Larissa Ballardo
inviting with spacious and vibrant features, including colorful bulletin boards containing student
work. There is a multi-colored rug that seats thirty students and five tables, with six to seven
seats for children to complete their school work. The teacher is positive and encouraging, yet has
set high expectations for all of her students to follow. There are rules and procedures that are
Amongst these students, there are three students that have been identified or viewed as an
English Learner, one with special needs, and one having academic difficulty in some areas. The
English learner is a boy named “Christian” who was previously in Transitional Kindergarten, and
the letters in the alphabet, although he identifies “b” for “d”. Linguistically, “Christian” is very
After conversing with the teacher, one student she identified for a possible SST referral is
a student named “Robert”. “Robert” is also a Kindergartener, who the teacher mentions to have
very little or no experience in academic and social activities and tasks. After further observation,
he demonstrates trouble completing tasks, for instance, he struggles using tools, materials, such
as crayons and pencils, and following sequential directions. In academics, “Robert” would need
extra support, practice, and experiences. I believe it would benefit him to work one-on-one with
an aide and the teacher, and expose him to activities that will assist him with his fine motor skills
and letter and phonemic awareness. Practicing these concepts at home will also benefit him.
observing “Steven”, he seems to be having trouble academically with reading and math. He has
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difficulty utilizing his fine motor skills and identifying letters. When conducting my fieldwork, I
worked with students on practicing their current “rainbow lists” of sight words, and “Steven” is
on the first list and is only familiar with the word “a”. In math, he is able to count from 0-5,
however, he cannot write his numbers yet. According to his teacher, “Steven’s” development in
questions with short sentence responses. I believe “Steven” needs more academic experiences at
school, some academic support, and practice at school and in the home.
My classroom management plan will be a routine and procedures based plan, gearing
towards the engagement focus. I plan to achieve cultural competence by learning and
understanding my own culture as well as biases of other culture. I will also implement cultural
music, literature, and projects. This will also allow myself and my students to learn and
understand each student’s cultural values and beliefs (Pinto, 2013). Through this process, I hope
to achieve cultural proficiency and be able to provide equitable learning opportunities for diverse
learners.
My classroom will have set routines and procedures that are set from the moment my
students walk into our classroom. Pinto states “many successful teachers also prepare the room
to minimize disruptions, plan lessons to flow smoothly, and design routines to maintain
momentum.” (Pinto, 2013). At the beginning of every school day, my students will walk to the
classroom, and as they walk into the class, I plan to happily greet my students with a smile and
tell them “Good Morning. How are you today?”. my students will enter our classroom ready to
learn. The students will then put their backpacks on their assigned chairs and sit in their assigned
spot on the carpet. The school day will begin with a class community meeting, where students
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can share news, ask questions, and participate in relevant topics of discussion that are important
to students. After, instruction will start with a morning opening of warm-up activities such as
reading, journaling, or practice problems. In addition, throughout the school day, students will
have several opportunities to ask questions and participate by sharing or speaking about a
concept. My students will know that it is expected that one person will speak at a time and they
must listen respectively and wait patiently if they would like to comment or ask a question.
Students will also participate in a rotation of student jobs, including the line leader, door monitor,
paper collector, bathroom buddies, light monitor, and attendance monitor. This will promote
responsibility, leadership, and the helping of their classroom community and others.
When establishing the rules and discipline of my classroom, I plan to use the basis of
setting high and concise expectations. From the first day of school, my students will be informed
of my expectations, individually and as a class. Because research shows rules that are negotiated
by teachers and students are more meaningful and effective, I will also ask my students what
rules they believe should be added to our current list (Pinto, 2013). These guidelines will be
known as “Scholarly Look-Fors”, and will be presented in a positive manner; for example, one
“look for” may be always have eyes watching and ears listening. When establishing these
guidelines, I will also consider my students culturally diverse needs and make modifications to
the guidelines as needed. Once the “Scholarly Look-Fors” and expectations are set, I plan to
have them displayed on a poster as a visual aid and resource for the students that may need to be
reminded of our classroom expectations. My main expectations will be for students to respect
themselves, teachers, and fellow students at all times, for students to always try their best to
accomplish their goals, complete all their class work and homework and turn it in at the
designated time, and organize and take care of our classroom and materials. To manage these
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rules, I will consistently reinforce the expectations in a positive matter; for example, when a
student is having trouble following directions I will say “Remember our Scholarly Look-Fors,
look to the chart, it will help you”. In addition, Pinto suggests the strategy of the guided-choice
models where the teacher asks the student about their misbehavior and asks what other choices
they can make to get the back on track (Pinto, 2013). I will also try to implement this strategy to
allow students to be accountable for their behavior and actions in hopes to engage them in
and reinforcement, movement around the proximity of the classroom, and waiting patiently when
One of the main goals I want to set for my students is for them to learn to make good
choices and responsibility. To reach this goal, my classroom will have the emphasis of kindness
and respect for themselves and others in our classroom and school. When students are working
in partners or groups, I will strategically match students so they are able to work cooperatively
and successfully when completing a task. By students working together, they will be able to
engage in conversation and problem solving that will allow them to practice using their words in
a calm and respectful matter. Students will also learn to make positive choices and demonstrate
responsibility for themselves and their learning. I will have a pocket chart that merely focuses
on achieving responsibility, effort, and positive and kind behaviors. I will have a pocket chart
with each student’s name and each pocket will have three cards, green representing good
standing and “Ready to learn”, blue for “Excellent effort” and gold for “Super Star Scholar”. At
the end of the day, the students that have blue or gold cards in their pocket will receive a ticket to
enter the classroom’s end of the week raffle where they will have a chance to win a prize. By
having students begin their school day on green, they are given fair opportunity to demonstrate
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and be accountable for their positive behavior. If a student is having trouble following directions
or not demonstrating scholarly behavior in several instances, I will then talk with the student
individually about the situation and together brainstorm ideas of how to improve the behavior.
