Kassie Vaughn 1 Merrywood Elementary Mrs.

Landreth- 3rd Grade

Contextual Factors
1) Classroom Factors
a) Physical Features i) As I entered the classroom on the very first day, I fell in love with the theme the teacher had chosen in which to decorate her classroom: the State of South Carolina. All throughout the room, palmetto trees, the states shape, and a few of our state sayings can be seen outside the door, posted on the walls, and on the tables. For example, above the Smart Board, there is a sign that reads, Nothing could be finer than to be in 3rd grade!, and also in the middle of the students table groups, there are supply buckets which have their table numbers outlined in our states shape that are painted on the side. The students cubbies are located on the left, right as you walk through the door to the room; each student has their own cubby in which they place their notebooks, boxes and books. They place their book bags underneath the cubbies on their particular hooks. On the wall above the cubbies, there are posters of good character traits, the order of morning work, and directions for what to do after morning work. With the posting of quality character traits, I recognized instantly that my teacher was a stickler for having well-behaved and managed children in her classroom. Also, the display of their entire morning routine emphasizes there is no such thing as downtime in her class; students arrive, start on their assigned work for the morning, and once they are finished, they may read quietly a book from their bag of books. Starting on the back wall, there is the bathroom, cabinets, computers, and shelves, which contain tons of books relating to different subjects and various materials and manipulatives. (See Attachment 1). Also, the teacher has posted signs pertaining to Writers Workshop, such as the The Dos and Donts of Writing, informing me and justifying my thoughts that she focuses a great deal of her time on strengthening students reading and writing skills. On the far wall of the classroom, there are taller cabinets, Mrs. Landreths desk, and the Readers Workshop corner. Within this corner, there are many books arranged in baskets, according to reading levels, and pieces of chart paper describing: 1) the process of checking out books (which children can do every morning before eight, if it is their groups day), and 2) how to choose the best book for them personally. The teacher devotes a healthy amount of time allowing the students to become immersed in their independent reading; however she encourages them to focus on certain literacy, reading, writing, and thinking skills as they are exploring their books. (See Attachment 2). The whiteboard is positioned along the front wall, and it displays the homework for the day, classroom rules (there are only five), schedule of the day, and essential questions the class will investigate during each subject. The Smart Board follows the whiteboard, along with Mrs. Landreths laptop, the Science and Social Studies

Kassie Vaughn 2 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade bulletin board, file cabinets, the golden ticket ribbon, and a Happy Birthday chart. Within the middle of the room, the students desks are arranged in five different groups, with four students per group. Although, there is one child who has behavioral problems when sitting in a group and must sit by himself, and so therefore, his desk is placed near the reading corner. The desks however, are in the form of rectangular tables that are imaginarily split into two desks, meaning two rectangular tables comprise each group of four students. The particular arrangement of table groups provides children the opportunity to easily collaborate with each other, and each child appears to be given plenty of personal work space even as they share their table with another classmate. Additionally, there are moveable nametags on the desks, for the reason that the teacher regularly rearranges childrens seating as way to change things up a little. Near the reading corner, in front of the whiteboard, there is a colored rug where the students sometimes gather for whole-group instruction. Each row on the rug is divided into six squares and is a certain color; the various colors of rows include purple, blue, green, orange and red. Prior to instruction, each student has an assigned colored square on the rug, where they become involved in interactive learning through listening to the teacher and engaging in meaningful discussions with their turn-and-talk partners. Also, in order to help her students easily focus on her during lessons, Mrs. Landreth placed her rocking chair directly in front of the rug, with the flip chart beside her. Lastly, in the back of the room, among the back middle of all the desks, the kidney-shaped table is located, where the teacher works with various children at different times throughout the day in reading conferences, math workshops, read-aloud tests, etc. b) Availability of Technology i) There are four main sources of technology that are available in the classroom. First of all, the teacher uses the Smart Board, which is hooked up to her laptop, during most of her lessons, especially math, to draw charts her students help her create. Also, she utilizes it to display the numerous songs, books, and videos that entertain the students each day, in order for all of the children to be able to clearly see and hear what is going on. Secondly, the five computers in the back of the room serve as an asset to both my cooperating teacher and her students. The teacher employs the computers when directing and managing her lessons, and the children use them during their math workshop time by practicing various skills they have been asked to enhance on a specific math-sponsored site. Also, Mrs. Landreth has her own personal printer in the room, in order to have easy access when she has to print a couple of things for herself; that way she does not have to run to the workroom more times than needed. Last but most certainly not least, the teacher has an iPad at her kidneyshaped table, and she uses it to house all of her important documents regarding the students and as a reference when she is assisting students at her table with certain

