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!