Alexandra Smith

TWS 1
Contextual Factors
Having the knowledge of classroom and students factors is important when planning
lessons. The teacher must know what he or she has to work with. This would be things like
available resources, amount of space, and student demographics as a whole. This information
allows teachers to have the ability to explain some classroom and instructional situations.
I am completing my clinical experience in Mrs. Wolfes third grade classroom at Ninety-
Six Elementary school. Her classroom is open, spacious, bright, inviting, and rich with content.
The desks are arranged in three long, horizontal rows (one behind the other). There is one set of
desks grouped together to the left of the rows when facing them; this is actually a group of six
boys who work well together. There is a Promethean Board at the front of the classroom. A
document camera (also known as Elmo) is also at the front of the classroom that can be projected
onto the Promethean Board. Three computers are located at the back of the classroom for
students to use. Several other resources are available for students to use; some of these resources
are books and manipulatives. There is an abundance of standard classroom resources such as
pencils, glue sticks, scissors, crayons, markers, etc. Classroom rules are posted in the classroom
and have been implemented through the school-wide PBIS program. Students received a week-
long training at the beginning of the school year for them to learn about what is expected of them
each day, so they are held accountable for good behavior. Students must fill out a reflection
sheet if they misbehave extensively.
There are twenty-six students in the class. There is an even amount of girls and boys
(thirteen of each). Seven of the girls are Caucasian, two are African American, two are biracial,
and two are Asian. Eight of the boys are Caucasian, four are African American, and one is
biracial. There is one student repeating the third grade. Three students attend the gifted
program, known as PLUS. One of these three students has an IEP for ELA. One student has an
IEP for ELA and math; five students have an IEP for speech. There are thirteen students reading
below level, eight students reading on level, and five students reading above grade level. In
math, there are eleven students performing below level, eight on level, and seven above grade
level. This information is in accordance with MAP scores. (The previous information can also
be found on the tables below). Thirteen students receive free lunch in the cafeteria and three
students receive reduced lunch. All of Mrs. Wolfes students work well together and have strong
participation in the class. Overall, they have good behavior, which can attribute to the
implementation of PBIS at Ninety-Six Elementary. About fifty percent of the parents are
involved with their child and Mrs. Wolfe.
Having access to this information allows me to better plan lessons for my students. I
know what to expect from the students when I teach lessons. I am able to use this data to plan
certain activities because I know that the students work well with one another, so placing them
into groups and expecting them to collaborate with one another will not be an issue. I am able to
plan for students who have IEPs because I know when they may have difficulty. MAP score
data provides me with knowledge of each students level in math and reading, which gives me an
idea of the pace at which I should teach those subjects. Without access to all of this information,
I would be planning for a perfect class that does not exist. It would be extremely difficult to
implement those plans because they most likely would need to be modified during the lesson. I
like to have fairly explicit plans laid out the implementation of a lesson. However, I am flexible
for all lessons. This is important because almost every lesson is not exactly the same as what
was written on the plan.
Ethnicity Girls Boys
Caucasian 7 8
African American 2 4
Biracial 2 1
Asian 2 0

Reading MAP Data
Level Students Fall Under Number of Students
Below Level 13
On Level 8
Above Level 5

Math MAP Data
Level Students Fall Under Number of Students
Below Level 11
On Level 8
Above Level 7