Assignment #1 Observations

Observation 1: The classroom is very warm and inviting. There are a lot of visuals with colors
and the room is very organized. She has set up a reading corner with pillows and a little library
surrounding them. She has her math tools located under the math posters on the wall by her
desk. She uses both her desk and a teacher’s table to work with the students. The desks are
laid out in rows with spaces between each desk. She does not use table groups.

*Observation 2: This class is very diverse, When it comes to boys and girls it is pretty even.
There are boys and girls. There are many hispanic students and a few pacific islander students.
From what I can see there are no students with disabilities.

*Observation 3: Be honest. Try your best. Work hard. No talking when the teacher is talking.
1=bathroom. 3=water.

Observation 4: Yes. The teacher has excellent classroom management. She does a great job of
clearly explaining the expectations. She focuses more on reward for good behaviour than
disciplining bad behaviour. She does however follow through with disciplining students who
break the rules written on the walls.

Assignment #2 Classroom Layout

Classroom layout 1: The classroom is laid out very well. She has the classroom divided into
sections. There is a reading section, a math wall and a writing wall. The writing wall is the
smallest as it only has a few posters with strategies they can use. It is great for doing rotations
as it makes things very accessible and easy to locate.

Classroom Layout 2: Honestly I really like her classroom layout. The only thing I would maybe
do differently is create table groups. But honestly the way she runs the class doesn’t really
require there to be groups.

Assignments #3 Instruction

Instruction 1: She has the schedule written on the wall.

9-10: reading groups/rotations
10-10:50: Social Studies
10:55-11:30: Lunch Recess
11:30-12:25-Writing
12:25-1:20- specials
1:30-2:30- Math
2:30-3:00- Read aloud/ clean up

Instruction 2: She does a little bit of everything. I have noticed during reading that she does
have them split into small groups. She will have rotations out for the groups that are not working
with her. She will also do whole group discussions and have the students fill out worksheets
while all reading together. Around the classroom she has a reading and math center which are
used for small group use during the lesson.

Instruction 3: She is very inclusive. She lets the students participate often and makes sure that
they are sharing. It definitely feels like a whole group discussion rather than just a teacher up
there teaching. It definitely feels like a community. She does an excellent job trusting them to do
their part while still managing the classroom. The students love her and you can tell she cares
about them very much too. The students are very happy there.

Instruction 4: Yes it seems like she does. She has color coded posters all over her wall. She
often reads things aloud and has them repeat it. She also has them read on their own. When
working in groups each student has their own packet or book that they use.

Instruction 5: Yes. The students are very engaged and are wanting to participate. Even some of
the shy students feel comfortable sharing. I do notice that all of them are working and following
along. She has a very fun uplifting personality and it rubs off on the kids. It really does seem like
they are having fun. It is impressive to see her working with small groups. She has a way of
getting all of the students to actually participate and follow along when other students are doing
the reading.

Instruction 6: There is a student who is a selective mute. She will whisper to Ms. Moore but not
often. She is always there following along and doing her work but will not speak or really
participate. The teacher is very kind and patient with her.

Instruction 7: I believe it is. She does a great job of teaching the content but also letting the
students participate. Her ability to refocus them is pretty incredible. I do believe that she is
getting to the students while still making it fun. I find it very important that students have a
chance to either talk about things or practice things. She does a great job of doing this. I really
like how she will teach a little, have them turn and talk, and then continue the lesson.

Instruction 8: She actually has a timer with a dog that barks after 5 minutes I believe. This is the
amount of time they have to put away the materials they were using and grab what is needed
for the next lesson. The kids enjoy the timer and that motivates them to do what they are
supposed to be doing. She also gives dojo points to the first few students that are sitting down
quietly waiting for directions. I feel like almost every single transition has been pretty smooth.

Instruction 9: Her go to is the countdown from 3. She expects students to have their hands
raised following along. It usually works. If there are students not following the countdown she
will raise her voice and call them by name. That will usually do the trick. If the whole class is
getting wild and they don’t respond to the countdown she will raise her voice to the class,
explain to them why she is frustrated, make them verbalize that they understand and then have
them try it again. The relationship she has built with her class really helps as there isn’t much
defiance.
Instruction 10: There is a student who loves to talk and can distract others quite often. She will
call him out and give him a warning and let him know of the consequences that are waiting for
him if he does it again. The consequence is usually to be moved to the seat by her or to be
excluded from the fun activity for a small amount of time. She also has another student who
doesn’t like to do any work. She will try to find a way to get out of doing the work. She has also
mastered the art of looking like you’re doing something when you're actually not. This has
forced the teacher to check in with the student to make sure actual work is getting done. There
really isn’t much defiance in her class. I have heard her raise her voice and speak with them in a
frustrated tone. But she does an excellent job of explaining to them that she is frustrated and
why.

Instruction 11:Honestly it is hard to think of anything. Maybe the amount of testing the students
are required to do. It can change the focus of instructional time. Many teachers tend to focus on
preparing students for the specific test rather than making sure they are mastering the different
subject areas.

Assignment #4 Culture
Physical characteristics:
1. The exterior of the building is not too bad. They just got a new electric sign up in the
front. It looks great. They have a nice painting of a tiger at the very entrance. They also
have a nice bench dedicated to someone under the flag. I like that they have the
kindergarten playground right in the front of the school. I think the grass and colorful
equipment is very welcoming. The fences are very well taken care of and the field and
playground look great. The building is also located next to a park so that looks great.
Overall I think it has a good atmosphere and is very welcoming. The only thing I think
could be better is the parking lot. It gets fairly congested in the mornings and afternoons.
It could have a better design to make it easier for parents to pick up their children.

