Class Profile

Kenzie McDonald
EDTE 400
Paige Fisher

Strengths and Stretches

My class has a great sense of community. They seem to be very into their art projects and
drawing when they get the chance. They are very kind class and are very friendly towards each
other. They are also very passionate about music class. They all communicate very well in
sharing circle and listen to one another. The class also does an excellent job of putting their
hand up before they talk. Some of the classes stretches are math. There seems to be a big gap
between the grade 3 and 4’s, they seemed to be getting the regrouping for addition but they
really struggled with the regrouping subtraction. They need repetition with adding and
subtracting instead of using their rulers and fingers every time. Another one of their stretches is
journal writing and spelling. They can sound out words for how they sound but putting two
letters together, mostly vowels, to make a certain sounds needs some practice. They could
work on their group conversation and discussions with their peers.
Implications
I have noticed that when the children are enjoying what they are learning time flies by, and
they don’t even realize they are pushing their learning. We can implicate games through
learning, which has the students engaged. I think that when a student is engaged and doesn’t
even realize they are learning and are having fun is the best type of learning. Children are more
prone to remember things when they enjoy what they have learned, know the learning
intention and the relevance of the lesson. We can work on our group discussions by continuing
the sharing circle, it builds community and relationships with one another. When we feel
comfortable with one another we can share our thoughts without being intimidated by others.
Teacher Response
The teacher has already responded by building a strong sense of community in the classroom
by having a sharing circle. The teacher could have more group discussions and group activities,
where the students have to share and work with one another in pods. It will teach them
leadership and build relationships with one another. The teacher has also done spelling
exercises to recognize patterns in words and what sound two vowels make together. That will
help the students learn the different patterns and sounds in words to improve their spelling in
their journals. At the Pro-D day we learned some different math activities which were game
based that could help with repetition in math to improve their fluency and time.
Special Considerations
I think that getting to know the children over the past few weeks has really helped me know
our learners. Having sharing circle in the morning really helps with knowing our learners and
how they are feeling that day. I can take into consideration if the children are tired or offset
that day, and maybe they might need some breaks in the day. I know that some students need
to take a break when they are getting frustrated and some students need a little prompt to get
started when they feel stuck. I know that when the students feel like they can relate to a lesson,
that’s when they are most engaged. It is important for me to make sure I share the learning
intention with them and why we should know what they are learning.
Goals
Some goals that we have discussed is that the teacher would like to have more group
conversation which we can create through group activity. We need to improve on our spelling
and letter groups, for example the letters ea, ai, a_e, ou together. The students can sound out
words for how they sound, but knowing that the letters make certain sounds together is a goal.
The class has such a range of writing levels. Some students can write paragraphs but the
majority need to learn paragraph structure and even to space out words. We need to become
more fluent in math by practicing simple equations without having to use our ruler or fingers.
Learned
I have learned that it is important to make sure I am paying attention to each student in the
class to get to know and observe them. I think that it is important for the students to know each
other and their teachers to build connections. Every student in the class is going to be different
so to implicate different learning strategies is important. Building a strong community in the
classroom has made it possible for students to express themselves in a way that they would
like. Having a strong safe supportive environment in the class and to be approachable as a
teacher is important.