Not using Signals Effectively

Alice (teacher) is teaching a reading lesson where students are asked to say sounds. Alice is using the ‘fingers signal’. She gives the instruction, “Let’s say some sounds. Listen to the sound…mmmm. When I hold up my finger, we are going to say mmmm”. Alice signals before giving the cue. She is not using all parts of the signal correctly. She also varies the timing of her signals. The students are confused and are unsure of when to provide their response. Some students do not respond at all, while others respond late. Alice continues with the exercise, moving through the sounds in the exercise. During ‘individual turns’, it becomes clear that not all students have mastered the content. Alice must go back and reteach that part of the lesson to ensure that students are firm. This results in the loss of valuable learning time in that week.