Kassie Vaughn 3 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade things. I am not sure quite yet if the iPad is her own personal item, or one of many the school offers to all of the teachers each year. c) Equipment i) The students cubbies are at the eye level of the children, and provide them with an overall assurance that their personal belongings will be kept safe, as they place their notebooks and books in them each day. Among the shelves on the back wall of the room, there are numerous boxes of manipulatives the teacher uses for lessons she conducts in math, social studies, and science. One thing I particularly love is that everywhere you look around the classroom, there are baskets of books pertaining to all subjects, both for the students use as well as Mrs. Landreths! For instance, in the reading corner, the books are arranged by reading level in order for the children to easily recognize where they should be shopping. Additionally, each student has their own bag of books hanging on their chair, where they keep the 5-6 books they check out from the corner each week. It is evident the teacher seeks to motivate her students to become skilled, independent readers through multiple interactions through different kinds of literature in the classroom. Also, pertaining to reading, Mrs. Landreth often gives the children several Sticky notes during independent reading time, as a simple source they can employ when talking back to books, or using some other learned reading skill to explore their books. During large-group instruction, the teachers rocking chair and the multi-colored rug are often used in order to promote small community engagement for the period of a lesson. When participating in math lessons, sometimes the students will use the small, handheld whiteboards (placed in a bucket underneath the flipchart) and their EXPO markers to work through certain problems, as mistakes can be easily erased when using the boards. Each child has their own marker, with their name on it, so therefore an incentive is set in place to take special care of their particular marker, or they understand they will have to use paper and pencil until they can get a new one somehow. As mentioned before, the desks are arranged in table groups (four students in each group) throughout the classroom, and each group has two rectangular tables that are split into two desks. However, in the middle of each group, there is a supply box which contains Ziploc bags that hold each students crayons, markers, scissors, glue, etc. d) Resources i) Regarding various subjects, there are new resources that have been integrated into most of the Greenwood District 50 schools. For math, each school is utilizing a new curriculum called My Math, which my cooperating teacher seems to really enjoy, seeing as how students have workbooks (instead of textbooks), but are also able to access similar information about lessons online. In reading, the Lucy Calkins curriculum has been used for, I believe, several years, because all of the teachers

Kassie Vaughn 4 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade appear to fully understand how the program operates and have it successfully implemented into their reading blocks for each day. Concerning only my classroom however, there is an abundant supply of books, books, and more books (as I have recently stated) that serve for both classroom and personal use. Mrs. Landreth also has her iPad which she uses to store all of her important documents regarding the students and as a reference when she is assisting children at her table with certain things. Each student has a morning work binder to organize all of their materials needed to get each day started properly, and they further have homework folders which read on the front: Palmetto T.R.E.E.- Taking Responsibility Each and Everyday. In addition, composition notebooks are employed for each subject (meaning that each student has four), and children keep track of important information Mrs. Landreth gives them from assorted lessons. e) Parental Involvement i) The class is comprised of twenty-one children who are, without a doubt, very different from each other in all aspects: physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. Unfortunately, my cooperating teacher confessed to me that even though some families are very involved and helpful, a large percentage of her students seem to not be fairly supported by their parents or guardians. As a result, she stated that the involvement of her students parents and guardians this year is average; she has experienced both more and less in the past. For example, she informed me that only three parents attended Open House recently, maybe half came to Meet the Teacher night, and some may volunteer to travel on field trips with the class throughout the year. Nevertheless, she has had a healthier amount of parental involvement in her past years of being a teacher. Although I understand parents may truly care for their children and want what is best for them, it is devastating to think the young students in my cooperating teachers class are having to learn and grow through this critical time of their life, on their own. f) Classroom Rules and Routines i) The way in which my cooperating teacher manages her classroom revolves around five main rules, which are visibly posted on the whiteboard for all the students to see. The five rules include: 1) be an active listener when your teacher is talking, 2) follow directions quickly, 3) raise your hand for permission to speak, 4) keep your hands and feet to yourself, and 5) respect others, respect yourself, respect your school. I believe the fact in which Mrs. Landreth only created five simple, but specific rules for the children to abide by is a great example of classroom management because it quickly makes students aware of her main expectations for their behavior in the classroom. Right beside the classroom rules, the teacher also has guidelines posted of how children can have the most successful ride of their lives, and these consist of: 1) create a positive vision, 2) fuel your ride with positive energy, 3) no bullies allowed,

