EDUC 429

Teacher Work Sample #1

Jankouskas

Classroom Factors The 4th grade classroom I am assigned to for EDUC 429 Diana Carvers room. Her room is very colorful and inviting. The first thing I noticed was all of the subject material guides on the walls, as well as the planets hanging from the ceiling. At the front of the room there is a white board, Smart board, projector, and the teachers podium/station. Her station consists of a podium, and two book-shelf-like structures. She keeps all of the materials she needs for the Smart board and the white board and she also keeps extra supplies such as copies of assignments and future assignments. The floor is not carpet, but there is a carpet/rug in the back right corner of the room and one in the front center of the room. The carpet in the back is located along the classroom library. A giant sticky-note contains the objectives for the day as well as homework for the previous day. The daily schedule is located next to the door. The back of the room consists of a half-circle table that seats five students. Behind the table are cabinets and cupboards that contain standard documents and specific student files. Next to the back table are the four computers in the room. The students use these for Odyssey work. There is also a terrarium with three turtles next to the computers and then the classroom library on the other side of them. The student cubbies are to the left of the door as you walk in, and there are cabinets on the right side. These cabinets contain supplies such as loose leaf paper, construction paper, markers, pencils, assignments, etc. The far side of the room has the air-conditioner/heater, inclass library, two windows, and the class telephone. There are two trashcans in the room. One is at the back under the computers desk table and the other is next to the door. Ms. Carver has a very accepting policy of electronic devices. As long as the student is using the device for something educational and/or something that deals directly with what they are doing in class, they are allowed any type technology. The students are also allowed to listen to music while they work independently, but this is not an everyday occurrence. Desk Arrangement The desks are arranged in 5 clusters that either have four desks or five in them. There is one student who likes to sit by himself and so he sits in his own cluster next to the air conditioner/heater. There are 2 empty desks in the room. One belonged to a student who moved over Christmas break and the other belongs to a child from India who has been absent for the past three weeks. The classroom has not been altered too much from the original layout. One student has been moved around because he is very active and therefore Carver moved him to a spot next to the front carpet. This student is simply asked to move down to the floor when disrupting. Each cluster has one student who usually struggles with material except the cluster closest to the door. Each cluster also has a gifted and talented student within it. There will be an additional five students tested for the gifted and talented program in the upcoming weeks. There may end up being upwards of ten gifted and talented in Ms. Carvers room. Carver has placed her desk/podium as much out of the way as possible. She is rarely at her desk unless she needs to grab a paper and then quickly moves away from it. This creates a very free moving environment that has the teacher constantly moving around the room. She has no problem
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EDUC 429

Teacher Work Sample #1

Jankouskas

teaching from any location in the room. The four to five students in each cluster have assigned jobs for one another each day. They did this without the prompting of the teacher. The jobs include trash duty, pencil sharpening, material gathering, and cleaning up. Classroom Dcor The classroom is very colorful. Almost every inch of the walls are covered in either a poster, cabinet, bookshelves, student work, pictures, etc. Ms. Carver has been in the same room for three years and has made it very welcoming. The classroom and school rules are posted on the wall along with the American flag and South Carolinian flag. Above the flags I have helped hang the planets of our solar system (not including Pluto, which IS a planet). The Smart board is in the center of the front of the room, next to it the white board. The classroom library contains at least two hundred books. These books range from fantasy to informational. Carver also has them classified by; the author, genre, or even Beware of Boy Books. The library takes up half of the far wall of the classroom. The teachers station and the air conditioner/heater take up the rest. The four computers are located on a table extending from the back wall. Next to the computers is the terrarium containing the turtles. Above the computers and turtles are the cabinets where Ms. Carver keeps personal photos, class photos, dog emblems, etc. There are also text books and dictionaries located here. The wall of cabinets next to the door has a sink and a coffee maker. This section is where Carver will keep little snacks that the students will get if they are hungry. This is also where the lunch count is located. Upon walking in each morning the students choose their breakfast and lunch choice for that day. Routines Along with the choosing of breakfast and lunch the routines in place are pretty well followed by the students. As they arrive they sit next to the classroom door out in the hall. When they go inside the room they choose breakfast and lunch then put their book bags on the hangers. Next they go to their seat and begin their morning math and daily reading comprehension review. This portion of the day has some talking amongst each other, but not an unreasonable amount. Not often do the students need quieting. At 09:10 each day excluding Thursday the students go to activity. On Thursday they go at 08:55. When the students line up they are called all at once. One students job is line leader. This student must go to the front of the line. This is the routine that usually has the most talking and requires teacher intervention. The students walk down the halls staying on the green tiles. The leader stops at every intersection and waits for the teachers go ahead. Bathroom breaks are given twice a day as a whole class; once after activity and once after lunch. The students may also ask Ms. Carver to go at anytime during the day and are allowed to go alone. I have yet to notice a problem with this routine. At recess the students will be called to line up and get quiet. The line leader will wait for the teachers go ahead once again. When the school day is over an announcement will sound that students should go to their bus waiting locations. Ms. Carvers room is where bus six meets. Each student will go to the correct room where their bus rider peers meet. This routine is
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EDUC 429

