The most important things I have learned in my classroom observations

In my 5th grade double dosing classroom observations I have learned so much about the extra work a teacher, school, and district can provide to help struggling students find success in the classroom. The Title I program provides so much for our school through the double dosing program, teacher's aides in at least every grade if not every classroom, reading and comprehension programs like RazKids and Waterford, and a lot of other technology to help with different learning needs. Seeing how much the teacher loves his profession affected how well he taught. The teacher that I worked with loves these kids a lot and you can tell by how much he invests in his teaching and caring for his students. I could tell that these children love and respect him. He also made learning interesting to keep his students engaged in what he was teaching.

In the Kindergarten classroom that I observed the most important thing I learned was good classroom management. This teacher was in a constant mode of watching and giving attention to the needs of her classroom. She would use a behavior incentive that would work for a little while, but as soon as she noticed that it wasn't working, she would switch it up and use a different incentive to keep the students on their toes concerning their behavior. I found that it is vital to keep control of a classroom filled with 30, 5-6 year old children. This good management creates an optimal learning environment for the students to not only learn academically, but socially as well. In Kindergarten there are a lot of social norms that the children are still learning and school is a great place for them to learn how to behave with others. It is also a time to learn when is a good time to be silly, to be quiet, to play, to listen, and to work.

In the end, I learned that the investment and love you put into teaching will return ten-fold, good classroom management is essential to the best learning situations, and you will find success in teaching as you learn and grow in areas that will best serve the students you teach.

Procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the classroom

In my Kindergarten classroom observations the day begins when the children line up outside after the playground aide blows her whistle. The teacher has a picture of a dog where the children are supposed to start lining up. The children then follow the teacher into the classroom where they drop off their backpacks and coats and then line up along a counter. That is when the students go to the computer lab where they have assigned seats. All of these morning procedures make the transition from outdoors to the start of school very smooth.

Another procedure that the class and the school as a whole are expected to follow is walking in a straight line, quietly down the hallways when transitioning to and from different activities outside the classroom. After computer time the students return to the classroom and sit on the carpet. Every child is expected to sit crisscross so that everyone fits on this carpet. A child is chosen with name sticks from a baggie to present the calendar and the Pledge of Allegiance.

After these daily morning routines and procedures occur the work on math, literacy, and other core topics begin. Daily reviewing and introducing of site words, writer's workshop, math problems, and science are included. Since we are a Title I school, the aides are constantly pulling students for one on one reading and work. The child who has been out with the aide then comes into the room and calls out to the next child to go out and work. This is such a habit with the children that it all moves rather seamlessly throughout the day.

Some of the rules that the students have in Kindergarten are: hands to yourself, being a good listener, working hard, and raising your hand to talk. There are 5 tables, each with a specific color, and 5-6 students are grouped on each table to work. Each table has their own bucket with pencils, crayons, scissors, and glue sticks. When a student finishes their work quickly there is also a bucket of books on each table to help the students keep busy.

Classroom Strategies

In my experiences with the small group, double dosing, 5th grade classroom some of the classroom strategies that I have observed are when the teacher reads with the students he has them follow along with a pencil or their finger to make sure they are following what he is reading. He will also have them read the same passages together. Within this small group situation both of these ideas work really well. When working with math the teacher has the students use individual whiteboards which keeps them all working on the same problem individually, but then they come together to show the problem on the classroom board to see if they answered the problem correctly. With working through it this way the children can see how the teacher solves the problem and then see if they worked through it correctly and ended up with the correct answer. His incentive/reward for his students is a "Sugar Shaker". He gives treats out of a giant jar that looks like a salt shaker.

The "Sugar Shaker"

The students love this jar and he is a long time veteran teacher who has used this for years and years.

For my Kindergarten observations I have really enjoyed watching the teacher use multiple classroom strategies. One idea that has been really effective is starting the students with 10 pennies at the beginning of each week. Instead of dealing with actually pennies the teacher made a laminated poster board with all of their names on it. Each name has space for ten pennies drawn on with a dry erase marker. Throughout the week if the children don't follow procedures, routines, or proper behaviors they have to get up and erase a penny with their finger. On Friday they get to go to a store with their leftover pennies and buy something. Another strategy that the teacher used at the end of last year, when all the students were so anxious waiting to get out of school and behaviors started cropping up, was a 20 day countdown. She hung twenty envelopes from the ceiling numbered 1-20. Inside of each envelope was a fun (short) activity that those in the class that did their work and had good behaviors could participate in at the end of each day. This activity seemed to work well! Just today I saw that the class was so rowdy and talkative during centers that the teacher turned off the lights and it seemed to really quiet down and relax the children. The classroom has a lot of west facing windows with natural light, instead of the bright fluorescent lights, and this seemed really relaxing to the children.