2. The interior of the school is not the nicest. Honestly it kinda feels like a prison. There are
no windows in the classrooms or hallways. Only like 3 or 4 classrooms have a little
window on the door. It feels like you are very locked in. It also doesn’t have an open floor
plan so the halls feel small. They do have bulletin boards that are decorated very nicely
but I still feel like the school could have more character.

Culture of the School:

1. The mission is “Together we strive for an academic future for all”. The Motto is “ A Tobler
Top tiger is responsible, kind, safe and gives their all. The Mascot is Toby the Tiger.
2. It seems that for the most part people are very friendly. Everybody says hello when they
walk by.
3. The school does use inclusion and from what I have noticed it does use the push in and
pull out program. It does provide special services and many times I see those students
out in general ed classrooms.
 4. Students for the most part are nice to each other. Working P.E I do get to see some
negative interactions but for the most part they are very nice. The girls can get into more
drama while the boys can be a little rough.
5. There aren’t any trophies but there are magazines with the school's achievements
outside of the library. They also have bulletin boards that are constantly changing.
Culture of the Classroom:
1.The teacher is very trusting with the students and gives them a lot of freedom to roam
around the classroom and what not when appropriate. It’s really a matter of respect. If the
student’s respect the classroom rules they will have a good time. And they seem to know this.
2. Honestly everyone participates except for a few students. There are a couple who don’t
speak English and one who is a selective mute. The rest participate. Some more than others of
course.
3. It seems that the teacher has a great relationship with her students and they love her.
She really is one of the most loved teachers on campus.

Interview
1. “I love kids. I really enjoy being around my students and being in a classroom is very
fulfilling.”
2. Achievement gaps. It can be very hard at times to teach the same lesson to students
that are at different levels. You really have to coordinate everything to make sure
students arent being left behind.”
3. Having fun with the kids.
4. This is really based on who can work well together and not distract each other.
5. I usually make my groups based on levels. This helps with the achievement gaps.
6. I often use quizzes in reading and math to track student growth whereas in writing I will
have them write short prompts.
7. I am required to share grades and test scores of course, I also share student progress
when it comes to how they are doing in class. If students are struggling I tend to talk with
their parents more often
8. This depends on the parents. There are parents that are messaging me on classdojo
multiple times a week while other parents I can never reach.
9. The reading quizzes are graded on the spot. I do go over their writing daily andi am
usually grading 1 or 2 math quizzes a week.
10. At this point I have been teaching 3rd grade for a few years so It has gotten easier as I
have a lot of the material and lesson plans done but I would say that I put in at least 5
extra hours a week.
11. Small groups and rotations are a big one for me. This allows me to work with more
focused groups while still having other students working on related materials.
12. I use a lot of positive reinforcement. As I'm sure you’ve seen I have the candy bucket. I
often give students candy when they are working hard. We also take away fun Friday for
students who are having trouble following directions.
13. As I’m sure you’ve seen apart from meetings we do not collaborate much with
specialists. We do spend time with strategists coming up with ways to help our ELs in
the classroom.
 14. Normally I am evaluated once a year but administrators have been talking about doing a
monthly evaluation. While that has not happened I have already had 2 this year.
15. You know I have not had one before so I am not entirely sure but I know that you can be
moved grades or even pushed out of a school.
16. Financially not much, We get some support from strategists, though I do wish we would
receive more instructional support for our students. We do have your help as well.
Working with the spanish speaking students
17. How heavy some of the things I would witness would be. Some of my students have had
some very strong and rough stories and it can be heartbreaking.

Observing a student.

The students are sitting on the carpet and the teacher is reading an article to them. While she is
reading he is looking up at the screen and seems to be following along. He gets a little
distracted and diggs his pencil into the caret but quickly redirects his focus to the screen. She
asks them to turn and talk. He turns to his partner but does not say anything. She seems to
have a lot to say. She asks them to write something down and he does. While waiting for others
to finish he draws on his shoes with his pencil. They go back to reading and he seems to be
following along. Then the teacher plays a video for them. He really likes it and laughs a lot. It's
about elephants. They turn and talk and this time he starts the talking. I believe this is how your
average student will act. You really can't expect them to be 100% focused but you want them
engaged.

Summary:
It was a very cool and interesting experience. It wasool because I got to not only interact with
student’s but also got to work with students in an academic setting. I have been working in
elementary schools for a little over 8 years now so I do have a pretty good understanding of how
schools and classrooms function. I was surprised with the little support the teacher does get. I
would've thought there were reading and math specialists working with all students falling
behind but there are only strategists who help teachers and work with few students. I'm also a
bit surprised by the fact that my building has no windows. I believe natural lighting is helpful for
motivation. Overall I am blown away by Ms. Moore’s ability to manage her classroom and her
relationship with her students. She has such a graceful way of being strict and raising her voice
without sounding angry. I have a lot of respect for her. Students can be very cool and it is funny
to watch them be themselves. They can be very goofy and in their own little world. It really does
take work to keep them engaged and interested but it is possible. I do like the feeling of being
loved by the students. You feel like a celebrity around campus.