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Hi! My name is Jessica Eng and I am a teacher candidate from Sacred Heart University. I am originally from Cornwall, New York, but my family just recently moved to Palm Beach Gardens, Florida! I enjoy spending time with family and friends, singing, shopping, watching my favorite TV shows, traveling, and most of all, teaching. I am so excited to begin my teaching career and I can't wait to see what is in store for me next!

My teaching philosophy is to always, always, always have compassion; for your students, and for yourself. I think that the biggest, most important lesson that we can impart on our students is to be kind and compassionate. If we teach children nothing else in this world, it should be to go forward and be a light. I think that compassion changes things; it changes the way that we view our job, our students and our lives. I will always be sure to have compassion when teaching my students, and I will always love them more than the job requires! I am so excited to become a teacher and I can't wait to have my own classroom full of students to teach and love!

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Pictured is an example of rotations for centers during math. We will do center rotations like this for math and ELA. 

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In my classroom, there will be many different procedures that we as a class will follow that will be vital to the organization and structure of our day.

One procedure that we will have is doing center rotations in ELA and Math. The attached document is an example of a math center rotation. This rotation technique is a great way to keep students engaged and differentiate instruction. Students will be taught early on in the school year how these center rotations work and they will know very early on what is expected of them at each station. These stations will teach and foster group work, collaboration, independence and subject content skills.

Another procedure that I will have in my classroom is hand signals. I will have students hold up:
1. One finger (pointer) for tissue
2. Two fingers (peace sign) for pencil
3. Three fingers for water
4. Fingers crossed for bathroom
5. Thumbs down for not ready
6. Thumbs up for ready
7. Pinky finger and thumb (hang loose sign) for me too
8. Five fingers for question
9. Fist for answer
10. Make hand in the shape of a letter "c" for comment
(**and more to be added as the year goes on**)
Hand signals are extremely beneficial for both the teacher and the students in that it helps them effectively communicate with one another without being disruptive during instruction.

Another procedure that I will have within my classroom is non verbal cues. Students will know to stop, look, and listen to me when I play certain sounds within the classroom, like a doorbell, a bell, or a snippet of a song or chant. Incorporating music and sounds in the classroom can be extremely beneficial to your students' overall success; academically, emotionally and socially.

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For my classroom layout, I want to make sure that my classroom is interactive, manageable, flexible, purposeful and organized. I love this layout because it has:

1. Table groups that are spread out nicely
2. A spot for the teachers' desk that allows the teacher to monitor the entire room
3. A cozy reading corner with flexible seating
4. A group meeting rug with pocket charts
5. A back table for small group instruction
6. A spot for toys/dramatic play
7. A computer/technology station
8. A spot for students to hang up/store their belongings
9. An easily accessible and purposeful spot for the main board with a projector

All of these attributes make this classroom layout manageable and purposeful, and I would love to set up my future classroom like this.

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Rule #1: Be kind to everybody, including yourself.
-I have a zero tolerance policy for bullying of any form in my classroom; whether it is bullying someone else, or one’s self. I work hard to create a positive, safe and loving atmosphere in my classroom, and I expect that all students follow this rule, always.

Rule #2: Put your best foot forward, always.
- I always want my students to work hard and try their very best; and their very best will always be enough for me. I wish that all of my students walk with their heads held high, with the confidence that they can achieve anything that they put their mind to.

Rule #3: Communication is key.
- I expect that my students will feel comfortable expressing their wants and needs with me, and one another. This year, my students will learn that in order to have a successful learning experience in the 4th grade, they must communicate; with me, with their parents, and with each other. I want to be here for my students in any capacity that I can, and I can best do that when I know what is going on in their lives, so this rule applies to them, and to their parents as well.

Rule #4: Show your classmates and your teacher respect by listening when they speak.
-A huge life skill that I will be instilling in my students is that listening is so powerful, and is also a sign of respect. We have the ability to listen, and with that comes the power to learn.

Rule #5: Make it fun!
- I want my class to be the best, most positive experience for every child; one that they will remember forever. I want them to learn, grow, blossom, try hard, communicate, but most of all, have fun. I try to bring elements into my classroom every single day to make sure that my students are having so much fun that they forget that they are learning.

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I would like to share with you all the behavior management plans that I have in place in my classroom.

Red Hands: In relation to rule number 4, “show your classmates and your teacher respect by listening when they speak”, I have a zero tolerance policy for blurting out and talking over others. If a student speaks at an inappropriate time during instruction, I will simply hand them a red paper hand cutout. The student will have to write their name on the red hand and place it in the “Blurt Alert” container. At the end of the week, I will send home all of the child’s red hands with a slip attached explaining to the parents exactly why their child earned the red hands. This slip will have to be signed by a parent/guardian and brought back to school on Monday. The goal of this red hand system is so that every child learns to practice self control and self regulation.

Green Hands: To encourage positive classroom behavior, when a child raises their hand, speaks at the appropriate time and it is brought to my attention, they will receive a green hand from me. The child will collect all the green hands that they get each week and they will be able to exchange these green hands for homework passes and other rewards. Green hands will be sent home weekly as well so that way parents can praise their child’s successes at home.