When utilizing this chart, I will be sure to keep track of my students and make sure all of my
students are being motivated, represented and acknowledged positively. I will also examine each
child and incorporate and respect their cultural values and family practices.
Instructional time is imperative for effective learning and I plan to provide the maximum
that will allow the best quality of instruction. Pinto states “many successful teachers also prepare
the room to minimize disruptions, plan lessons to flow smoothly, and design routines to maintain
momentum,” and I too believe this will allow my classroom to function efficiently (Pinto, 2013).
One strategy I will utilize is the use and practice of the daily routine and student procedures.
Since my students will have experienced the routine and practiced the procedures consistently,
they will have an idea of what is coming next and will continue without stopping and losing
valuable learning time. Along with this strategy, I will also use a noisemaker, such as a bell, to
get students attention and as a transition tool. For instance, I will ring a bell and students will
stop immediately and put their hands on their shoulders and have eyes on the teacher. I will try
to give clear and concise directions and students will be engaged and listening. A third strategy I
plan to use is to plan my lessons in accordance with time and the daily schedule in mind.
Although my lesson plans will be in great detail, I will practice my pacing while implementing
the lesson and keep timing in mind to make sure I have enough time to model and explain the
lesson.
Every classroom contains a variety of learners. Although I will provide scaffolding for all
students as needed, some students may need special accommodations for instruction. To
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accommodate diverse learners, I will utilize methods of differentiation that will meet the
individual needs of learners. When setting up small group or individual instruction, I will first
observe and use formative assessments and district and state assessments to form small groups or
individual instruction time. For English language learners, I will provide opportunities to
activate the learner’s background knowledge, provide visual aids, and real-life objects, to support
ideas and learning (Rose & Gravel, 2010). I will also provide gifted learners with opportunities
to challenge and expand their learning by giving them another task where they can demonstrate
accelerated content strategies. For special needs students, depending if there is an IEP in place, I
will follow the individualized plan and make the accommodations according to the learner’s
specific needs. I will manage these instructional times by setting aside a specific time within the
day to where I will work with them while other students are working independently.
experience. One strategy I plan to use is to engage students in group and partner work. In my
classroom, students will work in cooperative groups and shoulder partners, where they are given
a task, and have to work collaboratively to complete it. I believe this is an effective learning
strategy where students will reinforce their learning and can assist each other when they are
unsure of a concept. Another peer interaction strategy I plan is the “turn and talk strategy”.
During lessons, students will be able to “check for understanding” with a shoulder partner by
discussing any questions or clarifications they may have. A third strategy I will use is seating
children in small table groups, based on their academic and learning levels. For instance,
students who have trouble in certain content areas will be seated next to students that have a
better understanding of the content. The student will be able to assist the struggling student if
needed.
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Through rules, routines, procedures, interactions and consistent practice, I hope to create
the culture of a respectful classroom environment between students, the teacher, and other school
personnel. One aspect of creating this culture is to provide fair opportunities for all students. To
provide these opportunities of fairness, I will consider the individual student and what they
believe to be fair. Some students may need individualized opportunities, based on previous
behavior, reactions and experiences of fairness. To further explore this, I will conduct individual
“HAT” meetings where I can conference with students for approximately five minutes to discuss
how students are feeling and doing inside and outside the classroom. “HAT” (How are things?)
meetings provide an equitable opportunity for learners to obtain support to reach success. These
“HAT” meetings will occur on a rotation of meeting with a student every three weeks. (Pinto,
2013). In addition, these meetings will also give me great insight of the student’s thoughts, and if
the student seems to be in need of support, they can discuss and set individualized goals with
myself to meet their needs. To ensure fairness in my classroom, I will provide every one of my
students with consistent opportunities to actively participate in the classroom. For example, as
the class engages in a discussion, each student will be able to contribute to the conversation
when holding the talking stick. The talking stick will ensure an equitable amount of speaking
time for students and will allow the other students to listen intently to the speaker holding the
talking stick.
Parent communication and involvement can play a significant part in a student’s learning
and school experience. There are several strategies I would like to incorporate communication
with my student’s parents. First, I will meet with them during back to school night and inform
them of our classroom rules, routines, learning standards, and expectations, so they gain an
understanding of what their child will be performing in school. I will also attempt to provide
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various opportunities for parents to visit the classroom, where they can see their child’s
interaction in the classroom and can also partake in activities with their child, such as reading
together. Parent- conferences are also a method I will use because this allows a face to face
meeting, where the parent and I can discuss the progress of the student and if any interventions
have been put into place so the student will continue to succeed. During conferences, I can have
the opportunity to develop a rapport with the parents and possibly provide them with
opportunities to get involved in the school setting. Another strategy I believe will be effective is
Pinto’s “Sunshine calls” to tell of their child’s accomplishments and progress in the classroom
(Pinto, 2013). I would like to use “Class Dojo”, a technological method of communicating with
parents through messaging and images; for example, “Class Dojo” can provide parents with class
messages, individual messages and pictures of students of their school experiences. Parents are
also able to send messages to the teacher if they have questions, concerns, or positive messages.
If these methods of communication do not work for some parents, I will work with the parent to
and rich learning experience. Through the routines, procedures, and clear expectations, students
will be able to learn valuable lessons and expand their knowledge. With these classroom aspects
in place, the goal for my Kindergarten students will to become engaged learners, with a love for
learning.
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References
Gravel, R., Rose, D. (2010). Technology and learning: meeting special student’s needs.