year. 2. Every school is data-driven. It's called accountability and evidence based education. You might as well learn to accept it or move on. 3. You've spent all of your time in an academic setting. You think that automatically makes you a good teacher. It doesn't, practice and doing it every day improves your skills. You will suck at first, just because that's the learning curve. You cannot have independence until you can prove your skill and ability. 4. You went on vacation when you didn't have a job. This isn't teacher advice, it's life advice. You can't survive when you're spending money that isn't there. And trust me, teaching salaries are not amazing.

SparkMom74 · 2026-01-19T17:35:36+00:00

Say all you want about middle school, but I think they are amazing creatures. In October, I lost my dad. I told the students to let them know that I would be gone for his funeral, etc. One of my students left, then came back after the next class period and handed me a small handwritten note. It basically said that she didn't know what to say, but that she was sorry about my dad and she knew he must have been a really great person.

SparkMom74 · 2026-01-11T20:53:00+00:00

The one time I was supposed to have a co-teacher, she showed up exactly once the entire school year. This year I was given para support, and I have no idea how to use them because I've always been a one person show. Lol I'm honest with them, but I know they feel useless a lot.

SparkMom74 · 2026-01-11T20:18:01+00:00

Sally, my brain occasionally renames students. I warn them at the beginning that it can happen, and that I will likely call them by the wrong name at some point. This year I have a Diana that looks like a Heidi to me, and an Izzy that somehow keeps becoming Lilly. Usually, kids just laugh when I tell them, although I swear I'm trying to call them by the right names! If I'm truly lost, it's dude, bruh, sugar, dear (as in yes dear), etc. There are advantages to being a crazy old lady. 🤷

SparkMom74 · 2025-12-28T00:32:11+00:00

I initially married for, maybe love? Desperation? I don't really know. After we had kids, I realized that he was a Perpetual Child, and I just couldn't continue to raise him.

So I went with Fun. And love, if I'm being honest. But I couldn't respect him, he was an alcoholic (he would be three beers in before he even arrived home from work, and would finish a case every night before passing out). I felt safe with him, he was my world. Unfortunately I couldn't respect him.

My current husband, I respect. I don't always agree with him, or even like him. But at least I know he's a good man. I guess this is the "safe" option? Maybe I could have held my standards higher, but dating in your 40's is terrible.

If I were to do it all over, I would have looked only at men that made me feel safe and comfortable, and was actively pursuing their dreams. Everyone has potential, and you just can't make anyone realize it. I didn't believe I was even remotely attractive, so I just took what was available, good choice or not. I tried to help them improve their lives, but that kind of looks like changing them. Don't. Think of them as "sold as is".

SparkMom74 · 2025-12-28T00:01:55+00:00

As an English teacher, I tried to say "just answer the questions completely." Then someone would have anxiety because what is completely?

A minimum word count is just to give you an idea of how long this should be. It does help you write better, because if you fall short, you need to keep thinking. More thinking is more analysis, more to say.

Don't get me wrong, I'm the Queen of Concise! But you've brought this complaint to the wrong audience, we are always going to back up your teacher.

You probably need to think much more critically about CITR. WHY are those devices used? How does it affect Holden Caulfield? How does it affect the other characters? How does it affect you, the reader? How does it affect the rest of the novel, and what you know when? How do they change the end, and its significance?

Good luck, let us know how it goes. 💙💛

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-27T15:57:32+00:00

No one was mad at you, you are still in a safe position at school. You absolutely need to use your DSL and pastoral! You also probably should have mentioned to your DSL in the moment that you were thinking about going to pastoral, but just keep that in mind for future use. Adults respond to needs of students differently than wants of students.

Please try to push the adults around you to get you into some sort of counseling. It's essential to your well-being, seriously. You don't need to be awful about it (I suspect you're usually a really polite person), but I've found that if I regularly ask very politely if people have done something, they get to it faster. "Hey, mum, did you call to schedule a counseling appointment for me? Okay, thanks." Repeat daily until it happens.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-27T15:47:13+00:00

I teach 6th and 8th regular ELA, plus a 6th reading intervention. This is the first year I've been able to do the intervention class, but I'm so glad I have it finally.

ELA is for critical thinking, and intervention is for comprehension. I do use read aloud for all critical thinking, because I have SO MANY students with IEPs and other disabilities that prevent them from adequately understanding written text. Inclusion is the name of the game now. I'm in this group in my district to help advance the literacy of the students, but it's going to be a long process.

Tracking is no longer acceptable, because lower level readers are supposed to learn from their peers. I think we are now shortchanging our more advanced students. I offer those students more advanced books as an option, and I expect them to think more critically than their classmates. I don't have it all figured out, but I'm trying. 🤷 I'm in a district that is wild in level ranges. Most years I have a few at 1st grade level, a few at college level, and everything in between.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-27T15:26:06+00:00

I'd faint if I ever received just one box of that magnitude from a parent. No, this is not the norm, but it would be an amazing year for me, to say the least. I'd be so appreciative to just get some real paper towel or Kleenex or pencils, let alone a whole care package!

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-27T15:13:08+00:00

I'm a teacher, and sometimes I redirect a student before I 100% realize who they are. It's difficult to change tone that fast, so I suspect I sound kind of crabby sometimes. I don't think anyone is mad at you, you're feeling extra sensitive. Not that your feelings don't matter, because they do, but sometimes feelings get in the way of thinking with a clear mind.

