Dylan Brooks

Textbox 1.1.1 Community, District, School Contextual Factors That Influence Instruction a) One community factor that I would address in my classroom would be the high unemployment rate in the county. One possible instructional strategy would be to incorporate possible careers in many of my lesson plans. The EEDA standards could be addressed to influence students to have goals for possible careers that interest them. EEDA covers 16 different career clusters that could be incorporated into many different classroom activities and lessons. Some research shows that students in higher areas of poverty feel that they cannot make a true difference in their communities and their own lives. I believe that this strategy would help the students see that there are career possibilities that can tap into their personal interests and passions. One possible learning activity would be to host a career day in the classroom. I would invite community members to talk about their jobs and what made them pursue that career. This would give the students real-world reinforcement to what we have been learning in the classroom. For instance, after a unit on the environment, it would be beneficial to invite someone directly involved in preserving or servicing the state parks. Prior to the speakers visit, the students would research their specific job to be able to prepare questions to ask. This would provide a better experience for the students because they would already have some prior knowledge of the tasks related to the position. Furthermore, I would let the students interests guide who I invite to present their career. b) In Greenwood District 50 there is a high level of diversity in the students that includes 40% African American students, 45% Caucasian, and 12% Hispanic. This amount of diversity can be used as a catalyst for promoting tolerance and accepting attitudes of the students. The classroom teacher can begin this process by creating a highly positive learning environment. If a teacher can successfully create a community within the classroom, the students will have a better learning experience. One specific instructional strategy to create this community would be to utilize a Morning Meeting. This would be part of the daily routine that brings students and teachers together in a circle to greet, share, participate in an activity and to review any news or announcements. This creates trust between the students, promotes confidence, and gives students practice in respectful communication. Furthermore, creating this environment or community in the classroom extends into the academic parts of the day. For instance, students will gain the needed social skills when working together on a project or assignment. Also, allowing the students to participate in a semi-academic activity in the morning gets them better prepared for the day. The third step in a Morning Meeting is the activity portion. One example would be the alphabet story. The procedure is simple for most grade levels to comprehend and successfully participate. The first person in the circle starts a sentence beginning with the letter A. The next person continues this story with the next letter. It continues until each student has had a

Dylan Brooks

chance to contribute. This learning activity requires listening and speaking skills. This is an engaging activity for the students to bond with. c) At Springfield Elementary school 11.9% of students have an IEP (approximately 67 students). This means that it is a high possibility to have at least one or more students in the classroom that require specific accommodations to service them in the classroom. Providing multisensory lessons are just one of the possible ways to address these students. If a teacher considers the different learning modalities of his/her students, then they will be able to more effectively successfully teach each individual student. Most lessons should incorporate audio, visual and kinesthetic aspects so that each student receives ample opportunity to understand the material and/or concept. For example, a reading workshop lesson that included each learning style would begin with the teacher explaining the concept to be learned that day orally. During or after this auditory stimulation the teacher would use a visual aid to support or extend their teaching or modeling. To extend these modalities the teacher could allow the students to contribute by talking to their neighbor or orally responding to guiding questions from the teacher. To include the kinesthetic aspect of the lesson the teacher could have the students name off the main points of the lesson by having them associate a movement to the concept. For instance, if the teacher was explaining new vocabulary, the students could create a hand motion that supported the meaning of the word. A specific learning activity that can incorporate the different learning styles would be to utilize readers theatre. Readers Theatre involves students reading a script adapted from literature and the audience picturing the action from hearing the script being read aloud. Performers bring the dialogue/script alive by using voice, facial expressions and maybe gestures. There are many benefits to Readers Theatre, including; fluency development through repeated exposure to text, increased comprehension, engage students, and provides opportunities for cooperative learning. Unlike traditional theatre productions this requires no sets, costumes, props or memorized lines. Often the audience is been given a purpose as well as the performers because all students should be engaged during the lesson. They may have been asked to look for examples of characterization or they have created sound effects to use. Textbox 1.1.2: Classroom Demographics and Knowledge of Students

a) There are 4 extended resource students, 2 ELL students and 1 student who receives speech services. A specific instructional strategy to help support the students that have an IEP in the classroom would be to provide more one-on-one instruction. One way to incorporate this into reading instruction, for example, would be to have more individual conferences about their reading to make sure they understand the different concepts that have been taught that week. During independent reading time, the teacher would meet individually with students to ask

