FEAP 2 evidence

Blog Site for Reference: Caiseereno.weebly.com

2a. Organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space,
and attention:
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-4
Connected Reading:
In Classroom Spaces that Works (2001), it discusses The heart of the
classroom. This is is connected to my Feap2a. In the reading, it talks about
how having whole group meetings are important for student involvement and
interaction. It is what we would call morning meeting but it can be called
many different things. It is a way for students and teachers to get know each
other, talk about current events and can even be used for test review when
needed. Morning meeting can also be used for the teacher to explain what
will be going on that day or in the coming week.
Citation:
Clayton, M. K, & Forton, M. B. (2001). Classroom spaces that work. Thunder
Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation, Inc
Evidence:
For our morning meeting, we come to the carpet and sit it a circle, then we
talk about what is going on. Because I have kindergartners, we tend to go off
topic a lot so we try to let everyone say something briefly to the group. After
share time, we move on to our calendar talk, which is talk about the day,
month and seasons. I believe that morning meetings can be very beneficial to
the teacher and the students, and should be done at least once a week. It is a
great way to start the day of positively.
To keep track of time and make good use of time, I have a schedule plan that
I use to keep myself on track with things that need to be done in a given day.
I have it blocked off by subject and it includes out of classroom times such as
lunch, recess and specials. To me, being organized and being smart with time
is the most important thing about being a teacher. At the beginning of the
year, I made sure that the students knew the schedule and made sure they
knew the routines, such as lining up, transitioning to different subjects, and
which types of writing utensils to use for different assignments.
2b. Manages individual and class behaviors through a well-planned
management system:
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-8
Connected Reading:
Cooperative discipline is sort of the opposite of assertive discipline but has
some similarities. The main idea of this type of discipline is the cooperation
between the teacher and the student. Students can come up with what they
feel would make good rules for the classroom, with support from the teacher.
The most important aspect of this type of discipline is the respect that the
students have for their teacher and visa versa. There is a true understanding
about the rules in the classroom and the teacher expects the students to

abide by it. With this discipline, it is important that the teacher model the
behavior that is expected so that the students have a good understanding .
Citation:
Charles, C. M. Linda Albert's 'Cooperative Discipline'. In Building classroom
discipline. Boston. Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch. 5. pp. 67-84.
Evidence:
I think that I lean more towards cooperative when I am in the classroom. For
example, when a student does something they shouldn't, I don't yell at them,
but I ask them what they believe they could do to fix the behavior that is
happening. This gives them a chance to think about what they did wrong and
how what they can do to fix it. I do feel that in a kindergarten classroom it is
a good idea to use both. Because this is their first experience in a classroom
setting, I think it is important to not only make sure they know you are the
one who makes the rules and are in charge. But, in addition to this, teaching
students cooperative discipline this early on could help them going forward in
school. To me, having a respectful relationship between the students and the
teacher is the most important thing and I believe that is how I will run my
future classroom. To manage behavior in the classroom, I use a clip chart for
positive and negative behavior. For good behavior, I reward a child by
clipping them up on the chart and for bad behavior they are moved down. If a
student gets to the top of the chart by the end of the day, those students get
a prize. If you go down, there are consequences depending on how far down
you go. For example, if you are on yellow at the end of the day, a note will go
home to a parent about behavior.
2c. Conveys high expectations to all students:
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-12
Connected Reading:
This chapter focuses on making the most of classroom time. With everything
that takes place during a school day including, lunch, recess and specials, the
teacher only has about 5 hours of instructional time during a given day. There
are many things that a teacher can do to ensure that both the teacher and
students make the most of their time. Some tips include minimizing transition
times, setting clear expectations and routines and holding students
responsible.
I feel that this reading really relates to my internship classroom because I am
in kindergarten and transition time is key to make the flow work and for time
to be used wisely. For the first week, my CT and I had to get the students
used to the routine and prepare them for the teachers routines in the
classroom so that they can know what is expected of them without having to
ask.
Citation:
Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2015). Elementary
classroom management: Lessons from research and practice, (6th Ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Evidence:

Last week, I had my second supervisor observation and my goal for the
lesson was to set clear expectations for the students so that they have a high
chance at succeeding and so that the lesson/activity would run smoothly.
Students know to listen with their bubbles so that they can hear the
directions. I was doing a read aloud and I wanted them to know what they
would be doing after. This is where I set clear expectations for the students. I
told them what to be listening for in the book so they could go back to their
tables and do the graphic organizer by themselves. Another reason this
lesson ran smoothly is because students know the routine of read alouds on
the carpet. After we read, we have a short carpet discussion and then they go
back to their seats, take out their pencils and write their name on the paper
so that they can wait for further directions. Most students follow these
directions. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the students did on the
worksheet. I got to write sweet notes on all of their papers so that they could
be sent home for parents to see.
2d. Respects students cultural linguistic and family background
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-10
Connected Reading:
This chapter focuses on how teachers can develop a relationship with
students parents and family. As teachers, it is important to know how to
properly communicate with all types of families (there will be many types).
Not only are teachers responsible for communicating with parents about
each student progress multiple times a year, but also it is important to keep
families in the loop about school and class news. Some of the tips that the
chapter lists are being able to make yourself available and flexible so that
parents have many options when it comes to participating in their childs
academic life. Many parents want to help, but work full time jobs and don't
have the time. When given enough time, parents may be able to participate
in classroom activities and be involved in their childs school life. Keeping an
open line of communication with them will make them feel better about you
as a teacher.
Citation:
Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2015). Elementary
classroom management: Lessons from research and practice, (6th Ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Evidence:
In my internship classroom, we have a students who is Jewish. Since the
holidays are coming up, I came up with the idea to have a holiday tradition
show and tell. Students can have the opportunity to share a holiday tradition
with the class. Not many students know about Hanukkah at their age and I
think this is a great opportunity to introduce the concept to the classroom.
The Jewish student is so excited to share his culture with the class. The
students mother agreed to come to the class and talk to the students about
the holiday and bring in some items that show their traditions. Also, some
other parents decided to come in and share some of their Christmas
traditions with the class as well. I am super excited for this event and can't
wait to see the students learn more about different holiday traditions.

Because I gave parents ample time and preparation, more parents were able
to volunteer for this opportunity to speak with the whole class.
2e. Models clear, acceptable oral and written communication skills;
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-11
Connected Reading:
This weeks readings covered a wide variety of topics but were all very
informative and useful to me as a future teacher. Some of the topics
discussed were student motivation, independent student seatwork, and
managing small group activities and work. There are many things that affect
students motivation and some of those things may include: Student
expectation and the value on the task (is what they are doing important?).
One of the tips that is given to improve motivation in many students is
making success obtainable for students. Goal setting can also help in getting
students motivated, especially with long-term assignments. As far as the
chapter on seatwork, it discusses how what is supposed to be beneficial for
students is actually misused by teachers. They will use independent seatwork
as busy work, so that they may get other things down. In the long run, it
doesn't benefit the student at all and they will get bored easily. Managing
small group work can be tiring and stressful for a teacher, but it is very
important for students to learn the social skills for interacting with peers
because they will need these skills in the future. The earlier these skills are
taught, the better. Setting clear expectations and assigning students roles
can impact how well group work goes for both the teacher and the students.
Citation:
Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2015). Elementary
classroom management: Lessons from research and practice, (6th Ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Evidence:
Group work has always been a hard thing for me to handle, especially this
year in my kindergarten classroom because it is tough to keep them all on
task at once. Most of them have never worked in groups before and don't
know how to interact with peers on an academic level. When my CT and I
started partner work we modeled what turn and talks would look like so
they would know the appropriate behavior. I just started implementing turn
and talks with my students during carpet reading time and it is getting
better each day that we do it. I allow them to talk about the stories at
particular points so they can discuss what has happened. This enhances their
comprehension and helps them develop those social skills that they will need
in higher-grade levels.
In addition, since I am in a kindergarten classroom, I am constantly modeling
writing on the board and under the document camera. My students are just
starting to write sentences, so I will write an example sentence with them on
the board and then they will try one on their own. I emphasize with them that
a sentence must have a capital letter, finger space and a period at the end.
This is the beginning stages of them learning how to write properly and
modeling is a very important component of them being successful in this
subject.
2f. Maintains a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and support;

Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-9

Connected Reading:
Alfie Kohns, Beyond Discipline, is discussed in this weeks article. The focus
on this type of discipline is trying to develop a community within the
classroom environment. One of the things mentioned, that I love, is having
class discussions on how to resolve issues that have come up in the class.
Although, if it is a serious issue, you should address it right then, but have
time to talk to the class about it at a later time, so that the problem wont
occur again. The main idea is create a safe classroom community where
student and teacher feel comfortable discussing issues they may have and
working together to come up with a solution. In addition, the teacher can
provide guidance during these meetings so that they can also be effective.
Citation:
Charles, C. M. Alfie Kohns Beyond Discipline. In Building classroom
discipline. Boston. Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch. 12. pp. 189-204
Evidence:
After reading the article on beyond discipline, I wanted to try and use this in
my internship classroom for the rest of my time there to see how my students
would react to it. I love the idea of having an open communication feel in the
classroom environment, I want it to feel like a family. So every Monday, we
have a class meeting in the morning where we discuss any issues we feel we
have and any praises that we might have. This includes the teacher talking to
the students about issues and praises. In addition, the meetings will conclude
with a group goal setting. The class sets a goal for the week and if they meet
it, they get some sort of reward at the end of the week. I also want to have
some share time in the meeting because I feel that this allows students to
bond with one another on common interests and can bring the class closer
together as a whole. Since I have started this, I have noticed students being
more comfortable with one another in the class and outside of class
(lunchroom and recess). They seem to go outside of their comfort zone and
talk to people they might not have before. They also seem to feel more
comfortable asking the teacher questions because they know that the
classroom is a safe place and I let them know on a daily basis that there is no
such thing as a dumb question.
2g. Integrates current information and communication technologies;
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-11
When I introduced the concept of measurement to the class, I introduced it
using non-standard units because rulers are not yet used at this age level.
The non standard unit I decided to use was snap cubes. These can easily be
counted and will make it easy for the students to lie down to measure items. I
really wanted to use the smart board because I felt that students learn more
when they can interact with technology and get the opportunity to
participate. I found a website that allows you to use manipulatives online. I
pulled that up and let students take turns coming up to practice measuring
using virtual snap cubes. I would draw a line, then I would allow students to
drag the virtual snap cubes to line it up with the line. They all counted out
loud, the number of snap cubes it took to measure the line. They love using
the smart board and I am looking forward to using it more often.

2h. Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing

needs and diversity of students; and,
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-3
Connected Reading:
This weeks readings covered a wide variety of topics but were all very
informative and useful to me as a future teacher. Some of the topics
discussed were student motivation, independent student seatwork, and
managing small group activities and work. There are many things that effect
students motivation and some of those things may include: Student
expectation and the value on the task (is what they are doing important?).
One of the tips that is given to improve motivation in many students is
making success obtainable for students. Goal setting can also help in getting
students motivated, especially with long-term assignments. As far as the
chapter on seatwork, it discusses how what is supposed to be beneficial for
students is actually misused by teachers. They will use independent seatwork
as busy work, so that they may get other things down. In the long run, it
doesn't benefit the student at all and they will get bored easily. Managing
small group work can be tiring and stressful for a teacher, but it is very
important for students to learn the social skills for interacting with peers
because they will need these skills in the future. The earlier these skills are
taught, the better. Setting clear expectations and assigning students rolls can
impact how well group work goes for both the teacher and the students.
Citation:
Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2015). Elementary
classroom management: Lessons from research and practice, (6th Ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill.
Evidence:
This week, I started coming up with ways to modify her lessons/teaching for
students who master topics/lessons quickly. There are 2 students who are
already above reading level and know all of their unit one-site words. Each
day, I gather the students on the rug and practice these site words with
everyone, while adding a new word every other day. Because these 2
students already know these site words, I have them sit in the back of the
room and use the Ipads to engage in educational games that will improve
their reading skills as well as challenge them further. If I didnt do this, those
students might get easily distracted and could disrupt other students who
need to pay attention. Also, they may talk over other students and make
them feel insecure for not knowing the answer.
On the other hand, I am in the process of figuring out how to differentiate
instruction for her students that are behind. There are three students who
came into kindergarten not knowing how to use a pencil, count one to one, or
read any letters. On top of that, they all have a hard time focusing, so they
really struggle during whole group instruction. While I am there, I have the
opportunity to work one on one with these students, which I feel is really
helping them. When I am not there, they are pulled out of the classroom with
a specialist and they also have someone coming to the class in the afternoon
to work with them.

2i. Utilizes current and emerging assistive technologies that enable

students to participate in high-quality communication interactions
and achieve their educational goals.
Evidence from: http://caiseereno.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-11
As far as independent seatwork goes, I feel that we use entirely too much of
it in my internship classroom. My kindergarteners have an attention span of
about 5 minutes tops. Having them constantly sit at their seats can be boring
for both the student and the teacher. We have a smart board in the classroom
that doesnt get touched. When I was subbing the class last week, I turned it
on and had the students using it almost all day throughout the day. The kids
LOVED it and I loved it. It is so much more fun for both the teacher and the
student when they can do interactive things instead of seatwork over and
over. I also feel that students benefit academically when they can get up and
down from their seats and are interactively learning.
In addition I have several students who use simple assistive technology on a
daily basis. One thing that comes to mind is pencil grips. I have a few
students who have poor motor skills and have a hard time holding their
pencils. This is something that has become more of a problem because the
students are starting to write more and more. Having the pencil grips allows
them to hold on to their pencils better and allow them to have the
opportunity to write like the rest of the students in the class.