Kassie Vaughn 5 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade 4) love your passengers, and 5) enjoy the ride. I think the guidelines for the students lives, along with the basic rules, inform children that their teacher is not only concerned about their well-being in her classroom, but also in their daily lives outside of school as well. Unfortunately, there must be consequences for when one of the classroom rules is broken, but in my class, those consequences are not posted because the students are supposed to know what happens if they do not follow correct procedures. The only negative effect I have viewed so far when children break a rule is they have to walk on the grass around the playground at recess, instead of playing and interacting with friends. However, on the whiteboard in the classroom, Mrs. Landreth keeps a Table Tallies chart, where she strives to observe and keep track of good behavior and self-control represented by the different table groups. ii) There are numerous routines that exist in the classroom, and by this time of the year, the children are very accustomed to each one, which helps to overall enhance the management of the classroom. In the morning, the students have a routine in which they follow to help get their day started. They come in, place their breakfast order, unpack their book bags and hang them up, place their open binders on their desks, put their homework in the bucket, make their lunch choice, sharpen two pencils, begin their morning work, write down their homework, and make sure their area is clean. When they have completed all of their expected tasks, they may read quietly, work on accelerated math, or complete unfinished work. However, when WMER (the school news channel) appears on the Smart Board, they must stop what they are doing and participate. As I mentioned before, the display of their entire morning routine emphasizes there is no such thing as downtime in her class; students are constantly working to become more independent human beings. The WMER morning news consists of fellow students from the school speaking about upcoming events, birthdays for the day, and the weather, and there is also a regular exercise routine incorporated. Following the viewing of the morning announcements, Mrs. Landreth proceeds in getting another great day of third grade started! g) Grouping Patterns i) The main pattern apparent in the classroom is that children are grouped by tables. There are four children at each table and the tables are labeled by numbers one through five. The teacher informed me that she assigned the students to each table with a random assortment in mind, and decided she would modify and adjust if needed. The children also have a certain square to sit on when they come to the large, square rug in front of the whiteboard, where some large-group instruction takes place. When sitting on the rug and engaging in interactive read-aloud activities, each student has further been assigned their own turn- and- talk partner, with whom they may be asked to share their thoughts and engage in meaningful discussions with. Regarding diverse subjects however, Mrs. Landreth has pre-arranged math and reading groups in

Kassie Vaughn 6 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade order for students to work more in depth with her on certain skills and concepts, through conferences during Readers Workshop and Math Workshop. h) Scheduling i) Landreth Class Schedule (2013-2014)

1:40-2:30 => Science/ SC History i) Classroom Arrangement i) The arrangement of the classroom is designed for the students to engage in various learning moments throughout each day and overall continue their success in education. The students cubbies are located on the left, right as you walk through the door to the room; each student has their own cubby in which they place four composition notebooks, binders, and books. There are five table groups spaced neatly among the center of the classroom, with approximately four students in each group. The particular arrangement of table groups provides children the opportunity to easily collaborate with each other, and each child appears to be given plenty of personal work space even as they share their table with another classmate. The learning area, where a portion of the main large-group instruction takes place, is found in the farthest right corner of the classroom as you enter through the door. This area contains the whiteboard, teachers rocking chair, flip chart, various materials and manipulatives, and a colorful rug with 30 different-colored squares on it. The reading corner is located directly behind the learning area, and contains a vast collection of books for the children to share and explore together. In the back left corner of the classroom, there is a restroom facility, but the sink sits right outside of it (at a height that is appropriate for the students) so as to always remind the children to wash their hands after using the restroom.

