I was placed in the Title 1 Reading classroom while spending time at Maplehurst Elementary. The environment of the classroom was fun and colorful. She had a large table that would seat 8 students at a time and a large carpet behind her desk for when we did floor work. Everyday when the students arrived to class we had a routine of starting the class off with letter sounds, trick words, and digraphs. It’s good for the students struggling in these specific areas for them to keep practicing and also good reception for some students. Mrs. Lloyd is the head teacher in the classroom and also has two paraprofessionals that are assigned to her for specific times during the day. The paraprofessionals are never there at the same time. They usually …show more content…
Depending on the day and the lesson determined if we were staying as whole group, half group, or splitting them into three groups. Some days Mrs. Lloyd and the paraprofessional would split the group and I would stay to work with Mrs. Lloyd or we would split them up between Mrs. Lloyd, the paraprofessional, and myself. While spending time at Maplehurst I have witnessed several ways that theorists have been implemented throughout the classroom. The first theory I will be discussing is Maslow’s Hierarchy. Maslow created a hierarchy of motivational needs. The theory states that you must satisfy the lower level before moving on to the next level (McLeod, S. 2013). Maplehurst meets the requirement for their students to achieve this theory every time they enter the school building. The first level is physiological needs, which is met by providing a free breakfast for students, water fountains and water bottles, bathroom breaks, and free or reduced lunch. The second level is safety needs, these needs are being met by, having the school locked and only being able to enter when buzzed in by the school secretary and the classroom being a safe and
A paraprofessional job can at times be stressful and complicating. The job duties vary from day to day activities, as I can relate to it, because I am a paraprofessional at a school. As a result of this high energy burnout rate from daily activities that needs to be smoothly completed in a timely manner. It is essential to have a structured system of order. Therefore, a paraprofessional will always pair up with another paraprofessional, and will be directed by a special education teacher. As a paraprofessional, my tasks vary greatly in difficulty, but it is very important to get the harder tasks done before the simpler ones. For instance, if a child is failing on a class subject and on the other hand I need to complete the FBA observation report
...tary level. Studies show a correlation between structured programs with a comprehensive systematic way of presenting curriculum is essential for helping students make progress in school). Explicit instruction is critical in teaching reading (Graves, 2004). Incorporating the CAFÉ strategies in whole group mini lessons and then allow student to participate in the Daily 5 reading activities seem to be a place where everyone is on the same page in teaching reading. The Daily 5 structure follows the characteristic of what “good literacy instruction” should be. It is consistent, and well designed in instructional routines. It has opportunities for authentic practice in reading and writing. It is highly motivated and engages students. Assessment is on going with each student and the class as a whole and learning objective build and change over time. (Teale, 2009)
It’s common to observe teachers and parapeducators working together in an educational setting. Paparaeducators are tasked with numerous roles, which includes spending 47% of their time instructing (Carter, O’Rourke, Sisco, & Pelsue, D, 2009). However, paraeducators remain inadequately trained and supervised to perform many of these tasks, whereas teachers have not received any training on how to supervise paraeducators working in their classroom. (Dettmer, Knackendoffel, Thurston, 2013) After several informal conversations and one formal interview with a teacher and paraprofessional, I was able to explore the perspective that each role had about their school and relationship. The interview participants were working at a low-income alternative high school, with 90-95% of the students being Hispanic males, and 30-50% having documented special needs. During reflection, I researched strategies to improve teacher
During a test, these students were taken to another classroom area so that the inclusion teacher was able to read the test to them. Self-reading in the inclusion classroom is sometimes avoided as much as possible. The inclusion teacher also stated that there have been tests where the amount of information was lessened to avoid additional frustration being added as they are already struggling with reading the test information. According to the general education teacher, students on occasion are encouraged to read out loud. However, there is more of a push for them to participate in classroom or group discussion. Students that are asked to read aloud are based on their ability. This type of interaction makes for a comfortable learning environment and participation with their peers. She stated that she tries to pre-teach information that they will be covering on that day in the form of a warm up when the kids first enter the classroom. Then when they are exposed to the information later on in the class, it is not a total shock of information to
By incorporating the theories of Piaget and Maslow into lesson planning, I can choose realistic and meaningful instructional strategies and designate assignments at the appropriate challenge level. My goal is to motivate my students to strive for their best and provide them an environment where they can successfully prepare for college and life. Mary Kay Ash was phenomenal at motivation and said it best: “Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” (Ash). Knowing that each class will be different and that what works for one class may not work for another will aid me in being an effective, efficient
Every student who enters school is involved in a different situation and comes from a different background varying in levels of difficulty. Regardless of a student’s background, every student has specific needs. According to the Ladder of Needs Motivation Theory, everyone has basic needs that are required to be fulfilled before they can begin to fulfill more complex needs. Abraham H. Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs, which is usually depicted by a pyramid (Woodland-Gyles, 2011). The most basic needs are at the bottom of the pyramid and the most complex needs are at the top. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is made up of (from the bottom of the pyramid to the top): physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs (Boeree, 2011).
