How is the day planned?
Mrs. Jones starts every day with a science starter to improve observation or assess the children's learning. Today she planned a video to introduce polymers and how they can be found everywhere in the environment around us, even at the Olympics. She then asked all the students to get into a previously assigned group and to get a laptop from the closet in the room. She then assigned a worksheet to coincide with a website about polymers. Mrs. Jones made sure that there was a link to this website on her home page. This came in handy at the end of the day when one boy explained that he missed class for band practice. She gave him the worksheet and told him that the link was on her homepage. This planning helped the day move along faster, so there was no time wasted.
What is the teacher’s daily schedule?
There are nine periods in a class day along with an advisory (homeroom). The first period Mrs. Jones does not have a class so she uses the period as a planning period. The next two periods she teachers science for mixed levels of six, seventh, and eighth graders. She has one more planning period before her lunch. The last three periods are used to teach science again.
How does it relate to the age level of the group?
The activities that Mrs. Jones plans are based on things that the students can identify with, like the Olympics.
Also Mrs. Jones uses differentiation to help the different age groups within one classroom. For example she planned two different homework assignments. They were different based on the different learning levels and age groups of the children.
How is the classroom time used?
Mrs. Jones starts the classroom time right away. She doesn’t waste time on figuring out what to do; she plans and prepares the assignments before the students arrive. Every day she starts the day with a science starter that engages the children while they are settling in to their seats.
She reserves some time to help the children write their assignments in the assignment notebook.
The remaining time is used to teach which she does by showing a video and then having the children utilize a website to learn information on their own.
What preparations were made to start and conclude various activities?
Science starters and exit slips are used to introduce activities and ideas or used to assess learning.
Today Mrs. Jones used a video to start an activity about polymers. The video was ready and uploaded on Mrs. Jones computer before class so that no time was wasted.
Can you identify the purpose or objective of each activity?
Yes, I have not seen Mrs. Jones host an activity that was just for busy work. The website was used as a resource to teach the students what polymers are, how they are made, and to realize that they are everywhere in our environment.
How are cultural differences considered and needs met?
I could not see any examples of how different cultural differences were considered and met.
The school puts more emphasis on different learning standards than on cultural differences.
what you learned about Teaching and the Curriculum.
While i was observing, I could see how Mrs. Jones would utilize her time to teach the students about her subject matter. She does not show disrespect to the students by making them do busy work, but instead, tries to engage the children in authentic learning experiences. In class we learned that a good teachers implements a respectful curriculum. She did this by preparing all activities before the class started. She used her planning periods to set up the classroom and prepare the assignments. And all the activities that are planned relate to her specific age level group. She plans activities on things students can identify with, like the olympics. She also differentiated different assignments depending on her children's learning level or age.
She sounds like a great teacher. She use her time to the fullest advantage. From reading your journal, I would like to be a student in your classroom. I really appreciate how she is trying to connect with student interest. This is so important in a middle school setting. Remember how you were at that age. I think your synthesis shows some strong connection building on this topic. You have made some good observations and I can see your knowledge base for teaching and learning growing this term.
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