Master Teacher Interview/Questionnaire

Teacher: Kathryn Holmes

School: San Benito Elementary
District: Atascadero
Grade Level: 5th grade/6th grade combination
1. How do you plan for the year? What do you decide to
teach and in what order?
To plan for the year my teacher meets over the summer with the
other 6th grade teacher to create a curriculum lying out what is
going to be taught when for both of them. My teacher teaches
math to both of the sixth grade classes. When she plans for math
she follows the pacing of the math curriculum with giving the
students one lesson a day. For social studies and science they
plan out one lesson a week with a week between each one for
review, writing tasks, and tests. For English, the other sixth grade
teacher has four modules and each module has three units with
each unit taking up to a week.
How do you plan for a month/week/day?
For monthly and weekly planning, my teacher gets together with
the other sixth grade teacher to ensure that they are on track
with their curriculum guide that they created over the summer.
They discuss whether or not they are on track and if they need to
move things around for any reason.
For daily planning my teacher follows her curriculum guide with
flexibility. It is important to move things around as needed for
assemblies, drills, and special events. She also mentioned the
importance of getting into routines within the subjects so that
the students always know what to do and when to do it giving
them a sense of self-responsibility.
Learning about students:
How many boys and girls are in the class?
There are nineteen boys and thirteen girls in the class.
How many ELs are there, and what are their EL
Levels?
There are three EL students in the 6th grade class. Laly,
Luis, and Julio. Julio is very close to testing out, but Laly
and Luis are still considered EL students. During walk to
learn time these three students see their EL teacher for
reading and writing support.
Which students have learning disabilities or health
issues?
Gabi- IEP for learning disability
Giovanni- In progress

Leeann- IEP for learning disability and is emotionally

disturbed
Justin- IEP from leukemia (no longer has, but has difficulty
processing information from the scarred brain tissue.
What accommodations are made for these students?
These students have access to and are pulled from class to
be helped by speech therapists, occupational therapists,
and the health clerk. They receive special accommodations
within and outside the classroom to fully meet their
individual needs at all times.
How many students are performing at grade level or
below?
There are around 29 students who perform at grade level
or below.
Do you use any kind of differentiated grouping of
students?
It depends on the assignment. Typically they are grouped
high, medium, and low for big projects.
What are the general mental and emotional
characteristics at this grade level?
o Hitting puberty. Some are going through it and some
are not. This grade level is more emotional because
of the body changes they are going through.
How do they differ from children at the
preceding/following grade level?
o The preceding grade level is less emotional, and the
following is somewhat the same but more intense.
What are some of the things these children seem to
have strong interests in?
o Many kids are into sports and athletics and being
active
o Most of them like computer games, videogames, or
mind craft
o Some students are in band and play instruments
Is there anything else I should know about this
group of children to help me work more effectively
with them?
In own classroom learn about their home life and their
parents. Know where they come from and what they go
home to.
2. What kind of classroom management system do you use?
She uses a purely positive discipline system. Students
have a clip up and clip down chart to monitor their
behavior. Each student has a clothes clip with their name
on it. When they are portraying positive behavior and

following directions they are able to clip up on the chart. If

they are portraying negative behavior they are to clip
down. Students who continue to clip down will end up with
a note home to their parents, but have the opportunity to
change their behavior and move their clip up before the
end of the day.
Students are also given tickets for turning in homework
and getting parent signatures on their homework planners.
With these tickets they are able to buy special things within
the classroom. They are also to use these tickets to use the
restroom during class or to buy back items that are left on
their desk after class.
Lastly, the students have a marble jar. When the whole
class is on task and following directions they can ear
marbles. Once the marble jar is full the students earn a
class party. However, when the class is off task and not
following directions they can lose marbles out of the
marble jar.
3. What would you say are three things that are most
important for beginning teachers to know?
1. Plan on being flexible, not everything goes the way it is
planned.
2. Be cautious in how you say yes and no to opportunities that
come up. Figure out how to balance the day with outside
commitments to the school.
3. Stay organized. Find a system that works for you, but dont be
afraid to change it. The best you can get organized, the better.
4. Dont be afraid to ask for help.