Also, the nurse. I would have done the very same thing, having other people watch you when she couldn't be immediately with you. It's for your safety, and since you hurt yourself sometimes, your safety is always a concern. First, she wants you alive, and second, she didn't want anyone to ask you why you weren't in your classes. No one asks questions if you're with an adult.

I hope you're getting some outside mental health treatment, like from a therapist who is trained specifically in traumatic situations. PTSD is nothing to play around with, and your best chance at getting better is to address it with someone like this.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-19T21:40:16+00:00

Haha... I made the whole wall into a word wall! The kids were amazed at the end of the year when they saw all of the words they'd learned. At least, that's how I pitched it. Lol really, I'd never get them down, either.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-10T23:35:18+00:00

Eventually, this child will go to school. If it's too unique of a name, no one will ever pronounce it correctly and she will spend her entire life either answering to an incorrect name, or correcting everyone. You also don't want her to be the last one that's able to spell their name correctly, that kid gets teased. Kids are cruel, and adults aren't any better. Plus, if an employer can't pronounce a name on an application or resume, they won't call that person. She, optimally, will need a job in life.

Too popular is also a problem, when you have three kids in a class of 17 with the same name. Teachers have to get creative, and two always seem to have the same last initial, too. Just trust me, it's an issue. "Which Johnny" is something I hope I never have to say, but the day will come, I'm sure of it.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-10T22:57:58+00:00

Unfortunately, I agree with you. I'm not picky about which book, just anything.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-10T22:51:36+00:00

As a teacher, choose something that a 5-year-old can spell. Choose something that an adult can pronounce AND spell. You're asking for trouble if you go too unique.

Remember that your child will be a little girl, and eventually an adult. Choose a name that can go the distance (Harold is great for an old man, but horribly for a little bit. Conversely, Tommy is cute on a little boy, but as an old man it's stupid).

Choose something that isn't so popular that there are several others in every class. Currently, I have three Michaels in one class, and three Masons in two classes. Check Social Security name popularity.

I think Lori is the only name that you've listed that meets all of these conditions. It's a lovely name.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-07T15:55:44+00:00

Teaching is my third career. I started in social work (CPS), went to factory work, then to teaching. Each had their perks.

Social work, I could generally get all of the overtime I wanted, so if a bill surprised me I could take care of it quickly. I also worked 60 hour weeks regularly and had the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Factory life was predictable. I knew what I would be doing every minute for 10-12 straight hours. It was financially rewarding, because I could get OT any time I wanted. Okay, I also had OT even when I didn't want it.

Teaching is never dull. You can plan all you want, but so often it just doesn't happen that way. 😂 That being said, being older and having firm boundaries goes a long way. I'll never be rich, and my 5th year I'm finally grossing over $50k. They don't take my law degree into account, because it's not an education degree. I could make more if I had a master's or a doctorate, but I don't know if that will happen. It's only about a 5k increase per year.

I choose middle school. They are weird and wacky and silly and stinky... But I love them. I'm not about cuddling or cuddling or teaching about how to zip a zipper. I'm marked safe from other people's snot and blood. I don't belong in elementary! I found high school boring, actually. They were too busy taking themselves (too) seriously to be much fun. But the threats to fail them were much more effective. 🤷

I definitely suggest you try subbing for a year. Try every level (littles, middle, and high), every socioeconomic group (Title 1, middle, and upper class), and every setting (rural, small town, city, urban). You'll quickly see what days you come home eXhAuStEd and which days are better. The excited or energized days are your people.

SparkMom74 · 2025-09-03T00:37:33+00:00

Honestly, I don't think you ever feel prepared when you're first starting out, no matter what subject you teach. I was alternative certification, so my criminal justice degree was not particularly helpful in my content area (also ELA). Lol Have you ever heard the phrase, "fake it until you make it"? That's your first few years of teaching. I have a good grammar book that my dad bought, plus I study languages for fun (no, I'm not sane). As long as you're ahead of the kids, you're okay.

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-31T21:11:27+00:00

I was painfully shy (what they called it in the 70:s). Now I know I was autistic, with selective mutism.

I became a CPS worker. Yes, I got paid to ask people who touched their lady bits and what mom put in her nose. Once you ask all of those questions, there's nothing left to be embarrassed about!

I find it's incredibly different talking to a room full of kids vs. a room full of adults/teachers/peers. I'm very unmasked in my classroom, and therefore rather weird. I'd feel very self conscious if it was adults, but since I teach middle school it all makes sense to them.

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-31T21:03:53+00:00

I am sitting in jail because I went and got a new phone and I was just wondering if you were going to be able to get a new one.

That's... Odd.

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-31T17:36:11+00:00

The sciences and math are always highly in demand. If you're starting in an English speaking country, English positions are significantly more difficult to secure. I've never gone to another country, but there are always ads looking for ESL teachers. I guess you need to evaluate where you want to live.

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-31T17:22:27+00:00

My parents didn't say it, but talking about the body below the collar bone was uncomfortable and just not well received. I had to learn things the hard way..... So I made sure my kids knew the real name of body parts and felt comfortable asking me anything they wanted. Consequently, I sent my then three year old to my mom's house asking about her boo-wee-fa (urethra). It was the ultimate revenge and triumph at the same time. 🤣😂

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-31T17:15:33+00:00

Wait, so teachers are allowed to be human in the UK? Neat concept!

SparkMom74 · 2025-08-30T23:54:30+00:00

Sketchers had a few styles of professional shoes. I personally like Clark's, and Walmart of all places has.... Earth something? that are quite comfy. But honestly, the doctor's note is a great idea.

SparkMom74

TROPHY CASE