Blog 7

What are the school rules/classroom rules and how are they enforced?

In the classroom I am observing they have two main classroom rules that almost all of their rules fall under. They are “Always be kind,” and “I can do hard things.” They are expected to be respectful and kind to everyone, and to stay on task and always do their best. I actually think they are brilliant, because the two phrases stick with the students as lifelong motto's, not just elementary school rules.

To enforce these rules, the teacher has clip charts. They have 5 different colors. The all start the day on green. They can move up to blue, then to orange, or down to yellow, then to red. The colors coordinate with different rewards/punishments. At the end of the day the color they end on is recorded in their homework folder they take home every day for their parents to see. If they end on Orange they get a small treat, after three blue smiley faces they get a treat, and after every 5 green smiley faces they get a treat. If they get clipped down to yellow there is a phone call home, and if they go to red they go to the principal’s office. She very rarely clips children down to yellow or red. The way she runs this system seems to be very effective. The students are not clipped up every time so while it is positive reinforcement, the students are not conditioned to expect a reward. They learn to do good for the sake of doing good. 

Blog 6

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

The teacher uses several different strategies to actively engage the students. When she asks a question she will often tell the students to think of the answer in their head, then they all shout the answer out loud together. If she hears multiple answers they talk about it as a class. She uses a lot of games to engage the students. It gets them moving and motivated. Sometimes they are with a partner, sometimes it is as a class. She also does a lot hands on activities or practical applications. For example, she has dart frogs in her classroom. When they learn about the life cycle, she brings some of their eggs to school and lets the first graders watch the eggs hatch and turn into tadpoles, and the tadpoles turn into frogs. 

These strategies tend to be very effective. The students are happy to be in school because they recognize that they are learning. They also have a lot of fun. They rush to the frog tank each morning, for example, to see the new changes in their baby frogs. They are moving and engaging with the other students around them. The teacher does an excellent job of shaking things up and keeping things interesting.  

Blog 5

What do you think is the most challenging role a teacher plays? Why?

I think one of the hardest roles teachers play is catering to every student's individual needs and circumstances. In any given classroom, there are so many different personalities, learning styles, speed of learning, level of comprehension, etc. A teacher, in one lesson, has to be able to connect to each student and teach to their level. That gets tricky when one child is struggling with the concepts of addition and the next is practically ready for multiplication. 

In the class I am currently observing, there is a student who is struggling with some letters in the alphabet and blending sounds to make words. There are other students in the class who are reading Junie B. Jones like it's a piece of cake. The teacher uses rotations called "Daily 5" where the student's rotate to different stations focusing on different aspects of reading, writing, and listening. She does mini lessons in between the rotations. I think the system is genius because the student's are split into groups with other students on the same level. She is able to provide exercises for the students appropriate for where they are without making anyone feel like they are behind or ahead. Everyone works where they are towards personal improvement. This, I am sure, takes a lot of thought and time to prepare.