- 1. Five images (you can take them or they can come from the Internet [provide proper credit]). These images should reflect, in some way, what you imagine your classroom will look like once you are a teacher. Please annotate your images by providing a description of the image and how it relates to your future classroom.
Figure 1. Responsive classroom (Woodward, 2016).
This is how I want my future classroom to look!!
A classroom filled with engaged students who are ready and excited to learn and
participate. I hope that as a teacher I can help my students not only feel
comfortable participating in class but also feel the desire to participate in
class.
Woodward, J. (2016). Responsive classroom.
Figure 2. Elementary school modernization. (MJP Architecture.)
I love the different organized sections of this classroom. In my future classroom, I imagine having a computer station and a book station, a working station, similar to this classroom. I also love that this classroom has resources, like the computers, and that is something I want in my future class. MJP Architecture. Elementary school modernization. Retrieved from http://www.mjpaia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ProspectModernizationKindergarten-e1338996791349.jpg
Figure 3. Colorful atmosphere. (Rebollido, J.) 
I love the arrangement of this room, with the
rug near the front and the desks all around. I want my elementary students to
be sitting together in groups, as shown in the picture. I also love the color
and excitement to the room, with the colors hanging from the ceiling. I think
that helps the students remember that learning is fun!
Rebollido, J. (2013). Colorful atmosphere.
Retrieved from http://jcrebollido.blogspot.com/2013_04_01_archive.html
Figure 4. Cool classroom. (Scholastic.)
I want the walls of my future classroom to be filled
with color, like this one. I love that every section of wall is filled with
color and relates to what the students are learning. I think this helps
students feel excited about learning, and for example, with the reading wall
(with students’ writing on it), invites the students to feel that they have
contributed to the learning in the class.
Scholastic. Cool classroom.
Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/cool-classroom-molly-maloy/
Figure 5. Elementary school classroom design. (Pic2Viral.)
I love organization in a classroom. In my future
classroom, I imagine having a rug similar to the one shown in this picture to
help each of the students have their own spot on the rug. I think that using a
rug like this would help students to feel that they have a place and to help
them not fight of seating on the rug when we do reading time or things like
that.
Pic2Viral. (2016). Elementary school classroom design.
Retrieved from www.suncityvillas.com/378d23f01218e003.html
- 2.
Imagine the surrounding in your classroom. What does the room look like?
What resources are available for students? How are the resources used
during the lesson?
The
classroom includes a rug near the front (near the board) with desks in groups
surrounding the rug. Around the perimeter of the classroom, there are
computers, a science station (with a sink), and cabinets so that each child can
put their backpack in a certain “cubby.” In terms of resources in the
classroom, I hope to have sufficient supplies to do hands on projects with them
that relate to what we are learning. For example, if we are learning about
electrical circuits, I want to have resources to make battery-powered
electrical circuits in groups with the kids. I also hope to have computers that
the students can use to help engage them in spelling, reading, and math, with
games online that they can work on to practice what we have learned in class. I
also want my classroom to be filled with books, so that during silent reading
time, the students can choose fun books to read and have a great selection of
books that are exciting for them. I also hope to have resources, like
children’s textbooks, that can help children to practice and reinforce what we
have learned in class.
- 3.
Describe the students in your classroom. What are their backgrounds? What
are their interests? What are they doing during the lesson?
The students in my
classroom come from all different backgrounds and cultures. I usually imagine a
mix of Caucasians, Hispanics, African Americas, and Asians. Some of the
Hispanics may be speaking English as their second language. So, I imagine helping
them with English and also being able to speak to them and their parents in
Spanish. They are interested in a variety of activities from sports to music to
dance. I hope to be able to include the variety of student interests in lesson
plans. For example, using dance to teach about a specific culture in a history
lesson or using music in a math lesson on fractions. I imagine that not all of
them will be so excited to learn at first, but I hope to be able to kindle
within them a desire to learn and an excitement about learning. It would depend
on the lesson, but I hope that during lessons, they are attentive and willing
to participate. I imagine teaching a brief lesson, and then allowing them time
to do an activity to help them develop that skill or learn that principle. I
imagine students asking questions and excited about learning. Of course, they
might not feel excited every moment, but for the most part, I imagine a class
who is willing to try new things and participate and hopefully enjoy it!
- 4.
Describe your classroom policies. What are your classroom rules? What is
your discipline plan? What are your homework policies?
