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Class Make-Up

In this classroom there are..

32 students total

6 of these students have IEP's

5 students have Speech Language Impairments (SLI)  but none are English Language Learners

4 collaborating teachers

3 being general education teachers

1 being a special education teacher

1 Teachers Assistant

She is a retired special education teacher and primarily provides support to 3 individual students.

Although there is no reading interventionist, this Teachers Assistant does a lot of work pulling students out for individualized support and intervention in all content areas including literacy.

Classroom Structure

The 32 students are split up into 2 teams

The Red Team and The Blue Team

Each team has 16 students

Both teams are primarily led by two teachers

The Red Team is led by two general education teachers

The Blue Team is led by one general education and one special education teacher, and all of the students with IEP's are on this team.

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Prior to beginning a while group literacy lesson, the teacher has the students repeat the "I can" statement from the board. These statements are taken directly from the Next Generation Learning Standards.

Additionally, one of the teachers has learning targets displayed near her group work table, that come from the Next Generation Learning Standards, although they are at the preschool level.

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Literacy is made a priority in this particular first grade classroom.

Literacy is taught in this classroom for a total of two and a half hours of the day.

As you can see from the schedule below, literacy in this classroom is integrated through various activities and methods

Phonics Instruction

Writing

Reading Workshop

Guided Reading

Guided Reading is the only form of Literacy Instruction I have observed through this practicum experience as I arrived when they were in lunch. This plays into the ability grouping component of literacy instruction in this classroom.

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Due to the cooperative teaching model, this classroom has the opportunity to implement ability grouping throughout each subject which proves to be beneficial for student success. The groups for literacy are different than the groups for math which shows the teachers genuinely take into consideration the ability of their students when forming these groups.

When it comes to literacy, I am only there to observe Guided Reading.

For guided reading, students are split up into groups based on their academic ability in ELA as a whole.

All the students who are above grade level are in one group

All who are at grade level are in another group

All who fall slightly below grade level are in another

Lastly those who are far below grade level and need intensive support are in the last group

These groups remain the same everyday, with minor changes when needed to support individual students. Each group is led by the same teacher everyday which keeps things in a routine and predictable for students, and also allows for the teacher to better understand their students strengths and weakness, and therefore know how to support them.

Throughout my observation, I have seen some groups work on grade level tasks such as independently reading a short passage, and answering comprehension questions in writing. However, I have also observed one group who was working on learning the letters of the alphabet for the duration of time I was there. This vast difference in ability shows how critical ability grouping is in this classroom to ensure all students are having their academic needs met.

This ability grouping relates to some of the readings from this course, as grouping students by ability allows teachers to provide appropriate support and scaffolding to the group to ensure student success. This also has shown me how valuable working as a team in a co-teaching setting can be, and how it can serve as a really great way to teach literacy to students in the future if I am given the opportunity.

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Learn The Letter D | Let's Learn About The Alphabet | Phonics Song for Kids | Jack Hartmann

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In order to teach students reading, writing, oral language, the four teachers utilize both a core program and supplemental programs.

The core curriculum is Fountas and Pinnell. In the classroom, there are multiple boxes labeled “Grade 1 Fountas & Pinnell Classroom”. Each box contains materials that are part of a cohesive, multi-text approach to literacy instruction that is designed to support whole group, small group, and independent learning opportunities. This system includes resources for interactive read aloud, phonics/spelling/word study lessons, guided reading, and much more.

While interviewing one of the teachers, she expressed concern with the Fountas and Pinnell classroom program due to the fact that they were having difficulty adjusting their curriculum to for with this new program.

The teachers also utilize the online program Lexia for supplemental literacy support in their classroom. Lexia is a technology-based reading intervention program that provides students with personalized lessons to help students advance through the curriculum.

In this course, we learned about the Core Program, Fountas and Pinnell. Throughout these observations, I was given the opportunity to see this program be implemented into the classroom setting, and therefore gain a better understanding about how it works, and what some of the positive components and drawbacks are. We also learned about supplemental programs, so it was nice to see how they might be integrated into instruction guided by a core program.

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In this classroom, there are two separate libraries, one on each side of the classroom.

On the blue side of the classroom, the library is located in the back corner of the classroom. Books are sorted into various bins according to topic. The topics include animals, sports, fiction, nonfiction, holidays and science and Eric Carle. Within each bin, there is a variety of text levels so every student can find a book at their level. This library also has a spot for students to read, under the table where there are blankets and pillows.

On the red side of the classroom, the library has books sorted in a similar way, by category. This side however differs in that it has individual books on display, and has a small amount of carpet space where students can sit to read.

This relates to the class period where we talked about creating a classroom library to engage and motivate students.

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Anchor charts, posters, and other visuals are displayed throughout the classroom for students to refer to as they complete ELA work independently.

The also utilize chrome books for supplemental instructional programs like Lexia and Zearn

The overhead projector and SmartBoard are utilized to model to students what they should be doing, or to present a read aloud.

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In this classroom, the teachers administer a variety of different types of literacy assessments. I was able to observe two types literacy assessments and one type of math assessment when I was there.

When observing one of the guided reading groups, the students went through a series of guided practice worksheets with their teacher and then the last worksheet they had to complete on their own. The teacher told them that this was a quiz, and that she could not help them. This worksheet had the students trace the letter that they were working on, then had them write it themselves, and then had them circle all the pictures that started with that letter. This served as a formative assessment for the students in this guided reading group.

I also observed assessment in another guided reading group. In this group, on Fridays the students would be given a passage to read independently and then answer 3 comprehension questions. Like the other group's assessment, the teacher leading this group informed students that this was a quiz and that she could not help them.

In math I observed the use of Exit tickets as a form of informal assessment.

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The teachers remind students to follow the "3 bees" when they do not appear to be behaving as expected.

Be respectful

Be Safe

Be Responsible

The teachers use a call and response strategy often to gain students attention.

"I can" statements are utilized

Differentiated Instruction

6 levels of Blooms Questioning

When a student raises their hand answers a question in whole group instruction, and either gets the right answer or works towards the right answer out loud, the teachers tell the student to "kiss your brain" because they are so smart.

The teachers try to frame things in a positive way when talking to their students in general, especially when providing them with feedback.

The classroom has a word wall of high frequency words for students to refer to when needed.