In conclusion, there are some methods that the article stated that I would use in my future classroom. Honestly, probably would have to try different methods and see which one works best for students. Making sure that every student learn the alphabet and letter sounds and to learn how to apply this skills to their writing and reading.
The Six Minute Solution designed by Adams N Gail and Brown M Sheron was first published in 2003 by Sopris West Educational Services. It is a researched-validated intervention that helps teacher improve reading fluency of students from K-9 by pairing students with same-level peers for reading, monitoring, and feedback. During the intervention students receive concentrated practice on phonetic elements, high frequency words, and short passage reading.
My personal philosophy of classroom management focuses on creating an environment where children feel safe and where they feel like they belong. I will create this environment for my fourth grade class through making my expectations of the students clear while developing an engaging lesson plan and personable interactions with my students. I developed my philosophy from studying different theorists and based my philosophy on the theories of Glasser and Kounin. Glasser believed that the teacher’s roll in the classroom is that of a leader rather than a boss. He believed that students should be given power in the classroom and that the teacher should share it with the students. I will use his ‘7 caring habits’ specifically supporting and respecting to help my classroom feel safe and welcoming to my students. Meeting the individual needs of my students will be the focus of my classroom management routine. I will meet individual needs by promoting self management and self efficacy in my students by creating an environment that that has predictable and consistent daily routines while focusing on my student’s successes (Shindler, 2010). Having a predictable routine will encourage a success oriented environment and will reduce anxiety and help towards creating positive self efficacy in each of my students (Shindler, 2010). In Glasser’s Choice Theory he talks about focusing on the present and not bringing up the past (Glasser, 2010). Therefore, I will focus my classroom on being goal driven and will help each student obtain their goals. Thus, helping my students have positive self efficacy. I will apply Kounin’s technique of Momentum (Pressman, 2011). This involves the teacher keeping exercises short and moving around the room a lot so...
Devoting time to reading, reading books that support engagement in literacy, and giving children choices about literate activities all serve to promote a literate environment in a classroom. Having a literate environment is especially important for student who do not come from a literate environment. Literacy-rich classroom environment is a starting point in fostering children’s emerging literacy. Walls filled with posters, signs, labels, and student work, reading center with many books, comfortable setting for reading, area designated for writing materials such as paper are all important aspects of a literacy-rich classroom. Children need limitless reading opportunities such as morning meetings, free independent reading, and selecting books for specific purposes. They also need writing opportunities such as writing journals, shared reading and writing experiences. Some activities outside of the classroom that promotes literacy in children are book fairs, libraries both public and school, and book
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
The first day I entered the class, I was amazed at how the class is filled with Print. On the walls you can actually see what they are currently working on for the day and for the week, instructions for the students and much more, the student’s progress in a particular area, a word wall, motivational posters, and other vocabulary words such as contractions and compound words. The students followed directions well and raised their hands properly using the appropriate signal written on the wall. Of course, there were times when a student did not follow directions and made trouble, however, there was a class system that they followed. During center time, the students separate into groups and work on either vocabulary, reading, on computer or a
I have learned many things in this class, even though I do not directly teach reading as a course I am still able to use the same strategies from this course in my science and social studies classroom. I didn’t expect to takes as much away from this course as I have. A majority of my work does not include reading basic terms or reviewing sounds that may be used outside of the classroom. One of the first things I did when we began this class was to look for some way for my students to work in collaborative groups and take the assignments given and understand the material. I struggled to find a happy median between my students. Some were unable to grasp the ideas because they could not sound out the words correctly. Since they do not have the
I believe Classroom Management is the main component in the educational setting. I believe if students are in a safe environment, then learning can take place. This doesn’t mean punishing behavior problems but rather a combination of setting the tone in a class, preventing behavior problems with interesting and engaging curriculums and effectively including all students in the classroom so that their needs are met. Having the right environment for all students to learn is my major goal of implementing good classroom management--without it the students would not be able to learn.
Educational psychologists like teachers use Abraham Maslow’s concept of the hierarchy of needs to expand on arousal, competence, self-determination, universality and diversity to understand the various approaches taken by human beings of basic needs satisfaction. For instance, teachers of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs know to give strategies and the proper lesson plans and also, give students an ample environment for study as they strive to attain self-actualization purposing to satisfy their basic