Teacher Work Sample #1

Jankouskas

pretty well engrained in the whole student body at Lakeview probably because they do it every day, every year. Outside Influence The parent involvement is quite good at Lakeview. The visitor/volunteer sign-in log is full of parents or teacher friends coming in to help out. For example one students father came in for his birthday dressed as Iron man. He helped out for a large portion of the school day including lunch. Ms. Carvers mother comes in at least once a week to help with her filing and to bring the students treats. School Characteristics The classrooms are not too large in general, but the class size is around twenty-four students. This size does not require any more room than they have. The gymnasium is mediocre in size. There are basketball hoops and tumbling mats, but not a lot of space for full-class involvement. The art room is very spacious for what the class calls for and has a lot of supplies. The music room on the other hand seemed a little skimpy when observed. Instruments were readily available, but the quantity was a little lacking. The computer room was well established and has headphones for each student at each computer. The library is of average size and quantity of books. It is not as big as Mathews library, but it works for Lakeview. The playground has many options for students to use. There are basketball hoops, soccer goals, four square courts, grass to play on, etc. The lunchroom is equipped with a stage for assemblies and six long tables. The lunchroom in general is small and a little cramped. The hallways do not have too much on them until you make your way to a teachers door. Next to each teachers door is student crafts. There is usually only one craft per classroom, which leaves the space in between the classrooms quite bare. Throughout the day the students are able to earn rewards for good behavior. This is a school wide effort to create an issue free environment where the students are ready to work and ready to learn. Carver will also give these out for being on task while doing independent work. Student Characteristics: There are twenty-two students in this second grade class. The ages range from nine to ten. The class contains eleven males and eleven females. There are three African-American students, one Indian student, two Mexican-American students, and sixteen European-American students. There are zero ESL support students, but the one of the Mexican-American students also speaks Spanish. The three African-American students as well as one make EuropeanAmerican student are below grade level. The two males below grade level have trouble concentrating, but only one is diagnosed with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). These four students are pulled out for resource every Tuesday and Thursday for an hour. One of the two females below grade level tested for special education and was denied because her scores were
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EDUC 429

