September 5th

The students in Ms. Thims’ class sit at tables made out of 10 desks. The tables are shaped like the letter
/t/. The name tags on the desk have a white, orange, or pink background thus deeming them the orange
table,” “pink table,” or “white table.” There is easy flow in the classroom. It has a very cozy but easy-to-
work-in feel to the room. There is a lot of environmental print but not in an overwhelming way. To get
the class’ attention, Ms. Thims’ does not raise her voice nor shout at the children. I am very fascinated
by this as I normally observe the opposite. She simply waits for the students or takes away points from
their dojo (a classroom management tool that is shared with parents and given details on why points are
added or taken away). The students are very well behaved but when they aren’t, these techniques work
very well. There are about 31 students with a diverse make up. Almost all are on or above grade level
and none of the students have any permanent physical disabilities. I see no signs of favoritism. All
students are treated equally and have the same expectations. This was a very interesting day and not
what I honestly expected. I am very impressed and excited to use Ms. Thims’ strategies in my own
classroom.