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Contextual Factors (LO 1.3) (APS 1) TWS Standard: The teacher uses information about the learning-teaching context and student individual differences to set learning goals, lesson objectives, plan instruction and assessment(s). Classroom Factors: This fourth grade classroom is decent sized but can seem small when there are twentytwo students. It has a cool temperature to keep students engaged and alert. The only source of natural light comes from two small windows. This class is very welcoming. At the front of the room, there is a dry erase board, Smart Board, and bulletin board. The calendar and objectives for each subject are located on the bulletin board. The white board displays their daily lunch choice in a pocket chart. It also has the word of the week. On the Smart Board, their morning work is shown and it is usually four or five problems including math examples and editing sentences. At the door, there are two tables in an L shape where the laptop, document reader, and other supplies are. This area is where the teacher does any work that requires the computer. On the other side of the room, there is a kidney shaped table that doubles as the teachers desk as well as the meeting place for guided reading. Behind the table there are two tall bookcases for resource and book storage. In front of the board, there is a carpet that has sections by color: red, blue, green, orange, and purple. At the back of the classroom in the corner is the reading basket corner. This is where the students can choose books out of different categories. The back wall is home to four computers for student use. Students take their Accelerated Reader (AR) tests on books within their reading level. Above the computers are shelves that house books and other classroom resources. On the wall to the left when you walk in the class, there are cubbies and hooks for students to hang their book-bags and other belongings for the duration of the day. There are three storage cabinets in the corner near the students cubbies and computers. Here, the teacher stores extra supplies, lesson resources, and other personal items. The students desks are arranged in groups: two groups of five desks, and two groups of six desks. There are two students who are not seated in a group. One student is near the L shaped table. This student has ADHD and has difficulty paying attention and getting along with his peers. This student does not receive any special treatment from his teacher however she does take into consideration his situation at home. The other student is seated beside the door. This student is considered gifted and talented but is challenged with keeping quiet. When the students are called to line up, they are not called in any specific order, nor does teacher have their desk in groups in any specific way. When conflicts become present, she will rearrange the desks to suit the students needs. On the walls, there are chart papers of information from previous lessons. These posters serve as a quick referencing tool for students to use. There are also posters of morning procedures as well as classroom rules. Other resources that the teacher includes in their classroom are the Foss kits and math manipulative kits to incorporate hands-on lessons to engage their students. For guided reading, there are six packs of leveled books for students to use. Compass Learning software is also used. Other resources used are workbooks,

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maps/charts/globes, teacher resource books, interactive read-aloud, newspapers and magazines, and the Instructional Intervention Specialist. Unfortunately, this classroom has very little parental involvement. For the most part, there are seldom any parent volunteers in the class or in the school altogether. However, there are ways for parents to volunteer and get involved throughout the year school wide for Open House, Family Night, and PTO. Most parents are easy to reach if the situation arises. Phone calls or notes home usually have the best results with communicating between teachers and parents. There are those parents who respond in the way of addressing problems or concerns as well as those parents who are defensive of their child and their progress and actions. The classroom rules are school-wide and they are: As a member of this community I willbe read y, be respectful, and be responsible. This teacher keeps up with disciplinary consequences on a clipboard with a roster of the students. The students receive a dot for every offense: 1) warning; 2) silent lunch; 3) silent lunch and 10 minutes off recess; 4) silent lunch, no recess, and phone call for minor infraction; 5) major infraction. As a reward for good behavior and following the rules, students receive PAWsitive Paws. The rules set the stage for the school by promoting positive behavior. In the classroom, there is a pocket chart with each students name on a pocket where they store their paws. This classroom has a set schedule and the teacher strives to stick to it. In the mornings, the students start the day with breakfast. While they are having breakfast, they are also doing their morning routine. After this, the students are called to the carpet for their morning meeting, also known as the Community Circle. After they discuss any items of business, the teacher assigns them to their desk to work on Reading Workshop. Early finishers are to have independent reading and they have the opportunity to take AR test. During this time, she calls her guided reading groups to the table. The teacher labeled her guided reading groups by colors: red, green, orange, and purple. There are five students in the red group which is level 30. There are six students in the green group on level 38. This is the level that they all should be on for fourth grade. In the purple group, there are six students reading on a level 44. One student, who is in extended resource, reads on a level 2. Two students are considered Tier 2-B and they see an Instructional Intervention Specialist twice weekly for reading. They have activity at 9:00. They go to PE on Mondays but it lasts for an hour. Tuesday they have music, Wednesday they visit the Media Center, art on Thursday, and the computer lab on Fridays. They have activity for fifty minutes Tuesday through Friday. On Wednesdays, the fourth grade team meets during their planning. After activity, they return to class for a reading lesson and math follows. After math they have recess and lunch. When they return to the classroom, they have word study then science or social studies. They do a science unit for two consecutive weeks and then social studies for two weeks. Writing workshop follows science/social studies and dismissal ends the day. Mathews Elementary, home of the bulldogs, is a Title 1 school in Greenwood District 50. Mathews Elementary is Where Children Think, Dream, Believe, and Achieve. This year, Mathews has an enrollment of 598 students and is a very established school within the community. The mission of Mathews Elementary is to challenge all students to think, dream, believe, and achieve to their fullest potential by being ready, respectful, and responsible. The

