Post 4

The domain I chose that I would like to focus on is Domain 2: The Classroom Environment. I chose this domain because I feel that if the management aspect of the classroom is not intact, then the whole classroom will fall apart. The first couple of years I taught, I really struggled with this. I would find myself wanting to scream at the kids or raising my voice all the time. Now I never have to raise my voice because I have figured out a management plan that all the children understand and can follow. They also know exactly what I expect from them at all times.

I am definitely most comfortable with Component 2C: Managing Classroom Procedures. I have worked really hard over the past few years to get classroom procedures down to a science for my students. I couldn't believe how much stress this relieved me of once I got it under control! I look at one of our new teachers this year on occasion and think to myself, "Man, she looks stressed!" And she reminds me of me in my first year of teaching. Here are some ways in which I feel that I handle classroom procedures well:

1. When my class is doing centers, every student knows his or her job. I am generally working with one group, while another is on the computer, and two others are working independently. Every day one of the independent groups is divided up so there are not five children in one spot, rather there are only two or three. For example, half of the group is doing ABC/Word Study while the other half is doing Listening. This keeps students more focused as there are not so many children all in one spot. I also have my eye on all groups at all times and if someone is not working correctly, I immediately call them on it. I don't make a big deal or take a lot of time to do it, but this lets everyone know that even though they're not sitting with me, I'm still watching them.

2. All of my transitions have a routine. Students know these routines and can recite them to me and to substitute teachers if need be. I assign helpers for certain tasks to make transitions move more quickly, and students know what their duties are before they're allowed to move on. This creates order for everyone. I even use this when implementing inside recess centers. The students are responsible for getting out the toys and for putting them back in the correct spots when it's time to clean up.

3. The ELL assistant who works in my classroom three days a week also has clear instructions on what her duties are. She receives lesson plans from me the week before so she has time to ask me any questions she might have. I also make sure to have all materials that I am providing ready for her before she arrives. I also monitor the groups she works with so if there is something she needs to do differently, I can discuss this with her at a different time.

I think that Component 2C: Managing Classroom Procedures ties in very strongly with instruction in that, if students know what is expected of them, none of us are wasting time going over things that have nothing to do with instruction. We can get right to the lesson as soon as everyone is ready, which doesn't take as long if everyone knows what to do. Plus, the procedures are set up so that there is never anything around the students that will distract them. For example, they know they are not allowed to have their crayon boxes on their desks if the only thing they need is a pencil. This prevents them from playing in their crayon boxes when they should be working.

I think that I would like to focus on Component 2B: Establishing a Culture for Learning. This is, I feel, my weak spot in classroom management. I think that I establish a culture for learning, but I would consider it only proficient. I would like to see what I can do to improve in this component.

Post 3

I've always looked at curriculum as a sort of map of what we as teachers are expected to help our students master. After doing the readings for this module, I still feel the same way. The purpose of curriculum is to put order to the content our students must learn. As a first grade teacher, I feel as though the use of following curriculum is very important, as I am helping to set the foundation of my students' learning. What I teach them will be the base from which they continue from when they move onto second grade, all the way up through twelfth grade and on into higher education.

I honestly feel like the teachers in my district do not have much control over the designing of curriculum. In my five years as a teacher, my colleagues and I at my school have been asked to redesign curriculum for various content areas numerous times. We spend hours doing so and putting together a good plan. Then, when the new school year begins, our suggestions and ideas have been completely ignored in favor of whatever the Board has decided upon (my favorite part of this being that some Board members have no educator experience whatsoever -- note the sarcasm :), and we are never given any explanation as to why our well-thought out plans have been thrown in the garbage. I understand that all members of the educational community must work together to develop the best curriculum for the students we are serving... so why doesn't that happen? I believe that the teachers in my district need to be able to give more input... and that input should be considered. For example, one of the teachers in our building recently met with all grade levels to find out what we all do in the subject of writing, as we are redesigning our district's writing curriculum. As she was writing down our input, she even stated, "I don't know why I'm doing this, no one will probably ever look at this or ask to see it... But I'm doing as I'm asked."

I feel that in my classroom the reading and math curriculum are followed quite well. My students are learning, beginning to show mastery, or showing mastery in these areas. When it comes to writing, science, and social studies, following the curriculum becomes much more difficult. My students do receive instruction in these areas, but usually in during the language arts block, when we are reading a science- or social studies-related story, or when I am working with reading groups and other students are completing a center involving a blend of writing and science, writing and social studies, or writing itself. In this way I don't really feel like I'm covering the curriculum in these areas, and if I were to open our district curriculum guide and look at those subjects right now, I know I would find areas in which I was lacking. I guess my concern is, if these children don't learn how to read first and foremost, how can I possibly focus on anything else?

Post 2

After reading the three articles required, it really got me thinking about the importance of curriculum. I feel like I spend most of my time focusing on getting my students to learn to read and comprehend what they're reading and on them learning the basics of math, and that I really don't pay much attention to curriculum. I think it is important to consider the necessity of curriculum because it gives both teachers and students a learning path on which to follow.

I would say the the model of correlated curriculum best describes the manner in which I currently teach. My students learn different subjects, but they are also taught how those subjects are interrelated. For example, this week our theme in reading is "birds." Their stories all revolve around birds, and they learn at a science station about bird homes and their importance, in a social studies station they learn about where to locate birds in a neighborhood, and in a writing station students must choose their favorite bird (either from the readings or on their own) and write about why they chose this bird as their favorite. I actually feel like this is the best model for use in the early primary grades. I feel like the correlated model best speaks to what I am trying to teach my children. At this point, their most important needs include learning to read, and I feel like the correlated model allows me to coach them in that, while working in elements of other subject areas.

I do feel that we need a newer approach to curriculum, perhaps especially beginning in the intermediate grades. So much of the focus in early primary is teaching students to read, because if they don't have that first, it will be more and more difficult for them to uncover knowledge on their own. I know from a recent meeting in which the teachers at my school were given information regarding state testing and gearing students toward the ACT, fifth grade teachers expressed concern that there was so much curriculum and so many different things to accomplish, that they felt as though they didn't know what to teach. And this was coming from seasoned, veteran teachers! I feel like there is so much that we are expected to get these kids to master that there's no time to allow for quality of teaching. It all comes down to quantity... How much can you cram inside a student's head before he or she just shuts down from all the miscellaneous facts you want him or her to remember and regurgitate for a test?! What was it I saw in one of the articles? ... "More is less..." That's what it seems like to me. It needs to be "less is more!"