Portfolio 7: Reimagined Classroom

I had the opportunity at the beginning of the semester to detail what my ideal future classroom would be like.  What it would look like, how it would function, etc.  Over the course of the semester I have been able to reimagine what my classroom will be like, and my eyes were opened to new inclusions and viewpoints I want to incorporate in my classroom.  I am going to paste my original 'Imagined Classroom' below, and cross out or add to any sections that I have decided to change after all I have learned this semester.  The added details can be found in this color.

1.  Five images (you can take them or they can come from the Internet [provide proper credit]).  These images should reflect, in some way, what you imagine your classroom will look like once you are a teacher.  Please annotate your images by providing a description of the image and how it relates to your future classroom.

                     (image from http://www.thebitsofbrit.com/how-desk-towers-saved-my-sanity/)
            Picture #1: When I picture my future classroom, I picture something like the photo above for the organization of the desks.  In the photo above, the desks are clumped into groups which is great for group projects and discussions as well as asking their neighbor for any help that they need if i'm not available.  I love this particular set-up in the classroom above because of the shelf towers that are in the middle of each desk, and the numbers that are on top of the towers.  The towers would be a great space to keep daily materials such as markers, scissors, glue, etc. as well as specific materials needed for that day.  It would be a lot easier and faster to say, "Grab the science worksheets out of the science drawer and hand them to everyone at your table," rather than have everyone come up to my desk to grab their own sheet.  The idea would be to have a table captain every week, they would be in charge of going to the drawers in their group of desks to get supplies and give them to their table mates.  I will rotate the groups every so often as to avoid any problems that may come up throughout the year.  This way, they will avoid being in any same group for a long period of time.  This can help those who don't get along, and can also help get a wide variety of viewpoints throughout the year.  And I've learned so much about how learning from the viewpoints of others is one of the best ways to learn and grow.

(image from http://dandelionsdragonflies.blogspot.com/search/label/classroom%20set%20up)

                 Picture #2: I want my students to be focused and honest when learning new ideas and concepts.  This idea above could help me accomplish this in my future classroom.  My idea would be to have a weekly learning target in each subject, thinking of third or fourth graders, to write on these papers each week.  At the beginning of the week, I would have my students look at the new learning target of the week, and write on a piece of paper on a scale of 1-5 how confident they feel about the target.  Do they already know how to solve word problems, or do they not feel very confident with them?  Then at the end of the week, I would have them again write from 1-5 how confident they feel about the target and hand it in to me.  That way, I know if certain students still need some help grasping concepts or if the whole class is still confused so I know where to pick up the next week.  This could also help teach them that even if we don't understand something, if we put enough practice into it we can eventually understand new things that seemed too hard to accomplish before.

     (image from http://thethirdgradelearningspot.blogspot.com/2013/09/classroom-set-up-2013.html)

               Picture #3:  This picture is a good example of something I think is very important in a classroom.  Distributing jobs every week to the students will help them know that I trust them to accomplish the job, and they will feel like they are contributing to the success of the class.  Each week, I would rotate names and make sure everyone has had a turn with each job throughout the year.  This would hopefully help teach the kids to respect their classmates who have the jobs for the week, and help teach the students with jobs about responsibility and that I am trusting them to do their best at the job.  I will make sure that the colors used to distinguish between students are in no way gender-suggestive (aka not putting pink for girls and blue for boys), as to not support gender stereotypes.

(image from http://lessonswithlaughter.com/classroom-library-organization/)

                 Picture #4: In my third and fourth grade classroom, we have an amazing library in the back of the room with some floor pillows and tons and tons of fun books.  We could check out books to bring home, read them during recess (especially if we had indoor recess because of rain or negative degree weather in MN), read them during individual reading time and we would also gather back there to listen to our teacher read our group chapter book a few minutes every day.  I remember absolutely loving this area, having floor pillows made us feel comfortable back there and made us want to make time in our schedule to go read.  It helped me not only with my reading skills but also my desire and want to read.  I would have it organized similar to the picture above, separating non-fiction from fiction.  And then from there, separating by genres and popular authors.  In my library I will include books with two moms, bi-racial families, LGBTQ characters and a variety of other scenarios that normalize taboo subjects.  I will mix these books in with the others to encourage the normalization of these topics and situations.  I will also give opportunities to schedule reading times with me, as well as opportunities for students to have personal reading time during class.  This way, if they don't have a situation at home where people can read to them or they can read on their own I can make time to given them that opportunity to hear books read aloud and read on their own.

(image from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Management-Tool-Fill-Up-the-Jar-2350194)

                   Picture #5: Progress is something that can be difficult to measure in classrooms.  A lot of teachers tend to make reading goals for the amount of books the class can read, or make competitions out of who can get the best score on a spelling test.  I want to stay away from any group comparison or competition, because I feel like then the students will be completing assignments and test just to see if they can get first place, and won't care about what they learned in the process.  So, the only progress I really want to keep track of as an entire class is something similar to this marble chart above.  I want the class to encourage each other and work together towards an overall goal, like a pizza party or extra recess time, or like the picture above suggests sitting by a friend for a day or two during class.  To earn the marbles, students would be awarded when they help a classmate understand something that was confusing to them, said something kind to a classmate, helped me with a chore/task, cheered up a classmate, etc.  I would also give a marble to students who ask for help, either from me or from a classmate.  This might help them know that even if they can't understand or solve the problem, it is a great next step to ask for help or clarification.  I want to promote kind, helpful, genuine friendship and encouragement in my classroom.

