In most classrooms these days, it appears students are now classified as a number. You are either a 4, 3, 2, or 1.
The class I observed was broken down like this according to the teacher; no 1's, a few 2's, and mostly 3's.
No student in the class entered the 5th grade as a 4.
For those who do not know about the number system, a grade of A, B, C, D, and F has been replaced by 4, 3, 2, and 1.
The class I observed was not an inclusion class. No student in the class has an IEP.
There was one diagnosed 504.
As for gifted students, there is one who the teacher labeled as gifted, and stated that there were two others who were not far from being gifted as well.
When it comes to working with the gifted students, she stressed that it is important that these students are not given more work, rather the level of difficulty for assignments is higher.
The teacher told me that her one gifted student is one of her biggest challenges do to the fact that she has to constantly think of new ways to challenge the student. This student often gets bored and does not push herself.
One thing the teacher did to address this was to place her next to another student who was near her level as a way to have them challenge one another and keep each other engaged.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Fieldwork - Classroom Setting
Over the course of the semester I have been completing fieldwork that is required for the class.
For this, I observed a 5th grade classroom.
The first thing I noticed when I began my observations was the classroom setup.
For a class with 27 students in it, it was a rather small classroom. The teacher whom I was observing discussed this issue with me.
She noted how while this was the classroom the 5th graders were placed in, the 2nd graders had a much larger room and a considerably smaller class enrollment.
When it came to arranging the classroom before the school year began, she was required to have a certain arrangement, however, when it came to the small stuff like materials, storage, mailboxes, etc. it all came down to where she could find the space.
Desks were arranged in three large groups of nine, making a 'U' shape. In the center of the 'U' was a space for students to gather on the floor, or the meeting area, where they sit in front of the Smart board and receive direct instruction before being sent back to their desks to work on an activity.
Materials (i.e. pencils, paper, pencil sharpener, etc.) are located on the counter by the window. Alongside these materials is the class library. Here, students may check out a book from a number of genres including realistic fiction, nonfiction, fiction, etc.
The teacher's desk was located in the back of the room near the window. Again, this was because that was where it could fit.
Next to the Smart board were five computers for the students to use.
Above the computers was a bulletin board where the students' work was displayed. During the time I was observing, the bulletin board was used to display book reports the class had recently completed.
Coat racks are located along the wall where the door is located. So are the students' mailboxes.
In this classroom, as with most other classrooms I have been in, the traditional blackboard and whiteboard are no longer needed, thanks in part to the Smart board. Therefore, these boards are now used to hang up posters, rules, pocket charts, and student work.
During ELA and math, the class is usually broken up into learning centers. When this happens, one group usually is assigned to the computers, and the rest are split up into two or three groups.
The teacher explained that the district was a Fountas and Pinnell district. This means that the classrooms were required to have a guided reading area and a meeting area. The meeting area is used to bring the students closer together and helps the students to pay attention.
The classroom was essentially set up for ELA purposes, or to create a literacy rich environment.
For this, I observed a 5th grade classroom.
The first thing I noticed when I began my observations was the classroom setup.
For a class with 27 students in it, it was a rather small classroom. The teacher whom I was observing discussed this issue with me.
She noted how while this was the classroom the 5th graders were placed in, the 2nd graders had a much larger room and a considerably smaller class enrollment.
When it came to arranging the classroom before the school year began, she was required to have a certain arrangement, however, when it came to the small stuff like materials, storage, mailboxes, etc. it all came down to where she could find the space.
Desks were arranged in three large groups of nine, making a 'U' shape. In the center of the 'U' was a space for students to gather on the floor, or the meeting area, where they sit in front of the Smart board and receive direct instruction before being sent back to their desks to work on an activity.
Materials (i.e. pencils, paper, pencil sharpener, etc.) are located on the counter by the window. Alongside these materials is the class library. Here, students may check out a book from a number of genres including realistic fiction, nonfiction, fiction, etc.
The teacher's desk was located in the back of the room near the window. Again, this was because that was where it could fit.
Next to the Smart board were five computers for the students to use.
Above the computers was a bulletin board where the students' work was displayed. During the time I was observing, the bulletin board was used to display book reports the class had recently completed.
Coat racks are located along the wall where the door is located. So are the students' mailboxes.
In this classroom, as with most other classrooms I have been in, the traditional blackboard and whiteboard are no longer needed, thanks in part to the Smart board. Therefore, these boards are now used to hang up posters, rules, pocket charts, and student work.
During ELA and math, the class is usually broken up into learning centers. When this happens, one group usually is assigned to the computers, and the rest are split up into two or three groups.
The teacher explained that the district was a Fountas and Pinnell district. This means that the classrooms were required to have a guided reading area and a meeting area. The meeting area is used to bring the students closer together and helps the students to pay attention.
The classroom was essentially set up for ELA purposes, or to create a literacy rich environment.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Unit Plan Is Almost Done!
It has been a while since I last wrote. I have been busy, busy, busy working on this unit plan.
It's all starting to come together slowly, but surely.
Thankfully, we have been spending most of our class time working on our units.
I'm currently working on putting together my possible activities in my unit. I have a total of seven activities.
I have been having a hard time writing up these activities though, and I'm not sure why.
The part of the activity I'm having the hardest time with is the development.
In the development, you are supposed to write out what kind of strategy, model, and method you are going to use for that particular activity.
After this past week's class, however, I feel like I'm starting to get what I need to include.
I need to be very specific in this section.
For example, if my activity has students working in groups, I need to write how I will create the groups.
Once my activities are completed, I can then write up my culminating project and evaluations. After that I should be done!
Wish me luck!
It's all starting to come together slowly, but surely.
Thankfully, we have been spending most of our class time working on our units.
I'm currently working on putting together my possible activities in my unit. I have a total of seven activities.
I have been having a hard time writing up these activities though, and I'm not sure why.
The part of the activity I'm having the hardest time with is the development.
In the development, you are supposed to write out what kind of strategy, model, and method you are going to use for that particular activity.
After this past week's class, however, I feel like I'm starting to get what I need to include.
I need to be very specific in this section.
For example, if my activity has students working in groups, I need to write how I will create the groups.
Once my activities are completed, I can then write up my culminating project and evaluations. After that I should be done!
Wish me luck!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)