Teacher Work Sample #1

Jankouskas

too low. Neither I nor Ms. Carver understood the reasoning behind this. The class has five gifted and talented students, with fived more being tested in the coming weeks. All five already gifted and talented students are European-American, with two being males and three being females. Of the five being tested soon one is a Mexican-American male. Student Achievement The students reading levels are mainly on par with their grade level. There are four students above grade level that are often found reading when done with work. Three of these students are female. The four students below grade level in all subjects are four of the seven below in reading. The par for grade four reading level is forty or between Q and S. The four students above level are reading on a fifth grade level, while the seven below are reading on a third grade level with one student one a second grade level. These students are Tier IIA and Tier IIB, with one Tier III. The rest (eleven students) are Tier IA. The other In Math the five gifted and talented are above grade level along with three other students. Six students are below grade level, but when prompted one student is able to achieve average fourth grade marks. This is the student who moves around often and is asked to the carpet a lot. Student Prior Knowledge Many of the students in the class have not traveled far away from their homes. Many have not left South Carolina. One student has been as far away as South America and obviously one has been to India. Therefore the culture for travel is not that prominent. When teaching lessons I will not ask students to picture the beach or picture an amusement park. This will most likely only confuse them. They all know South Carolina or at least Greenville quite well. Due to this I will utilize close locations if doing an activity that requires prior knowledge geographically. The students all love football, even the female students. There is a big rivalry between Clemson University and the University of South Carolina. One student does prefer Missouri State. Most of the students favorite activities are gym or art, which will be fun integrating movements/games and drawing. Ms Carver already has a list of song for many topics covered throughout the year. The students really seem to enjoy singing them before a lesson. Most fourth graders are in a concrete operational stage of development and thus require hands-on activities to best learn the material. Kinesthetic methods are proven to work better with this age and their memory retention of material. Therefore activities that involve students working with Unifix cubes or pattern blocks can greatly help their learning process. Most of the students seem to be Tactile-Kinesthetic learners; meaning they learn best when they perform the action being taught. Due to this Ms. Carver has them teach each other during certain lessons. This allows them to grasp the topic efficiently. Only one allergy is present in this class; a tree nut allergy. Finally there is one student who lives at Connie Maxwell housing and because of this is not allowed to go on the class field trip in April due to safety reasons. Instructional Implications:
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EDUC 429

Teacher Work Sample #1

Jankouskas

The contextual factors listed above have a major influence on the planning process of the teacher. Since students learn differently and have different abilities and disabilities, the contextual factors are very important for a teacher teaching in the most effective way for the students. For example the students that do not come from a European-American background and culture may have trouble understanding the questions and trouble relating to the topics. The contextual factors help the teacher understand cultural differences between the students and thus teach accordingly. Another reason for contextual factor analysis is that knowing what type of learners and disabilities your students have can greatly impact your lesson plan procedures and accommodations. For example Ms. Carver ahs a student that takes a test in a plastic tub. This student feels comfortable in a tub and therefore Carver lets the student take the tests in there. Accommodations are not always easy, but they provide for the best environment for that child. That is what contextual factors do. They allow for the specialized instruction of each student. I will also try not to bring up the field trip in any lessons because I do not want the student living in the support home to feel neglected or put-off towards the lesson. It will not be perfect, but it most likely will improve their experience and their achievement. Specific Accommodations/Lesson Plan Influences Because of the cultural backgrounds I will try and link non-social studies lessons with cultural backgrounds of the Indian, African-American, and Mexican-American children. I will do this through read-aloud activities most likely. This will help the minorities peers gain some level of cultural understanding of them. I will not interrupt any pre-existing accommodations set-up by Carver. I might add a classroom morning meeting if I am doing a lesson to start the day. Also the student who sits alone will be asked to come help me with any assisting duties I might need during a lesson. I have already done this with one of the students who are below grade level on every subject, and it seems to keep him engaged throughout the lesson. To accommodate the seven below level readers I will try to involve literacy skills with any subject I teach. This cross-curricular connection will benefit both their fluency and the knowledge they have of the subject being taught. I will try not to utilize any prior experiences that the students do not, in order to avoid alienating them from the lesson. Based on the students interest in singing, art, and physical education; I will try and take them outside for a science lesson at least once during the spring as well as use Ms. Carvers song collection. The students already do a lot of drawing and coloring, but I will try to add to that amount none-the-less. The students bring an eagerness to learn. Ms. Carver has created a very fun welcoming environment. For assessments I will probably use mainly informal because the assessments will be observation based, but quizzes and worksheets will be utilized. The general attitude in the class everyday is happy. The students mostly come from nuclear family households. The students are almost always in a good mood. They bring this positive eager attitude into almost all lessons. This will provide for a very productive environment.

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