Learning+Environment

This semester I have had the privilege to observe Mrs. Jones’s fourth grade classroom at X Elementary School in Orlando, Florida. X Elementary School was recently rebuilt on its new campus in the Cypress Lakes subdivision in 2006. The new school is equipped with audio technology that allows the instructor to wear an infrared microphone device to enhance her voice throughout the classroom. The classroom is also enhanced with a document camera and projection screen that replaces a television. It has been quite a privilege to spend my internship at X Elementary School.

Along with the upsides of a new school, come the downsides of architectural efficiency. Mrs. Jones’s classroom is located directly in the center of the school, consequencely having no windows. When discussing this situation with my supervising teacher, she told me that she was offered a new classroom with a window this past summer, but she felt the hardships of moving all of her teaching materials into a new room was not worth the view. Another downside of the new building is the principle’s restrictions about decorating the walls. During my past four years observing in classrooms, one of the main complaints I have heard from teachers are about the Fire Marshall’s regulations about only covering a certain percentage of wall space. At X Elementary School, in the principle’s efforts of keeping the school in the best condition possible, a rule is strictly enforced not allowing teachers to hang anything on the wall outside the designated bulletin board spaces. Mrs. Jones uses a clothesline system to hang a large printout of the student’s daily schedule and classroom rules, but other than the two bulletin spaces, her classroom walls seem bare.

In her classroom, Mrs. Jones provides the students with a bookcase of AR reading material, all organized by series and reading level. (REC 6.1, 6.12). The students are encouraged to take these books back to their desk and read for independent reading during the morning silent reading period and after they complete their class work. Students maintain a reading journal to log all of their reading and write a quick summary of what they have read. Near her desk, the classroom library is extended with newer novels and series that the students are required to check out using a catalog system before borrowing. The classroom does not provide students with a reading corner where they can relax and read comfortably, but the classroom library is well utilized throughout the day.

Although there is no pleasure reading space, there is a kidney-shaped table that is located next to the teacher’s desk for small group instruction. During my internship experience, I worked with Mrs. Jones to create groups for differentiated instruction based on individual Sunshine State Standards in reading that the students “needed much,” “needed,” or were “on target.” Because the groups are created skill-specific (skills cover areas such as vocabulary, main idea, compare/contrast, author’s purpose), each skill group has different students, including higher-level students who need practice with specific reading skills. (REC 5.3, 6.2, 6.3, 6.6, 6.8, 6.11). She works with these groups during reading rotations to customize instruction for specific students that need reinforcement or special help in various reading areas.

The students are also assigned to small groups for book study. In these groups, 4-5 students are assigned a fiction or non-fiction book which they read together as a group. When they meet during the reading block, the teacher is able to observe fluency and automaticity. (REC 5.12, 6.4, 6.11). At the end of each chapter, students are given comprehension and critical thinking questions to answer in their reading journals about their reading. (REC 6.6, 6.8). Meeting in these small group settings encourages discussion about the book they are reading and allows the students to feel comfortable asking questions about aspects of the book they many not have understood. (REC 6.6, 6.8, 6.7, 6.11.) After the completion of a novel, students are allowed to take the AR (Accelerated Reader) assessment, which is encouraged school-wide. (REC 5.12)

While she is working with the small groups, students are given choices of centers to work on throughout the week including a listening center and writing center. (REC 5.3, 6.10). Each day, the students rotate through working on the Inspire computer program, their centers, and small group instruction. For the standards that the majority of the students fell in the “much needed” or “needed” categories, she utilizes whole group instruction.

Active participation is evident in the classroom. Students are encouraged to answer questions by writing on a dry erase board, discussing with their group, or sharing when called on. For writing assignments, the students are actively engaged by presenting their works as reader’s theater pieces and reading them aloud through the classroom microphone. Tickets are handed out for participation in these activities. Students keep all their writings in a writing notebook until they are completed when they are moved into their portfolio binder.

As a reward for students, Mrs. Jones reads aloud chapters from a suspense novel in her classroom. As an interning teacher, I found it remarkable how important the incentive of having their teacher read aloud to them was. Students would encourage their peers to not act up in the classroom because they needed to “find out what happened next” in the book she was reading to the class. Reading also encourages class attendance. During a parent-teacher conference, one of the students complained to her mother about missing school to go to a dentist appointment because she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to catch up with the story they were reading.

There are six ESOL students in Mrs. Jones’s class, so in best practice, she tries to utilize ESOL teaching strategies in all instruction and in the classroom. When new vocabulary is introduced, the words are written on the board then later added to a word wall for the subject they are studying. The word walls are hung from a clothesline on a side of the classroom, though I feel in a location too high for most students to read.

The experience of being immersed in an experienced teacher’s classroom has helped me in determining what I would like my future classroom to look like. Similar to Mrs. Jones, I would definitely organize the desks in small groups to encourage learning collaboration. My classroom would provide students with a large library, and comfortable reading spaces. Centers would be placed throughout the classroom, including a listening station, especially for students who would benefit from listening along with their silent reading material. Computers will be a central part of learning and assessment in my classroom. I hope that I am allowed to decorate my classroom with meaningful materials and student work. If not, I will definitely utilize the clothespin system the teachers at X Elementary School have created.


 * School and Instructor Names have been changed.