Desk Pets: Another positive reinforcement that I will be giving in my classroom is desk pets! Desk pets are a great behavior management system that the kids really enjoy because it adds an element of fun to the classroom. My students will get a small container that they will keep on their desk that will hold their desk pet and act as the desk pet’s “home”. Through displaying positive behavior, each child will earn “money” to spend at our desk pet store every Friday. With their “money” they can purchase stickers to decorate their desk pet’s home to make it more “homey” or food themed erasers to “feed” their desk pet. This will encourage students to make the right choices in school to earn rewards.

Pull-Aside Chats: If a behavior issue arises within my classroom, I will do pull-aside chats with the individual student(s) and I will always hear them out. I want every child to feel heard in my class, and I will make sure that that is prioritized. If the negative behavior persists, I will contact home and we, (the child's parents, myself and the child) together, will discuss how we are going to correct this negative behavior.

Logical Consequences: I also would like to use logical consequences in my classroom; meaning that a child’s negative behavior will always be followed by a logical consequence. For example, if a child is disrespectful to another child or teacher, they will be asked to write an apology note. This behavior management system will teach students that their actions have consequences, both negative and positive.

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It is extremely important to maintain good communication with the parents/guardians of your students. Some ways that I will keep good communication with my student's parents are:
1. Calling home the first week of school to introduce myself and say positive things about the child. This builds a relationship with a parent before things go bad; that way when you need to call home with a concern, the parent already knows you, and they know that your intentions are good.
2. Sending home "Handle With Care" notes every week. These fillable notes will be sent home every Friday for the following week in the child's take home folder. On these notes, parents can write to me anything that they need me to know about that child for that day (i.e. if the child had a bad night prior, if they are going through something at home, etc.), that way I can teach and care for the student in the best way possible given their current state and circumstances.
3. Sending home "Friday Journals" or "Family Folders". In these folders/portfolios will be all of the student's work from that week with a spot for parent and teacher comments. That way, the parent is involved in the student's work and school life, and they are able to monitor their child's progress as well as praise their successes, and help them with anything they may be struggling with academically.
4. Always making myself available to talk to parents when they need to speak to me, and always making them feel heard, valued and respected. A little goes a long way when it comes to communication, and it is important to just put in that little extra effort to make a positive impact in your relationship with the parents of your students.

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We must teach our students that we work together as a unit and that we become better people by bringing out the best in others, so that way they can bring out the best in us. Growing up, and even still now, I am a very controlling, type A person. I have always loved doing things my way, by myself and I have a very hard time giving up control, so group projects have never really been my thing. However, if I give up some of this control, I can allow for more abundance to enter my life by uplifting others while allowing them to uplift me, so that way I can become the best possible version of myself. I think that it is easy to want to be the best at something, or everything, but giving up that control and that ego in life is so important, in a professional as well as a social, personal aspect. In order to be the best teacher that I can be, I have to prioritize community building, not just at the beginning of the year, but all year round. Ice breakers aren’t just for the first week; in fact, they can be done on a daily basis. The best thing we can do for our students as educators is to make them feel safe, comfortable, heard and loved and to set them up for life after school with strong and prominent social skills. As a teacher, I will encourage my students to bounce ideas off of one another, have compassion and empathy, get to know one another on a deeper level, and to celebrate each other’s differences, and successes. I want my students to reach their highest potential, in and out of my classroom.

One way that I will build community within my classroom is by teaching my students conflict resolution. I want to teach my students understanding, empathy, responsibility, communication and choice, and I will do so through class meetings, problem solving strategies, role play activities and games. It is important that children learn how to resolve conflicts and communicate effectively with others, and that is exactly what I want to accomplish within my classroom. Above, I have added a cooperative lesson self assessment. This is another way I will foster a sense of community in my classroom; through group work and projects.

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This seating chart takes students with special needs or learning disabilities into account, and how they should be positioned in the classroom. It places all of the children with accommodations/learning disabilities on the outside borders of the classroom. I've heard it said before that your class "vibe" so to speak, starts in the center of your classroom and filters its way out to the rest of the room. If this theory is true, the teacher should always seat the children that are positive, uplifting, focused and even sometimes gifted, in the middle of the classroom, so their vibe radiates outward to the rest of the class. Keeping the students who have behavioral issues/who talk on the outside border of the classroom will create a more productive environment for the rest of your students as well as these students, limiting their distractions. This seating chart also places children that need help/aides on the outside so that way an adult can work with them one on one without distracting the rest of the class. It places children with attention issues with children that have trouble seeing, at the front of the room near the board. It is important not to mix the children that have attention issues together because they may distract one another. It is good to mix them with a student who has trouble seeing because you can ask the student with attention issues to help the child with sight issues, pushing them to pay closer attention to the material being taught/shown on the board. This seating arrangement will benefit both children; the child with sight issues will get someone to help them, and the child with attention issues will be forced to pay closer attention and to stay focused, in order to help their friend. Lastly, it places talkative/problem children at the back of the classroom near the teacher's desk, that way, the teacher can more closely monitor them and ensure that they do not distract the other children in the class.

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Here is a sample lesson plan that I created for fourth grade ELA/Reading. This lesson would sit within a larger unit where we, as a class, would read the book "Inside Out and Back Again", and look closely at different components of reading and writing.