2. Imagine the surroundings in your classroom.  What does the room look like?  What resources are available for students?  How are the resources used during the lesson?
              I want my classroom to look welcoming, organized and i want it to feel like home.  I am a huge believer in making every apartment that I've lived in feel like a home, otherwise I would never feel comfortable being there!  So I want to do the best I can to put floor pillows, fun pictures and quotes throughout the room to make the students feel comfortable in the classroom.    I want the classroom to feel welcoming to all, so I will avoid putting white middle-class normality in it and avoid pushing my culture onto my students.  I will include posters and decor that is inclusive and respective to all cultures, keeping decorations simple and informative.  I will include posters with students of many races, and will include simple posters with lots of pictures as to help any ELL students in my classroom better understand concepts we are learning. I also want the room to have a few different stations, including the reading station pictured in my response to question 1.  Science, math and history stations (even if they're small so I can fit them in the room) would help me stay organized in knowing where supplies and papers for each subject are.  Ideally I could use the science station, for example, to demonstrate the activity we would be doing that day.  The students could see the station from the desk, and could follow along with the steps I am doing while they get the supplies from their drawer towers (mentioned above) and do the activity the same way I did.  It would make it easier for me to quickly access the supplies I need for each specific subject, and would hopefully help the students focus on the subject we are doing rather then the one we just finished talking about. Each drawer in their drawer tower would be designated for each subject and I will have already filled each drawer with what they will need for the day.  I will also include an LGBTQ flag in my classroom, most likely on my desk.  It doesn't have to be huge, in fact I imagine having a small flag in my pencil cup on my desk.  This way I am not rubbing it in anyone's face that I support those in the LGBTQ community, but those families who are involved in the LGBTQ community will notice it and appreciate my support.  This will hopefully help those families know that I am supportive and welcoming to any and all students and students' families.

3.  Describe the students in your classroom.  What are their backgrounds?  What are their interests?  What are they doing during the lesson?
                 I hope to have a diverse, welcoming classroom in which we can all support and learn from one another.  I am sure I will have people from many different home backgrounds, but I hope to make them all feel equally valued and cared for in my classroom.  I am sure I will have students who love soccer practice and dance class, and others who can't put the 4th Harry Potter down.  I am sure I will have students who are invested in science lessons, and some who think that history class is the best time of the day.  I hope that they are able to find friends with similar interests, but I also hope that they will find joy in learning about their classmates' interests even if they themselves aren't interested in that hobby.  During lessons, I hope that they are focused on my instructions and are comfortable exploring and learning new concepts with their table-mates.  They won't be afraid to make mistakes because they will know that you learn best by making mistakes before you find out the correct way that things work.  I can picture Suzie zoning out and Robby nudging her to make sure she heard the instructions for the next project we're working on.  I can picture their excited face when they finally figure out what ingredients they needed to put together to make their volcano erupt.  I hope my classroom is an exciting, loving place filled with students who are encouraging each other to continually try to do their best.   As I mentioned above I will include posters, books and scenarios that represent all races and cultures.

4.  Describe your classroom policies.  What are your classroom rules?  What is your discipline plan?  What are your homework policies?
                I want my classroom rules to be simple enough to understand, but vague enough to apply to a variety of issues that could come up throughout the school year.  My classroom rules will look something like this: 1. Be Kind  2. Try My Best  3. Respect Myself and Others  4. Never Give Up.  These rules are simple enough that everyone can understand them from the beginning of the year.  However, they are vague enough that I could break down different conflicts in the class and remind them of a rule that it coincides with.  For example, if Seth said something rude to me I would remind him that one of the rules is to respect others and I would remind him that in order to respect me he has to use kind language and express his concerns in a respectful way.  If Abbie had a little problem of peaking at her neighbor's test during spelling tests I would remind her that one of our rules is to try my best, not try our neighbor's best.  My discipline plan would look something like a stoplight, which is a strategy my parents used when my siblings and I were little.  At the beginning of the week, everyone would start at the green light.  If someone has one strike (or one obvious bad behavior), they move up to yellow light.  From there, they can either calm down and exhibit good behavior the rest of the day and move back to green or they could throw another tantrum/behavioral problem and move to red.  Their position stays overnight but they are able to move down throughout the week if they have an entire segment of a day where they exhibit good behavior.  Those ending in green on Friday can pick out a piece of candy on their way out, those ending in yellow or red will remember to try hard the following week to make it back to green.  For discipline, I will focus less on behavior and more on the lesson.  If a student is misbehaving or on task, I will quickly guide attention back to the lesson and avoid reprimanding that student in a way that is distracting from the lesson.  I will have a plan for what to do to grab everyone's attention again when students get rowdy or distracted--whether that is a song or a clapping call to attention or anything else that works well for individual classes.   For homework, I hope to have enough time during the day to at least give some time to work on homework and for them to ask for any help that they need from me.  I will try my best to allow time to complete the homework while they are in class, as to avoid any child from going home and not knowing how to complete the homework and who doesn't have a parent who is willing/able to help them either.  I hope to have them turn in complete, to-the-best-of-my-ability work and then will hand back the homework and have them fix any mistakes they may have made and really take the time to understand their mistakes.

