1

Standard 1: Classroom Contextual Factors

Demographics

30

Gender and Number of Students

25

20 15 15 Boys 10 Girls Total Students

Figure 1.1

In the 2nd grade class in which I completed my student teaching, there are a total of 26 students. These students comprise of 11 girls and 15 boys. Shown above in (Figure 1.1). Although there are more boys in this class, the students typically get along with each other well and play with each other no matter their gender. On several occasions the students will play a game, such as soccer or jump rope, and both boys and girls will participate. Additionally, the students in this class are ages 7 and 8. Lastly, the majority of the students in this particular class are Caucasian. However, there is one African American, one Chinese, and three Hispanic (Figure 1.2).

Ethnicity
2 2 African American Navajo Caucasian

17

Figure 1.2

Exceptionalities There are twelve students that have been identified as having exceptionalities in this class. Six students are struggling learners and are below grade level in both reading and math. Three of the struggling learners have an (IEP) and there are three that are in speech. Three students are English Language Learners (ELL), but are English proficient. Six students are above grade level and will be tested soon for gifted and talented (Gate). (Figure 1.3).

Exceptionality
3 6 Below Grade Level ELL Above Grade Level 6 2 3 IEP

Figure 1.3

Language Proficiency Out of the 26 students, three are English Language Learners. Spanish is spoken in the home of all three ELL students. There is one girl and two boys. All three students are at worldclass instructional design and assessment level 3 (WIDA). (Figure 1.4)

English Language Learners

3 ELL Students Non-ELL Students 23

Figure 1.4

Socioeconomic Status The socio-economic status of the students is very diverse in this class. There are several students who come from affluent families while others are low income. The information on individual students is not provided to the teacher. While the individual financial information is not available for the students, the percentage of students that receive free or reduced lunches is 37%. Therefore, since the school is not above 40 percent of the students receiving free or reduced lunches, the school does not qualify as a title 1 school. Additionally, the regular classroom teacher does not have information about which students have parents that did or did not attend higher education.

Reading Levels Mrs. Lenhart gives a running record assessment to every student to determine their reading level. She tests the students on the concepts of print, identifying upper and lower case letters, knowing the letter sounds, and recognizing 2nd grade sight words. From the information collected she places the children into reading groups and assigns each student individual reading levels.(Figure 1.5).

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Below Grade Level On Grade Level Above Grade Level Above Grade Level On Grade Level Below Grade Level

Figure 1.5

Math Levels For determining individual math levels Mrs. Lenhart uses the benchmark test in Connect Ed. the math program Washington County School District is using. In Mrs. Lenharts class there are 4 students who are below level in their math. Thirteen students are on grade level. five students are above grade level (Figure 1.6)

Math Levels
25 20 20 15 10 4 5 0 Below Grade Level On Grade Level Above Grade Level 2

Above Grade Level On Grade Level Below Grade Level

Figure 1.6

Differentiation/Accommodation Differentiating the lessons I teach in Mrs. Lenharts 2nd grade class is very important to insure that all students academic needs are meet. For my English Language Learners (ELL) I use Sheltered Instructional Observation Protocol (SIOP) lessons to insure that they are receiving the best teaching possible. For the High Level learners Mrs. B has a math challenge packet to increase and expand their knowledge. In Language Art the high level students are reading books based on their individual levels. The students who are struggling with their speech meet with the speech therapist twice a week for 20 minutes to work on their language skills. The students in special education has an aid to help with his behavior and academic needs. For the low level learners Mrs. Lenhart incorporates a method call the Work Shops and the students are divided into same ability groups so we can work with the students who are struggling with their reading. I meet with the low level students 15 minutes every day to work on recognizing upper and lower case letters and their sounds, sight words, and the students reading.

Classroom policies/practices One of the classroom practices is that each student has a clip with their number on it. At the beginning of the day their clip is on green (Ready to Learn). When the students stay on task and are exceptionally well behaved or have done a good deed the teacher can ask them to move their clip up to purple (great student). When the student is off task or misbehaving the teacher will ask the student to move their clip down to yellow (Teachers Choice), if they move it down again, it is red (Think Time) This is a reminder that the student needs to modify his or her behavior. If the student does not comply with the gentle reminder from the teacher and continues

the misbehavior the teacher will give a second reminder and the teacher will ask him or her to change his card to orange. Orange is when the student will have to sit at the teachers desk and think about his or her behavior and is not allowed to participate in any actives for five or ten minutes. If this does not stop the unwanted behavior the student will be asked to turn his or her card to red. When a student has a red card the teacher will call his or her parent. This is a good way for students to monitor their behavior. They do not want to turn their card over so only one reminder is usually needed. Another class practice is using the tally mark on the whiteboard. If the students are being too noisy and a quiet reminder is not enough the teacher will make a mark on the whiteboard and for every mark the students receive they must spend one minute with their heads down on their desks before going out to recess. Some of the class policies include being respectful, listening at all times, raising your hand, no tattling, and work hard at all times. These policies are followed for the most part. When they are being followed, there is a good flow of teaching and learning.