The most important role a teacher plays in the classroom

The most important role I have seen in my work as an aide in the classroom, in my classroom observations, and in seeing my daughter through her 1st year of teaching is CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.  It takes a lot of learning, education, and experience to direct and manage a classroom of 20-30 students.

 First, organizing your classroom setting is important in creating the best learning environment for the students. Making the best use of space can also be challenging but necessary. Finding space for a reading area, a learning area where the desks are set up, a small group teaching area, and an area for the teacher and her desk. Add to that space for books, technology, classroom supplies, and teacher necessities.

Second, testing, record keeping, and lesson planning are crucial to tracking progress and the how's and what's of teaching so that the students are learning in the best way to meet their needs. I know in my observations in both the Kindergarten and 5th grade classrooms, that there is always a measure of learning going on. From one on one to the classroom as a whole I have seen the teachers having kids pulled for one on one testing, or finishing of assignments. I've seen a number of quizzes given to assure that the students are retaining what they just learned about.

 Finally, managing the personalities and behaviors of each student to create a learning environment that can benefit each one. What may work one week, or day, may not work the next, so constantly recognizing what is working and what is not is very important to the teacher so that changes can occur when needed. I've already seen the Kindergarten teacher change out her discipline ideas as soon as they stop working. She has shown a lot of experience in making sure that if one thing stops working, she changes it up. I like that because it keeps the students on their toes in acting appropriately at school. Another thing I notice in Kindergarten is repetition of actions like walking quietly in the halls. When the class starts to lapse in remembering this, the teacher will revisit this action with repeating what needs to happen and even more practicing so the children remember what is acceptable at school. ORDER IS CRUCIAL when trying to direct and teach 20-30 students.

Managing Assessment

In my observations in the 5th grade double dosing class that I have been observing I have been able to help the teacher with assessments in reading and math. One of the activities that we do is Fry Phrases. These are 3 word phrases that are common in literature. A child, with practice, can improve their fluency as they practice these phrases. One of the ways that I have been able to help with assessing their fluency is to time the students as they read the Fry Phrases. As they read, we not only time them, but we also help them to achieve a standard time that is acceptable in passing one level to move on to the next. With practice they should not only increase their fluency, but should also be able to achieve the standard time without mistakes.

In the subject of math I have seen the teacher assess learning and knowledge by testing the students in areas that they are struggling in. After lots of practice the teacher will give the students some problems to see if they have mastered the concept. When they had mastered it,  I was able to check them off so that the teacher could see what areas the students still needed more reinforcement. The teacher also drew from the tests given during the normal school hours to see the weaknesses of the double dosing students, so that those concepts could be strengthened.

In the Kindergarten classroom I have been able to observe constant assessments. Since I work at a Title I school, this classroom has 2 aides, and even some parental volunteers each day. Besides the RazKids program that I talked about in my last blog that the teacher can look up each students progress, each child goes out with an aide and has a one on one learning opportunity. The things that I have observed being assessed are; one on one reading, small group guided reading, small group testing of math skills after math units, and DRA testing by the teacher. There is no way the teacher could do all that is done by herself, that is why I am a big advocate of Title I for helping the teacher in assessing her students and following up with small group/one on one learning activities to strengthen the minds and learning habits of these young students.

In all of these situations I noticed that there is a LOT of documenting and accountability to be able to measure progress with each student. We even assess the students I work with directly in my Special Class Kindergarten by filling out forms and measuring progress with their IEP goals.

Modifications for learners who are exceptional

One of the things that I have been able to observe are the different computer programs that the children in Kindergarten have. They spend a half an hour each day in the computer lab. Monday through Thursday the students work on a program called Waterford. It has two applications to help with Reading and Math. What is really nice about this program is that the student advances as fast or slow as learning and knowledge permit. These modifications help each student with his individual needs. At the beginning of the year all the students start at the beginning of the alphabet in the reading section. They go through all their letters, capital and lowercase, and activities that emphasize that letter. Activities like writing, matching, nursery rhymes with music, and picking out sight words. This gradually leads into reading.With the math application it begins with the number one and moves through all the numbers. Then it advances on to counting, addition, and subtraction. It even throws in science. Activities like a calendar, weather, whether something is real, alive, or not. Our Special Class Kindergarten also works on this same program and it adapts nicely to their needs.