I think that my
biggest classroom rule will be charity—loving and caring for each member of the
class. I want to make an emphasis on loving one another because I feel that if
the students can learn to love one another, then they will also respect one
another and respect me as well. Another classroom rule I want to incorporate is
hard work. I think that hard work is a good thing, and that challenges in
learning will make them better. I want to help them to not be afraid of working
hard. I also want to place a large emphasis on trying new things. I want to
help them realize that trying new things is important and will help them grow. “Smaller
rules” such as “one person talk at a time during lessons” will hopefully
naturally fall out of these bigger overarching rules that I have in mind. At
the beginning of each school year, I want to talk to my students about these
rules and invite them to collaborate on “the smaller rules” they feel our class
should establish and the punishments that they think are fair for breaking rules.
I do not like “rewarding” for negative behavior. For
example, giving a student a lot of attention for something they have done
wrong. I want to focus my discipline on positive reinforcement. However, when
they do break rules, I want the “punishment” to be something that will be
productive to helping them learn better. For example, if we have access to
outdoor space, rather than making a child sit in “time out,” I would have him
run a few laps around a play-set outside to get his energy out, and then invite
him back into the class.
As for homework policies, I do want to require them
to do homework to review and practice what is learned in class. However, I do
not want to assign too much homework, as I want them to be able to enjoy time
outside playing and time with their family. I imagine assigning a weekly packet
with suggested assignments each day, which they would bring back and turn in
the following Friday.
- 5.
Describe a typical lesson you will teach in your classroom. What will you
teach? What is the topic? Why did you choose this topic? How will you
teach it? What is the main thing you want students to learn during this
lesson?
ul
I imagine teaching a lesson to my
students on writing with the aim to help them realize that they are writers and
that they can make a positive difference in someone’s life by learning to
write. I want to teach a lesson on this because for most of my life, I have never
viewed myself as a writer, but if they can learn to view themselves in such a
way, they will have more confidence in their abilities and find more joy in it
as well (and especially as they realize they can do something good with their
ability to write). Also, with everything we learn, I want them to see how it
has relevance to them personally and how they can use it to change the world.
For example, I will start the lesson by asking them to write for 5 minutes
about anything they would like. After 5 minutes, they would share with their
peers what they wrote about, and their peers would take a moment to talk about
what they thought was great from their writing. We then would take a moment and
talk about the different elements of any writing piece, touching on the writer
and the audience and the object in writing. We will spend a few moments talking
about the power of words and the impact words have had on students’ lives.
Then, we will talk about how words can make an influence for good in the world.
We will close the lesson by writing a thank-you note to someone, giving it to
them, and discussing the influence a thank-you note could have on someone.
- 6.
Imagine your work as a teacher during this lesson. What are you doing
during the lesson?
During this lesson, I will be
engaged with the students. I will be guiding the discussion and prompting
questions and ideas. I will do the lesson alongside them, taking 5 minutes to write
at the beginning, engaging in discussion among the students about positive
qualities in one another’s work, and writing a thank-you note at the end. I
imagine answering students’ questions and learning alongside them.
- 7.
Imagine your students again, what are they doing during the lesson?
The students are listening to the instructions
at the beginning of the class, they are willing to participate and write creatively
for 5 minutes. They are excited over the positive qualities in their own work as
well as that of their peers. They engage in class discussion and ask questions,
and they are willing to write a thank-you note and excited to see how it will
help the person who receives the note.
- 8.
Imagine how you will assess your students' learning and achievement. How
will you know they have learned?
I think that assessing my students’
learning and achievement will be measured in different ways depending on the
subject. For example, improvements in writing generally happen over a longer
time-span. So, I hope to have them do a writing assignment at the beginning of
the year and put it in a time capsule. At the end of the year, I would have
them do the same writing assignment, and then write about how their writing has
improved throughout the year. On the other hand, when teaching math, I hope to
have them do online games to challenge them. As they improve, the questions
will get harder, and they will be able to track and see their progress as well.
I know that through standardized testing, often student progress is tracked.
However, I want the students to be aware of how they are progressing. Thus, I want
to focus on the level of improvement from beginning to end rather than score/grade
from beginning to end. To help them to see and find joy in their improvement, I
will have them take a pretest at the beginning of each unit and then give them
a similar exam at the end of the unit so that they can see how much they
learned and improved during the unit.
s? What
is your discipline plan? What are your homework policies?
3. Describe the students in your classroom. What are their backgrounds?
What are their interests? What are they doing during the lesson?
e the resources used during the lesson?
3. Describe the students in your classroom. What are their backgrounds?
What are their interests? What are they doing during the lesson?
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