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education majors are privileged to be at a University that has the ability and cooperation to form quality educational partnerships for their clinical experiences. Goals for the 2013-2014 school year include: 1.) Increase student learning for all students through the implementation of research based strategies and interventions so that our students are on grade level as measured by MAP, PASS, Running Records, and grades. 2.) Implement strategies and interventions to increase participation in PBIS celebrations. 3.) Implement Common Core Standards in ELA and Math. Student characteristics: This fourth grade class consists of twenty-two students. Their ages range from nine to ten years old. We have one student who is repeating the fourth grade. The class has fourteen boys (63.6%) and eight girls (36.4%). 63.6% of the students are African-American, 22.7% are Caucasian, and 13.6% are Hispanic. Seven students live with two parents and fifteen students live with a single parent or grandparent. Overall, the majority of the students come from low socioeconomic status families and qualifies for and receives free/reduced lunch. Several students in this classroom take medication for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Three students have been identified as gifted and talented and receive special instruction three and a half hours each week. Two students receive speech therapy twice a week totaling one hour and one student receives occupational therapy once a week for thirty minutes. The three Hispanic students do not receive extra out of class ESL instruction. Two students have proficient English speaking skills and one student is resource. There are four resource students and one extended resource student in this class. These students are all served through inclusion during science and social studies. One student is hearing impaired and wears hearing aids. There are four students with IEPs and one has an IEP for speech. Most fourth graders are in the concrete-operational stage of cognitive development and need hands-on activities. As a whole, these students are either visual or kinesthetic learners. Their interests include sports and anything that is on the Disney Channel. These students are curious and are motivated by meaningful experiences to life outside of the classroom. Their PASS scores categorized the students in math as: 13 students did not meet standard, 5 students met, and 4 students were exemplary. In ELA, 5 students did not meet standard, 8 students met, and 9 scored exemplary. The students either had science or social studies, not both in third grade. For social studies, 1 did not meet standard, 5 met, and 5 were exemplary. 4 students did not meet standard, 2 met, and 3 were exemplary in science. Two students were not in the district last year and the teacher does not have their scores. The students MAP scores for ELA ranged from 158-225 with 198 being at grade level. Math MAP scores ranged from 171-220 with 203 being at grade level. Not all students scores were recorded in this data because they closed the window before the teacher could see them. Five out of eighteen students met the grade level for ELA. Four out of fifteen students met grade level for Math.

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Instructional Implications: Because the students have such a large difference in achievement gaps and developmental levels, the teacher must keep in mind what is best for all learners when planning lessons and assessments. The developmental level spans from a student reading on a level 2 to students exceeding grade level. The teachers adaptations include Response to Intervention (RTI), modification to instruction as needed, talk partners, study buddies, and oneon-one assistance. RTI is for students who scored in the lowest 20% on MAP and they receive additional support in reading instruction. Talk partners are when higher leveled students are paired with lower leveled students to help foster critical thinking skills. Students are paired with a study buddy for word study and spelling of words on their instructional level. One -on-one assistance is when students help other students as needed. Since these fourth graders are mostly visual and kinesthetic learners, the teacher should incorporate lessons and activities the students can relate to and fall into their interest categories as often as possible. Students are more likely to be engaged and participate with little distraction and gain more from the lesson. The teacher also must take into account any behavior issues. Like stated previously, there are no serious behavior issues, just talking to other students during instructional time. By assessing and knowing the students knowledge and background information, teachers can provide them with quality instruction. Assessing students allows the teacher to see where their skill level is, and design instruction to benefit the student and their individual learning needs.