Context for Learning

Block One Practicum

About the School Where You Were in the Early Field Experience

The school that I observed and participated in was a Elementary school. I was in a 1st grade classroom and I would go in there once a day per week.

The features of my school were that it was fairly big. Getting around the school felt like a maze and there were several times in which I was unsure of where I was going. Outside of the building, there was a park that the kids would go to during recess. My classroom at the beginning of the semester had an aide coming in to help a student with Austism. This student was from Mexico and they didn't have an IEP already built for him. So within the first few months of school they were working on that. Once they got it finalized, they moved him to another classroom. There were also social workers who would pull students in and out from the classroom.

The way in which the cirriculum worked is that the district provided the teachers with a cirriculum guide. The teachers could then use this guide to build lesson plans. It felt very streamlined and an efficient way to teach.

About the Class Featured in this Early Field Experience

8:40-8:50 AM - Arrival & Attendance

8:50-9:00 AM - Morning Circle

9:00-9:45 AM - Structured Literacy

9:45-10:00 AM - Integrated Literacy

10:00-10:15 AM - Brain Break/Snack

10:15-11:40 AM - SMALL GROUPS Literacy: Grammary/Reading/Writing/Content

11:40 AM-12:35 PM - Lunch & Recess (includes hand washing)

12:35-1:05 PM - Teacher Read Aloud/Number Corner

1:05-2:05 PM - Specials

2:05-3:05 PM - Illustrative Math

3:05-3:25 PM - Small Group/WIN time

3:25 PM - Closing circle

3:30 PM - Get ready for dismissal

Every week, during specials, the 1st grade teachers and the prinicipal would all meet together in one classroom. During this time, they would discuss goals to which needed to be addressed. Whether this had to do with behavioral or academic goals for students.

Students would also use programs such as iReady and Amira to track how they are doing academically.

The resources within the classroom that were used were a projector screen to display all of the information. There was also one giant whiteboard. There were cubbies for students to place their take-home work. The back of the classroom had a calendar that the students would use during their number corner time. They would sit on the rug to do this.

About the Students in the Class [or if School, specify] in the Early Field

• 1st Grade

• 19 Students

  • 8 Girls

  • 11 Boys

    • Misheel

    • Leland

    • Daniel

    • Omirr

    • Nicholas

    • Anakin

    • Martin

    • Hector

    • George

    • Grace

    • Qyncy

    • Harper

    • Jake

    • Amari

    • Alsu

    • Dominic

    • Syeda

    • Iker (student with Autism who left the classroom; got an IEP)

    • Lucciano (English Language Learner)

    • Nicci (moved into the classroom the last two weeks I was there)

• English Language Learners = 50%

• Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) = 10%

• Low Income Students = 63%

• Students from Diverse Backgrounds = 271 Students