7:40-8:00 => Morning Work 8:00-9:05 => Math 9:05-9:55 => Special Area 9:55-10:15 => Interactive Read-Aloud 10:15-10:35 => Reading Mini Lesson 10:35-11:10 => Independent Reading/ Conferences 11:10-11:30 => Shared Reading/ Word Study 11:30-12:20 => Writing 12:20-1:10 => Lunch and Recess 1:10-1:40 => Language/ RTI

Kassie Vaughn 7 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade

2)

Student Characteristics and Demographics

3rd Grade Class- Merrywood Elementary Fall 2013

Description Nos. of Children Age Eight-years-old Nine-years-old African-American White Hispanic IEP Female 9 8 1 4 4 1 0 2 [one is in Tier 2 (ESOL) and the other is in Tier 2B (retained)] 2 Male 12 8 4 3 8 1 3 [one is retained] Total 21 16 5 7 12 2 3

Race/Ethnicity

Special Needs

RTI

1 [in Tier 2B]

GT Total Originally from Honduras and is Hebrew Total

3 9

Culture

1 1

Language

English Total

9 [one speaks only basic English]

12 [one can speak basic English]

21 21

Kassie Vaughn 8 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade 2 [one speaks mainly Spanish; the other can speak Spanish along with fluent English]

Spanish

1 [can speak Spanish along with basic English]

Total Interests (See Attachment 3) Sports Reading-Judy Moody Reading-Diary of a Wimpy Kid Outdoors Skill LevelsReading K-20 or below L-24 M-28 N-30 O-34 P-38 or above 5 3 3 6 2 8 2 9 9

3 13 5 12 15

0 2 3 1 1 2

2 3 3 4 4 3
19 ***2 are not tested in the regular classroom setting***

1 0 3 3 1

Total

Skill LevelsMath

High Medium Low Total

5 2 2

4 4 4

9 6 6 21 9 6 6 21

Learning Styles/Modalities

Visual Auditory Kinesthetic Total

5 3 1

4 3 5

Kassie Vaughn 9 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade

Achievement/Developmental Levels: The students in the classroom appear to be on varying developmental levels in certain subjects such as reading skills and math concepts. Regarding literacy and reading skills, my cooperating teacher was gracious enough to give me the current information she has on the children and their reading levels. In my class, there are eight students who read at the average or below grade level, while on the other hand, the remaining eleven children read above the average for their grade level. Two of the students were not tested on their reading skills in the regular classroom settings, because they are taken out for reading instruction from a literacy coach. As is apparent, the reading abilities of the children in my class vary greatly, so therefore I will have to mindful of the particular materials I choose to integrate into my lessons for students to read and hopefully comprehend. Pertaining to math skills, I based the information I recorded in my table above from observations I have taken while viewing students work during several math lessons. According to my data, there are nine children who work at a lower level, six who are at a medium level, and the other six have worked their way up to more advanced levels. Based on my observations, I must strive to develop my instructional strategies around the specific mathematical levels I think will be challenging for the students in my class, but not impossible. As a result of the data I have acquired concerning the twenty-one children in my third grade class, I have chosen who I believe are the high, medium, and low students. For my high student, I chose Ashlyn who is a white female, with a P reading level, high math level, and seems to learn best through visual modalities. The child I chose for my medium student is Charli. Charli is an African-American female with a N reading level, medium math level, and overall appears to possess a visual learning style. For my low student, I chose Daivyon who is an African-American male with a M reading level, low math level, and seems to have a kinesthetic learning modality, in which he learns best through hands-on activities. He also has an IEP and is currently one of my two children who are retained. Throughout my Clinical, I will focus on observing these three students behaviors, class work, and assessments in order to determine the progress each child has made in different subject areas, and overall how they perform during my five lessons.

