ELA Teaching Expectations

Pacing

At the beginning of class, it's important to greet your student and connect with them. You might ask how their weekend was, how a big test went, or if they won their soccer game. It doesn't need to take a long time, but connecting with your kids goes a long way! This is also when you may go over their homework that you assigned after the previous class, if applicable. Submitted homework should pop up in your classroom for easy access.

Then, move right into the day's lesson. You'll typically want to keep the title slide, reminders, and learning goals under two minutes, and the warm-up should usually take about 5 minutes. The key concept should take 5-10 minutes, then 5-10 for the activity, leaving the remainder of your time for the practice slides. If a student needs more time on a particular slide, don't feel the need to rush through to the end of the lesson. You can always skip over easier practice slides that you don't think the student needs to do, or you can save a more difficult slide for the next lesson. That's the perk of working 1 on 1! You can adapt your approach and your use of the slides to best fit your student's needs.

The exit ticket should take about 5 minutes, sometimes less. In some writing lessons, you'll find that the second exit ticket is an open-ended task that takes a bit longer. Feel free to assign these as homework or spend a little extra lesson time on them.

And finally, you'll reach the summary slide. This is meant to be a quick recap of the lesson. Encourage the student to reflect on what they've learned and celebrate their achievements!

Title slide, Reminders, Learning Goals: under 2 mins
Warm-Up: about 5 minutes
Key Concept: 5-10 mins
Activity: 5-10 minutes
Practice: Flexible based on student needs
Exit ticket: about 5 minutes

Direct Instruction and Modeling

Providing direct instruction and modeling a skill for students is crucial. We've built this into the Key Concept and Activity sections, but you may also need to model a skill on a practice slide here and there if a student is struggling. By showing students how to think through and perform a new skill, you enable them to do it themselves.

Also, keep in mind that some students will get lost but not say anything. Encourage interaction whenever possible! Don't do all the hard work yourself, whether that's reading aloud, highlighting a passage, or actually using an interactive question.

While the student should be in the driver's seat, so to speak, it is important that you manage time effectively. Avoid spending the entire class on one task. If a student is struggling, consider breaking it down into smaller steps, or take a "we do" approach instead of expecting independent work.

During writing classes in particular, offer feedback throughout the entire process - not just on the final product. While students are writing, consider how you can minimize "dead time." You may watch their work and provide live feedback, like, "Be sure to use complete sentences. Check that last one you just wrote." You can also use our writing rubrics to help students self-assess and identify areas for improvement.

Addressing Student Errors

On the topic of student errors, we expect you to correct all significant mistakes that impact student's understanding. Students come to Cosmo with clear learning goals, such as improving their writing skills. Corrections are an essential part of the learning experience. In a typical writing class, you do not need to correct every single grammar mistake the student makes. However, if it is a grammar-focused class, you should address and correct such mistakes. If they make multiple minor grammar or spelling errors, we also expect you to correct at least some of them or indicate a plan to address the topics during a following lesson.