Dylan Brooks

them questions about what they are reading and to practice the different reading skills that are needed in the upper-elementary grades. Since a majority of 4th grade students are beyond text decoding skills, they need the most practice with reading strategies that support comprehension and critical thinking skills. A simple learning activity that can be used for students in small group or whole group would be Sketchto-Stretch. This activity supports comprehension by requiring students to listen to a small piece of text then respond by drawing simple illustrations to support the main idea of that portion. This helps the students synthesize information and present the required information in a way that is accessible to every student, including the ones who are less able to put their thoughts in writing. b) During my student teaching experience, I have noticed that my students have their highest engagement when the lessons are more active rather than passive. My students find it very difficult to sit for long periods of time and prefer to be moving around and/or talking. I believe that it is best to incorporate these aspects into the lessons. When completing an otherwise less interesting task of reviewing for a test, students can gain more from an active experience. For example, students can play a true or false game of the material being reviewed. This game would require the students to jump once for true or sway from side to side for false. This also incorporates a more kinesthetic approach to learning which can be a stimulating experience for any student. This strategy can be used in practically any subject or grade-level. A learning activity that incorporates physical movement is ideal based on my knowledge of these students. For example, a math lesson could utilize large number lines taped to the floor. Student groups cold jump to the corresponding number for equal fractions, answers to equations etc. This would allow the students to learn the material without them having to sit for long periods of time. I believe the students level of engagement and understanding would be higher. Textbox 1.2.1: Available Resources to Enhance Student Learning a) The first resource that I believe could benefit student learning would be to utilize Foss Kits. These are great and easily implemented activities to enhance a science lesson. These kits usually include the required materials, teacher instructions and possible student handouts. This school owns many of these kits and it covers a broad range of topics within the science curriculum. I believe that these kits help support learning by allowing the students to explore science topics through a hands-on experience. The second resource that I believe could benefit student learning would be to utilize the iPads that the school has to use. These can be used in a variety of different ways. For instance, the students can use them to research and gather information to produce a media presentation to show to the rest of the class. This media presentation could be a photo slideshow or a short

Dylan Brooks

movie they have created using many of the various applications that are available for student use. Another way these iPads can be used in the classroom is using it as a medium for assessment. Students can uses websites such as IXL or Kahoot. Both of these websites were created so that teachers could assign quizzes to students and could collect assessment data instantaneously from all students in the classroom. This would be a great way to measure students understanding of the material after a lesson. b) The school-wide PBIS system that is in place helps to correct some of the behavior issues in the class. Rewarding positive behavior tends to be more effective than always punishing students who do not follow expectations. Furthermore, having this framework of expectations for students across grade levels is beneficial because it is consistent. This enhances student learning by supporting classroom management. Classroom management is the epicenter of every positive and safe classroom learning environment and must be put in place before any true or deep learning can take place. Textbox 1.2.2: Student Interest Inventory a) One component of the student interest inventories that I distributed to my 4 th graders was for them to select their favorite type of reading. This included the choice between 8 different genres and subgenres including; story books, fiction, non-fiction, fairy tales, comics, sports, etc. Based on student responses to this question, I could better plan reading lessons with their interests in mind. For instance, when choosing a whole-group read aloud, I can try to pick a book or novel that would touch most, if not all, students interests. Hopefully, this would engage a larger portion of the students in completing and/or practicing reading strategies or tasks. Another similar question on the inventory was for them to select their favorite book. In the beginning few weeks of school, it would be ideal to locate many of these books to have included in the classroom library. b) One component of the student interest inventory had the students list three of their friends in the class. This could aid me in assigning partners and planning small group lessons. This would add to the level of engagement to the student if they are near students they are familiar and comfortable with. The student example I chose listed three friends and most of which listed her as a friend as well. This has influenced my classroom seating arrangement and has allowed them to work cooperatively effectively. This also serves as a privilege or incentive, to be able to sit next to the people they chose. Textbox 1.2.3: Communication with Students and Families a) The chosen method of communication between my students and their families is based on a printed letter. The letter I sent home during my student teaching experience introduces myself and the purpose I have in their childs classroom. I also included contact information on the

Dylan Brooks

bottom of the letter and encouraged for them to contact me with any questions or concerns that they may have. I believe this was the best method because most of my low household income students may not have home access to the internet for a website to be effective. Furthermore, I supplied a translated copy of my letter for the ESOL students and parents. In the future, I plan on creating more of a newsletter that would include information such as the following; important dates, upcoming units of study, tests, parent notes, etc. b) My goal is to foster a positive and open line of communication between students and parents. I think keeping the parents informed about everything that goes on in the classroom is the best way to keep them involved in their childs education. I believe that letting the parents get to know me and letting them know what we are doing in the classroom fosters that important teacher-parent interaction. Textbox 1.2.4: Rules and Procedures a) One classroom procedure that enhances student learning is their privilege to find a place anywhere in the classroom to read during independent reading time. I believe this enhances student learning because it gives them an opportunity to get out of their usual seat. The students also have the expectation that they are supposed to be reading and recording their assignment in their notebooks. If they break this expectation they are to return to their normal seat. This added privilege tends to make the students work harder. b) A technology procedure that promotes student learning is utilized by early finishing students. They are allowed to get on the computers at the back of the room when they have completed their assignments. They are allowed to get on educational websites such as; www.coolmathgames.com, www.freerice.com, and other websites that promote learning. I believe that this allows the students to purposefully use their free time in an engaging and meaningful way. This is also a privilege that ties directly into the classroom management system. c) The student behavior management system that I use in my 4th grade classroom is a daily checklist of consequences. Each student starts with a blank column every day. It allows the teacher to circle different sequential consequences with the ability to describe what expectation the student didnt follow. This diminishes the student misbehavior in the classroom by allowing them to understand that there are specific consequences for their action. First they begin with a warning, move to silent lunch, loss of half recess and loss of entire recess. If they continue to choose not to follow the expectations they will be written up and sent to the office. The students understand the expectations and what consequences will follow if they choose not to follow the correct procedures.