A major part of our school’s mission is to meet our students at their individual needs which is why I’ve adopted an instruction model called “Power Hour” from 3rd Grade Teachers Cindy Mahoney and Kathy Norris.
Here’s how it works. Students complete two assignments and earn an 8-minute break where they can draw or play educational games. Research says this technique helps students’ productivity.
If a student completes every item on the list, the process repeats until Power-Hour is over. This model ensures students are working the entire time and are completing assignments geared at their individual level. For example, Read Live is a reading program that “applies research-based strategies to develop fluency and phonics and support comprehension and vocabulary.”
While students are completing assignments, I the teacher (Mr. Henry) call students to my desk to listen to them read and provide one-on-one instruction and feedback on their writing assignments.
While I the teacher am working with students, there is a student “Power-Hour Proctor” who awards students with points and school cash for completing assignments. The Power-Hour Proctor is also responsible for ensuring students stay on task.
I’ve already witnessed the power of Power-Hour. I had one student who could read 0 words. After almost three months of using the program, he was able to read a story of more than 60 words.