Another program that the students use every Friday, and can also use at home, is called RAZKIDS. It is a reading program that can adapt to a students individual reading level. It begins with the teacher placing the students reading level, after testing, in the program. The program then sets up books for each students appropriate level. As they open the screen there are numerous books for them to go through. Under each book there are 3 icons for the students to click on. One is a book with an ear, another is a book with an eye, and the last is a question mark. With the ear they click to have the story read to them. With the eye they go through the story again and read it themselves. With the question mark they take a short 5 question quiz. As they complete each activity under the book a green checkmark will appear and they also get stars as rewards when they complete each part of reading the book. This program is very individualized and meets the needs of all students from exceptional to special needs. One of the nice things about this program is that they can get the passwords and usernames from the teacher and continue to read and advance at home. I have seen a lot of happy parents who love this program!

Why I like this activity so much in Kindergarten is that it is a time for individualized learning to help each student with their individual needs. The teacher can then go into each program to see how their students are progressing. What a great tool!

Working with small groups

So far, in my experiences with observing a 5th grade small group for double dosing, it has been a lot of fun. The teacher spends 2 days with mathematics and 1 day with literacy. I believe that the children in this class respond so much better with a small group. Less intimidation for them compared to the large group of their general ed classroom. The children that come seem to be really hard workers and good at following directions. This could be the result of having a small group situation where they don't feel the need to impress anyone, or fall into silence because of the fear of their inadequacies. One of the things that I have noticed after talking about the history of education is that all of the children in this double dosing situation are of Hispanic descent. I have found no prejudices or unequal education for these children. It is so refreshing!

I am also observing a Kindergarten class with 30 students. In this class they have small group activities twice a week with centers. The class is divided into 6 smaller groups and given work activities, which rotate each of the days. There are six centers that the children are able to rotate through over a three week period. Then the teacher switches out for six new ones. The teacher also switches out the children so they are in a new group for the next three weeks. Centers last a total of 30 minutes for each of the two days. Here is a chart similar to the one the teacher uses.

Group 1   Group 2    Group 3        Group 4        Group 5    Group 6

Blue Table Red Table Yellow Table Orange Table Pink Table Green Table

At the tables the children are assigned the same color boxes with their assignment in it.

It is a work assignment that has to do with what they are currently learning. 

When they finish their work assignment they get to do a play/active center with the time left.

Mrs. Wright'sApple Box Puzzles    Mrs. Wright's    Listening   Sandbox

Room **       Art activity                Room**            Center        Blocks or Legos

**This play activity is mainstreaming with the Special Class Kindergarten which is my job. This gives an opportunity for the general ed students and the special ed students to interact with one another. Some of the play activities in Mrs. Wright's classroom are an art table, a rice table, a game table, a puzzle table, toys, books, and a movie. I see great benefits in mainstreaming! It really helps the general ed children to see the special education students as children just like them.

Developmental Differences

I am observing a fifth grade classroom with a small group of children involved in a program called "double dosing". It is scheduled 40 minutes before the start of school and lasts 30 minutes. This extra learning time is for children that are struggling in the core areas of math and literacy. In this class the children study the subjects that will be covered in the classroom during the same week. It also covers areas that the children have struggled with on previous tests thus receiving a "double dose" of the same lessons they will have in the classroom during regular school hours.

 One of the developmental differences that I have seen so far with this group of children is difficulty reading aloud fluently. When practicing with reading, the children are doing fry phrases while being timed. Fry phrases are common sight words that the children will see in any of the reading they will do in life. Being able to learn these common phrases and say them quickly will help with their fluency. It's amazing how different something sounds when it is read out loud. After this activity the teacher models a guided reading page by reading a passage out loud as the children follow along visually. Then he asks the children to all read the same passage, out loud, with him. I've noticed some of the children really have a difficult time reading out loud. Both of these techniques really involve visual and auditory learning styles.

 Another developmental difference I've observed is the speed with which the children do their math problems. Some of the children are pretty fast, while others have to really think and take some time. One of the things that the teacher does when working with the children in math is he teaches them a couple of different ways to solve their problems. This helps them to be able to work their problems to the best of their ability. They are currently working on place values, multiplication with multiple digits, and exponents. They have been using either the box method, i.e. array method, or the algorithm method for multiplication. Each of the children have chosen their favorite way to do it. I did not see any of them be able to solve their problems faster with one method or the other. I think the speed of solving their problems will come with practice. The teacher did make them use both methods to check their answers. They use their own white boards to work out their problems and this seems to be the preferred method for the kids. Today they began doing division and working with math manipulatives. The children were able to take 50 cubes and put them into one large group. Then they learned how to divide the cubes into smaller groups. The teachers methods were diverse in using kinesthetic and visual learning styles. All the children in the class really liked using the math manipulatives.