TWS 1

I am located in a fifth grade classroom at Springfield Elementary. The teacher is Sheena Odom. The classroom does contain technology. There are three computers located in the back of the room. These computers are for the students to use. Students are given approval to work on these during their independent reading time. The teacher also has her own computer at the front of the room, which is connected to the smart board. This computer is for her to display information from the computer to the smart board, as well as to send e-mails and do other educational work. Lastly, the classroom consists of a smart board at the front of the room for all of the students to see. This is used to display information, play educational games as a class and most of all to teach lessons (used as a white board). That is the forms of technology that the classroom contains, however, that is not the only tools used to teach and for the students to learn. The teacher also keeps trade books on the book shelves for the students to read at appropriate times. The students are given text books at the beginning of the year to keep in their desk for use throughout the entire year. There are many ways Mrs. Odom communicates with her students parents to keep them involved in their childs work and studies. Mrs. Odom makes phone calls, sends e-mails, writes comments in their Bi-weekly homework folders, writes daily notes in agendas, sends out monthly newsletters, and schedules parent conferences. These are all used based on the necessity of the problem. Furthermore, these ways of communication work effectively and she is able to keep parents up-to-date and involved in their childs school life. Mrs. Odom has a set of five rules for her classroom. These rules are stated to her students at the beginning of the year and are restated and reviewed as the year continues. The rules are
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also sent home to the parents so they know what is expected of their children. These rules are: always show respect and self-control, always be honest, always do your own work and be responsible in the classroom, be neat in everything that you do, always pay attention and be engaged in your learning. If a student is not following the rules they will first receive a warning, second they get silent lunch, and third, they receive silent lunch and five or more laps at recess. These are the consequences given for the least severe misbehavior, however if they continue to misbehave other consequences such as getting their parents called will take place. There are specific classroom procedures for several events in the classroom, for going to the restroom, morning time (when the students arrive to school), using the library, pencil sharpening, using a computer, lunchroom, and guided reading. To start off the morning the students are asked to come in the classroom, place their bags on the hangers, sharpen their pencils, make their choice for lunch, turn in their homework, and finally sit down and do their fantastic five. When sharpening their pencils they are to sharpen at least three to have throughout the entire day. If they have all three of their pencil points break Mrs. Odom has a jar that contains sharpened pencils for them to use. When a student wants or needs to use one of the back computers, they are only given permission to do this during their independent reading time. However, they are only able to do this once a week for a maximum of twenty minutes. As for the library, the students go every Wednesday. They receive help to choose two books to check out and read for the week. Their library cards are kept in a labeled pouch in the classroom. During their guided reading which takes place in the classroom the students are asked to follow their task chart. Throughout guided reading the students can do one of many things. They can write a reading response letter, read independently, use the computer, or enhance the vocabulary tree by giving it more words. The last procedure followed is the going to the lunch room. They are
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asked to line up according to their lunch choice when it is time for lunch. They eat silently, with no talking, during the first ten minutes. After the ten minutes they are allowed to talk. This is controlled through the cup system. When the red cup is in the middle of the table, there is no talking, the yellow cup means low and a minimum of talking, and the green means the children are allowed to talk. These procedures seem to work efficiently and keep the classroom running smoothly this way the students are able to learn effectively. Mrs. Odoms schedule for the day begins with math (Fantastic Five). She focuses on math for a good hour. The students then go to their related arts for the day. The students then come back and Mrs. Odom teaches her math lesson for the day. Next is independent reading while Mrs. Odom does guided reading groups. Language Arts is taught next; mostly mini-lessons are taught here. The last two content areas taught are science and social studies. By this time it is time for recess. After recess the students are ready for dismissal. This schedule is followed most every day, however, assemblies and special events come up that may change the daily schedule. The students from Mrs. Odoms class are all of the ages ten and eleven. There are 14 boys and 14 girls. The class consists of 12 African American students, 13 Caucasian, and 3 Hispanics. There are no students with special needs in the class. Mrs. Odom has 6 students in GATAS, and a few in extended resource for reading and writing. She also places all of her students in groups for reading based on their reading level. The Majority of her students struggle with writing; she does many activities to help them with their writing. The cultures in the class consist of African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic. The only language spoken in the class is English. The Instructional strategies used in the class include reading groups based on reading levels, writing simulations, RTI, resource classes, group work, technology, and the buddy

system (pairing the Hispanic students that need a little extra help with another higher level student, as well as any low level students with higher level students). Knowing the information above will really help me when planning my lessons. Since there are different types of ethnicity in the classroom I will include books and activities that focus on each of the different race and culture with in the class. For example I may read a book about Hispanics and their culture, like the book The Skirt by Gary Soto. This book relates to the Hispanic students in my class and their culture. This will give the class the opportunity to know a little more about the Hispanic culture and hopefully bring the class a little closer than before. I will also do more hands on lessons than paper and pencil lessons since the students learn better through hands on activities. I will make a point to do many science experiments when doing science lessons. We will make a cell membrane out of many different materials when studying about cells. Since many of the students have trouble with writing I will model good writing through my lessons. Mrs. Odom has discussed with me that the students struggle with making their writing make sense and with having a main idea, details, etc. To help the students with this I will include writing prompts before, during, and after most of my lessons. When studying WWII in social studies I will ask the students to write a letter to whomever they would like as if they were living during that time, stating what the food is like, what type of clothes they wear, what they may be feeling, etc. and why? This will help them to learn how to develop a main idea, and supporting details. I will be sure to plan around each of my students the best I can so that all of the students benefit and receive the best education I can provide them with.