Tice Elementary Classroom Observation

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Recommended: Factors causing cultural and linguistic diversity in American classrooms

Tice Elementary School Observation Reflection
On January 31st, I observed a third grade bilingual classroom. Immediately after entering the school, it was obvious that the school had a great appreciation of students of many different backgrounds and cultures. The elementary school’s logo spelled out tice with many different flags from all over the world in the letters. One very important thing that stuck with me in the front office area was a very inspiring quote. The quote read, “There are hundreds of languages around the world, but a smile speaks them all. Many, many years ago, schools were seen as a melting pot that tried to mold everyone into what an American should be, but Tice Elementary School is a school that teaches students to …show more content…

The school even offered parent learning nights for the parents of the students to learn. Personally, I believe that the environment that was offered by the school was uplifting and leads to positive results in their students.
Entering the classroom, we were immediately greeted by an enthusiastic Hispanic teacher. She not only came across as a great teacher, but almost came across as a mother figure to the students. When we arrived, I noticed a very positive classroom environment. The classroom was bright and decorative and many posters were bilingual. One thing I noticed about the teacher was that when she was giving instructions to the students she would only speak in English, but when she interacted with them on a more social level she tended to speak Spanish. I did notices some good examples of …show more content…

That being said, I do not believe that it is the teachers fault because once again teachers are being forced to give up important classroom time to teach to a test. A great majority of our time spent in the classroom was spent studying for the FSA. I thought it was great that after reading the passages the class went over and answered questions to check their understanding of the passage. One great thing that I enjoyed from the teacher was that after reviewing something previously taught, she asked the students to raise their hands if they felt that they could teach students who still struggled understanding. I only wish that she actually took the time for that to happen. It would’ve been a great strategy if she allowed group time for students to go over things in small groups of partners. Many of the teacher’s strategies had the potential to be effective with adjustments. For example, in the beginning of the class she had student allowed read a passage and timed them. I think this would be effective in small groups and wasn’t a race to

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