learning environment

Physical environment

This is the coolest set up I have ever seen. The kids are a mixed group of 5/6th graders; half the class, math and science, is taught in the adjoining classroom; while the other half, English and social studies, is taught in the classroom I am working in. The kids are split into two teams. The teams are separated for individual instruction and during work periods the wall dividing the classrooms folds back creating a huge work room.
In our side of the classroom there are 5 hexagon shaped tables with 4 to 5 children per table with these awesome midget chairs that you only experience in elementary. In the center of each table is a basket full of pencils and scrap paper as well as some other miscellaneous supplies. Off to the left of the classroom is a colorful rug headed by a comfy chair where the students gather to discus various things about their writing projects or to listen to the teacher read in class. On the opposite side of the room is another carpeted area surrounded by bookshelves that are loaded to the max with books. Some are resource books and chapter books, but my favorite part was a section of the student’s stories. These are beautifully illustrated stories written by her students from the current year as well as from previous years. At the dead center of the room is a projector that faces a white board that is barley visible through all the posters and pieces of paper placed on it. In the far right corner of the board there is just enough space to list out the days activities. In the back corner of the classroom are seven huge Macintosh computers exactly like the ones we have in our classroom at UAA.
At first site the room appears unorganized and buried under paper, but it is actually cleverly structured. The students have their homework files, their in class files, their tubs of supplies, and their portfolios. Everyone knows where everything is, and it is all set out to be easy to find, collect, and return.

Curricular environment

Ok this is taking me a bit to understand, but this classroom has NO GRADES! The children are in the classroom for two years and self asses their progress as they go along. The program works closely with the student and their parents to ensure that milestones are being met without the pressure of a grading system. The curriculum is structured but allows the students to have a say in what they want to learn. There is a lot of focus on group collaboration and teamwork. The children are naturally chatty so this allows them to talk while working on instrumental projects. As far as text books, they use grade appropriate grammar books and spelling books where the teacher copies worksheets for the students to complete.
One interesting thing I was told is that the teacher teaches the 5th grade curriculum one year and the 6th grade curriculum the next, so a student may get 6th grade before 5th grade depending on when they enter the classroom.

Human environment

The students address their teachers by their first names, and communication is encouraged at appropriate times. The students have 30 minutes of quite reading time a day and during that time they find a cozy place to read independently away from their friends. There is a new student in the class who is Alaskan Native and I get to complete a reading assessment on him next week, which I am totally excited for. There are defintley clicks in the classroom that I am still figuring out. There are the quiet students, the loud students, and it is a mixture of different colored faces. I have not heard any distinct accents or seen any real linguistic challenges besides the class wide misspelling of gose for goes and dose for does, that was announced today as the entire class spelled it aloud as a group 3 times. One other thing that steuck me as odd was that the children eat freely and leave to the bathroom throughout the period. They simply get up, from say the rug time activity, saying nothing. They go to their bag and get chips or a banana or whatever their snack may be and then return to the rug area and eat while the teacher continues her lesson.

My 1st Week with 5/6th graders and upcomming events

My practicum this week was rescheduled until Wednesday because my advising teacher is out of town, but the exciting thing is that I get to work with the kids on Wednesday and will be able to attend an assembly by J. Mortenson, the mother of G. Mortenson who has built schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan!
Last week we began brainstorming ideas for their planet stories. The children were asked to make story webs and create a story line that consisted of the planets as characters. The plot line is set up in four stages where a conflict arises and a solution is found that ends up creating a trait of a particular planet. For example, how Saturn got its rings, or how Pluto feels about being a dwarf.
This week we will begin the week by writing the Constitution and a biography study about Ben Franklin, and finish the week with the planet stories.