Classroom Community

The classroom in which I am completing my hours has very strong classroom community. The teacher I work with is very aware of her students' cultural and linguistic differences.

One student recently moved to Arizona from South America. He speaks English; however, he completed a kindergarten course online that did not cover the same basic concepts. As a result, he is technically a year behind in his schooling. His teacher is aware of this, and adjusts her teaching style to help him best learn. The other students are also very willing to help him when he is struggling.

The teacher has created a positive learning environment in her room in several different ways. For example, the desks are organized in the shape of a bracket, so that the students can all see each other and the teacher very easily. This helps the students to focus on the teacher when she is teaching, as well as focus on their peers when they are talking or sharing something.

Lesson objectives are posted on the board each day. The class discusses these objectives at the beginning of class, and are talked about so that every student understands what is expected of them that day. I've noticed during my time in the classroom that the students are generally very focused on the lesson and are good at staying on task, although they do like to go on little tangents because they are first graders. 

The students are very open with each other, and everyone gets along very well. The teacher encourages each student to share what they are thinking and enforces the idea that the class is a little family, so that students feel safe and cared for.

I've noticed that the teacher spends extra time on a topic when her students are struggling and makes sure, to the best of her abilities, that no student falls behind. She has high expectations of her students to be the best they can be, and her students strive to meet those expectations.

One thing I've found interesting in this classroom is that while students are required to speak English during class time, they are encouraged to speak Spanish if they so choose during their free time. Their teacher encourages them to celebrate their cultures and will ask them questions about cultural traditions, though the students may not realize that their traditions are in fact cultural.

I can see that this teacher knows how to successfully work with ELL students and provide them with the support that they need in order to succeed. In EDU 220, we discuss how to make ELL students feel welcome and supported, and I see strategies that do this in the classroom. I look forward to working more with these students and learn how to best work with ELL students in my own classroom someday.