# 2 Observation of Classroom Literacy Environment Directions: Spend one day observing the literacy environment in your classroom.

During the day use the questions below and take notes on what you observe. Your notes should be specific and provide examples of what is occurring (ex. What is the teacher and students doing/saying?) Type up your notes for each section (you may bullet the information). After completing your notes, you should have a thorough summary of each major category below. Gather Background Information: * How many students in the school? What grades does the school serve? * Who is the teacher? How long have they taught? What is their ethnicity? What grades have they taught? How long have they been at the current school? Why did they become a teacher? What do they like best about teaching reading? What would they like to improve upon in their reading instruction? * How many students are in the classroom? What is the racial background of the students? How many students qualify for free and reduced price lunch? 1. Describe the classroom environment. * What does the physical space look like? What is included in the physical space? How are the desk/tables arranged? How is the other space in the classroom arranged? What do you see on the walls? Where does whole group, small group, paired, and independent reading and writing occur in the classroom? * Is there a classroom library? If yes, how are the texts arranged? How many texts are in the library? Is there a variety of reading levels? What types of texts are in the library (ex. Books-fiction, nonfiction, and information, magazines, newspapers, etc) Is there a representation of cultural relevant and multicultural texts, which may include bilingual texts? * What is the tone of the classroom? Are students given choice or is the classroom teacher directed? What evidence is there that students feel safe to take risk? 2. Describe how reading is taught in the classroom. * How much time is spent on reading each day? How much time is devoted to whole group, small group, paired, and independent reading? How much time is spent on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension? * How is reading taught? (ex. Using a basal, readers and writers workshop, literature focus, literature circles, a combination or something else) What evidence do you see of whole group reading, guided or small

group reading, and independent reading? What is the teacher doing during these times? What are the students doing during these times? * What materials are used to engage students in literacy learning? * How are students grouped for instruction? (based on reading needs, flexible grouping, heterogeneous) 3. Describe how writing is taught in the classroom. * How is writing taught in the classroom? (workshop approach, through basal, etc..) * How much time is spent on writing instruction each day? * What materials are used? 4. Meeting Diverse Needs * How does the teacher differentiate instruction to meet the diverse student needs in the classroom? (For ELLs, Dialect speakers, Special Education, and high poverty) * What kinds of services and/or programs are offered in the school for ELLs, Special Education, Dialect speakers, and high poverty students? * How does the school and teacher support cultural diversity? Barkstall Elementary School is an exceptional school with an evident emphasis on diversity. Students from all different backgrounds are found in each classroom. It is admired by many teachers at other schools, like King Elementary School, for its high AYP scores, disciplined students, and extraordinary teachers. Serving grades K through 5th, this school provides instruction to just over 400 students. One teacher in particular, Ms. Gwin, has been teaching for nine years and expresses how important the field of teaching is. She believes educators are responsible for giving students a good solid foundation before entering the real world. Five years prior to being transferred to Barkstall Elementary to teach third graders, Ms. Gwin started working at another local school as a fifth grade teacher. As an African-American, she adds to the schools reputation of fostering unity among individuals of all ethnic backgrounds. Ms. Gwins third grade classroom consists of twenty-four diverse students. Some are African-American, Asian, White, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or mixed. They are all arranged in groups of four and the six sections are organized in two columns with three rows. This set-up takes up about half of the classroom. On the other side of the classroom, Ms. Gwin has carpet and two bookshelves, as well as a chair where she sits during a shared reading lesson. All books on the shelves are organized by subject or topic. She also has a semi circle table where she works with her reading groups during centers. During centers, she has groups doing one of the following: writing in their journal about any topic they pick from a box with specific topics and questions; reading-to-self; reading a Time for Kids magazine and filling out a worksheet; reading a

non-fiction story; repeat reading; listening to a story using a provided device and headphones and reading along; and reading to someone else. For the most part, the environment in the classroom is teacher guided, but sometimes she gives students a few options on the type of material they want to read. About forty-five minutes are dedicated toward reading in the morning, and thirty minutes in the afternoon. Students spend the first fifteen minutes every morning working on phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. Vocabulary is seldom the focus of instruction. Students work on their comprehension skills about once or twice a week, when they are in reading groups and using Time for Kids magazines to fill out their worksheets. Because this is a school of choice, Barkstall does not offer special programs for English Language Learners (ELLs). There are many other schools offering ESL and bilingual programs, which parents can apply for.