Classroom Community:1st grade class

Visual Connection: 



Theory to Practice: 

• Classroom management: 

- Clip up and clip down: If the teacher notices that a student is doing well and doing what they are suppose to be doing in a respectful and appropriate matter then they get to move to levels of student behavior. If a student isn't behaving and disrupting the learning environment they must clip down and parents can be notified in certain circumstances.  It is very effective as the students see others doing well and start to slowly follow their examples.
- To get the students attention the teacher says, "Winner, winner" and the students respond with "Chicken Dinner".  The students fall silent and look at the teacher so they are ready to hear instruction.
- Each table gets points when they are all quiet and doing work and following instructions and whoever has the most points by the end of the day gets to pick out of a prize box. It is very effective as they see the rewards that they can get when they are good, so they are well behaved more often.
- The teacher guides and reinforces participation by calling on those who are quiet and raising there hand. The teacher has assessments and with each test they have a progress sheet that they color in themselves to show their parents and themselves how they are doing.
- There is parent teacher conferences but she also meets with some of the ELL parents and the students who need extra support to be able to help the parents understand what the parents can do to help and support them in their homework and learning efforts.

• Classroom Organization and Structure:  

- The physical classroom layout consists of a smart board and boards at the front with a rug for the children to sit on for lessons. There are 4 groups of tables of 7 and storage in the back, cubbies at the front by the door and a round table for the teacher to test students and do group work.
- This classroom setup effects the learning atmosphere in a positive way, as the students sit in groups and are able to help one another instead of sitting all alone and they help build friendships among the students.
- The students individual materials are stored in their desk drawers and other materials and worksheets are throughout the classroom. This is effective and ineffective at the same time because it is a good storage place and easy to access but also ineffective because they are very messy and unorganized which doesn't help and can be distracting and doesn't help with the easy flow of the school day.

• Proficiency Levels and Objectives 

-  The teacher supports the diverse linguistic learners by making them feel comfortable and have a classroom as a safe haven with her positive and loving attitude towards each child. She does this as she pays special attention to them and also asks of my help as she needs to help other students also.
- The teacher at each math or reading lesson time will post the objectives and the lesson expectations through explaining it to them but also to have them sometimes write it down themselves to get a different perspective on the aspects that the students are learning.
- The students always know the lesson focus and as they do examples and games to help them understand it as a class and that makes them engaged and want them to learn more and do the example back at their tables. Sometimes if the students don't get the lesson and start to get upset it is hard for them to get engaged and put them in focus.


Reflection: 
The experience of service learning so far has impacted me to reach out and know more of the children's needs academically and socially and help them in any way that I can so that they can be on the path to reach their full potential, especially the ELL's who are struggling much more but also all of the students overall. I am now considering how I can get extra activities according to each ELL's needs to help them overcome and come to the understanding of the math, reading, science, social studies or computer lessons that they are currently learning. I really love this class!

Class Demographics:1st Grade Class

I am completing my service learning experience in a Title 1 elementary school with an identified high ELL population. I worked in a 1st grade classroom with the following profile:

Number of students: 25

Gender: 17 female, 8 male

Languages: 5-second language learners

• 1 girl speaks Chinese
• 2 girls and 2 boys speak Spanish 

Language Proficiency and Ability: 

The students are mainstreamed and are ELD's. There is some of the ELL students, however that are struggling with academics and language.

Chinese- Has difficulty even speaking any English, but can count and understand most things that I am telling her to do when I have pictures to help explain. The students also does math problems by drawing out the number of circles then counting them all together to do addition problems.

Spanish- Some of the students have difficulty understanding what they are reading and doing things on their own and staying on task. I have experienced so far that they work well together in a group and I am there as a guide and direct them to help them figure out the correct answer. I have found also that it is easier to explain to them in many different ways until they get it to see which one connects in their head.

Other Relevant Information: 

Reading books side by side and to the whole classroom as they are quiet and ready to listen and to follow along as I ask questions and get them excited and help them understand what the book is about. Also when students ask what a word means I try to use examples of them that they can relate to and understand. For example a student asked what the word "same" meant as we were doing a math problem and I explained what a twin was a how they were the same and their head instantly clicked to the word as they had a cousins who were twins.

Visual Connection: 

I was surprised about how much of the mainstreamed regular kids would reach out without hesitation and help the ELL students to be able to make sure they had a friend and having fun like everyone else. Also academically were the other students helpful as they would help the ELL's find the right page and make sure that they were getting help even when the ELL's hands weren't raised they would come and tell me that they were struggling and needed that extra help.