By Haley Hall, B.A.
Learning Specialist & LEAP Instructor
Today I’m writing to share a day in the life of one of our LEAP students. Welcome to our class! I hope this post helps you learn more about the program, our curriculum, and what a typical day for a student might be like. This post will take you through a typical day for a half-day student, but we also offer our program as a full-day option. We’re glad you’re here!
8:20 am – Students begin to arrive at Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center, P.C. Some parents come in with students, while others just drop them off. Students hang up their backpacks in the hallway and say hi to each other. They chat and hang out in the waiting area.
8:30 am – Time for the class to start. Students take their binders out of their backpacks and head into class. We talk about today’s date and add another number to our calendar. The weather today is sunny and warm. Today is our 138th day of school. Next, students fill out their planners. They write today’s date and a goal for the day. I write a goal on the whiteboard for anyone to write if they’re having a hard time thinking of their own goal. A common goal is for students to defeat brain eater (from the Superflex program) by staying focused. One student writes that he wants to get all of his math facts correct.
8:40 am – We begin our reading groups at this time. I meet with a group of 3 students at the back table while the other students work independently at their desks on reading activities. Today, our small group is working on fluency. We practice recall of vowel combination sounds that follow the rule, “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” We read through nonsense words that also follow this rule. I take data on each student’s accuracy with the nonsense words. I assess two student’s spelling sight words and then give them a vocabulary assignment to work on at their desks. The next group comes to the back table with 4 students. We work on fluency by practicing phrasing and reading with expression. Students read aloud a level-appropriate passage and I take data on their speech and accuracy.
9:20 am – This portion of our schedule rotates every other day. Today we’re visualizing a story as a class (this rotates with language arts instruction). I read aloud from our book while students are invited to take notes or draw what they’re visualizing. After each page, I pause and we review what each student visualized. I ask higher order thinking questions throughout the discussion.
9:40 am– This portion of our schedule also rotates daily. Today we’re focusing on social skills (this rotates with handwriting and typing instruction). I review the Unthinkables (from the Superflex program) and students identify experiences with defeating one of them. Then, they complete a worksheet matching the Unthinkables with the Thinkables that defeat each one.
10:00 am – We have a quick break where students may use the restroom, get a drink or eat a quick snack.
10:10 am – We begin our math groups at this time. I meet with a group of 2 students at the back table while the other students work independently at their desks on math activities or an assignment. To start our group, I take data on the students’ ability to rapidly recall their math facts. Next, we begin working on fractions. I pull out the fraction tiles for students to use and we discuss equivalent fractions. When our group is finished, I assign two pages in their math workbook to complete at their desks. Next, I meet with a group of 4 students and begin working on addition. We’re focusing on multi-digit addition. Students use whiteboards to practice as a group so that I am able to give individual feedback. They work on one page in their math workbook at their desk when we’re done with the group. Last, I meet with a group of 2 students and teach a lesson on multiplication. These students are just beginning to learn about multiplication, so I teach repeated addition strategies. This group does not have workbook pages to complete today.
11:00 am – We begin science or social studies at this time, rotating the subjects every week. This week we’re focusing on science and will be doing a hands-on activity to learn about strong and stable structures. Students watch a clip about using a triangle shape to make a structure stable. Then, they create their own structures using raw spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.
11:20 am – We focus on executive functioning skills at this time, and students reflect on their daily goals. They fill out their planner with any assignments they need to complete that evening. I walk around and assist students as needed and discuss how to predict how much time each homework task will take them. Students plan for any supplies they need to take with them and put everything they need to take home on top of their desks.
11:30 am – Dismissal
Students who attend our full-day program enjoy lunch and recess at this time. Students who receive individual speech-language therapy sessions get pulled out of the classroom for 30-minutes during their session time. We try our best to schedule these sessions so that students are not pulled at the same time multiple times per week. Individual sessions can build on the goals that we’re targeting in the classroom while giving one-on-one support.
If you are interested in scheduling a consultation, or if your child would like to try a day in our program to see if it would be a good fit, give us a call. Our small-group environment is ideal for students who succeed in a classroom with few distractions and a low student-to-teacher ratio.
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Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center has locations in the Iowa City, IA area and Des Moines, IA area. We provide individual speech-language therapy and tutoring as well as offering small group academic programs. At Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center our passion is to help kids achieve effective communication skills and gain academic success. Contact us for more information on how we can help your child succeed.
info@enrichmenttherapies.com
740 Community Drive, Unit A
North Liberty, IA 52317
319-626-2553
infodm@enrichmenttherapies.com
5530 West Pkwy, Suite 300
Johnston, IA 50131
515-419-4270
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