5.  Describe a typical lesson you will teach in your classroom.  What will you teach?  What is the topic?  Why did you choose this topic?  How will you teach it?  What is the main thing you want students to learn during this lesson?
              One lesson I could teach in my classroom would be to start at the math station, and demonstrate pretend-cutting a pizza made out of paper.  I would hold up one piece of the pizza and ask the class what fraction of the pizza I had in my hand.  We could then count the pieces and determine that I had 1/4 of the pizza.  I would then have them take out supplies from their drawer towers, and create and cut a pizza with their neighbors.  I would have them make one pizza that has 4 slices, one that has 6 slices, and one that has 8 slices.  We could then practice the amounts of pizza each person has in fractions, switching up how many slices each person has.  I chose this topic because fractions is something that can be so tricky to grasp, I remember struggling with it.  But when you bring something into the lesson that if fun and exciting, like pizza, it suddenly intrigues them and makes their ears perk up a little more.  Instead of comparing 1/8 to 1/4 on the whiteboard I want them to see 1/8 of a pizza compared to 1/4 of a pizza and to make observations from there.  I want them to learn the difference between sizes of different fractions, as well as how to count in fractions.  Once they were able to grasp the concept and feel comfortable with fractions, it would be fun to have a real-life pizza party once the unit was over and to find out what fraction of the pizza each person ate.  Instead of pizza for this lesson, which I realized is extremely white-middle class, I will incorporate different culture's foods in this lesson.  For example, I will have pictures of rice bowls, paella, naan, etc.  We will work with these foods and cut them into equal slices, and will compare fractions with them.  At the end of the unit, I could incorporate these foods in real-life and we could learn about different cultural foods as we talk about the fraction of the dish that each person has.  In math, I will also incorporate word problems that are inclusive of all family types such as "Paul and his mom and his step dad made paella...".  This brings normality to different family types.

6.  Imagine your work as a teacher during this lesson.  What are you doing during the lesson?
               During this lesson, I would initially stand in front of the class to introduce the idea and give instructions on how to make and cut the pizzas foods.  I would then spend the majority of the time walking around to the tables and asking them questions to prompt them to think about fractions in ways they might not have been thinking.  I could answer any questions they have and make sure they stay on task while I am walking around.  I would interject every few minutes and ask how far along each group is, and make sure they are all going about the same pace.  At the end, I would stand up in front of the class again and ask them what they discovered and learned while participating in this hands on activity.  If I had a parent or paraprofessional, I would ask them to take the more advanced students rather than the struggling students.  I will have more experience teaching than these helpers most likely, so I would want to focus my time on giving extra help to those who need it.  The helpers in my classroom would work with the advanced students and make sure they are doing things correctly still, while I can give extra help to those who need it.

7. Imagine your students again, what are they doing during the lesson?
              During the lesson, my students would initially be listening to my instructions and explanation about how pizza naan, paella, rice bowl, etc. is related to fractions.  They might ask questions about fractions, trying to figure out the difference between about 1/4 and 1/6.  Then they would be working together to create pizzas naan, paella, rice bowl, etc., and figure out how to cut them into fractions (while I helped them break the pizza naan, paella, rice bowl, etc. into fourths, sixths, and eights).  They would hopefully have fun comparing fractions, and would take turns with different pizzas naan, paella, rice bowl, etc..  One student would have the pizza cut into fourth, and would practice saying "I have 2/4 of the pizza naan, paella, rice bowl, etc., now I have 1/4 of the pizza naan, paella, rice bowl, etc.", etc. They would then hopefully feel more comfortable asking questions after spending a bit of time playing around with fractions, and would have a better idea on how to start to solve problems relating to fractions.

8.  Imagine how you will assess your students' learning and achievement.  How will you know they have learned?
                This is something that is so hard to me, and I'm sure to many teachers as well.  Tests are not my ideal way of testing knowledge, because students learn and grow so differently that tests are not the best way of testing every individual's achievement.  However, I do think that they are the most overall effective way to assess the students' learning capabilities.  I hope to be flexible with this though, and know that if a student tests better when problems are read aloud to him/her then I will make time to have my teaching assistant or myself read the test out loud to the student and record his responses.  I hope to also have class discussions to let them think aloud, and would use the system I mentioned in question 1 picture 2 to assess on a scale of 1-5 how confident they feel in each subject every week.  Hopefully that will help me be aware of every individual's needs and the weaknesses they feel in our learning targets.