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Samantha Sutton

Classroom Factors Physical Features When you walk into Mrs. Tidwells classroom, she has every wall filled with resourceful information for the students. She has posters, charts, calendars, and other items for the children to use if needed. She has a jungle theme incorporated into her room. As soon as you walk in the door of the classroom, you see the desks of the students. The students are seated in groups, with the exception of one student. This student sits alone due to behavior issues. To the left of the classroom door is the restroom. The students are allowed to use the restroom at any time other than instruction time on the carpet. At the back of the room there is a kidney table where the teacher does her guided reading. She has a cabinet next to the table filled with books and other resources she may need during guided reading time. To the right of the classroom entrance is the carpet and the Smartboard. This is where most of the instruction time is done. Behind all of the students desks are cubbies and coat hangers. Each student has a cubby where they put their lunch boxes if they bring them each day. The students all hang coats and book bags on the hooks every morning. Technology There is plenty of modern technology in the first grade classroom. The teacher uses a Smartboard with almost every lesson. She allows the students to come up and interact with her lesson by using the Smartboard. There are also five computers in the back of the classroom. Each day the students rotate, giving every student a chance to use the computer by the end of the week. The students also have access to computers during library and their visits to the computer lab. The teacher has a lap top that she uses at her desk. Her lap top is not for student use. The newest piece of technology in the room is an IPad. The students can actually choose to go to the IPad center during center time. The IPad is also used as a positive reinforcement when the teacher works one on one with students.

Samantha Sutton

Equipment There is a variety of equipment in the classroom to help the students learn. There are several centers that the students can choose from each day. There is a reading center filled with books for the students. There is a math center on the carpet for the students interested in math skills. In the math center, there are boxes of manipulates for the students to create their own math problems with. The listening center is a center for the students that is equipped with headphones and books to read along with the recording. The teacher center is a popular center within the classroom. The teacher center has a dry erase board, books, and a pointer. The students can take turn being the teacher in the center. During center time the teacher takes turns with different guided reading groups. The guided reading group goes to a kidney shaped table in the back of the classroom. The guided reading table is equipped with books on the students reading level, a dry erase board, eraser, marker, and post it notes as book marks for the students.

Guided Reading Table

Resources Within the classroom there are several resources that the students can use if they ever need help. The teacher has posters all over the walls for each subject. For math, she has posters of money and the value of each bill or coin. She also has numbers posted on the wall with the tens and ones posted directly underneath them. The shapes are posted on the wall for the students at the very front of the classroom. In the morning, the students do a daily worksheet where they label the month, the day of the week, and the date. The teacher has a calendar on the wall that the students can go up and look at if they need to check spelling or anything else. The daily schedule is posted on the cabinet doors, above the sink for the students to refer back to if they need to know what is coming next in their day.

Samantha Sutton

Parental Involvement The parental involvement in the classroom is fairly high. There are a few grandparents that volunteer each week in the classroom. They usually run errands for the teacher, make copies, and laminate material. Each day the teacher writes a small note to the families of the students in their folder. The folder is a prime way of communication throughout the week. The parents also have the teachers e-mail and telephone number in case of an emergency. Classroom Rules The first grade class follows the Merrywood Musketeer Manners for their rules in the classroom. The rules are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Be respectful and follow directions of all adults. Respect self and others. Use an inside voice. Stay in your own space. Keep areas clean and organized. Use materials responsibly. Follow directions and stay on task.

Classroom Routines The classroom routines are the same every day with the exception of Thursday (see schedule below). The students wait in the hallway until the teacher comes to get them each morning. When they enter the room they hang up book bags, coats, and put up lunch boxes. The next thing they do is make their lunch choice. The students names are on a magnetic banana. The bananas are placed on the side of a file cabinet near the bathroom door. The students are to place their banana under their choice of lunch. Next, the teacher calls each group up to sharpen two pencils. During this time the students are also getting out their folders for the teacher to come by and pick up. After everyone has made their lunch choice the leader for the day reports the lunch choices to the teacher. The teacher then e-mails the lunch room ladies her class lunch choice. The teacher has a leader every day. She goes down a list to ensure that every student has a turn to be leader. The leader is to open the door for visitors, take any papers to the office, report the lunch choices, lead the line, and flip the talking cups on the lunch table. Grouping Patterns The students are seated in the classroom by groups. The groups are separated by reading levels. This makes it easier for the teacher during reading workshop. During reading workshop the teacher can say turn and read with a buddy and the students will already be seated beside another student on the same reading level. When the students are called to the carpet for whole instruction they are not seated in any sort of group. The students can sit wherever they choose on the carpet, in their own individual square.

