Context

The school at which I will be teaching my lesson is part of the Grand Rapids Public School system. It accepts kindergarteners through 5th graders, with 227 students (of which 121 were male and 106 were female) at the end of the 2010-2011 school year (U.S. Department of Education, n.d.). The classes are divided by grade, and then often split into more than one class. The school is a Title I school, according to NCES, with 218 students eligible for free or reduced lunch. The student to teacher ratio is 12.9. As of 2011, 100 of the students were Black, 84 were Hispanic, 21 were White, and 18 were two or more races. From what I have observed, the statistics this year are much the same. I learned from my teacher that our class (one of two kindergarten classrooms with 16 students) has about three English language learners. All three are Hispanic, and are improving. The teacher praised them in front of the class one day for doing so well on their tests the day before. I also learned from the teacher that while it is difficult to get kindergarteners referred for special needs, she has managed to get it for one girl who could copy her name at the beginning of the year, but cannot or will not now. Her drawings are less representational than those of the rest of the class, and her writing is not understandable. Besides her and a student who relies on her glasses to write, the rest of the class is academically progressing without special accommodations. The classroom itself is quite large, as the school used to be a Montessori school, and the kindergarten class is on the small side, with only 16 students. On either ends of the room are rugs on the floor, but I have only ever seen the teacher use the one closer to the door. There is a white board, posters, the clip chart, and a document camera on that end of the room, as well as other miscellaneous instructional tools. In the center of the room are low desks with chairs. The sink is

along the middle wall, opposite the windows, and the teachers desk is next to it, with a closet in between. The far end of the room, then, contains two computers, book shelves, chairs, and another round table for student work. There is a play kitchen in the corner, but the teacher keeps it hidden so that the students wont be distracted. The teacher manages her classroom smoothly as I see it. They still get a chance to talk and interact, but shes not afraid of having them clip down if they behave poorly. Also, she makes sure that students have the opportunity to clip up if they behave well. Regarding routines, the students have individual squares on the front rug that they get to sit in. This limits arguments about seating. The same is true of their seats at the tables. If they need to leave the classroom to get a drink or something from their backpack, they usually go out without asking, but they do ask to use the restroom. Some days they get to leave the classroom for specials, such as PE, music, or art. Some students also leave for a time with an adult tutor or a language specialist. What I know about their curriculum is that they have Pearson curriculum guides available for the reading portion of kindergarten, but beyond that, I have not asked. They have to follow Common Core for their English Language Arts and Mathematics, and apparently the state of Michigan is requiring more science and social studies. For this reason, I will be teaching a unit to my kindergarteners about animals. Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations are the standards that teachers use to form their curriculum in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Technology, Social Studies, and Science. I will be using the GLCE for Science to frame my lessons on animals. Finally, I do not know how many students are from the immediate area, and how many are from farther away, but I do know that some students walk to school, which would indicate that they come from closer. Others ride the bus, so I cannot tell how far they come from. The

snowy winter this year may also have an effect on how many students walk. The area around the school is very residential, with two story houses and a couple apartment complexes. There is a linen factory, and a few blocks away are a few streets with small businesses. I did not see a gas station or grocery store nearby, but there were auto repair places and a farmers market, which gathers in warmer weather.

Reference U.S. Department of Educaiton. (n.d.). Congress elementary. In National center for education statistics. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Congress+E lementary&State=26&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4& SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&Hi