Kassie Vaughn 10 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade

3)

Instructional Implications

A. Every single contextual characteristic of the classroom will play a major role in the specific ways in which I plan my lessons and decide the particular teaching techniques I think would best benefit the childrens learning. The classroom environment is very organized and structured in all aspects and it is clearly evident through the students. When planning my instruction and assessment, I will have to keep that in mind because, as most students, they are accustomed to a specific structure. I will seek to vary my teaching strategies and possess a creative mind, but I must strive to keep the basic structure that is already laid out in the classroom. Also, the particular materials that are apparent in multiple areas throughout the learning environment can give indications of the strengths the teacher believes students must have. For example, there are numerous collections of books and other types of literature located around the room and my cooperating teacher spends a lot of time doing readers workshop, independent reading, and read-alouds. Because of the great importance that is placed on reading in the classroom, I will make every effort to incorporate interactive read-alouds in my lessons (regardless of subject) and encourage children to continue enhancing their reading skills. Regarding students skill levels, the wide variety of developmental stages must be acknowledged and integrated when designing lesson plans. For instance, there are three students who are in GT, three who have IEPs, three in RTI, two who are retained, and one is ESOL (along with assorted levels of reading). As a result, I must carefully choose my methods of instruction and assessment in order for all of my students needs to be met and everyone to understand concepts. However, there are two specific contextual characteristics I believe are greatly evident in the classroom and overall influence the way learning occurs in the students: classroom management, and varying developmental levels and diverse learning styles. B. First of all, regarding the management of the classroom environment, the numerous routines existing help to overall enhance how structured the class schedule is each day and what students are expected to do as members of their particular class. As I mentioned earlier, the children are well accustomed to the routines by this time of the year and can become very distraught if somehow one of their school days does not go as planned. Therefore, as a new addition to their class family, I must strive to learn all of the rules and routines of their classroom when implicating my instruction. By doing so, the students will be assured and understand that I, as another teacher model, expect the same of them as their teacher and plan to always follow the same daily schedule they have become familiar with. Secondly, concerning the students diverse learning styles and developmental levels, I will plan the implications of each of my lessons with the interests and individual personalities of each child in mind. The students in the classroom appear to be on varying developmental levels

Kassie Vaughn 11 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade in certain subjects such as reading skills and different math concepts; some children are on one end of the spectrum, others are in the middle, and some take shelter on the opposite end. Also, the different cultural backgrounds make a difference in the particular learning styles the children possess. For example, most of the students at this age seem to learn best by employing a kinesthetic learning style, but there are others who learn using an auditory or visual style, where they must hear or see the information first. Additionally, as I implied in my Student Demographics chart, there are three children in my class who speak Spanish, with two being able to speak both English and Spanish, and the other is strictly ESOL (she only speaks some basic English, is from Honduras, and is Hebrew). For my ESOL student, she must have tests and some class work read to her in a small group setting by the teacher. Therefore, for my instruction and assessment, I must make appropriate accommodations and adaptations for her. Some of my handouts and assessments will have to be personally read to her and one-on-one time will be integrated. As a result, because of the diverse developmental and achievement levels of the students, I have realized I will have to learn how to teach on a basic level, and then adjust and monitor the difficulty levels according to each particular students learning style and prior achievements. To accommodate all learning styles and cultural backgrounds, I will strive to connect my lessons to each student personally, through hands-on activities, and individually explain to students what I thoroughly expect of them if they have a hard time grasping something I have said. Summary: Every member of the faculty and staff at Merrywood Elementary seeks to make sure that their school and classrooms are well-managed and overall safe for children to engage in effective learning. My cooperating teacher seeks to build upon the developed classroom management, diverse learning styles, and choices of the children to create the comfortable, exciting family environment of learning that exists within the four walls of the classroom. This information and the further experiences I will have in my classroom and at Merrywood, will be undoubtedly essential for my planning and future teaching, as I learn from the best what to do and not to do in an early childhood classroom in order for quality learning to develop.

Kassie Vaughn 12 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade

Attachments 1.

2.

Kassie Vaughn 13 Merrywood Elementary Mrs. Landreth- 3rd Grade

3.