Samantha Sutton

Scheduling 7:35-8:00 8:00-9:00 9:05-9:15 9:15-9:30 9:30-10:00 10:00-10:40 10:40-10:50 10:50-11:20 11:20-12:00 12:00-12:30 12:30-12:50 12:50-1:35 1:40-1:50 1:50-2:25 2:30-2:40 Thursday Change as Follow: 8:10-9:00 Art Follow schedule from 9:00-10:50 10:50-11:30 Writers Workshop 11:30-11:45 Calendar 11:45-12:00 RTI Follow schedule from 12:00-12:50 12:50-1:45 Math Follow schedule thru remainder of day Morning Routines Guided Reading/RTI Read Aloud Word Study Shared Reading Readers Workshop Read Aloud Writers Workshop Calendar/Math/RTI Lunch Recess Related Arts Read Aloud Social Studies/Science Dismissal

Classroom Arrangement The classroom is arranged in a way that is best for the students and the teacher. The Smartboard is at the front of the classroom underneath the clock. The carpet that the students get wholegroup instruction on is directly in front of the Smartboard. The teacher has the carpet arranged this way so that the students can stay seated on the carpet as they look along and participate on the Smartboard. When the teacher is doing shared reading the students are also on the carpet. However, they are facing another direction. Its almost as if the entire room is set up around the carpet. The computers are at the very back of the classroom beside the sink and the cabinets. The cabinets are used for the teacher to store supplies and equipment in. The guided reading table is set up in the back of the classroom as well. The table is set in a way that while the other students

Samantha Sutton

are in centers, the teacher can still see every student in the classroom. Right when you walk in the door the students restroom is on the left. The students can use the restroom whenever they need to without asking permission. The students each have a cubby and a coat rack to hold their personal belongings when they enter the room each morning. In front of the cubbies there is a tablet that the teacher uses as a workstation or teach one on one with a student. The classroom is arranged in the best way the teacher sees fit for the students. Student Characteristics Number of Students Age Gender Ethnicity Special Needs Language MAP Language Arts Scores Range MAP Math Scores Range Individualized Education Plans Culture Developmental Levels 20 6-8 10 Males 10 Females 11 Caucasian 9 African-American 0 English is the native language of every student. 155-194 159-205 0 1male student is a two time K5 repeater 1 male student was previously in Special Education 1 male student is on a fourth grade Math level

Interests Learning Styles Reading Levels

High- 9 (4 males, 5 females) Medium- 9 (6 males, 3 females) Low- 2 (both males)

The first grade class consists of twenty students. The age of the students in the class ranges from six to eight. There are ten males and ten females in the classroom. Eleven students are Caucasian and nine students are African Americans. Two students are fairly new to the class. One of the new students has only been enrolled at Merrywood Elementary for six days. A majority of the students receive free or reduced lunch due to a low socioeconomic status. There are no major health issues in the classroom. One student takes ADHD medication, one student has asthma, and one student has a tomato allergy. Some of the students require more one on one time than others. For example, the two students that just transferred to the school still need help adjusting to the schedule and their new environment. One of the new students has minor behavioral issues. He sits alone, rather than in a group because he copies his classmates morning work. In order for the teacher to know where he stands developmentally, she moved him to his own desk. One of the males in the classroom

Samantha Sutton

repeated Kindergarten twice and is now in first grade. The teacher gets volunteers and teacher cadets to work with him one on one frequently. He doesnt get much help at home due to an unfortunate living situation. He now lives with grandparents instead of his parents. Another male in the room was placed in Special Education as a Kindergartener. As a first grader he is no longer apart of the Special Education classroom. He has frequent outbursts in class without raising his hand and the teacher has to redirect him and remind him of the classroom rules. The majority of the students are very engaged and excellent listeners. The children participate the most when song and dance is incorporated into the lesson. The teacher does a fine job of incorporating movement into the classroom schedule. Instructional Implications The contextual characteristics of the students have implications for instructional methods. For example, the students that need more one on one instruction, I will be sure to speak to them directly (by name) during lessons to redirect their attention if needed. I will also try to keep those students close by me during whole group instruction time to ensure I have their undivided attention. All of the students in the classroom seem to enjoy songs and dance with lessons. Knowing this, I will use as much movement and songs as I can in any lesson. The students all seem to retain information better when it is placed into a song. For the child with ADHD, I will let him come forward frequently when working with the Smartboard. Keeping him moving and interacting in the lesson will help him comprehend lessons better. With this age group, engaging movement activities is what I will use to keep them eager to learn.

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